Identity In Things Fall Apart

Within Ibo culture, masculinity was highly praised whilst femininity was scorned, and being a feminine man was one of the worst things you could be, especially in the eyes of Okonkwo. He perceived his father to be weak and womanly so he modeled his life after being the opposite of his father. And he forced this mindset onto his son as well. These toxic ideas of masculinity ultimately backfired, forcing Nwoye away from his father's culture. Nwoye's response to the missionaries and decision to join their church is a direct result of his father's unhealthy attitudes about how Nwoye should be and how he should act.

Change is a reoccurring theme throughout history. It destroys and creates. It displaces and introduces. It can cause death and life. The movement of imperialism in Africa brought great change to the native tribal life. Forcing the indigenous people to turn away from their century-old traditions caused violent rifts between the European settlers and the tribes, as well as internal problems between once amiable members of the Ibo culture. With the introduction of the foreign Western Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the tribe’s life and ideals are drastically altered as the new ethics and principles collide with the old traditions and laws, causing the members of the society to either adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. Achebe’s character, Okonkwo, was impacted immensely by the cultural collision, as his previous way of life was pulverized before his eyes, and he found no reason to live any longer.

Because of the lack of acceptance from his family, especially his father, he is forced to make a choice between his new culture, or his loved ones. He chooses to leave, and when ask by his father’s friend, obierka, Nwoye says [quote about Okonkwo not being his father]. Okonkwo doesn’t take it well either stating to his children [the thing about them being dead to him or something]. This action shows Nwoye’s willingness to value his new faith in Christianity over his own blood. His troubling past with his father and sense of belonging makes it easy for him to change his life for the better by leaving. The missionaries offer Nwoye a better alternative to the oppressive life he is living, which gives him peace of mind as he leaves his family behind. In the wake of Nwoye growing up and struggling to find himself, he managed to go through a cultural shift and completely change his identity. As some Ibo people also choose to convert also, the missionaries gain more and more power over the village. Things begin to fall apart for the Ibo clan as they are divided because of the forces within themselves. The village of Umuofia is ultimately destroyed because of the split between the people living there. Although Nwoye never felt quite in the right place before, he finds peace of mind in his new sense of self, and easily forgets his past to start a new and better

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe it is demonstrated how the Ibo culture slowly deteriorated from their own culture. The Western ideas influenced a different impact on certain characters, this also included characters like Okonwo and his son Nwoye. Many from the Ibo culture were confused by the merge of the European people slowly but subtly trying to enforce and covert their religion upon them. The books ending explained why the book was written in the first place, which was to “break the silence” that existed from the unheard side of the colonized people. The novel explained the impact Nwoye encountered with Western ideas was a clear and positive one. Nwoye felt like he resonated, was wanted, and more suited in the new culture

    The Ibo culture in Things Fall Apart began to experience colonization, all after Okonkwo was exiled. He was sent away for seven years for killing a clansman. As soon as Okonkwo had left, Umuofia was greeted by Christian missionaries. They were there to convert the villagers to Christianity, to build churches, schools, and hospitals for them. When Okonkwo was exiled, Nwoye snuck off to be among the Christians. He enjoyed being around them and examined their religious views. But, Okonkwo was not happy about Nwoye’s decisions. Okonkwo chokes him by the neck, and demands Nwoye to tell him where he has been. “I don’t know, he is not my father.” (Achebe 137) Being almost killed by his own father really encouraged Nwoye to disassociate himself from his father completely and to head back home to Umuofia. Nwoye was drawn to Christianity because it made him feel welcomed, rather than when he was apart of his native religion.

-After Nwoye is lured into the Christian religion and abandons his culture and family, Okonkwo is ashamed and states, "you have all see the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people" (172). Nwoye's father disowns him only because he chooses a path untraditional to his culture. The serious, frustrated, and unhappy mood that is created in Okonkwo's statement gives the reader an idea of how much the Ibo culture values tradition, choice, and family.

Nwoye Struggles with his identity and it has led him to embrace a new culture, which has Basically saved him, and shows the good effects colonialism can have on people.

One of the brothers they lost was the son of a very important hero, Nwoye. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Nwoye is very different than the other characters when responding the cultural collision. Nwoye embraced the cultural collision and wants to spread it. Nwoye's identity, experiences, and decision shapes the overall message of the novel that even though you are raised in a certain culture and religion, you can want different things.

Most people believe that absurdity is the only important role that is set in this novel, but others believe that racism plays an important role. None of the Arabs in the novel receive a name.

Nwoye is a character who is constantly being ripped down and torn apart, always questioning the Igbo traditions, leading him to leave his father and family benefiting himself and his future. In the early parts of the book Nwoye was constantly put second to Ikemefuna as shown when “[Okonkwo] went to big village meetings or communal ancestral feasts he allowed Ikemefuna to accompany him, like a son (29)” This was very unusual in the Igbo culture as typically the first born son would attend these things with their father not a child that was placed with a family to live with them. Nwoye was also the child to question why things were done the way they were, never making a fuss about it but breaking inside. He first feels this feeling during a

Okonkwo is furious about Nwoye joining the white man’s religion, but what he does not realize is the good that is coming out of Nwoye’s decision. Achebe went through the same things when he was younger and had to make a decision between his Igbo culture and Christianity. Similar to Nwoye, Achebe chose Christianity as well. As a result of Nwoye’s decision, it is clear that change can be a good thing and its effects must first be observed.

[Attention Grabbing Sentence] In the novel Things Fall Apart, Nwoye is the twelve year old son of Okonkwo and his first wife. Okonkwo expects a lot from him because he is his eldest son, but Nwoye does not impress his father. Okonkwo does not want Nwoye to become like his own father, Unoka, who was lazy and unsuccessful in his life. Though Okonkwo tries really hard to make Nwoye a strong and successful man, Nwoye gets enchanted by the Christian religion and converts to it. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Nwoye demonstrates the abandoning of the Ibo culture by liking womanly ideas, leaving his family, and defying the religion.

It was Okonkwo’s uncle, Uchendu. ‘Are you mad?’ Okonkwo did not answer. But he left hold of Nwoye, who walked away and never returned”(132). The scene ironically shows both guidance and destroying. Nwoye demonstrates confidence in his new Christian faith by not yelling back to his father and simply walking away to what he believes. Okonkwo, however, is driven insane by Christianity. Since Okonkwo does not believe the Christian faith, he does not want anyone else to join. When Nwoye does join, Okonkwo takes his anger out on him. Christianity both gives confidence to people and tears apart family units.

One of the biggest agendas of Achebe in writing this novel is to present the point of view of the tribal Africans. The presence of the Christian missionaries prove this point and Achebe recognized this problem and how it essentially wiped out the true culture and tradition of the Igbo. He wanted to display the real problems and lives of the Igbo society without any outside influence. Another important theme that is conveyed is that being too strict or ambitious with our children cautions us to behave with prudence as opposed to emotion. Throughout the book, Okonkwo lives by emotion and his only goal is to come off as a strong fighter. His strict attitude towards Nwoye only causes him to act against Okonkwo’s choice and join the Christian missionaries. Achebe shows that we should be flexible and raise our kids with judgement and leniency, because if we rule by emotion, it can lead to our downfall. (As seen in both Okonkwo and

Having an identity and more importantly finding your identity is very important when it comes to finding and achieving your purpose in life. It is very difficult to find your purpose when you don’t have a clear self identity. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines identity in this context as “the distinguishing character or personality of an individual”, and that perfectly represents what Nwoye experiences in the novel Things Fall Apart when the European missionaries come to Nigeria and start teaching the Ibo villagers about Jesus Christ and Christianity. Nwoye experiences a change in his religious identity because the missionaries words really get through to him, and he really understands what they are trying to teach. Identity is mentioned multiple times in Cosmopolitanism as Kwame Anthony Appiah puts an emphasis on finding your identity and having a specific identity to be able to help other people when they need it. Nwoye always thought that his purpose in life was to follow the faith of his fellow villagers, but once he heard the teachings of the Christian missionaries he realized his real purpose, and his religious identity, was to spread the word of Jesus Christ.