In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe sets the story in a Nigerian village called Umuofia. Achebe splits the book into three parts, where he explains how the Igbo people had lived when they ruled themselves and how their village began to change after the white missionaries arrived to take over. The main character in the novel is Okonkwo, a very successful man who represents how the marginalized people felt with the arrival of the white men. He represents those who did not desire to adapt to a new culture and betray their ancestral beliefs. Achebe represents the Igbo people as peaceful, united and strong cultural believers in order to contrast the way others have made them to be. Achebe represented the Igbo people as peaceful and united. …show more content…
Further into the story during the Week of Peace, Okonkwo had broken that peace. As a result, a fellow clansman told him, “The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase, and we shall all perish” (Achebe 30). In a similar case, Okonkwo once again committed an action that could have angered a goddess. He accidentally killed a clansman during a funeral where “if the clan did not exact punishment for an offense against the great goddess, her wrath was loosed on all the land and not just on the offender” (Achebe 125). When Okonkwo broke the Week of Peace, the blame did not just go on Okonkwo if they were punished. The blame went for everyone. The same went for when he killed a clansman. Thus, showing how …show more content…
They are a group of people who are really into their culture, traditions, folklore stories and beliefs that began many generations ago.They take it seriously. The importance of some of their customs are seen throughout the book. For example, a family tradition is seen throughout the men and their sons. In Okonkwo’s case, he dedicates his time to make his son Nwoye stronger and master the farming skills needed to inherit his farm. It is a tradition for the children to inherit what their fathers had built up during their lives. Another example displaying their strong cultural beliefs is through Okonkwo’s daughter. Okonkwo’s daughter had, as the Igbo believed, been taken over by evil spirits. Since everyone believed in evil spirits, they destroyed a stone which linked her with the evil world. Everyone watched. When the people saw it, “everyone knew then that she would live bc her bond with the world of ogbanje had been broken” (Achebe
...side made him suffer. He did it to himself. If he wasn't so caught up on the idea that if you weren't violent and brave then you were a woman, perhaps he would still be alive at the end of the novel. He takes his own life because he realizes everything he has done to be that powerful leader he has always wanted to be was a waste. When he comes back from exile, everything is different. He realizes that the people in the village don't need him. They are content with change and adapting to a new way of life, unlike himself. They don't want to go to war and have bloody battles like he does. Okonkwo realized his village was able to survive without him. By Okonkwo taking his own life, he proved his misery and the idea of him being truly weak at heart was affirmed.
Very early on, Okonkwo disagrees with many of his culture's most important values. These are held sacred in his clan, and have been practiced generations before him. The clan practices these values because they are tributes to the gods and goddesses. They are practiced as signs of respect for these deities in order to not make them angry. Achebe emphasizes the importance of being respectful, "a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness" (Achebe 19). If a man shows respect, the clan will commend him for it and he too will one day be great. One of these values is the Week of Peace. The Week of Peace occurs during the carefree season between the harvest and the planting of the yams. During this week, every clansman is obligated to remain peaceful with one another. No one may fight each other, and husbands may not beat their wives or their children. If the peace is broken during this sacred week, the offender must face severe punishment. They are considered an abomination to the earth goddess and cannot escape her wrath. Another unique value arises when a prominent member of the clan is murdered by a member of a neighboring clan. To atone for this crime, the family of the murderer must give up its son, Ikemefuna, to Okonkwo's clan as a sacrifice. The boy is taken from his family, and sent to live with Okonkwo in his village. There, he lives in Okonkwo's compound for many years and becomes a part of the family.
Okonkwo is often described as being similar to characters in Greek tragedies. Okonkwo knew that the end of his clan was coming, and that they would do nothing to prevent it from happening. He took his life out of desperation. He had struggled his whole life to become a respected member of his community, and suddenly his world is turned upside down and changed forever because of an accident. Okonkwo sees that he is fighting a losing battle, so he quits. Suicide was one of the biggest offenses that could be committed against the earth, and Okonkwo?s own clansmen could not bury him. Okonkwo?s death symbolizes the end of patriarchy in Umuofia. The last page of the book is from the point of view of the white Commissioner, who notes that he wants to include a paragraph on Okonkwo?s life in his book entitled The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of Lower Niger. Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs and defeats are all reduced to a paragraph, much like his culture and society will be reduced.
The understanding of gender roles, by Okonkwo as well as the clan as a whole, presents the first, and most recurring, conflict between perspectives. Okonkwo, keeping with the tradition of a patriarchal society, views women as inferior. Often wishing that his daughter, Ezinma, “should have been a boy” (64). This wish reflects a practice, consistent by both Okonkwo and his clan, of devaluing women’s experiences and importance to the society. However, the level of this devaluation becomes unclear through the dialogue an...
William James, a famous American philosopher, once stated, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”. This quotation effectively illustrates how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives. This concept is clearly demonstrated throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, authored by Chinua Achebe, by establishing a connection through the development of its characters and the change in traditional African tribal villages seen in the Nineteenth Century. It will be established how various characters demonstrated by the author throughout the novel exemplify how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives addressed by William James’s quote above. First, by analyzing Achebe’s development of Okonkwo’s character through his initial character description and the emergence of outsiders, it is evident that he is portrayed as an old fashioned character that is less responsive to change. Secondly, through examining Nwoye’s character, Okonkwo’s son, it becomes apparent that the youth in the novel are more open-minded, easily persuadable and more adaptive to societal changes. Lastly, uncovering the meaning behind the arrival of European missionaries, it becomes apparent that Achebe defines this group as being a “disease”, poisoning the society in which Okonkwo lives. The author look’s at individuals as being critical and influential figures in shaping the environment to which they belong, beginning with Okonkwo.
You never know how much you care about your culture until people try to take it away from you. Okonkwo was a prideful jerk as moste would describe him, who was once exiled for seven years for his unlawful actions. When he finally returned to Umuofia, white men come trying to change things and take land. Okonkwo stepped up to help lead his clan but ended up with the same mistakes he used to make, which connects to violence. He then gives in to his biggest fear, weakness. When stress and trying to step up and change to somebody your not takes toll over you, sometimes one just can’t over turn it. This was his reaction to the cultural collision of the white men and Igbo people. This is important because that cultural collision impacted many people on both sides of the dispute. Okonkwo’s reaction to this collision showed how one can connect back to old habits and how cultural collisions mostly never end well no matter what. There will always be that person offended, killed, or even that person to take their own life because of
Okonkwo’s determination to succeed in life and to not fail leads to his fatal downfall in the end of the novel. His inability to adapt to colonization and his failure to follow the morals of many of the morals of the Ibo culture also are an important key leading to his downfall. Okonkwo was willing to go to war against the missionaries, with or without the clan. He made it clear that he believed the missionaries were in the wrong for trying to change Umuofia. Since the clan wanted no part in the war with the missionaries, Okonkwo took action into his own hands and murdered the head messenger. During the killing of the messenger, Okonkwo had a moment of realization: “He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action” (Achebe 205). Okonkwo finally understands that he doesn’t have support from his fellow clansmen anymore and he feels as if he loses his place in society. Instead of backing up Okonkwo and his decision to murder the messenger, the clan stood in both confusion and disorder and questioned, “ ‘Why did [Okonkwo] do it?’ ” (Achebe 205). Okonkwo’s impulsiveness causes the clansmen to question Okonkwo’s violent actions against the messenger. Throughout the entire novel, Okonkwo struggles to accept the missionaries and the changes that they
He took vengeances against anyone who dared go against his wishes and commands. He uses aggression to establish his rule and his action of defiance against the elders and the Gods shows his “king like” status that he so much enjoys. “But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess.” (19). Okonkwo physically and mentally abused his family, especially the younger ones who were easily intimidated by his sizzling temper and challenging personality. Okonkwo would mistreat his wives and kids without any reason or rational thought. “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, live in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (9). Okonkwo temper and aggression gave him dominance and control over his family to the extent that no one could question his
Throughout the novel, Okonkwo’s fear of failure pushes him to have a high and well respected ego in his clan. Although Okonkwo does all he can to protect his ego, some obstacles cause Okonkwo to lose sight of reason. Earlier in the novel, Achebe describes the customs and rules of the Week of Peace, a single, sacred week in the year where the Ibo culture honors the Earth Goddess for a healthy year for crops. Although Okonkwo knows about the reason of the week...
...y had let the other messenger escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action" (Achebe 205). Everything he lived for and believed in was going to be taken away by the white men. They had control over everything. He did not want to see that happen so he took his own life. Yet, this is ironic because, in doing so, he was committing an act which was considered one of the worst actions a member could do in the Ibo society. Throughout the story we see how strong Okonkwo's personal beliefs were and how much they meant to him. Beliefs, both personal and those of the society someone is born into, play a major role in their life. This story is an example of what happens when those beliefs are taken away and others are forced upon a person. Everyone needs to believe in something, and things fall apart when they no longer can.
Unlike others tales of the colonialism, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart tells the perspective of the natives in their slow defeat from the white man. Okonkwo, the hardworking main protagonist, finds relief in following the old Igbo traditions, but with the arrival of the Christian missionaries, Okonkwo’s clan, Umuofia, slowly adopts the new religion destroying Okonkwo’s dream of living the tradition Igbo lifestyle. With the growth of the church, outcasts and men who opposed the traditional lifestyle converted to the religion, but Okonkwo and the men surrounding him learns to resentment the religion for changing their way of life. While many of the Igbos despise the new religion, a closer look reveals that the traditional Igbo ideals of
It is another to sympathies for a man who believes he is powerful and respected by many when in reality, he is feared by his own family and that is another reason that leads Okonkwo to his downfall. He started positive, motivated but down the line, Okonkwo treats his wives and children very harshly. When the author mentioned, “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children” (pg.13). This is not power but a weakness when Okonkwo uses power to rule his own house, detaching himself from the emotional connection with this family rather than being frightening to live with. The sign of “gentleness” as like his father means weakness to Okonkwo even with his own family. Especially his wives, when the narrator demonstrated the lack of emotion to his wife, “Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his young wife, went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal… He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace…But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half –way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (pg.29-30). Okonkwo does not even fear the goddess and the Week of Peace and ends up beating his wife to show that he owes
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Achebe did a excellent job portraying how the life of Igbo was before they were forced to oppose their own culture. To support this theme, Achebe included detailed descriptions of social rituals within each family, the justice system, religious practices and consequences, preparation and indulgence of food, the marriage process and the distributing of power within the men. Achebe shows how every man has an opportunity to prove himself worthy to achieve a title on the highest level, based merely on his own efforts. One may argue that the novel was written with the main focus on the study of Okonkwo’s character and how he deteriorates, but without the theme that define the Igbo culture itself, we would never know the universe qualities of the society that shaped Okonkwo’s life. The lives of the Igbo people was no different to the actual lives of the Ibos people back in the early days of Africa. Just like in Things Fall Apart, in actual African tribes there was never a ruler. “Very interesting thing about these villages is that there is no single ruler or king that controls the population. Decisions are made by including almost everyone in the village” (AfricaGuide). Using the theme, Achebe educated readers on by mirroring real African life in her
In Chinua Achebe 's classic novel "Things Fall Apart," the development of European colonization 's lead to extreme cultural changes, leaving a lasting impact on the Igbo village of Umofia in West Africa. In the novel, Achebe displays the impacts of European colonization in both critical and sympathetic terms to provide the reader with both positive and negative factors of Imperialism to develop an unbiased understanding of what the Igbo culture and society went through. While addressing the hardship 's of life by showing the deterioration of Okonkwo 's character, the cultural and traditional changes of society, and the positive and negative impacts of imperialism, Achebe keeps touch on the overall theme of the novel, once a dramatic event
...clansmen come to decide what they should do, Okonkwo has already chosen war. As the messenger arrives to order an end to the meeting, Okonkwo is once again driven by his rage and kills the messenger. He realizes that the others were not prepared to fight, and he comes to understand the consequences of his actions. Instead of being executed, Okonkwo decides to take his own life.