age to stay with the tradition of beingarranged by them. The traditional customs that Okeke enforces seems to be more of an excuse tokeep his son with him than a concern for preserving his family traditions. Okeke wantsNnaemeka to do what he wants to do since he does not care about his son's happiness. Nene is an obstacle to their relationship in the father's eyes since she is essentially takinghis son away from him. She is not a member of the Ibo tribe, and therefore is notinclined to obeying Okeke and those of his community as much as a wife would have towho is of the same nationality. That is why in a sign of rage and vengeance, Okekemutilates his son and Nene's wedding picture and then returns it with a nasty letter. Angry and frustrated, Okeke does this out of his realization that the marriage did notwork out as he had planned it to be, since he is alone now without his son. Toward theend of the story, a letter is sent from Nene to Okeke explaining how Nnaemeka's childrenare suffering from the absence of a grandfather. This makes Nnaemeka's father upset andremorseful, and he probably regrets his selfish decision to shun his son's family. Therefore, Okeke has issues and greivances within himself that make him so regretfuland sad in the end. Since the presence of grandchildren causes Okeke to feel the way hedoes, it is evident that there is another reason why Okeke does not want Nnaemeka tomarry Nene. Grandfather Okeke simply wants his son to be with him. Family isimportant to him after all, and he finally realizes more fully how lonely he is. In conclusion, there is evidence that Okeke sticks by his traditional customsbecause of issues which he did not discuss with his son. Following the tribe's tradition ofarranging marriages had a deeper meaning to him than just preserving his culture. ...
