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Cultural practices of the ibo that might seem strange to mondernday westerners
Ibo culture and customs in things fall apart
Ibo culture
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For members of the Ibo tribe, being submissive and respectful to your elders and culture is the only accepted way to live, yet the son of one of the greatest men in Umuofia seems to defy this ideal. Nwoye, the son of Okonkwo, one of the most majestic warriors and farmers in their small village, has never really been attracted to the manly nature and attitudes expected of him. Never being fond of blood and fighting and not wanting to participate in any of the hard work in the household has left Nwoye with a more feminine personality. Not only does he reject the ideas of the Ibo culture, he also accepts those of a white man and lives life like a Westerner. In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, Nwoye defies traditional Ibo values by emphasizing the importance of not killing Ikemefuna, highlighting the fact that it is acceptable to convert to Christianity, and not living up to be the manly hero his dad want him to be. …show more content…
Nwoye refuses to blindly follow Ibo superstitions such as the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves most notably, the decision to kill Ikemefuna.
Even Okonkwo questions the Oracle’s decision, but goes along with it to avoid looking unmanly. Once the deed has been done, Nwoye senses it right away and has a completely unexpected response. He does not yell or cry, but “something seemed to give way inside of him, like the snapping of a tightened bow” (61). The silent and subtle response by Nwoye is the basis of his strong opposition to the Oracle’s decision and essentially the whole idea of the Oracle itself. During Nwoye’s reaction to the killing of Ikemefuna, he expresses his strong defiance of the Ibo values by silently rejecting the Oracle and its
decision. Furthermore. Another way Nwoye defies his Ibo culture is by converting to Christianity. Forgetting the fact that he has been antagonistic towards his Ibo faith his entire life, the final step of his withdrawal from his religion is conversion to Christianity. Nwoye is captivated by the beautiful hymn of Christianity which answers “the questions of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed” (147). He has discovered a pathway which makes sense of all the illogical nonsense he has been dealing with his entire life. A pathway which accepts the twins, the outcasts, and every other being and soul in Umuofia. Nwoye is so attached to this new ideology that he is even willing to give up his father and his family to go live with the missionaries. Nwoye’s decision to convert essentially is the unveiling that he has reached his last straw and can no longer bear the current life that he is living. Finally, the fact that Nwoye is unable and unwilling to become the manly figure his father has always expected of him also goes to show how he is dissatisfied with the expectations of his culture. Okonkwo has always wished that Nwoye would be a more manly figure and do the hard work like he did in order to become successful. However, Nwoye has never been submissive to Okonkwo’s expectation and has taken on a more feminine personality in which he enjoys performing traditionally more feminine Ibo roles. Just like his grandfather he is afraid of blood and all the vulgar stories that his father tells him. Rather than becoming a yam farmer like his father, Nwoye, now with his Christian name Isaac, attends “the new training college for teachers in Umuru” (182). Rather than accepting his own culture and what he “should” be doing, he honors himself and does what he thinks is best for him. Nwoye defies the Ino values set forth by his community and pursues himself and his personal ideals. Nwoye’s contribution to Things Fall Apart is quite significant in the sense that he sets forth the concrete path stating that you do not have to be submissive to your culture if it does not reflect your own personal interests and values.
In the Ibo culture a man should be a man, war loving, aggressive, made by their own, Nwoye just isn’t that in his father’s eyes. He’s felt that some of the customs his people had were disgusting and did not agree with them at all. Some of these traditions was the beating of women and children, the beating
Out of all the characters in “Things Fall Apart” who was mostly affected by the introduction of the Western ideas was Nwoye. In summation, Nwoye identity was greatly challenged with the introduction of the Western ideas into the Ibo culture. From my perspective, it made Nwoye a better and positive kid. He no longer has to be afraid and can now speak up and defend himself. He is now called Isaac, to the new training college for teachers in Umuru. (134) As Nwoye grows up, he can truly realize that him shifting away from his father was a great
“He wanted Nwoye to grow into a tough young man capable of ruling his father’s household when he was dead and gone to join the ancestors. He wanted him to be a prosperous man, having enough in his barn to feed the ancestors with regular sacrifices.” (Achebe 53). In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, it demonstrates how a person can change by the revealing of a new culture and how things can actually fall apart with an introduction of new ways. In the novel, Nwoye goes through a great deal of change while developing to the new culture.
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 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a straight to the point story, embedded with interesting elements that capture readers’ attention. In my view, when I read the story, I found many interesting things about the theme of the book. But The Masculinity Okonkwo was what captures my attention. The story opens up to a Traditional Igbo lifestyle, a theme which is highly stylized from its ritual to the actions performed for certain ceremonies. Most of the action Igbo tribe has been an attempt to show respect to the gods, for example, when ikemefuna became sick and his stomach swelled up their traditions says that he take them to the evil forest and kill him. The story also seems to focus on gender, family, respect and reputation, and religion. In fact, Gender which in Igbo tradition, sets standards and roles between Igbo women and men. Women in Igbo Culture are the weaker sex, but are endowed with qualities that make them worthy of worship, like the ability to bear children. Men in Igbo Culture are the stronger sex, which gives them the ability to provide for their family and has prowess on the battlefield. In Igbo culture, building a nice and respectable family is important and titles in their culture gives them respect and builds reputation in the ‘‘Umuofia’’ village playing a big role in Igbo tradition. Nothing plays a bigger role in Igbo tradition than religion, the ‘‘Umuofia’’ village worship the goddess of the earth are always careful to avoid committing sins of their goddess with a fear of vengeance that might wipe out an entire generation. In the story, the men of the Umuofia village seem to care a lot about masculinity, when Okonkwo is hosting a party he takes it very seriously and ...
Nwoye faces his father Okonkwo in their most important fight scene. Fear strikes Nwoye when Okonkwo “suddenly overcame with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped Nwoye by the neck,” (Achebe 151). Certain interactions depict a lack of compassion in their relationship, especially when Nwoye betrays Okonkwo’s trust. Nwoye can no longer handle the derisive manner of his father and leaves his family. He finds happiness with the church, no longer controlled by Okonkwo’s temperament. After Nwoye’s departure, he threatens his other five sons: “he will only have a son who is a man,” (172). Okonkwo will do anything to ensure that his other sons end up like himself and not like his incipient father or Nwoye. The loss of one son creates a sense of insecurity as Okonkwo attempts to gain the loyalty of the younger five. Nwoye’s departure shapes Nwoye as this traitorous and effeminate character in the story and Okonkwo as a weaker and much more insecure character. Yet, Achebe also portrays a more audacious side of Nwoye as he retaliates social norms and his own father’s
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.
Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart tells the story of the people of an Igbo village in Nigeria. In Igbo society, the traditions and gender roles are strict, and being a woman or viewed as feminine is a negative thing. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist, values the traditions of his clan, but is controlled by the fear of being perceived as weak or effeminate. This fear causes Okonkwo to make decisions that are frowned upon by his fellow villagers, creating conflict.
Unfortunately, everything is not perfect. His son, Nwoye, seems not to be showing the characteristics of a real man. He prefers to stay with his mother, listening to women's stories, than to listen to his father's tales of battle and victory. Later, when missionaries come to the tribe, Nwoye is attracted to their Christian religion because of its unqualified acceptance of everyone, much like a mother's unqualified love. Of this, Okonkwo r...
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
Upon an initial reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, it is easy to blame the demise of Okonkwo’s life and of the Umofia community on the imperialistic invasions of the white men. After all, Okonkwo seemed to be enjoying relative peace and happiness before then. He did have a few mishaps; one of them resulted in him being exiled for eight years. Nonetheless, he returned to his home town with high spirits and with prospects of increased success. However, everything has changed. The white men have brought with them a new religion and a new government. Okonkwo’s family falls apart. The men in his village lose their courage and valor; they do not offer any resistance to the white men. Consequently, Okonkwo kills himself in disgrace and Umofia succumbs to the white men. However, the white men are not the only people responsible for demise of Umofia. The Igbo culture, particularly their views on gender roles, sows the seed of their own destruction. By glorifying aggressive, manly traits and ignoring the gentle, womanly traits, Umofia brings about its own falling apart.
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
Two passages from the story Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, provide the reader with a more profound understanding of Okonkwo, and his son Nwoye. The two do not have a good relationship and it becomes worse as the story progresses. Throughout the book the two become increasingly distant and it is apparent that Okonkwo is very disappointed in his son. After the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye begins to question many aspects of his life, especially religion. As the Christian missionaries spend more time with the members of the village, Nwoye becomes interested in this new religion. The first passage I have chosen discusses Nwoye’s feelings about Christianity.
Okonkwo paid little attention and spent little effort thinking about the missionaries untill they took his son. He belived that his fellow vilagers were above the christian nonsence the white people were spewing. it wasn’t untill nooye belived them that he understood the power of their words. Okonkwo turns to what he knows best to solve the problem at hand, violence. Okonkwo,"grabbed him by the neck,"(achebe 145) and," hit him two or three savage blows," before cutting nowye out of his life. Their relationship ended abruptly, and savagley. Despite okonkwo's cold cut demeanor, he is still hrut about the subject and," did not wis to speak about nowye," when questioned by obierka. Collonialism led okonkwo to contenue the father-son relationship issues that he had with his father, with
Nwoye, whom is Okonkwo’s son, leaves to follow the Christians. Resulting from this, Okonkwo perceives him as weak, because he disobeyed the male dominant Igbo culture. In an academic article by Biodun, he touches on the subject of male dominance playing a part upon Okonkwo finding his son feminine, “We can indeed say that within the gendered scale of valuations and representations by which Okonkwo seeks to establish the greatest possibles distance between himself and his father’s “effeminacy,” his son Nwoye is “feminized”: he refuses Okonkwo’s interpellative call to be a “man” contemptuous of “female” attributes” (Jeyifo 233). Since the the Igbo community is very male dominated, when Nwoye leaves to join the Christians, it is perceived to be a feminist choice. This is also confirmed in the book Things Fall Apart, “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” (Achebe 152). Chinua Achebe narrates Okonkwo realizing that his son is not worth fighting for, because Nwoye betrayed the Igbo village, making him the equivalent of a woman. Okonkwo therefore betrays his son, because the Igbo society is male