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The Fear Of Empathy
Collisions in various cultures can lead to dismay in the community affected; It could cause the native culture to fall apart. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo developed a fear of being feeble at a young age. His father, Unoka, was lazy, unreliable, and unworthy of titles --- a failure; Resulting in the fear of failure instilled in his son, Okonkwo and creating a stern feeling towards his culture. Okonkwo’s impotence to amend to the cultural collisions happening in the novel Things Fall Apart, leads to the destruction of his character; Nevertheless, these particular culture collisions would lead to the destruction of not just a person -- but a culture.
Okonkwo responded to this cultural collision with rejection; as well as being hostile to the people of this new culture. In the
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novel, it displays Okonkwo’s hostile feelings towards the whites; “ Okonkwo, who only stayed in the hope that it might come to chasing the men out of the village or whipping them “ (109). The whites tried to evangelize to the Ibo people, and Okonkwo stayed in the means that if they did chase them or whip them. In conclusion, Okonkwo showed no empathy to the evangelists. Also in the novel, it says, “ At the end of it Okonkwo was fully convinced that the man was mad “ (110). By calling him “mad”; Nevertheless, furthers the thought that Okonkwo fully rejects this new way of living. These cultural collisions challenge Okonkwo’s identity by altering his Fatherland, Umuofia, and his relationship with his son; Resulting in an even more furious Okonkwo.
When Okonkwo thought about the transformation of his son the novel said, “A sudden fury rose within him and he felt a strong desire to take up his machete, go to the church and wipe out the entire vile and miscreant gang. But on further thought he told himself that Nwoye was not worth fighting for.” (114) The Western culture challenged Okonkwo’s identity by almost letting him fall into his redundancy of anger; Resulting in his thinking about slaughtering the White People.
The cultural collisions that happened in -- Things Fall Apart -- had a negative effect on the Ibo culture as a whole. In the novel, it said, “ Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile. The church had come and led many astray. “ (128) This text refers from the point-of-view of the Ibo culture in which the Whites are stripping away the people of Umuofia -- which are holding the Ibo culture together. The conversion of the Ibo tribe leads to the Ibo culture falling
apart. The strong-willed Okonkwo’s identity is challenged by the cultural collisions happening in the novel. Okonkwo’s stern feeling towards his culture led to his, and his culture's downfall. If Okonkwo had been able to adapt to various changes made by the whites; may result in a different outcome. But this was not the case, for Okonkwo had a fear of empathy; Resulting in the Ibo’s culture --- falling apart.
Imagine if you would, to be in another culture, and someone who is unwanted, unwelcome has come into it and has caused it to crumble. You and your family are plunged into failure and your life is falling apart. These people, the missionaries, arrived from England to colonize Africa during the colonial period. There were many problems faced by the native people, most of whom were not about to drop all of their beliefs to adopt a foreigners customs. Such beliefs existed in the protagonist, Okonkwo, and are the roots of the challenges faced by Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, in which the author, Chinua Achebe, writes of the challenges to Okonkwo's sense of identity. Western ideas have clashed with his sense of family, his ideas of gender, and position of leadership within the clan, which influences and forms the meaning of the book.
After Okonkwo gets banished from the tribe it undergoes a drastic cultural change. Okonkwo does not. Upon his return he discovers that his tribe has been partially converted by the Christian missionaries. He is appalled and rejects the idea.
When you think of the word “culture” what comes to mind? Many elements can contribute to
He was in great conflict with the ideas of the white men and the missionaries. Okonkwo saw that their beliefs had not only changed the daily life of the Ibo, but it also changed the people themselves: “He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe 183). The author uses strong diction to compare the men before and after colonization. This quote also portrays Okonkwo’s opinion towards the cultural collision. He values strength and masculinity immensely because of his fear of appearing weak like his father Unoka. When he describes that the men of Umuofia changed to be soft like women, this shows how much he dishonors the Western ideas and how it has taken over the village. He made an attempt to get rid of the Western influence by urging the tribe to fight like men, but they refuse to. He was determined and still attempted to furthermore encourage the people of Umuofia to revolt against the new culture. He realizes that his attempts to return the village back to the way it was before were futile. He knew that Christianity was tearing his people apart, but knew he was incapable of making change to help his people. Okonkwo then starts to feel hopeless and abandoned by his clan, which causes him to commit suicide by hanging himself: “Obierika… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of the greatest men
In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the traditional Ibo tribe is a very effective and lasting culture. They are the first to introduce many systems and traditions that we still use in society today. One of the major things the Ibo tribe introduces is the judial system, respect during conversation, hospitality, strength and masculinity. In Things Fall Apart, the author wants us to understand the Ibo tribe and feel sympathy for them, including Okonkwo.
Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe takes readers through the lives of how the Igbo civilization grew and developed and then how it fell. Within the book the main focus was on the Igbo’s civilization rituals and traditions that had been changed due to the travel of new foreigners. These foreigners clashed with the Igbo tribes causing many differences within the traditions set by their ancestors, ultimately causing everything to fall apart. A scene in the book shows Okonkwo, one of the main characters within the Igbo tribe, had died. One of the quotes from the book, explaining the essence of how the traditions meant to them was Obierika, talking about his friends’ death saying (“It is against our custom, it is an abomination for a man to take his own life.”)(Achebe 178) As the Europeans invaded they claimed one of their own, and buried him. The two friends had obeyed the rituals and customs set by their early ancestors within the Igbo civilization.
Unfortunately, the clash of the cultures that occurs when the white man's missionaries come to Africa in an attempt to convert the tribal members, causes Okonkwo to lash out at the white man and results in his banishment from the tribe. Okonkwo had a bad temper which he often displayed: 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. Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear of failure and of weakness.
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.
The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe displays a strong significance based solely on Nigerian culture and how it slowly evolved due to European immigrants. Both culture and gender play a huge role in the way of life in the Ibo village. As it was a common custom in the past, the male was dominant in the family. Achebe tells of an Igbo tribesman, Okonkwo, and his prosperous life in the village of Umuofia. Being prized of personal achievements such as defeating Amalinze the Cat, Okonkwo is expected to accomplish much more in his lifetime, but will his actions turn out to ruin his reputation and furthermore? Throughout the novel, Okonkwo displays various actions in response to the European invasion of his culture
Okonkwo is the clear representation of tradition as his whole life depends on the traditional Ibo culture. The white man also very clearly represents the change that is almost always incapable of being stopped. During Okonkwo’s banishment, which he describes as “seven wasted and weary years,” (162) a Christian Church has established itself and brought along many of the white man’s customs. Okonkwo’s return to a changed culture is very jarring and he tries his best to reestablish the same position that he once had. Okonkwo “was determined that his return should be marked by his people.” (171) After Okonkwo returns and is disappointed that his return is not greatly celebrated he meets with Obierika and they discuss what has been happening. Their meeting concludes with the disappointing realization that “[they] had fallen apart.” (176) Okonkwo has been gone too long and has been unable to assist his people against the coming of the white
Later Okonkwo’s oldest son Nwoye was absorbed into the white people’s growing church system and abandoned his native Ibo culture. Nwoye had doubted the Ibo culture ever since Ikemfuna’s death. Okonkwo heard about his actions he became extremely furious and confronted Nwoye about what he had heard about him earlier that day saying, “Where have you been? Answer me before I kill you!” (Page 151) Nwoye decided to leave his family and fueled Okonkwo’s hatred for the white people even more than before by portraying to his younger sons, “You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother.” (Page 172) Not only had they cause the extinction of a native nearby village, but they had caused separation between groups. From this moment onwards Okonkwo does not believe that the whites can live and thrive in Umuofia peacefully without causing conflict and decides to be put into action to stop these men from the destruction of their culture. This caused Okonkwo to be madly insane towards the white people when he returns home to Umuofia because of his
The Importance of Things Fall Apart & nbsp; & nbsp; The novel "Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe, was an eye-opening account of the life and eventual extinction of an African tribe called the Ibo. It focuses on one character, Okonkwo, who at a very early age set out on a quest of self-perfection. Coming from a family ruled by a man who was lazy and inconsistent with everything he did, Okonkwo vowed to never accept the fate of his father. Okonkwo and his family have suffered through many hard times in their lives, but usually managed to come out on top. Through terrible crop seasons and bad judgement calls, Okonkwo usually prevailed, until the day came when he was faced with a situation that could not be resolved by his strength and character alone.
All throughout history, we see this dichotomy between tradition and modernity. On one hand, we have tradition, the force living perpetually in the past and refusing to change. On the other hand, modernity leaves tradition behind in favor of progress. These two concepts, much like oil and water, dare to divide but coexist as a debatable founding solution. Not only are the themes Western ideas, but they have been present and are found in literature all around the world, from China to Africa.
Throughout history, there have been many instances of people struggling to identify and cope with change and tradition, and this is no different in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
...e on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart" (Achebe, 176). The village of Umuofia held to backward laws and values that "destroy innocent children" (Achebe, 146). The tribe's innocence had to die in order for those who survived to mature. Although Umuofia's peak of innocence may have been when Ikemefuna was handed over to the village, but its maturity would come through the death of Ikemefuna, the tribe's innocence, at the hands of those the tribe called "father." Things Fall Apart clearly illustrates the faults of the African system and way of life through "the series of catastrophes which end with his [Okonkwo's and Umuofia's] death" (Carroll).