Things Fall Apart Change

“Change before you’re forced to change” (Goodell). The historical novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe revolves around Okonkwo and his struggles with adapting to the new cultural collision that is presented to his village with the arrival of the colonist. The novel starts off by explaining the daily life of Okonkwo and his village prior to his exile and eventually leads into his accidental murder of a clansman which results in his exile. As the novel progresses, colonists arrive in Okonkwo’s village and change the culture there to their own, much to the dissatisfaction of Okonkwo; however, he attempts to stop the colonists by killing one of them only to create more trouble for his clan and ends up taking his own life. Numerous characters in the Things Fall Apart experience a change in character as the novel progresses, specifically Nwoye. At the beginning of the novel, Nwoye is perceived as a disappointment to his father for lacking the masculine qualities of a man and these expectations eventually lead his character to change as the novel progresses. Towards the end, Nwoye converts to Christianity much to the displeasure of his father and leaves his village to study their culture. Through thorough examination of Nwoye’s development throughout the novel, Achebe develops the theme that one should live life the way he or she desires and not what
Towards the beginning of the novel, Nwoye is fearful of changing himself and not being able to live up to his father’s expectations; however, as the story progresses, Nwoye comes to terms that he is his own man and lives his life the way he wants to, much to the reluctance of his father. As a result, he converts to Christianity which he views as a positive choice to him since he is now free from his father’s