How Was Nwoye’s Christian Name, Isaac Significant in His Conversion to Christianity, and His Relationship with Okonkwo?

How was Nwoye’s Christian name, Isaac significant in his conversion to Christianity, and his relationship with Okonkwo?

The name Isaac comes from the old testament story of Abraham and his son, Isaac. God told Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Abraham and Isaac set off on the 50 mile journey with two servants and a donkey. When they arrived, Abraham ordered the servants to wait with the Donkey while he and Isaac went up the mountain, he told them, “We will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Isaac asked his father where the lamb to sacrifice was, Abraham answered that God would provide them with a lamb. Saddened and confused, Abraham bound Isaac with ropes and placed him on the stone altar. As Abraham drew the knife to slay his son, the Angel of the Lord called out to Isaac to tell him to stop and not harm the boy. When Abraham looked up, he spotted a ram caught in a thicket by it’s thorns, he chose to sacrifice the animal instead of his son.

The role that Isaac plays in the Old Testament story is similar to the role that Nwoye played in the conversion to Christianity. As soon as the missionaries came to Umuofia to introduce the religion of Christianity to the clan, it was obvious that Nwoye “had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day,” and he was planning on converting. Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity was one of the first conversions of many and in this sense, it was similar to Isaac’s role in the Old Testament story as Isaac was one of the first people born to a new clan. So, in regards to ‘Things fall apart,’ Christianity is a new clan and Nwoye was born into it, thus the change of his name. When Okonkwo returned from the killing of Ikemefuna, Nwoye immediately new what happened and “he felt a snapping inside him that he has only felt once before,” the other time he felt it was when he heard abandoned twins crying in the Evil Forest. When Nwoye heard “the poetry of the new religion,” he felt captivated, “the hymn about brothers who sat in darkness,” made him question Ikemefuna and the twins that were crying in the bush. After hearing it, he felt that he had an obligation to take care of all twins that would be thrown into the forest. This is the same as Isaac, as he was the father of Jacob and Esau and he felt that he had a responsibility to take care of the twins after they were struggling in the womb of their mother.

Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity is seen as an act of rebellion against Okonkwo. Nwoye “dared not to go near the missionaries for fear of his father”, Nwoye knew that Okonkwo would not approve of his decision to convert to Christianity, but Nwoye was so in love with the idea that he rebelled and still did. When Okonkwo’s cousin, Amikwu, was passing by the church on his way from the neighbouring village, “he saw Nwoye among the Christians”, he went straight to Okonkwo’s hut to tell him what he saw. When Okonkwo finds out, he is greatly angered and resorts to choking Nwoye, as well as, beating him. After this, Nwoye left his father and decided to go to Umuofia, “where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write.” Although, he promised to return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters, so that he could convert them as well. Even though Okonkwo abused Nwoye due to the fact of his conversion, Nwoye did not stop and he even brings his other family in, showing that he is rebelling against his father and not stopping to think twice about what he thinks. Also, in connection to the story of Abraham and Isaac, there is a sense that Nwoye is refusing to be sacrificed by Okonkwo. Abraham was just being tested by God, but in order to prove himself he had to be ready to kill his first born, and the fleeing of Nwoye is suggesting that he won’t stay to allow his father to sacrifice him.