Courage In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Nwoye’s unavoidable decision of converting cultures was lead by his search for acceptance and in hopes of escaping his immoral religion and Okonkwo’s high expectations for him as a man. Okonkwo is not satisfied with Nwoye’s sensitive and slothful personality After Ikemefuna’s unjustified death, Nwoye loses respect for Okonkwo and puts an emotional barrier between them.

“{Ikemefuna} had become wholly absorbed into his new family. He was like an elder brother to Nwoye, and from the very first seemed to have kindled a new fire in the younger boy. He made him feel grown-up, and they no longer spent the evenings in his mother's hut while she cooked, but now sat with Okonkwo in his obi, or watched him as he tapped his palm tree for the evening wine. Nothing pleased Nwoye now more than to be sent for by his mother or another of his father's wives to do one of those difficult and masculine tasks in the home, like splitting wood, or pounding food. On receiving such a message through a younger brother or sister, Nwoye would feign annoyance and grumble aloud about women and their troubles.” [38] Before Ikemefuna came into their lives, Nwoye didn’t talk to his father very much, while he usually spent most of his time helping his mother in the kitchens. He was also a very emotional and ‘weak’ little boy. “Later in the day {Okonkwo} called Ikemefuna and told him that he was to be taken home the next day. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears, whereupon his father beat him heavily.” [41] “...Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down… As soon as his father walked in, that night, Nwoye knew that Ikemefuna had been killed, and something seemed to give way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow. He did

Okonkwo also tries to show himself as an unsympathetic character to show that he is not a weak man, like his father, Unoka. (Being a weak man is a very degrading quality for the culture of Umofia.) An example of Okonkwo’s unsympathetic personality is Ikemefuna’s death. Although Okonkwo treasured the presence of the adopted buy, Ikemefuna, Okonkwo contributes the last and fatal blow to Ikemefuna, causing him to die in the Evil Forest. Okonkwo, regardless of his love for the boy, killed Ikemefuna ultimately to prove his manliness and strength to the tribe, a valued aspect of the culture. “Okonkwo’s machete descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his uniformed body.” (Achebe 146) Okonkwo is also very unsympathetic in regards to his father, Unoka. Unoka was a poor man who was always in debt; he had an interest in music and enjoyed talking.

As for Rosa Parks, she was an African American woman who wanted to make a change during segregation in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950’s and 1960’s. She became determined to make sure that all African Americans had their inalienable rights. Rosa Parks challenged the beliefs of the people in Montgomery on segregation. She wanted everyone to be happy, do as they please, and what they were destined to do. Rosa Parks family knew the dangers and risk of fighting for segregation would bring. They were concerned for her safety. Rosa Parks knew the risks as well, but she still went out to fight for this injustice against African Americans. She could’ve had just given up and became another victim to the segregation and Jim Crow laws, but instead, she took the route of courage and heroism to fight for the rights of African Americans. Her action created inspiration among people to fight for equality and be brave when one does

     Just as Okonkwo did not want to be like his father, Nwoye did not want to be like Okonkwo. Nwoye possessed traits that Okonkwo did not such as gentleness, forgiveness, and acceptance. Okonkwo saw these as signs of weakness. "Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength" (Achebe 28). Okonkwo considered Nwoye to be lazy and wanted him to be a success like himself. "Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and a great man. . . . I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands" (Achebe 33). This is an example of the difference in personal beliefs among family.

Nwoye believed these men; Nwoye abandoned his father for a new life, a new religion. “Although Nwoye had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day, he kept it secret. He dared not go too near the missionaries for fear of his father. But whenever they came to preach in the open marketplace or the village playground, Nwoye was there.” (Pg.112 TFA) Okonkwo feared the white men, because he feared Nwoye would become a Christian, ultimately losing his son. During the speech in chapter 24, Okonkwo’s last straw had been drawn; “In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwo's machete descended twice and the man's head lay beside his uniformed body.” Fear had destroyed Okonkwo so much he killed a man out of nowhere, and later on in the book he committed suicide.

This is a story of rage and fear mixed with cutting-edge wisdom, self-introspection, and self-destruction. After the death of Ikemefuna, his adopted son, Nwoye, his biological son has taken the way of the invader's religion, abandoning his tribe.

-When Okonkwo and the other detainees return from the prison, the narrator describes the scene: "they walked silently...the village was astir in a silent, suppressed way" (199). Achebe delineates the discontent of the Africans through their silent, and to a point, negative emotions. Although the prisoners returned from the prison, Achebe tries to show that a transition between cultures caused high tensions too precarious to be expressed.

An archetype in literature expresses “a realm of human experience in many myths and fantasy stories” that can go deeper than “any rational or intellectual thinking” (Gillespie). The archetype of the monomyth, or “The Hero’s Journey” first originated from a mythological researcher named Joseph Campbell. The monomyth consists of “several basic stages that almost every hero-quest goes through, no matter what culture the myth is a part of” (Hamby). The Hero’s journey is vaguely apparent in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, which depicts the African clan leader, Okonkwo, as the archetypal hero. Achebe reveals throughout the novel that Okonkwo’s ability to

Initially, Nwoye is attracted to the idea of Christianity, but is hesitant to convert for fear that his father will hate him even more. Nwoye does not know why yet, but there is something about this new religion that he likes. “But there was a young lad who had been captivated. His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo's first son.” He, along with many others in the tribe were drawn towards this new religion. The preachings of the missionaries cause Nwoye to start thinking about his situation, and he begins to realize that the Ibo culture is not for him. Although he his drawn to Christianity, he is scared to be seen with the missionaries. He knows that his father is very proud of his culture, and that he will be furious if he sees Nwoye with them. “Although Nwoye had been attracted

Rosa Parks was an African American, female civil rights activist. She was known as the woman who refused to give up her seat to a white person and mother of the civil rights movement. Her act of disobedience of giving up her seat because she disapproved of the way colored people were treated on public transportation caused her to get arrested, but her action did not go unnoticed. The thing that made the event more surprising was she was female. In the past many females did not have rights, therefore for a woman refusing to disobey the law was shocking. Rosa Parks stood up for what she believed in stating, “Rosa recalled that her refusal wasn't because she was physically tired, but that she was tired of giving in.” She was tired of being treated

Nwoye was born to a very devote Igbo man. When the Christian missionaries arrived in Umofia, Nwoye was very keen to listen to what they had to say. Nwoye was very happy with the missionaries message, the new religion, Christianity, seemed to answer all of Nwoye’s questions of life. The most special part of the missionary’s message to Nwoye though, was the poetry of the religion. “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.” Nwoye, also mirroring Achebe, changes him name from the Igbo name “Nwoye” to his Christian name

Okonkwo’s participation in the slaying of his adopted son, Ikemefuna is a pivotal moment in Things Fall Apart. It is a moment of horror that cannot please Ani, the great earth goddess, the center of community, the ultimate judge of morality for the clan. It is a moment that changes the course of events, a moment eerily paralleled in the death of Ezeudu’s son. It is a moment that ultimately causes Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye’s to abandon his ancestors and become a Christian. It is a moment when the center of community life, the need to honor blood ties and the need to respect the earth goddess, can no longer hold. It is a moment when things fall apart.

Ikemefuna is very well-liked by Okonkwo and his family, and becomes a mentor and best friend to Nwoye. Okonkwo feels dismay that Nwoye is taking on the torpid characteristics of his grandfather, Unoka, and is quite pleased that Nwoye is thriving and maturing under Ikemefuna’s guidance. “Okonkwo was inwardly pleased at his son’s development, and he knew it was due to Ikemefuna” (Achebe, 1958, p. 52, para. 2). Okonkwo’s pride, and fear of demonstrating any perceived sign of weakness, does not allow him to show any favorable emotion to Ikemefuna; he treats him with the same severity he does the rest of his family. “Even Okonkwo himself

They must choose among resisting or embracing the change. However, they face the dilemma of trying to determine how best they can adopt to the reality of this change. Many of the villagers are excited about the new opportunities and techniques that the missionaries bring. This European influence, however, threatens to extinguish the need for the mastery of traditional methods of farming, harvesting, building, and cooking. These traditional methods, once crucial for survival, are now, to varying degrees, dispensable. Throughout the novel, Achebe shows how dependant such traditions are on storytelling and language and thus how quickly the abandonment of the Igbo language for English could lead to the eradication of these