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Culture in which things fall apart
Culture in which things fall apart
Culture in which things fall apart
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Wade Davis quotes “ change is no threat to culture.” Yet this was not true for the novel Things fall apart nor was this true for Okonkwo the main character of the novel. Nwoye faced change when the new religion arrived in Mbanta. He seen no wrong in the missionaries beliefs so he followed them not knowing he was going to lose and give up a lot of things. In this essay I will analyze 3 main characteristics shown by Nwoye before and during the arrival of the missionaries. Before the missionaries came into the picture Nwoye was seen as weak and a resemblance of his grandfather ( who was seen to Okonkwo as a weak no good man.) He had no voice for himself he never seemed important through the novel just the idea that he was Okonkwo's son. He lived in fear of his father his whole life. He was beaten by his father which caused him to grow a great amount of hatred towards him. Also before the missionaries appeared Nwoye was known as Nwoye but soon they changed that too. …show more content…
there was a young lad who had been captivated his name was Nwoye Okonkwo’s first son.” This means that the first time Nwoye heard about the new religion something intrigued him and had gasped his full attention more than his born culture. Also the idea that Nwoye was not interested in the only 1 God idea but the poetry and hymns of the new religion. The words these missionaries spoke began to make Nwoye's mind race with questions and ideas like the death of Ikemefuna, and the twins buried in the evil forest and his all around
For members of the Ibo tribe, being submissive and respectful to your elders and culture is the only accepted way to live, yet the son of one of the greatest men in Umuofia seems to defy this ideal. Nwoye, the son of Okonkwo, one of the most majestic warriors and farmers in their small village, has never really been attracted to the manly nature and attitudes expected of him. Never being fond of blood and fighting and not wanting to participate in any of the hard work in the household has left Nwoye with a more feminine personality. Not only does he reject the ideas of the Ibo culture, he also accepts those of a white man and lives life like a Westerner. In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, Nwoye defies traditional Ibo values by emphasizing the importance of not killing Ikemefuna, highlighting the fact that it is acceptable to convert to Christianity, and not living up to be the manly hero his dad want him to be.
When the western missionaries first arrived in his Motherland, he was against their religion and presence in the clan, but his son, Nwoye, decided to ap...
…the missionary had immediately paid him a visit. He had just sent Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who was now called Isaac, to the new training college for teachers in Umuru. And he had hoped that Okonkwo would be happy to hear of it. But Okonkwo had driven him away with the threat that if he came into his compound again he would be carried out of it. (157)
His family was banished for their tribe and was sent way to Okonkwo’s mother lands tribe for a crime Okonkwo did not mean to commit but banished regardless. The missionaries show up and they begin to win some of the Ibo people with their new all-powerful God. Eventualy some missionaries show up to the tribe that they now reside in and tell the story of the father the son and the Holy Spirit. These stories did not captivate him but the hymns of peace and the acceptance of everyone into their church Is what amazed him. We see this at the end of chapter () that Nwoye has this idea “ “ pg.
Ex. Nwoye’s sense of identity made him think of becoming his true self. Nwoye started out in the novel as a normal ibo boy obeying his family and doing everything in the ibo culture, but the cultural collision of the British colonists and Ibo people affected him to the point of where he wanted to be just like them, abandoning his native customs. The reasons for his change in their sense of identity included him not wanting to be anything like his father. He saw how their religion was better than the ibo one, and he doesn’t fit in at home.The western people ideas and customs influenced Nwoye to become himself and let him feel free to do what he wants.
“On the following Sunday, Nwoye passed and repassed the little red-earth and thatch building without summoning enough courage to enter” (pg.150). Obierika saw Nwoye with the missionaries and asks Nwoye what he was doing with the missionaries, but Nwoye replied back to Obierika by saying “I am one of them” which basically shows that nwoye see’s the world at a different point of perspective. Actually, all the things that Okonkwo believed were right were wrong in the eyes of Nwoye after opening up to a different point of
Before British Colonization Nwoye was dedicated to his father Okonkwo until he killed Ikemefuna. Nwoye did everything Okonkwo asked of him because he was scared of the consequences he would suffer if he did not listen or respect Okonkwo. Once Okonkwo murdered Ikemefuna, Nwoye became afraid of him. Ikemefuna was the closest thing Nwoye had as a brother, taking that away from Nwoye made him lose respect for Okonkwo. “Then something had given way inside him. It descended on him again, this feeling, when his father
Analyzing this story, it can be perceived that Nwoye was estranged from the folklore and creed of the
William James, a famous American philosopher, once stated, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”. This quotation effectively illustrates how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives. This concept is clearly demonstrated throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, authored by Chinua Achebe, by establishing a connection through the development of its characters and the change in traditional African tribal villages seen in the Nineteenth Century. It will be established how various characters demonstrated by the author throughout the novel exemplify how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives addressed by William James’s quote above. First, by analyzing Achebe’s development of Okonkwo’s character through his initial character description and the emergence of outsiders, it is evident that he is portrayed as an old fashioned character that is less responsive to change. Secondly, through examining Nwoye’s character, Okonkwo’s son, it becomes apparent that the youth in the novel are more open-minded, easily persuadable and more adaptive to societal changes. Lastly, uncovering the meaning behind the arrival of European missionaries, it becomes apparent that Achebe defines this group as being a “disease”, poisoning the society in which Okonkwo lives. The author look’s at individuals as being critical and influential figures in shaping the environment to which they belong, beginning with Okonkwo.
When the missionaries arrived in Mbanta, the mother land of Okonkwo, they did not achieve their goal of convincing people at the first time. They talked about the new and only God and tried to persuade the Igbo that they had been worshipping the false Gods of wood and stone (145), but the Igbo only thought that they were mad, some even went away while the missionaries were speaking. However, the strangeness of those missionaries and the new religion somehow attracted the Igbo:
Nwoye – In the eyes of Okonkwo, his oldest son, Nwoye, is weak and lazy from an early age. He dislikes his father because he beats him so often to make him more masculine. After the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye becomes very depressed and later converts to the Christian faith, which makes Okonkwo disown him.
Unfortunately, everything is not perfect. His son, Nwoye, seems not to be showing the characteristics of a real man. He prefers to stay with his mother, listening to women's stories, than to listen to his father's tales of battle and victory. Later, when missionaries come to the tribe, Nwoye is attracted to their Christian religion because of its unqualified acceptance of everyone, much like a mother's unqualified love. Of this, Okonkwo r...
Nwoye could not apprehend the reasoning for the way the people of Umuofia listened to the Oracle without doubt or killed such innocent people. After his brother Ikemefuna's death Nwoye become troubled with “the twins crying in the bush” and the murder of innocent life just because a god said so(147). The use of the twins shows that Nwoye is starting to question his culture's way of life and why they obey their god with no resistance. Nwoye did not agree with the way he was expected to live and he found curiosity in this new religion the whites spoke of. Okonkwo was already displeased with Umuofia's choice to withhold war, despite him never being pleased with Nwoye this was the last straw .
Nwoye grows tired of his father and is called by the Christian faith and converts. Nwoye’s internal struggle with himself between change and tradition ultimately led him to convert against his father’s wishes. Okonkwo is extremely resistant to change, so he does everything in his power to prevent his family from converting; “‘If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck’” (Achebe 105). Okonkwo uses fear to keep his other children from the Igbo culture.
“But there was a young lad who had been captivated. His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. He did not understand it. It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. The hymn about brothers who sat in the darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul - the question of the twins crying in the bush and the questions of Ikemefuna who was killed. He felt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. The words panting earth. Nwoye’s callow mind was greatly puzzled (147).”