Samantha Saldana

Period 4 Due: 4/3/19

English 10B

Nwoye Side
Have you found happiness in change? In the novel , “Things Fall Apart” by

Chinua Achebe, genre of the novel is historical fiction. We go through Okonkwo and his

take on the Ibo culture. We also learn about the beliefs and traditions in the Ibo culture.

A cultural collision in the novel was when the white men and the missionaries came.

Through the character of Nwoye , Achebe shows how being different in a culture , can

lead to you finding something that makes you, complete.

One way , that Achebe shows how being different, can lead you in finding

something that makes you happy , through the character of Nwoye. Is how Nwoye was

before the arrival of the missionary. A thing to prove this is in the novel , it says “Nwoye

had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest …

Then something had given way inside him. It descended on him again, this feeling,

when his father walked in that night after killing Ikemefuna”(Achebe page 61-62). This

shows how Nwoye felt different about both of these events, one being the killing , and

two being when the twins got thrown out. Also shows how other people , like Okonkwo

would judge his own son , like calling him lazy and weak. In conclusion , this shows how

nwoye was before the arrival of the missionaries.

 Another way , that Achebe shows how being different can lead to something that

makes you happy , through Nwoye. Is when , Nwoye was after the arrival of the

missionary. An example is when “Although Nwoye had been attracted to the faith from,

the very first day , he kept it secret. He dared to go too near the missionaries for fear of

his father ”(Achebe page 149). This shows the Nwoye wanted to go inside he was eagar

and drawn by the church. But also he would be scared to see what his father's reaction

would be. Later, through the novel ,we learn that Nwoye becomes Christian, as shown

“He would return later to his mother and his brothers and his sisters and convert them to

the new faith”.(Achebe page 152) This shows that Nwoye couldn't take it anymore, he

just wanted to embrace what he felt. Also Nwoye wanted to be free from all that his

father had done to him. In conclusion , this shows how Nwoye was after the arrival of

the missionaries.

Lastly , another way that Achebe shows being different can lead to something

that makes you happy , through Nwoye. Is how Nwoye’s response helps understand the

overall message of the novel. An example that is seen in the novel, “Nwoye did not fully

understand but he was happy to leave his father”(Achebe page 152). This shows how

Nwoye changed Okonkwo’s life, in a negative way. I say that because of how angry he

was at the end of it all. He even disowned Nwoye. But at the end of it all Nwoye was

free, free to do whatever he wanted to do. And also free from his father. In conclusion ,

this shows how Nwoye’s response helps understand the overall message of the text.
 In conclusion , Achebe shows how being different, can lead you to finding

something that makes you happy. Throughout the novel, we see how Nwoye felt before

the missionaries came. We also see how Nwoye felt after the arrival of the missionaries.

And lastly how Nwoye’s response helps the reader understand the message of the

novel. Overall, Achebe shows how being different can be a good way in finding

something that makes you happy.