Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart - 2050 Words

What would you do if Christianity came and took over your world? In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, describes a man who was affected by Christianity which not only destroyed him but also his family and his tribe. Okonkwo is the main character who faces the demise of his world when the missionaries came in and took over his world. Okonkwo is a very independent, impatient African leader and is affected by Christianity, impacting the way he is accepted back into Umofia or the way he lives. Achebe s description of life in the village after colonization, helps to create a setting that condemns colonization. In the Caryl Phillips interview, Achebe believes that â€Å"Conrad is for the colonizing mission, and he concedes that the novel, in part,†¦show more content†¦His father, Unoka lacked judgement and Okonkwo did not like the way his father was. Unoka never knew which direction to go in and was therefore always changing which way to go. Okonkwo does not take kind to this ne w religion and whoever takes up this new religion is considered weak to Okonkwo. With this new religion taking over Okonkwo’s life, he is deeply affected by Christianity when it takes over his son. One part of Okonkwo’s hatred of Christianity was when Nwoye’s decision to convert to this new religion. Okonkwo was already disbelieving of Christianity and didn’t approve of its practices or gods. With seeing his son becoming part of this new religion and him doing the unusual practices was the breaking point for Okonkwo. With Okonkwo knowing that his son has always been different especially from people in the village, Okonkwo belived that his son was very similar to his father Unoka. As Okonkwo considered this, they are similar because they are both weak. This frights Okonkwo, and he prefers it when Nwoye will try to act normal. When Nwoye was interested in the new religion he was scared â€Å"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† (Achebe 149). This was the start of Okonkwo’s life turning upside down even know he did not know about wha t Nwoye was