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Nwoye And Change In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

832 Words4 Pages

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story about colonials bringing Christianity and colonizing the people of Niger also known as the Ibo. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, is a confused child that is trying to find his way while battling the effects of two cultures. His own culture is full gods and customs, that to a Christian is utterly unethical and wrong. Nwoye realizes this and decides to join the Christians, but at a high cost. Furthermore, Achebe uses Nwoye to display how he changes as a character through his actions, how western culture clashes with Ibo culture, and theme. Nwoye is a kind and sensitive person, Okonkwo is the opposite. Therefore, Okonkwo does not like to see any ounce of kindness or sensitivity in anyone. One day in his hut he said that, “Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.” (Achebe 147) Okonkwo is disappointed in his son for being sensitive to people’s feelings. This emotional side of Nwoye causes him to be beaten and eventually leading to him snapping and making major life decisions. Nwoye, did not agree the Ibo culture. It is a superstition in their culture that having twins is evil. So, to …show more content…

One instance of this theme is the clashing of the two cultures. The Ibo people did not like the change that was happening around them with Okonkwo strangling his son for being around the Christians. One example that change should happen is when Nwoye saw two twins being thrown into pots and buried in the forest. To the reader this is not something that is ethically right. In addition, another sign that change should happen is when the reader finds that the Oracle gave the order that had Ikemefuna killed. She executed this act because she had a vision from the drugs she was using. This leads the reader to be confused as to why someone would believe something like this. The theme of change is a big part of this novel, and in terms of how Nwoye portrays this change shows that the transformation is morally

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