The colonization of Africa by Europeans was characterized by the abuse of Africans and the destruction of their culture, all which was rationalised by the prevailing belief that Africans were inferior beings. Chinua Achebe, a twentieth century Nigerian novelist and the author of Things Fall Apart fiercely rejects this notion. Things Fall Apart follows an Ibo man and his family through their lives prior to and immediately after European arrival, but it is not their interactions with Europeans, but their daily interactions and struggles that are most important. This is because, despite their supposedly irreconcilable differences, Achebe’s Ibo characters are driven by the same forces as Westerners, and this is how Chinua Achebe uses universally relatable characters to humanize Africa to the West. Okonkwo’s son Nwoye is a gentle soul who does not fit in with his father’s ideals …show more content…
Nwoye’s troubles with his father begin early on, as his father is almost immediately dissatisfied with him, “[Okonkwo] would stamp out the disquieting signs of laziness which he already thought he saw in him”(page 33). Failing to live up to someone’s expectations is an experience everyone has had, and by this Achebe demonstrates, as he does numerous times in Things Fall Apart, that the Ibo people are no different from any other in this regard. Although Nwoye tries to be a ‘better’ son as time passes, he still struggles to fit in, “Nwoye knew it was right to be masculine and violent, but he still prefered the stories that his mother used to tell,”(page 53). Despite his best efforts, Nwoye still doesn’t feel quite at home with the Ibo values. This both continues to develop his divergent teen character and shows Western readers that just like them,
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.
In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Mr. Brown, the first missionary in Umuofia, was a kind and respectful man. Not to say that Reverend James Smith was not, but his degree of kindness and respect were present in a whole different level. They both wanted to convert the lost, all those in Umuofia that were not in the church. Mr. Brown made friends with the clan and “trod softly on his faith,” (pg.178) while Mr. Smith told them how things were in a harsh voice and tried to force his religion on the people of Umuofia. The impacts the two had on the people and the church were exact opposites.
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.
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.
In life people are very rarely, if ever, purely good or evil. In novels authors tend not to create characters with an obvious moral standing not only to make their novel more applicable to the reader, but also to make the characters more complex and dynamic. Chinua Achebe uses this technique to develop the characters in his novel, Things Fall Apart. The main character, and protagonist in the novel, Okonkwo, is very morally dynamic showing some sensitivity to his family and friends, but in an attempting to rebel against his father, Okonkwo also exhibits the tendency to lash out violently.
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.
Consequently, the native traditions gradually disappeared and in time the whole local social structure within which the indigenous people had lived successfully for centuries was destroyed. Achebe spends the first half of the novel depicting the Ibo culture, by itself, in both a sophisticated and primitive light describing and discussing its grandeur, showing its strengths and weaknesses, etiquettes and incivilities, and even the beginning of cultural breakdown before the introduction of the missionaries. The collapse of the old culture is evident soon after the missionaries arrived, and here Achebe utilises two of the primary missionary figures, Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith, to once again depicts both sides of the Ibo culture between them, with Mr. Brown depicting the sophisticated and Mr. Smith depicting the primitive aspects. The main focus in this novel is on one man, Okonkwo, the protagonist who symbolises the many Nigerians, or Africans who were struggling against the white missionaries, who brought their religion and policies and imposed them on Okonkwo’s and the other surrounding tribes. Achebe also shows how great the effect is when something seemingly un-invasive, such as a church, is set up in a Nigerian or African culture.
Although many readers would describe the collision of culture and colonialism in Africa as inevitable, a closer examination of this novel would suggest that the need(s) of human nature to expand their values and beliefs upon others causes ancient cultures to evolve or fade out of existence. Things Fall Apart was set in the time period of the 1890’s, when colonialism was beginning in Africa and the effect would be felt for many years throughout the African nation. Chinua Achebe was born and raised in the 1930’s in Nigeria and was the son of a father and a mother who converted to Christianity. Achebe was raised during a period of tension in Africa, caused by the height of colonialism and western culture influence upon African societies (Liukkonen, 2008). Achebe was a firsthand witness, to the troubles and tribulations associated with religion and colonialism upon ancient customs.
In the novel Things Fall Apart the Igbo society is dominated by gender roles. For example, a Husband can beat his wives for bringing food to them late. Women are discriminated against by society. The main character in Things Fall Apart, is Okonkwo who, has trouble balancing the feminine and masculine side in his life. Okonkwo is a rich, well known, and respected warrior of the Umuofia clan, a lower Nigerian tribe that is a big part of nine connected villages. He believes that only masculinity can hold the tribe together. Okonkwo then rejects everything that reminds him of being coward-like or feminine. Okonkwo's dislike to everything feminine came from his father which is why he has a very bad relationship with Unoka(his father). Throughout the whole novel, Okonkwo refers to his father, Unoka, as "agbala.” Agbala means woman in the language of the Igbo society. Okonkwo disliked Unoka because he was extremely artistic musically gifted, coward-like, and he was in debt to a lot of people in the town. Okonkwo believed that these were all characteristics that show the feminine side in a person. The hate for his father's weaknesses which is what led him to be cruel and abusive to the females he loves.
In Chinua Achebe 's classic novel "Things Fall Apart," the development of European colonization 's lead to extreme cultural changes, leaving a lasting impact on the Igbo village of Umofia in West Africa. In the novel, Achebe displays the impacts of European colonization in both critical and sympathetic terms to provide the reader with both positive and negative factors of Imperialism to develop an unbiased understanding of what the Igbo culture and society went through. While addressing the hardship 's of life by showing the deterioration of Okonkwo 's character, the cultural and traditional changes of society, and the positive and negative impacts of imperialism, Achebe keeps touch on the overall theme of the novel, once a dramatic event
Chinua Achebe has helped create a new perspective and new story of Nigerian and African history. Through the aid of his works, Things Fall Apart being the most influential piece, he was able to challenge previous texts that falsely depicted the African culture. The goal of the colonials and Europeans was to disrupt the African’s way of life. The Africans were essentially just like the white’s, the only difference was the color of their skin. The whites could not accept the fact that they were different, that is why the vandalism of the African culture occurred. Achebe used his work of art, being his novel, to accurately portray the innocent African people in a positive way.
This paper will argue that no other literary work explores more about imperial stories focusing on resources besides concentrating on the need to speak stories to the people other than Things Fall Apart (1953) by Chinua Achebe and King Solomon’s Mine (1885) by Ridder Haggard. Chinua Achebe avers that the writer in both new and old nation has a bigger role to play while presenting his or her content to the audience (Faulkner, 2007, p. 52). Taking it from the African perspective, Achebe holds that the writer ought to help people from Africa and abroad comprehend that Africans had and maintained viable culture that remained intact before the arrival of the white man on the African land. In his book Things Fall Apart, Achebe demonstrates that the African writer carries recognizing and celebrating the culture as his or her biggest job in order to make people from Africa start salvaging their dignity. Chinua Achebe presents Things Fall Apart in a way that readers do not fail to appreciate and embrace cultural perspective. To facilitate this understanding, Achebe picks information accessible to the readers as well as that provides cultural and historical; context in many ways. He presents two stories that seem to overlap and intertwine at the same time in the novel under scrutiny in this context. Both stories revolve around Okonkwo, described as a strong man hailing from the village of Ibo in Nigeria (Achebe, 1997, p. 12). The presentation aims at making sure that readers get the right text-to-text, text-self, as well as text-to-world connections. To achieve this, Achebe applies various historical, geographical, literary, and cultural resources.
Well-acclaimed author, Chinua Achebe from Wes Africa, is recognized worldwide for his exquisite and intelligent usage of literary devices to bring to the limelight pertinent issues facing the African continent, more specifically Nigeria. He introduces the world to his main character Obi Okonkwo whom; through his eyes, a glimpse is given into the world of a Nigerian .In Things Fall Apart, his first of three novels, Okonkwo, upon his arrival from England is completely detached from his African heritage. From the novel, it is noticed that Obi Okonkwo slowly becomes a part of a dominant class whose corruption he finds repugnant. In an effort to choose between the acceptance of traditional values and the pleasures of a fast changing world, Obi finds himself in a tight fix .He is faced with growing pressures from the expectations of his family, his community, and the larger society around him. With unprecedented lucidity and a growing passion, Chinua Achebe’s No Longer at Ease remains till date a brilliant account of the challenges facing Nigeria today. This paper seeks to examine the representation of the colonial experiences of Obi Okonkwo in the fiction of Chinua Achebe.
Things Fall Apart, a novel that is, among other things, about the rapidly changing Ibo culture and how colonization forms a new, more modern culture. Obierika is the dear friend of the main character Okonkwo; in the beginning both they both were assumed to be quite similar but as time goes on this is proven wrong as he adapts through the novel. His adaptability lays dormant until he is forced to use it. Before the missionaries arrive Obierika already possesses the ability to change and develop but it is not necessary until the situation changes. Obierika, upon meeting and interacting with the new culture, changes to conform to the new order of things.
The Prevalence of Tragedy in Things Fall Apart Things Fall Apart cries a classical tragedy. It’s a classical tragedy because it possesses catharsis, dramatic irony, and, most essentially, a tragic hero. These elements come and work together in this book very nicely and are why Things Fall Apart is an exceptional example of a classical tragedy.