In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the Europeans creep into Africa and plant their own religion and government. Okonkwo states, “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” (20). The white men are very clever because they ask for what they can get and then they grow power based on their customs and their sweet tongue. Christianity is very appealing to the Umuofians for many reasons, including that it is compassionate in the sense that it welcomes everyone, and it defies the traditions of the Umuofians
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Many of Umuofia laughed at them and their foolish religion, but some couldn’t tear their eyes away. Achebe writes, “But there was a young lad who had been captivated. His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. He did not understand it. It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul – the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. He felt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth.” (16). Nwoye was captivated by the lovingness and the forgiveness of the strange new religion that kept him entranced. Everything that was wrong with the customs that he grew up with were righted in Christianity. If he had been raised a Christian, Ikemefuna would have been alive and the twins in the evil forest would also be alive and well. This loving philosophy captured some of the hearts of the Igbo people. Achebe describes, “The two outcasts shaved off their hair, and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. And what was more, nearly all the osy in Mbanta followed their example.” (18). Christianity once again challenged the customs of the Igbo people and saved the osu from a lifetime of sorrow. This act of saving and compassion is what gives strength to the religion of the missionaries. The defying of the Igbo customs and religion and the compassion and love of Christianity is what gives the religion its
Many of Umuofia laughed at them and their foolish religion, but some couldn’t tear their eyes away. Achebe writes, “But there was a young lad who had been captivated. His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo’s first son. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. He did not understand it. It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul – the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. He felt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. The words of the hymn were like the drops of frozen rain melting on the dry palate of the panting earth.” (16). Nwoye was captivated by the lovingness and the forgiveness of the strange new religion that kept him entranced. Everything that was wrong with the customs that he grew up with were righted in Christianity. If he had been raised a Christian, Ikemefuna would have been alive and the twins in the evil forest would also be alive and well. This loving philosophy captured some of the hearts of the Igbo people. Achebe describes, “The two outcasts shaved off their hair, and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith. And what was more, nearly all the osy in Mbanta followed their example.” (18). Christianity once again challenged the customs of the Igbo people and saved the osu from a lifetime of sorrow. This act of saving and compassion is what gives strength to the religion of the missionaries. The defying of the Igbo customs and religion and the compassion and love of Christianity is what gives the religion its