Who Is Nwoye In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe features the character Nwoye, the son of one of the strongest and most powerful men in the village, Okonkwo. Okonkwo is scared of failure because that is what his father became, so he is incredibly harsh on Nwoye. When the western men invade, Nwoye is torn between two worlds: converting to Christianity where he can start a new life, orstaying loyal to his family and village. Nwyoe ultimately makes the choice to go against his father. Due to the arrival of western culture, Nwoye leaves his family, converts to Christianity, and changes his name.

Once Nwoye took his place his place with the missionaries his whole life changes in huge ways. Nwoye has threw aside his old culture and religion to invite this new and prosperous culture into his life that will change it in a good way. When Okonkwo returned to Umuofia, Mr. Brown tells Okonkwo that “ He had just sent Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who was now called Isaac, to a new training college for teachers in Umuru”(170).This shows change in Nwoye because he has now left his clan and his hometown to go to a training college in Umuru. As well as his name being changed from Nwoye to Isaac. Everything around Nwoye is changing as well. When Mr. Brown starts getting more people to join the missionaries before Nwoye left for college. The narrator says

9. “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth.”

“They have meetings every Sunday and I saw Nwoye at one of them.” Obierika waited Okonkwo’s response but Okonkwo said nothing. He told his friend, he did not wish to speak about Nwoye as he had disowned him. Obierika nodded his head like a rocking chair in agreement to let Okonkwo know that he understood. The day had come and gone but Okonkwo still refused to speak about Nwoye. Just then, Nwoye walked into his father’s compound with fear

I would describe Nwoye as a very curious and sensitive character. Not everyone is proud of the man Nwoye had become, for example Okonkwo. “ Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness.”(13/2). Based on his father's observation you can come to a conclusion that Nwoye was very lazy starting at a young age. As you can see Okonkwo was fairly disappointed on the person Nwoye had turned out to be. Okonkwo and Nwoye never had a great relationship and sums up Nwoye as very naive having none of Okonkwo's traits. “What are you doing here?” Obierika had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries had allowed him to speak to the boy. “I am one of them”, replied Nwoye.”(144/2). Nwoye

Because Okonkwo was never too fond of Nwoye, as he was towards his daughter Enzima or even Ikemefuna a non related child, Nwoye didn’t gain a father son relationship. Nwoye, as a child, knew his fathers tributes and character so tried to not to anger him. This included listening to explicit stories depicting death and violence even though he preferred his mothers stories about animals learning morals. As the time went by Nwoye started becoming more distant with his father. Finally, when the European starting practicing and trying to convert their religion to the Ibo, Nwoye felt something awaken and mesmerizing about them. It was depicted by stating, “He did not understand it. It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. The hymn about brothers

-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.

In the book “Things Fall Apart”, one of the main characters Nwoye is verbally and emotionally abused by his father so he doesn’t end up like his father. Okonkwo (Nwoye’s father) believes that he is very sensitive and effeminate, and he doesn’t want his son to be like that. Nwoye is basically an innocent child who is hated on because of his interests and how he acts. Nwoye gets an adopted little brother eventually and he tries to put away his “womanly” side so he can be a good role model to him, but he is unjustly murder by his father which makes Nwoye hate him even more, because he got rid of something he cared and loved greatly. After that Nwoye turns to Christianity to get back at his father.

And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth” (Achebe 1). This excerpt for Things Fall Apart shows that Nwoye does not feel at place with his family and his culture because he feels pessimistic and frightened towards his father. Nwoye constantly received these acts of hatred and violence from Okonkwo which derived him away from the Ibo culture and transformed Nwoye to be seen as an agbala, or a worthless man with a soft inside, because he did not pursue the culture of being a man. Nwoye realized that he was not the image his father pictured him to be and he “knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother use to tell” (Achebe 22). This realization of Nwoye illustrates the process that before the invasion of the Western Culture Nwoye felt out of place due to the lack

This story maintained a constant theme of conflict. Nwoye, lives in perpetual fear of his father. Okonkwo constantly chastises his son and finds a fault with everything he

Things Fall Apart. The son of Okonkwo, Nwoye is different in personality, tendencies, and personal beliefs from his father and from the village in many ways. These differences lead

Nwoye is Okonkwo’s first son and serves as a contrast to the manliness his father exemplifies. Nwoye’s like for the feminine, in particular the stories his mother

Nwoye is Okonkwo’s eldest son who Okonkwo considers unforgivably emasculate and very much like his father, Unoka. As a child, Nwoye usually receives the brunt of his father’s criticism and remains feeling unwanted. Eventually, Ikemefuna comes to fill that void and Nwoye, in his adoration of his adoptive brother, begins to takes after him. Also In a take strange way, Ikemefuna fills the role of both father and brother for Nwoye, providing him with a peer to share his thoughts and a person to look up to. As Ikemefuna rubs off on Nwoye, Okonkwo begins to find more favor with both of the boys. As a result , the three begin to form an unbreakable bond, or so they thought.

The relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye is very stressful and bitter as Okonkwo has very high expectation for his eldest son. Hence Okonkwo always “sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating” when he was irritated

The result of all the constant pounding and treatment to Nwoye began to make him want to revolt away from Okonkwo. Towards the end of the book Nwoye has had enough and leaves his father: “ Nwoye did not fully understand. But he was happy to leave his father”(Achebe 152). The constant physical and mental abuse and trying to hard to make Nwoye successful pushed him over the