In his novel ‘Things fall apart’, Chinua Achebe captures the traditional lifestyle and culture of the Igbo people before and after the British colonialism. The main character in the book is Okwonko who is both hard-working and brave. According to the Igbo tribe, the destiny of an individual was determined by a combination of forces. These forces include the ancestors, the lesser gods and chukwu. Personal Chi was also partly responsible for the destiny of an individual according to the beliefs of the Igbo people. Hence, in case an individual lived in peace and harmony with chukwu, his ancestors, and the lesser gods he would have good health throughout his life; have many children and good fortune in general. In the beginning of the book, Okwonko is introduced as a hardworking, proud, and successful warrior. The author describes him as being clearly cut for success. This is despite the fact that his father was a shameful person who could not even pay his debts. His father was …show more content…
He holds lavish ceremonies to celebrate his successful return to his village When his wife tells him that the two goats are enough for the ceremony, tells her “Shut up woman, this is not something that concerns you.” (19.17). However, his things do not go as planned as his fate has other plans for him. Everything goes horribly wrong when he returns to his village. On his return, Okwonko realizes that people did not even notice he was gone. To make matters worse, the village he had left was no longer recognizable and it had change completely. Eventually, he ended up burning a Christian church after which he was sent to jail where he committed suicide. This shows that after was in charge of his life as all the great plans he had made failed to materialize. Instead of more prosperity and success, death awaited him on the other side of the
The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story that opens the reader's mind to an entirely different way of living in a Nigerian village. Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930, perhaps this is why he writes a whole book on a Nigerian village and introduces to us the ways of life for the Nigerian people. From the first page of the book to the last, Achebe allows the reader to enter the mind of the main character Okonkwo. Okonkwo is the leader of his village and is very respected for his many achievements. Although Okonkwo means well for his village, the novel invites the reader to see him has a flawed character who eventually suffers from the consequences of bad "masculine" decisions he makes throughout the book.
...to make a decision about the next step towards war with the white men they are approached again they are challenged. Okonkwo’s temper gets the best of him and kills the three men and allows the rest to escape. He flees the area and is found hanging in his compound. I find it ironic that he ends up the same way his father did, a rejected figure of his clan to be left in the jungle unburied and disgraced among his people. He did not think before he acted and tried to force a war that might have destroyed everyone in his clan. I a twisted way I believe that he saved them by hanging himself, this way all the blame could be placed on Okonkwo and not on the clan. I ask myself what will happen to his wives and their children? Okonkwo compound and his crop of yam will most likely be destroyed.
In “Chapter 24” of Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe adopts a spiteful and grevious tone, and utilizes diction, symbolism, and figurative language to capture the pinnacle of the extirpation of the Igbo tribe. Achebe uses intense diction throughout the chapter when construing Okonkwo’s feelings about his fellow clansmen and the Europeans. Since his tone is meant to provoke emotion, he laces his sentences with temerit words like “vengeance,” (Achebe 199) and “tumult,” (Achebe 203). The use of his diction emphasizes the agonizing feelings of the clan, especially those of Okonkwo. Alternatively, Achebe utilizes a surfeit of Igbo words such as “nno,” (Achebe 199) meaning “welcome,”and “Umuofia Kwenu,” (Achebe 202) a phrase used to show the tribe members were paying attention during
Culture makes us who we are. Each individual has their own culture from their experiences in life and is developed from societal influences. The various cultures around the world influence us in different ways which we experience at least once in our lifetime. There are occasions, especially in history, where cultures clash with one another. For instance, the English colonization in Africa changed their culture. Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, portrayed this change in the Igbo people’s society, especially through the character Okonkwo in the village of Umuofia; the introduction of Western ideas challenged him. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the author Chinua Achebe introduces to us Okonkwo whose character’s response to the
Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart is a narrative story that follows the life of an African man called Okonkwo. The setting of the book is in eastern Nigeria, on the eve of British colonialism in Africa. The novel illustrates Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs, and his eventual downfall, all of which basically coincide with the Igbo?s society?s struggle with the Christian religion and British government. In this essay I will give a biographical account of Okonwo, which will serve to help understand that social, political, and economic institutions of the Igbos.
Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umofia, Who had so unaccountably become soft like women.
Famous French fabulist, Jean de La Fontaine, astutely stated, “A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.” People, both in real life and literature, seal their fate through their own actions. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe captures the cultural life of the Igbo people before and after the influences of British colonialism by focusing on a representative hard-working character named Okonkwo. The Igbo believed that Chukwu, lesser gods, ancestors, and their own personal gods were responsible for determining the destiny of one’s life. Through proverbs regarding motivation, achievement, and respect, Achebe communicates that destiny must eventually be accepted.
Chinua Achebe’s Novel, Things Fall Apart, follows an Igbo man named Okonkwo, living in West Africa shortly before, and during a time when Christian missionaries are beginning to interact with his people. Early in the Novel Okonkwo is established as being strict and at times abusive to his family, in particular his son Nwoye. Okonkwo beats Nwoye because because he wants him to be a successful man and thus make Okonkwo feel successful. Okonkwo’s emphasis on success and achievements becomes clear in the first chapter. The novel begins by listing off Okonkwo’s achievements, and later goes on to repeat them at the end of Okonkwo’s introduction, stating that he is the “greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He [is] a wealthy farmer and [has] two barns full of yams, and [has] just married his third wife...taken two titles and [has] shown
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs and customs, and also a story about conflict. There is struggle between family, culture, and the religion of the Ibo, which is all brought on by a difference in personal beliefs and customs of the Igbo and the British. There are also strong opinions of the main character, Okonkwo. We are then introduced to the views of his village, Umuofia. We see how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are confronted by those of the white missionaries.
Religion demystifies the aspects of Igbo culture creating an inner war between families and their gods, as explained in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The implication of this novel is predominantly about the transitioning lifestyle of Okonkwo. Okonkwo was a tragic hero and eager man who grew from the base to the dominant person in his life vigorously. Okonkwo repudiates the European culture and experiences an adverse change in identity; his response shapes the overall meaning of the work. This Nigerian 1890s novel illustrates the discord between white immigrant government and traditional Igbo culture.
Things Fall Apart, Thematic Essay: Humans’ natural instincts are to deny a new aspect and stick to older ones. Nevertheless, old and new aspects are intertwined. Traditions and change are ever present in society, without them society would not prosper. Traditions are the foundations of society. However, just like any other foundation, sooner or later it must be altered or changed, even in the most miniscule way.
Although the reader feels remorseful for Okonkwo’s tragic childhood life. It is another reason to sympathize with 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 wife 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).
For an abundance of authors, the driving force that aids them in creation of a novel is the theme or number of themes implemented throughout the novel. Often times the author doesn’t consciously identify the theme they’re trying to present. Usually a theme is a concept, principle or belief that is significant to an author. Not only does the theme create the backbone of the story, but it also guides the author by controlling the events that happen in a story, what emotions are dispersed, what are the actions of characters, and what emotions are presented within each environment to engage the readers in many
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a powerful novel about the social changes that occurred when the white man first arrived on the African continent. The novel is based on a conception of humans as self-reflexive beings and a definition of culture as a set of control mechanisms. Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo, an elder, in the Igbo tribe. He is a fairly successful man who earned the respect of the tribal elders. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected member of the tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace graphically dramatizes the struggle between the altruistic values of Christianity and the lust for power that motivated European colonialism in Africa and undermined the indigenous culture of a nation.
Okonkwo embodies all the ideal and heroic traits of the Igbo culture. He is strong, authoritative, hardworking, and successful. The opening sentence states that “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond” (3). Okonkwo is great and famous because of his “solid personal achievements” (3). Okonkwo first achieved fame and recognition when he became the village’s wrestling champion. At eighteen years of age, he had “brought honor to his village” by defeating the seven-year champion. By winning the wrestling match, Okonkwo demonstrates to his village his great strength and skill as a warrior. After that his fame spread “like a bush-fire in the harmattan” (3). Okonkwo governs his household with authority. He “ruled his household with a heavy hand” (13). His wives and children lived “in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (13). Okonkwo is a hard task-master. He works on his farm “from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost” and compelled his family to do the same (13). He does not tolerate laziness in his sons. He punishes his son, Nwoye, with “constant nagging and beating” (14). Okonkwo is the sole and unquestionable authority figure in his household.