Theme Of Culture In Things Fall Apart

Culture: Behaviors, beliefs, and customs that a particular society has. Culture plays a big part in people as a whole, all the way down to their lifestyle and decision making. All cultures around the world are distinct from one another, considering that they contain different ideas and belief systems based off of what they believe best fits their way of life. When two vastly different communities of people come into contact with each other, depending on each of their perceptions, they will not have a full understanding of each other. In Things Fall Apart, Nwoye came out of his father’s shadow, started making his own decisions, and began to find himself due to the introduction of Western ideas.

In the story, Okonkwo, Nwoye’s father, is very

“Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy – inwardly of course…there was no doubt that he liked the boy. Sometimes when he went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son, carrying his stool and his goatskin bag. And, indeed, Ikemefuna called him father”(4.7). It’s not clear as to why Okonkwo would take Nwoye’s only pride and joy away. This shows how selfish he is, he only cared about reputation and status rather than how someone felt. This grew their father son relationship downwards. Nwoye knew the consequences of combining with the newly arrived “white man”. He was aware of how unstable their relationship was and by him converting, Okonkwo probably wouldn’t even claim him as his son. Nwoye was standing up as a real man and by this time of the plot he didn’t care what anyone thought. He wanted to explore and learn new ways on his own. “I am one of them,” replied Nwoye.“How is your father?” Obierika asked, not knowing what else to say.“I don’t know. He is not my father,” said Nwoye, unhappily”(16). Nwoye didn’t want to be associated with any negative energy, and that meant not associating with his father or his culture 's ways. The Igbo culture was harsh and a lot of deathly punishment went into it. Nwoye didn’t fit in from the beginning, he was more of a peaceful soul who was never out to kill or do harm. If Nwoye kept abiding by the laws, he wouldn’t be presenting the “Real