Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

1303 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of chinua achebe things fall apart

Jack Freese
11/4/14
English IV
Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe is considered by numerous pundits and instructors to be the most persuasive African author of his era. His compositions, including the novel Things Fall Apart, have acquainted perusers all through the world with innovative employments of dialect and structure, and in addition to verifiable inside records of present day African life and history. Through his abstract commitments as well as through his championing of strong destinations for Nigeria and Africa, Achebe has helped reshape the view of African history, society, and place in world issues.

The main novel of Achebe's, Things Fall Apart, is perceived as an issue fantastic and is taught and read all over the place in the English-talking …show more content…

His father was a teacher in Christian questioning for the Church Missionary Society. Nigeria was a Briitish state amid Achebe's initial years, and instructed English-talking families like the Achebe's involved a special position in the Nigerian force structure. His guardians even named him Albert, after Prince Albert, the spouse of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. (Achebe himself picked his Igbo name when he was in …show more content…

Achebe exceeded expectations at his studies, and in the wake of graduating at eighteen, he was acknowledged to study prescriptin at the new University College at Ibadan, a part school of London University at the time. The interest for instructed Nigerians in the administration was elevated on the grounds that Nigeria was get ready for rule toward oneself and autonomy. Just with a higher education was a Nigerian prone to enter the higher positions of the common administration.

The becoming patriotism in Nigeria was not lost on Achebe. At the college, he dropped his English name "Albert" for the Igbo name "Chinua," short for Chinualumogu. Pretty much as Igbo names in Things Fall Apart have exacting implications, Chinualumogl is interpreted as "My soul come battle for

Show More
Related

  • Achebe: A Portfolio Essays: Chinua Achebe

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    He was born thirty years before Nigeria got her independence from the British government on November 16th, 1930. A day marked historically in African calendar. He was raised in the Christian faith, even though Christianity as a religion was somewhat new in the community. Achebe, as a kid was interested in the local religions of the community as those, seem appealing to him through his friends. He participated in some of the traditional religion activities such as festivals and parades. Achebe in high school was exposed to the writings of several authors, most English writers probably due to the colonization of Nigeria as at that time. He carefully examined the works of Charles Dickens, Johnathan Swift, and William Shakespeare. He was fascinated with their books and novels, Achebe also read an African book written by Joseph Conrad.At graduation from high school realized he was less interested his African culture and thereby conforming to associate himself to his local traditions.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart

    1974 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Power Struggle in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart - White Missionaries Caused Umofia to Fall Apart

    1626 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nnolim, Charles E. "Achebe's Things Fall Apart: An Igbo National Epic" Modern Black Literature. ed. Okechukwu Mezu New York: Black Academy Press, 1971, 55-60.

    Read More

  • Social Changes in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    1129 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mr. Achebe was behind the proverbial ?rock and a hard place?. If he spoke up about the missionaries growing power he would be admitting that they were being successful. On the other hand if he didn?t say something he would lose his tribe. He chose to lose his tribe.

    Read More

  • Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    Planet Earth harbors seven billion independent human minds, living seven billion independent, equally complex lives. Even more impressive, each mind contains unique perspectives and opinions. With so many different minds interacting, conflict between individuals’ perspectives and opinions becomes inevitable. Unfortunately, no single perspective, held by a single mind or a group of minds, dominates as the correct perspective. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the meeting of different cultures creates conflict between perspectives, in which both parties assume righteousness but neither is entirely correct. Though Okonkwo may draw a readers’ sympathy for his role as the tragic hero, the author’s sympathy sits with Obierika, who is positioned between the missionaries and Okonkwo as the most humane balance of the two cultures.

    Read More

  • Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the book “Things Fall Apart”, evidence of a social structure was apparent within the Igbo community. This rigid social structure served as a purpose to balance the life of the people within the society, as well as promoting the downfall of the clan. The social structure was important in keeping a centralized society and preventing any sign of corruption within their clan. The social structure had advantages in keeping a balanced and equal society, supporting a division of labor, providing a surplus of food, individual huts, a communal society, and the development of some kind of government. In contrast, this social structure led others to reject to cooperate with the new religion and aided the lack of unity among the people. It also promoted a more patriarchal society, the inferior rank of women, and the lack of strong bonds between family members.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Theme Essay

    1621 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • People Fall Apart in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    1669 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • Colonialism In Things Fall Apart Essay

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Colonization in Nigeria affected the Igbo culture and its people in many different ways. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the author portrays events in the novel that reflect real experiences that he had. Many of the events in the novel deal with the act of colonization and how it affects different members in society, an idea that Achebe has experienced for himself. The author 's first hand experience with colonization allows the story to depict how colonization affected the Igbo people more accurately. Chinua Achebe creates an accurate representation of colonialism with his use of real events that occurred.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Language in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    Achebe himself once said, "Language is a weapon and we use it, and there's no point in  fighting it." ( Gallagher, The Christian Century, v114, 260)  These are words that Achebe lives by. He stood by this statement throughout his entire career with a language style that would change African literature. was no exception. He accomplished his goal by writing about his own culture and his own family in a poetic, proverbic style. < qtd. in http://www.upress.state.ms.us/catalogs/books/c/html/conache.html >   The unique language style of Things Fall Apart not only changed Achebe's career, but it also changed his country. Achebe himself once said, " Art is, and always was, at the service of man. Our ancestors created their myths and told their stories for a human purpose. Any good story, any good novel, should have a message, should have a purpose." < http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/achebe.html> Achebe used the "weapon" of language to convince "outsiders" that Nigeria is a nation with great potential.

    Read More

  • Igbo Land In Things Fall Apart

    215 Words  | 1 Pages

    For perspective in the Novel “Things Fall Apart” , Achebe’s Igbo land is a male ruling environment. A good example would be Okonkwo he is respected because he is nothing like his father he is strong and unoka is weak, fearless where Udoka is scared. Because he is strong and fearless he is the most respected man in Umuofia.

    Read More

  • What Is Achebe's Perspective On Things Fall Apart

    1939 Words  | 4 Pages

    Achebe’s Perspective of Africa: In his novel Things Fall Apart, Achebe presents Africa in a very different light. As an African man born to a Christian family in Nigeria, he undoubtedly has personal experience with the forces of the western world on Africa, especially those of Christianity and treatment of Africans in Africa. Achebe therefore serves as a credible sympathizer for the Africans that are continually being oppressed by the western world. As a native African, he would be biased toward the African people, as a Christian, he would be able to see the potential of Christianity as a positive force, as seen by when Mr. Brown as the acting missionary. Achebe can effectively portray the Igbo tradition and emphasize how it

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the author poses many perspectives for literary criticism and review. This work emphasizes many different cultural aspects that were considered controversial at the time of publication in both African and American culture. This novel’s focus on feminine roles, religion, and cultural norms give readers a glimpse of life in the village of Umuofia while allowing them to think critically about the thematic topics posed.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart: Eurocentrism

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    Achebe writes Things Fall Apart to revise the history that has been misplaced. He writes to the European and Western culture. This fact is evident because the book is written in English and it shows us the side of the African culture we wouldn’t normally see. Achebe is constantly ...

    Read More

More about Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Open Document