The Role Of Igbo Religion In William B. Yeats Things Fall Apart

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Things Fall Apart, opens with a poem by William B. Yeats. A line in the poem states, “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold (8),” this simple line explains the essence of the story. If one looks at the role and effect of religion and the positive and negative forces of Christianity in the story they can see how things can collapse when the center is unstable.
Firstly, one must discover the role and effect of the Igbo religion in, Things Fall Apart. Their gods are the manifestations of nature, which is understandable because their society is based on agriculture. They worship the earth goddess out of fear that she might destroy them if they sin against her (39). Everything in their civilization is centered around their religion. This affects their culture greatly. For example, because of his father’s transgression Ikemefuna was made a sacrifice to avoid war between Umuofia and Maino (31-32). This act can explain one of the ways their government works. Another example of this is the egwugwu. They are the elders of Umuofia disgusted as the ancestral spirits. They play the role of both judge and jury of the land. An example of their power is when they burn down the church in retaliation for the murder of one of their fellow ancestral spirits by Enoch (214). The people of Umuofia has a philosophy of vengeance, if they are wronged they expect a price for the action committed this is not the cast for the Christians, however. …show more content…

When Mr. Brown, the first missionary, comes to Umuofia he establishes a administration of respect and compromise.He discusses the Igbo religion with Akunna to better understand the traditions of the people (200). He also builds a school and hospital in Umuofia (202). Mr. Brown understood the importance of providing for the people one is trying to convert. He follow the example Jesus made after the five thousand he feed came to him in John

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