Things Fall Apart Nwoye's Decisions

In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, Nwoye battles an internal conflict of whether to stay on his tribe’s side, or to go against them. Nwoye ultimately resolves this conflict by choosing to follow the British instead of his father; however, this choice also illustrates his true character as both timid and bold. Nwoye’s decision to following the British also reveals the universal theme that you can settle on a path that you choose instead of following a path you were designated to follow.

Nwoye struggles to choose which path to take, his father’s or the British. “The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta” (Achebe,144). This proves that not only Nwoye was struggling, but the people in Mbanta also struggled as well on whether to take the British side. The people of Mbanta were at first uneasy when the British came. The British have let out their beliefs to the Igbo tribe, which is why many people hesitated to agree or not. “Okonkwo, who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them” (Achebe,146). In other words, Okonkwo disliked the British greatly. He did not like the way they thought or what they

“I am one of them,” replied Nwoye”(Achebe,144). Nwoye clearly sided with the British, and left behind the beliefs of the Igbo. Nwoye chose the British’s side because he truly related to that side instead of his father’s. He decided to take a different path from his fathers to follow what he believes in. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, chapter 16 shows when Nwoye determined his decision on which side to take. In the end, Nwoye betrayed his father because he wanted to follow his own judgement. Even though his father highly disagreed on this decision, Nwoye still chose the