Tradition and culture, two aspects that makes a person unique, what would happen to that person if they stopped believing their own tradition and culture? Chinua Achebe the author, is a very traditional man who feels that his roots and all of Africa’s roots is what make Africans special. Throughout the book Achebe describes the traditions of the Igbo people, and when the colonists come, Achebe describes how many of the Igbo people lost their traditions and a sense of who they really were. Achebe says in his essay “The worst thing that can happen to any people is the loss of their dignity and self-respect”. Achebe tries to remind many Africans who they once were and from where they came. The Igbo people, as described by Achebe, are traditional people who will try to keep their traditions and fight to continue their traditions.
Achebe believes that it is his job as a write to help people regain their dignity and a their history, and tries to explain what happened to them and how they originally lost a sense of who they once were, and he succeeds. On page 9 it says, “Darkness held a vague terror for these people, even the bravest among them. Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark. A snake was never called by its name at night, because it would hear. It was called a string.” This quote is describing a part of the Igbo people’s culture; it talks about how they believe that evil spirits roam the Earth at night, and that a snake would hear you if you called it by “snake”, so that is why the people must call the snake “a string”. Achebe is able to describe a part of their culture, and even the smallest details of this culture ...
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...e the Igbo people as people who make mistakes but can learn and always adapt their culture and that sometimes tradition is something that means a lot to some of the people of Umuofia.
In “Things Fall Apart”, Achebe is able to help the readers imagine the culture of Umuofia, and the characters represented in the story. Achebe is able to help Africans/Nigerians regain their tradition by describing how sacred it is and how big a part of life it is for some people. Achebe describes in many ways the “depth and beauty” in the Igbo people, by describing rituals or possibly stories that the people live by, but mainly the culture and the strong passion these people have for their heritage. And Achebe describes the Igbo people as regular people, people who have a passion for something, as people who have regrets and sorrows, but also as people who can accept and forgive.
As wise John Berger once said,“Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one”. A “single story” is the story of a culture that we learn from stereotypes and conspiracies developed throughout time in our society. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe defies the single story of African culture while still tying their native language in to show the importance between a physical differentiation of culture, and the similarities with morals and values they have in common. Through gender roles and proverbs used in the language of this book, we have a cultural insight of Nigeria through a new set of eyes given to us by Achebe that detures us from the single stories that we were taught to by our society.
Just as important as gender variations was, so was language. When the Europeans arrived in the community for the first time, language was a major barrier as the people could not understand the white’s man linguistic and vice versa. Achebe wrote this story in English not just to play to the tune of his people, but also to educate the Westerners and emend the portrait of Africa in the eyes of the White man. His inclusion of proverbs, folktales, and songs was a way of communication in a way that everyone could understand without destroying the beauty of the Igbo language. He was able to take this book far and wide and give people an unbiased detail of what his tradition was all about; the good, the bad, and the ugly. He tried to make it as uncomplicated as possible compared to Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
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
The author clearly wants to convey his own cultural views about retaining one’s identity and cultural values. Achebe himself was very passionate about traditional African culture and world religions. He uses the structure of the novel Things Fall Apart to show the impact the white government had on the Nigerian people and the aftermath of their broken culture. Through the contrasts in the linear structure, the author warns the reader and makes them see how easily imperialism can occur.
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.
“Then everything had been broken.”(Achebe, page 131). Things Fall Apart is a complex story with complex events. The white men were christians while the Igbo people had their own religion. When the white men came, problems arose between the two groups and between the clan itself. This cultural collision impacted many Igbo people but different characters reacted differently. Okonkwo, who recently returned from being exiled, tries to make up for his mistakes but falls into old habits. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe exhibits the ways that when met with a cultural collision narrow-minded individuals may respond with violence and fear through reactions of the protagonist.
The book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is a fictional look at the social and cultural life of an African tribe of the lower Niger River region. It depicts the every day life of the tribe and its members. It also shows the culture and customs of the tribe.
The Igbo society governed themselves without the input of a chief or king. They lived independently and each person had a say on all matters discussed. There were no special privileges because of ancestry. The Igbo have been described in historical and anthropological literature as a ‘‘stateless’’ or ‘‘segmentary’’ society consisting of autonomous village groups (Korieh, 2006 p 14).Victor Uchendu described this lack of a formulized leadership as ‘‘an exercise in direct democracy’’ and ‘‘representative assembly” (Korieh, 2006 p14). After the colonization,interaction with other Nigerians brought about a more distinct Igbo ethnic identity.
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
...’s depictions of both traditional and modern beliefs in varying degrees illustrate the importance of both in contemporary Nigerian culture, as well as the greater Africa as a whole, and how both are intertwined and cannot exist without the other. In effect, she skillfully subverts stereotypes or single perceptions of Africa as backward and traditional, proving instead, the multifaceted culture of Africa. She further illustrates that neither traditional African nor western culture is necessarily detrimental. It is the stark contrast of the fundamental cultures that inevitably leads to clashes and disagreements. In the end, what holds African countries such as Nigeria together is their shared pride. Modern, western influences can bring positive changes to society, but new cultures cannot completely eradicate the foundational cultures to which a society is founded on.
Throughout Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, struggle between change and tradition is one of the most relevant issues. The Igbo villagers, Okonkwo, and his son Nwoye all experience this problem in many different ways. The villagers have their religion defied, Okonkwo reaches his breaking point and Nwoye finally finds what he believes in. People have struggled to identify and cope with change and tradition throughout history, and will continue to struggle with this issue in the
The synergy between Igbo spirituality and secular life suggests that harmony among members of society was just as important as h...
Due to the fact that there is some truth to everything said in the novel it makes the events in the novel more believable. As said in the novel, “There is no story that is not true" (130), and that wrings true with Things Fall Apart especially due to how many things that happen in the novel is based on truth. Achebe 's account of the effects of colonialism on a society is enhanced by the fact that he bases many events on things that actually happened. Achebe shows that although evangelists came with the intention of saving the Igbo people, they ultimately did more harm than
... middle of paper ... ... With Achebe?s words, we?re inclined to appreciate the Igbo culture in spite of it being different from our own. Achebe?s intention is not to justify western dominance over Africa, but to present Africa in such a way that we can respect it for its strengths and despite its weaknesses.
According to David Whittaker, Achebe’s work “proved to be an immensely influential work for African writers, becoming the progenitor of a whole movement of fiction, drama, and poetry, which focused on the revaluation of Africa’s history and cultures, and on representations of the culture conflicts that has their genesis in the colonial era.” This novel became a pivotal point of realization not only for Africa, but also for the world. All at once the world, afraid of what change may bring, pushed the same question to the back their mind: “What if we have it all wrong?” Suddenly, the culture of Africa was influencing the culture of America, Asia, Europe, Australia, etc. Achebe’s novel was a catalyst in the process of nationalist renewal and decolonization of African culture as a whole (Whittaker). A principle in this novel’s thematic course is the inter-generation conflict faced by not only the village as a whole, but also, on a microscopic level, in Okonkwo’s household. As the culture in Umuofia begins to shift, the predecessors of the current generation heavily rely on the cultural norms initiated by their father’s fathers. While tradition should be honored in a society, it should also be modified; this concept is not fully grasped by the older generations of