Nwoye

653 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cultural conflict in Things fall apart

Since the beginning of Things Fall Apart, Nwoye is set apart from the rest. In spite of him being seen as a child, Nwoye overcomes the obscurity of his father's shadow. Throughout Things Fall Apart, Nwoye flourishes into his own being. Ikemefuna was a valuable role model to Nwoye and assisted him in growing into a young man. The missionaries brought new concepts for the people of Umuofia to face. The new faith and cultural collision became an escape from the norm of which Nwoye was used to. Nwoye found himself maturing and growing apart from Umuofia. People often follow the rules and traditions of their community because it’s all they’ve ever known. In Things Fall Apart, readers see Nwoye’s beliefs, as well as the beliefs of his community, altered.

Nwoye encapsulates an innocent child who is very sensitive to his surroundings and is baffled by the seemingly arbitrary cruelties being committed around him. Nwoye is the frequent object of his father’s criticism and remains emotionally unfulfilled. Ikemefuna comes to fill that void and Nwoye, in his adoration of his adoptive brother, begins to mirror him. Ikemefuna helps Nwoye grow and find his masculinity, which, in turn, helps Okonkwo shift to a gratitude toward his once rejected son. “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna.”, through this quote we are able to distinguish Okonkwo's feelings toward his son that were once belligerent, now exhibiting acceptance. This change availed Nwoye to feel connected to his father as he optically discerned a softer side to his arbitrary personality. When one meets a paramount person it can transmute their whole life, perspective and emotion.

Nwoye’s identity radically transitions at the mom...

... middle of paper ...

...d been covered so long by the trepidation of his father. This ultimately avails in the cultural collision between Umuofia and the Christians because the Christians has now taken one of Umuofia’s own and that is what this tribe works so strenuously against.

People often follow the rules and traditions of their community because it’s all they’ve ever known. In Things Fall Apart, readers see Nwoye’s beliefs, as well as the beliefs of his community, altered. Throughout the novel one would optically discern Nwoye grow and flourish as he embraces an incipient culture. Without the deplorable experiences Nwoye faced growing through adolescence, the outcomes would have been different. The experiences of the reader and things they may have faced, can transmute the outcomes in their life. One's perspective, thoughts and mindset can be altered forever with one simple action.

Show More
Related

  • Global Perspectives in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    When I read Things Fall Apart, I had a clear mind of what a life could be like Okonkwo’s. For the rest of the reading, a question was contacting me in different places of the novel. Okonkwo was an angry man in front of his Nigerian tribe and changed when Christian missionaries came to the Ibo village; also, I responded to the book, and my personal applications to a different culture were related to a missionary trip that was a powerful one back in 1956 in Ecuador.

    Read More

  • Nwoye Identity

    668 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    Things Fall Apart, a novel based on the cultures and the traditions of the Igbos depict a very strong sense of struggle between change and tradition. This story is somewhat an archetype of To Kill a Mocking Bird. Not just centered on sociopolitical views but also cultural and traditional beliefs, Achebe specifically defines each speck of this Eastern Nigerian culture, from the breaking of the “kola –a caffeine-containing nut of evergreen trees to the unmasking of the egwuegwu and spiritual sacrifices to the gods and ancestors. Kola, a very essential part of the Igbo culture is represented in so many ways; it signifies peace, blessing, wealth, abundance, and respect most especially. In this society, the contest for wealth, titles and success was very important, it was a great legacy to be left by any man. Okonkwo being the strongest and most powerful man in the village had more than set a standard in that village by conquering the greatest warrior of all time. He had a symbiotic relationship with his community, as much has he benefited from the community’s societal and cultural values, so did they benefit from his strength and will power to succeed.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    1112 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe highlights the many important historical events that happened during the period of colonialism, spread of religious fervor to Africa from Europe, and the importance of the native religion among African societies. Achebe shows that religion holds a major influence in many African societies and influences the daily life of the natives. Furthermore, the novel introduces a major event that happen during pre-colonial Africa, the spread of the Christian faith, which forever changed and affected the natives in Africa, more specifically the Igbo society located in Nigeria. Things Fall Apart vividly describes and explains how the Christian faith that arrived in Africa changed both the individuals in the Umoufia and society. To add on, the novel shows how the spread of Christianity ultimately leads to the destruction of the many native African cultures, and shows what redeeming qualities that arise from the destruction of their culture. Achebe describes how the Christian faith acts as a guide to the Igbo society and at the same time acts as the inevitable downfall of the Igbo society.

    Read More

  • Notion of Balance in Things Fall Apart by Achebe

    1625 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Cultural Change Explored in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Collapse In Fatherhood In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    1289 Words  | 3 Pages

    Analyzing this story, it can be perceived that Nwoye was estranged from the folklore and creed of the

    Read More

  • The Imposition of Colonialism on Africa

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Things Fall Apart, Achebe is able to express this embarkation with his division of the novel into two parts. The first part introduces Okonkwo along with his family’s beliefs and their origins, religions, etc. However, in the second part with the arrival of the Christian missionaries, the seeds of colonialism take root within the Ibo tribe and Okonkwo’s family, particularly in his son Nwoye. At the beginning, the missionaries are calm and peaceful. However, as time goes on they start to undergo their mission and start to denounce the Ibo’s gods as “false gods, gods of wood and stone.” At first, many are appalled and find their preaching laughable, but as they continue to thrive, people such as Nwoye begin to reach out. Because Nwoye is unable to forgive Okonkwo for his betrayal in killing his adopted brother, he converts to Christianity in an attempt to get back at his father for his crime. In addition, the missionaries’ hymn about brothers living in “darkness and fear,...

    Read More

  • How Does Nwoye Change In Things Fall Apart

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Essay on Okonkwo and Nwoye in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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).”

    Read More

  • Perspective in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    Perspective is used in Things Fall Apart to give high contrast to issues within the community, which brings out its inner complexity. When differences of opinion are highlighted, these differences show that internal pressure are causing the tribe to break down from within. Ikemefuna’s death is a point of stark disagreement among the Umuofians. Ezeudu tells Okonkwo, “I want you to have nothing to do with [Ikemefuna’s death]. He calls you his father” (57). Although Ezeudu warns Okonkwo about participating in the death of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo decides to kill Ikemefuna himself. Ezeudu’s oppinion that Okonkwo should not be involved with the boy’s death shows the reader a shade of the community that would not have been seen without highligh...

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Book Report- 11 Pages Long. I Got An A

    2728 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Nwoye Character Analysis

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Nwoye is Okonkwo’s eldest son who is a feminine in the eyes of his father while being a lackadaisical boy just like Unoka was during his lifetime. As a child, Nwoye was often criticized by his father for not being a manly person. Eventually, Ikemefuna comes to fill the void of a manly person and afterwards, Nwoye decided to emulate Ikemefuna as a way to show to his father that he is not a feminine but instead he is transitioning into a manly person. On the other hand after the murder of Ikemefuna, Nwoye decides to distance himself from his father and seems to lose the respect he once had towards his father. Without Ikemefuna’s influence, Nwoye decides to convert back to his gentle nature which basically leads to Okonkwo to view his son as a disappointment and feminine person. Later on in the novel, Nwoye decides to not forgive his father for his betrayal in killing Ikemefuna which ultimately leads to Nwoye to convert into Christianity as a way to show his father that he did a scandalous thing that would never be forgiven.

    Read More

  • Change And Tradition In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay on Brutalities of African Society in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart" (Achebe, 176). The village of Umuofia held to backward laws and values that "destroy innocent children" (Achebe, 146). The tribe's innocence had to die in order for those who survived to mature. Although Umuofia's peak of innocence may have been when Ikemefuna was handed over to the village, but its maturity would come through the death of Ikemefuna, the tribe's innocence, at the hands of those the tribe called "father." Things Fall Apart clearly illustrates the faults of the African system and way of life through "the series of catastrophes which end with his [Okonkwo's and Umuofia's] death" (Carroll).

    Read More

More about Nwoye

Open Document