Why Did Okonkwo beat Nwoye in Things Fall Apart?

The
following quote indicates clearly whyfound it necessary to beat his young son:

Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially
the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children.
Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was
dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the
fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of
nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo's fear was greater than these. It was not
external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to
resemble his father.

Okonkwo would
therefore do everything in his power to ensure that , who was to carry his name and legacy,
shall never come to represent , Okonkwo's father who, because of his tardiness, brought shame to
his family.

The following quote further emphasises Okonkwo's concern in this
regard:

Okonkwo's first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years
old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness.
At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant
nagging and beating.

Since he was a
dedicated, hard worker who wanted only the best for himself and his family, Okonkwo had the same
expectation of his son:

Okonkwo wanted his son to be a
great farmer and a great man. He would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness
which he thought he already saw in him.

Okonkwo was very firm and told Nwoye:

I will not
have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. I would sooner strangle him
with my own hands. And if you stand staring at me like that," he swore, "Amadiora will
break your head for you!"

Whenwas placed in
Okonkwo's care, he and Nwoye built an almost inseparable relationship. Ikemefuna taught Nwoye
many new things and Okonkwo noticed a change in his son's attitude. In his eyes, Nwoye was
beginning to behave much more like a man, and this brought Okonkwo great pleasure.

Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son's development, and he knew
it was due to Ikemefuna. He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of
ruling his father's household when he was dead and gone to join the
ancestors.