Chapter Sixteen Summary

Obierika visited Okonkwo again, two years later. The white man had made his mark in Umuofia with the construction of a church and a few converts to Christianity. The clansmen did not believe that the new religion would last since most of the converts were lazy, unreliable men.

Obierika visited Okonkwo because he had found that Nwoye was one of the newest Christian converts. Okonkwo and Nwoye had had a falling out and did not wish to even speak of each other.

In Mbanta, the missionaries had arrived and created a stir among people. Everyone came out to see the white man. Through a translator, he had spread the word of Christianity and called their own traditions and religion worthless. This led to mirth and amusement from the listening audience.

The missionaries sang a gospel song in the local tongue, which enthralled some people. The missionary’s descriptions of Jesus and the Holy Trinity fell on deaf ears and most men walked away. Nwoye, however, was captivated by the poetry of this new religion. It reminded him of the atrocities of Igbo life—twin children thrown away and the tragic death of Ikemefuna and the hymns had the effect of calmness on him.

Chapter Sixteen Analysis

Mbanta and Umuofia register the first signs of Christianity and the white man. Okonkwo rejects the new religion but his son Nwoye converts and falls away from his family and his father.

In this chapter, the first cracks of things falling apart begin to appear.