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Cultural background in Things Fall Apart
Cultural background in Things Fall Apart
A character and analysis of okonkwo in things fall apart
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In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, the author portrayed an indigenous African tribesman named Okonkwo of his adversary to be one with his Nnative culture. Through the use of a direct representation, character’s point of view, and characterization, the author captures the effects of cultural aspects in one’s moral choice within society. Through the use of a direct representation, the author conveys Okonkwo’s obedience to obedient characteristic of his the Native Culture towards his son. In chapter four, page 33 the author writes, “I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands. And if you stand staring at me like that,” he swore, “Amadiora will break your head for you!” Within this example, the words “Amadiora” is used to referring to an Igbo God and the phrase “hold up his head in the gathering of the clan” is a reference of becoming a man. The means to follow the path of being a man can even push Okonkwo to strangle his own blood (I would sooner strangle him with my own hands) in order to sustain his belief of …show more content…
In chapter twenty, page 172 the author writes, “You have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people.” Within this example, the phrase “I will only have a son who is a man” is being portrayed to reveal the ideal belief of a moral culture in the eyes of Okonkwo. Being a man is one aspect of being a traditional Native, in which influence Okonkwo to shape his moral choice to abandon his own son in order to sustain the culture. By mentioningpresenting this quote example, the author captures the viewpoint of Okonkwo characteristic to look down on anyone who abandons the tradition of being one with the
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.
Things Fall Apart, a novel based on the cultures and the traditions of the Igbos depict a very strong sense of struggle between change and tradition. This story is somewhat an archetype of To Kill a Mocking Bird. Not just centered on sociopolitical views but also cultural and traditional beliefs, Achebe specifically defines each speck of this Eastern Nigerian culture, from the breaking of the “kola –a caffeine-containing nut of evergreen trees to the unmasking of the egwuegwu and spiritual sacrifices to the gods and ancestors. Kola, a very essential part of the Igbo culture is represented in so many ways; it signifies peace, blessing, wealth, abundance, and respect most especially. In this society, the contest for wealth, titles and success was very important, it was a great legacy to be left by any man. Okonkwo being the strongest and most powerful man in the village had more than set a standard in that village by conquering the greatest warrior of all time. He had a symbiotic relationship with his community, as much has he benefited from the community’s societal and cultural values, so did they benefit from his strength and will power to succeed.
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
“No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man.” (53) This quote demonstrates one of the traits of masculinity that Okonkwo values, which is the ability to control his family. Okonkwo is the man of the household. He provides them food from his crops and a roof over their heads, and by his beliefs of masculinity he therefore holds all the power in his family. He wants to maintain the role of the man or authority figure of the household and whenever any of his wives try to talk back to him or argue, he would beat them. There was an example of this control in the novel with Okonkwo’s wives, Ekwefi and Ojiugo. Ekwefi was Okonkwo’s second wife, and in the novel, he beaten her in a fit of anger because he thought she had killed a banana tree.
Okonkwo’s fear leads him to treat members of his family harshly, in particular his son, Nwoye. Okonkwo often wonders how he, a man of great strength and work ethic, could have had a son who was “degenerate and effeminate” (133). Okonkwo thought that, "No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man" (45).
“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.
Despite kind feelings, cultural influences betrayed him in the end. “Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was...
Obtaining acceptance from others is a burning desire that lies within each of us, yet no one dares to admit it. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart reveals that respect and honor is greatly valued in the African culture. The novel’s protagonist, Okonkwo, is so concerned with the clan’s opinion of him that he is pressured into making irrational decisions. His choices have not only a negative effect, but also an irreversible impact on those he truly cares about. Okonkwo’s fear of societal disapproval causes him to hurt others.
Okonkwo always wanted to be the opposite of his father and by doing so he turned to this emotionless angry man. He asked his second wife where Ojiugo has gone and she replies with “She has gone to plait her hair.” He later asks if Ojiugo told her to feed her children and the second wife lies by saying yes. Okonkwo waits in his hut and when Ojiugo returns he “beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace.”(Achebe, 29) Okonkwo let one emotion guide him to break such a sacred week and caused him to lose respect in his village. Achebe later states that Okonkwo is “not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error.” meaning that he wasn’t worried that he broke a sacred tradition but rather that if he let this slide he would look
Okonkwo believes that masculinity is one of the many branches to success. He doesn’t care about what his actions are only if they match masculinity. Chinua Achebe succeeds his goal of regaining the dignity of the Igbo tribe; through honouring traditions, describing multiple perspectives, showing that Okonkwo has human characteristics by having the fear of failure.
It is another to sympathies for a man who believes he is powerful and respected by many when in reality, he is feared by his own family and that is another reason that leads Okonkwo to his downfall. He started positive, motivated but down the line, Okonkwo treats his wives and children very harshly. When the author mentioned, “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” (pg.13). This is not power but a weakness when Okonkwo uses power to rule his own house, detaching himself from the emotional connection with this family rather than being frightening to live with. The sign of “gentleness” as like his father means weakness to Okonkwo even with his own family. Especially his wives, when the narrator demonstrated the lack of emotion to his wife, “Okonkwo was provoked to justifiable anger by his young wife, went to plait her hair at her friend’s house and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal… He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily. In his anger he had forgotten that it was the Week of Peace…But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half –way through, not even for fear of a goddess” (pg.29-30). Okonkwo does not even fear the goddess and the Week of Peace and ends up beating his wife to show that he owes
Over the course of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo finds his own struggle between traditions vs. changes. Moreover, Achebe shows over his course through the novel, whether change is a good thing or not. The abstract of Things Fall Apart shows, how Africans had a system of evaluating the self inspires many of the clan’s outcasts in order to embrace Christianity before the Europeans arrived as the novel states, “Okonkwo was deeply grieved… He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling separately, and he mourned for the [warlike] men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women" (183). This shows a great example of tradition since he mourned for the belligerent men of Umuofia.
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
Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, uses the changes in African tribal culture brought about by European colonization to illustrate the evolution of the character Okonkwo. As Okonkwo leads his life, his experiences, personality and thought are revealed to the reader. The obstacles he faces in life are made numerous as time progresses. Okonkwo's most significant challenge originates within himself. He also encounters problems not only when in opposition to the white culture, but in his own culture, as he becomes frustrated with tribal ideals that conflict with his own. The last adversary he encounters is of the physical world, brought upon himself by his emotional and cultural problems. The manner through which Okonkwo addresses his adversaries in Things Fall Apart creates the mechanism that leads to his eventual destruction.
]k Adegbite O. came to a similar conclusion about Okonkwo’s views on masculinity and femininity when he makes the remark in his essay that, “Okonkwo is of the opinion that traditional men have lost their place in society and cannot be termed ‘worthy’ anymore as Western culture has softened their resolve; men have been turned to weaklings by colonisation and the white man’s religion” (Tobalase, “Masculinity and Cultural Conflict in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart”).