They are rocked by a hand of fear, not motherly nurturance. They are obsessed by their fears, of becoming like his father in the case of Okonkwo and of not becoming like his father in Nwoye's instance. However, Nwyoe, because of the cultural and political shifts endured by his native land, has another framework of self-definition that his father lacks -- the availability of another culture, namely that of the Christian missionaries who have come to the country. To find a new identity, Nwyoe literally as well as metaphorically slouches towards Bethlehem. Within the foreign doctrine of Christianity Nwoye finds a prop for his sense of self against which his father's African nationalism and masculinity ultimately proves to be powerless. Through the weakness advocated by Christianity (a false weakness, given the overarching ambitions of the missionaries to convert all African natives) Nwoye finally finds strength that his father's worldview...

He slouches towards Bethlehem, looking for guidance and hoping for a rebirth of spirit, and a spiritual death of his oppressive father. Nwoye's hour has truly come 'round at last, but it is a kind of a hollow victory, because he must cast off his birthright, and also adopts the ways and customs of people who regard his religion as inferior. This is why "slouching" is such an appropriate verb for Nwoye's manner because he does not engage in acts of active resistance; instead he prefers the passive resistance of conversion. To resist his father's rule, he slouches, or hides to find his true place in life within the creed of another culture, instead of standing tall and attempting to contest his father's rule.