Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Human society is ever changing as a result of human interaction and cultural assimilation. Although such changes can produce new ideas and help advance human civilizations, rapid changes can also lead to collapse of some societies as conflicts between traditional and modern values appear. Chinua Achebe presents the issue of cultural clashing in Things Fall Apart, a fictional novel that revolves around the rise and fall of an Igbo man named Okonkwo. Tension rises between Okonkwo and his son Nwoye, as Nwoye begins to drift away from traditional Igbo practices. However, this tension is not confined to Okonkwo and Nwoye alone but is found universally between parents who hold steadfast to their traditional values and their children who adopt modern views. Children tend to look up to and emulate their parents, and Nwoye is no exception to this social phenomenon. Prior to exposure to Western culture, Nwoye wanted to be like Okonkwo, despite of Okonkwo’s abusive tendencies. Nwoye reveled in being seen as a male figure in the household, as

Furthermore, Okonkwo used Nwoye as an example of a weak person to his other sons, as stated, “‘If any one of you prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him” (Achebe, 172). Regardless of this hostility, Nwoye had no regrets on leaving his family and intended to convert his mother, sisters, and brothers to Christianity as well. Nwoye’s conversion was not without benefits, for he was sent to a Christian school to read and write and was also later sent to a Christian schools for teachers in Umuofia. Nwoye had embraced Western culture while Okonkwo refused to adapt to the cultural changes. At the conclusion of Things Fall Apart, Nwoye is no longer the child trying to be like his father but a maturing young adult with his own beliefs and