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Analysis of chinua achebe's things fall apart
Analysis of the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Comment on the major themes of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
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In the novel, “Things Fall Apart’, by Chinua Achebe, proverbs have an important impact on the storyline. All proverbs have some kind of deeper meaning behind them, and this is part of the Nigerian culture. Proverbs are used by people of all ages and statures to tell others about the importance of something. People in the Igbo Tribe use proverbs everyday as they are an important part of their culture and traditions, and the art of conversation is regarded very highly throughout the clan. The Igbo culture is a very oral language. “Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten”. This quote shows how important proverbs are in everyday life as they are referred to as ‘palm oil’. Palm oil was a very important part of the tribe’s life. It was used to cook, in lamps, and in some cases, a present. The men were constantly going out to collect it, and the woman are always using it for some chore or another. By comparing palm oil to proverbs, it shows just how much the Umofian people rely on them and how they use them every day, as a part of their culture. The proverb, “A toad does not...
In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe certain themes are present in the the
“Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting a particular way. You become just by performing just actions, temperate by performing temperate actions, and brave by performing brave actions.” -Aristotle.
a) Describe in detail your impression of Okonkwo's character having read part one of the novel.
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
In Things Fall Apart, proverbs are mainly used in the development of the important characters. Through proverbs used in character development, Achebe shows the distinct similarities and differences between the protagonist, Okonkwo, and two other important characters, Nwoye and Obierika.
Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, tells the story of Okonkwo. As a fearful and stubborn protagonist, the novel retains a clear focus upon his thoughts and actions. Through the skewed perspective of a character-focused narrative, Achebe presents the complexities and subtleties of life in the Ibo community. Although the rigid frame of Okonkwo’s fears and beliefs restrict most of the narrative to his myopic account of Ibo life, the views of those in contrast to his can be seen on the outskirts of the text. These alternatives to the central narrative, at first, appear distant and periphery possibilities of reality, but through the associations between repeated terms and the recurrence of themes the novel foreshadows importance and influence of this alternative perspective. Perspectives, which will, eventually, overwhelm Okonkwo. The most prominent examples of these splits in understanding often concern the treatment and actions of characters who, at the beginning of the narrative, hold no voice or power in the eyes of Okonkwo or the clan. Yet, as the influence of these characters becomes increasingly more visible within the life and future of the clan, the revelation of such importance destroys Okonkwo’s reality.
“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.
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart shows an odd similarity between the cultures of Ancient Greece and the Lower Niger. Despite the fact that two societies can exist during different periods of time and have conflicting cultural values, their stories and behavior can have surprising overlaps. Things Fall Apart is structured like a Greek Tragedy in its use of a chorus and in the presence of a tragic hero whose actions ultimately lead to his downfall.
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” John F. Kennedy. This quote emphasizes that life is a process of constant change. Change is necessary for growth. If things get stuck in a place, there is never going to be progress. Nevertheless, there are people as Okonkwo whom change costs a lot of work, either mental or physical. These people often have difficulty adapting in places where sudden changes occur, because they live in a continuous state of stress, for trying to control the uncontrollable. In the extraordinary novel Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe, the author illustrates an apocalyptic vision by describing the changes taking place in the Igbo society in Nigeria at the
Achebe also wrote Umuofia to have an entire week of peace, described as “‘...we should observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. We live in peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth...’” (Achebe 30). Through this week of peace, a Western reader’s mindset of the early people of Africa being part of a warring, uncivilized culture is changed and one may realize that this is a forward thinking peace that does not exist in most modern day societies. The peaceful side of the Ibo culture is shown, even if Okonkwo and Umuofia are known throughout the book as being harsh and battle loving. Even with all this evidence of the Ibo culture being similar or complementary to the culture of a Western society today, Achebe acknowledges that all cultures have their faults. Although the point is to show the good aspects of an African group that very few people realize, the Ibo culture is not sugarcoated to appease the reader. Many times there are customs and cultural norms that the characters think to be perfectly normal and humane, but one in modern day would consider them to be savage and cruel.
“Life is change” nothing stays the same forever, the world is constantly changing and the way you adapt to it determines the life you live. Things Fall Apart shows the constant struggle of keeping an Igbo tribe in Nigeria true to its original roots while facing the challenges of new leadership. Achebe centers the novel on Okonkwo the leader of the Igbo tribe, his three wives and children and their fight to stay in power. The Igbo have strict beliefs and adapting to different views alters the relationship of the people. In Things Fall Apart the author Chinua Achebe establishes the theme that people move on at different times with plot, and characterization.
In the story Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, there were many events that occur that is pertaining to many different types of themes. Three examples of themes in this story are gender, fear and religion. Gender is a theme of this story because men and women have their own roles that they abide to in Umuofia. There was not any roles that both men and women share in common. Fear is a theme of this story because Okonkwo had a negative perspective of his father Unoka and he did not want to become like his father. In the story he try to do everything differently than his father. Religion is a theme in this story because this story shows how Umuofia’s traditional religion changes to Christianity.
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
In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe we are given insight into what life was like before and during the European, imperialist land grab of africa. In this essay I will discuss how the christian missionaries tried to convert the native African population to christianity and what made some of the villagers join the christian missionaries in converting their fellow clansmen. We will also examine how Europeans used a combination of fear and cooperation to successfully convert the native population to christianity.
An abominable religion has settled among you. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. He can curse the gods of his fathers and ancestors, like a hunter’s dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master,” is stated to explain the importance of the Igbo educating one another. Although it is tradition to hear wise words, it is a challenge for Igbo to do it without pointing out and overanalyzing flaw, something everyone