In “The Second Coming,” by William Yeats and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the authors indicate a theme where modern and uncivilized forces form a cultural tug of war that leads to a system collapsing and anarchy ensuring. Chinua Achebe selected the Title for Things Fall Apart in 1959, from the poem, “ The Second Coming,” of 1921. Both literary works are structured with the same theme throughout the story and narrated in the same way. “The Second Coming,” and Things Fall Apart, can be compared with multiple thematic ideas throughout the story. Not only do the two literary works parallel in their story but they are both are presented in the same tone of narration. The poem, “The Second Coming,” by William Yeats tells of a society crumbling upon itself, the very, “centre cannot hold,” (line 3). Chaos is, “loosed upon the …show more content…
Society is like a baby, “vexed into a nightmare,” unable to wake (20). This monster Yeats introduces us to, “slouches,” with suspense toward the real world to be born; an inhuman, pitiless beast come to bring harsh justice (22). In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the British Imperial Government claims authority over the land and brings a new religion and way of life. The Igbo tribal system was all Okonkwo, the main character, had ever known and had granted him, “incredible prowess,” and, “two titles,” ( Achebe 8). The new government challenged Igbo culture and laws with a, “court,” ruled by the, “District Commissioner,” that governed by the “white man’s law,” (Achebe 175). No longer was the, “Throw[ing] away,” of twins or killing a stranger from another village acceptable, (Achebe 61). People without titles and people cast out of society such as the, “osu caste,” were told that they were equal to the titled men
The poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley forms thorough comparisons regarding theme with Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ as Henley conceives themes of fate, circumstance, and struggle in his literary piece. These thematic connections are shown when the protagonist, Okonkwo, of ‘Things Fall Apart’ is faced with the task of emerging from poverty and becoming a man that is successful, yet feared, and most importantly, divergent from his father, Unoka. He is also challenged with his own inner demons as the white man reshapes his way of life, driving Okonkwo to a fate much different than what he anticipated.
“The Convergence of the Twain” is a nonlinear retelling of the Titanic disaster of 1912; however, on a deeper level, the poem explores hubris, downfall, and how fate connects hubris to downfall. Through tone, diction and juxtaposition, the speaker describes the sinking of the Titanic as inevitable and necessary.
O’Connor, Flannery. "Everything That Rises Must Converge.” The Story and Its Writer. Charters, Ann. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/ST. Martin's, 2011. 650-662. Print.
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"The blood-dimmed tied is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned". As many currently see our society today, Yeats was in fear of what the future had in store, and felt it necessary to warn society of their abominable behavior. All of the good in the society has been taken over and overwhelmed by the horrible actions. No longer do ceremonies, or acts of kindness, take place, which Yeats believes is a direct effect of the loss of youth and innocence. "That twenty centuries of stony sleep were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle". This quote from "The Second Coming" informs the society that if they do not begin to correct their transgressions against one another as a whole they will awake the anti-Christ. The anti-Christ will come to claim his Jesus and correct the predicament that they have gotten themselves in to.
In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe certain themes are present in the the
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.
The societal breakdown of the Ibo people can be harmonized to the poetry of Yeats during its collapse. The poem, “The second coming”, successfully describes the emotion felt by a person or persons during times of war, anarchy and even defeat. The African journey in this story and its untimely end are riddled with the very same emotion W.B Yeats expresses in his poetry. Both publications are a tale of pain expressed at different times, in different languages, by different people. And yet their imprint remains the same.
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 ...
There are constant struggles between gender, identity, commodification, and class. Among the men and women in many African tribes that still exist today, there are divergences, which will always remain intact because of the culture and the way in which they are taught to treat each other. Chinua Achebe wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart, which is a great piece of African literature that deals with the Igbo culture, history, and the taking over of African lands by British colonization. The ongoing gender conflict is a prominent theme in Things Fall Apart, presenting the clash between men and women of the African Igbo society. Throughout history, from the beginning of time to today, women have frequently been viewed as inferior, men’s possessions whose sole purpose was to satisfy the men’s needs.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is an African novel which happened in 19th Century. Achebe narrates the story mainly about Okonkwo’s whole life in one of the nine villages called Umuofia in Nigeria and the clashes as well as influences to the village from colonization of Europeans. The clashes include reactions and misconception after the first arrival of white people and the effect which missionaries bring about to the village from many aspects such as belief, family and culture. Beyond that, there are large amount of description of the background and details of the villagers’ daily lives are provided to readers for acquainting with Ibo culture. As a consequence, the changes which white people bring about to the village are vivid and unimaginable compared with their previous peaceful life. The conflicts generate from violence and misunderstanding between the Europeans and villagers with addition of colonial process among villages which lead to replacement of Christian domination rather than the Ibo culture.
Nigeria has a rich culture stemming from the many civilizations that inhabited the land. In the novel Thing Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe brings light on to the great Igbo people, a society Nigeria hosted for centuries. The tale follows a man named Okonkwo as he tries to make amends for his father 's failures and a name for himself within his village. This path leads Okonkwo to become reckless and unreasonable. Through this, readers are exposed to the village’s judicial system, revealing that the clan’s laws based off sexism, superstitious nature, and deep religious ties.
The book Things Fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe , is very similar to the poem , The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats.
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
In his poem, “The Second Coming”, William Yeats demonstrates the idea adversity plays a heavy role in influencing an individual’s identity. “The Second Coming” develops the idea that an individual’s identity will be affected negatively when faced with adversity. In other words, when the speaker realizes that the world around him is in ruins, he beings believe that it cannot be saved. Firstly, due to the first world war, many tragic scenes are witnessed such as the lives of innocent people being lost which causes the speaker to believe that the same event will happen in the future. Secondly, although the speaker possesses a small hope that things will change for the better, he cannot help but envision more terrible images such as vultures waiting