Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe - 969 Words

Joziah Dietrich Hour 4 Jonas 12/8/2015 My Way or No Way An intelligent motivational speaker, Peter Senge, once said People don t resist change. They resist being changed! As we go on in life, we come across two types of individuals, ones who see the chance to better themselves by making important changes, and ones who think there is no need for change due to the belief that everything about them is perfect. In the two books, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff, the characters Okonkwo, Nwoye, and Pooh all illustrate the effects of accepting and or resisting change. In Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, the character Okonkwo shows the negative outcome of resisting change. Due to a rough†¦show more content†¦Okonkwo continued to reject the ways of his father to the point where his â€Å"whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness† (16). Okonkwo’s fear is what drove him to stay away from change and establish the ultimate goal of showing no resemb lance of his failure of a father. He showed great success by completing the goal and proving to the community that he was an entirely different individual. Although, his success quickly ended when he became close-minded when things didn t go the ways he wanted them to, leading to the downfall of his community. After the return from his 7 year exile, Okonkwo learned the missionaries changed all the people of his home town. â€Å"The clan had undergone such a profound change†(182) that they were barely recognizable, and as a result â€Å"he mourned for his clan†(183) because they had changed so much to the point where they seemed to be â€Å"soft women†(183). Okonkwo could not cope with such a drastic change, for change is what he was trying to stay away from. He had become a disgrace to his community, just like his father, who he refused to be like. By resisting change, Okonkwo lost the respect of his own father and the community that he thought were his people. The fear of change imposed great stress on himself over time, which lead to a breaking point and the taking of his own life. The refusal to change in little ways and accept different ideas is