Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart focused on the story of Okonkwo, a wealthy and respectable warrior of the Umuofia clan. The novel in itself is a story of cultural beliefs and customs. Achebe, having both African and European background and experiences, did not portray the Africans as barbaric (unlike Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness). In fact, he celebrated them by showing a detailed picture of their culture like the stories Nwoye’s mother tells him, or the song Ikemefuna sang before his execution. The first part of the novel depicts the life of the pre-colonial Igbo tribe. Achebe paints a colorful picture of the life and traditions held by the tribe. The sense of tradition portrayed in the novel suggests the high importance of values and norms to the people of the tribe. Achebe breaks the stereotypical African by depicting a complex and advanced society complete with social, political …show more content…
They began to challenge the tribe’s beliefs by building a church in the “evil forest” that to show their god is stronger than the forces they serve. “The inhabitants of Mbanta expected them all to be dead within four days. The first day passed and the second and third and fourth, and none of them died. Everyone was puzzled. And then it became known that the white man's fetish had unbelievable power.” (149) This invites more followers for the new religion which draws the flock of people who have suffered from the previous beliefs. Moreover, what strike most for Okonkwo is Nyowe’s conversion to Christianity. Nyowe sees Christianity’s way as a less violent option than the tradition his father upholds. He chooses to let go and walk out even if he “did not fully understand. But he was happy to leave his father.” (152) Like the other converters who have suffered from grief, Okonkwo’s violent reaction against Nyowe’s conversion made pushed him away rather than subordinating in his fears once
…the missionary had immediately paid him a visit. He had just sent Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who was now called Isaac, to the new training college for teachers in Umuru. And he had hoped that Okonkwo would be happy to hear of it. But Okonkwo had driven him away with the threat that if he came into his compound again he would be carried out of it. (157)
Our first novel, Things Fall Apart, is set in the late 1800s in Nigeria and portrays a clash between white Christian colonists and the traditional culture of the local Igbo people. As the novel progresses it becomes a clear example of demanding conformity through cultural adaptation. At the beginning of the novel it is apparent the Igbo people honor and revere acts of strength and violence. Achebe displays this early in the novel through the main character Okonkwo, “He was a man of action, a man of war … On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity he drank palm-wine from his first human head” (12). This displays how, early in this culture, war and violence are not only honored, but celebrated amongst the people.
...y had let the other messenger escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action" (Achebe 205). Everything he lived for and believed in was going to be taken away by the white men. They had control over everything. He did not want to see that happen so he took his own life. Yet, this is ironic because, in doing so, he was committing an act which was considered one of the worst actions a member could do in the Ibo society. Throughout the story we see how strong Okonkwo's personal beliefs were and how much they meant to him. Beliefs, both personal and those of the society someone is born into, play a major role in their life. This story is an example of what happens when those beliefs are taken away and others are forced upon a person. Everyone needs to believe in something, and things fall apart when they no longer can.
Gerald Moore has stated in Seven African Writers that Achebe's goal in writing Things Fall Apart was to recapture ''the life of his tribe before the first touch of the white man sent it reeling from its delicate equilibrium'' (58). This is central to an understanding of the novel. Right from the tribes' first encounter with the whites, the reader observes it being unchangeably altered.
When some of the Igbo people started to convert, it also caused problems between people inside the clan itself. Okonkwo’s initial reaction is to prepare with violence and protect their land and people. This slowly changes through time as he goes from being his old self to giving in. Ironically, he who is afraid of appearing weak, gives into weakness and commits suicide. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo shows his old habits with the following statements, “He had spoken violently to his clansmen when they had met in the marketplace to decide on their action. And they listened to him with respect. It was like the good old days again, when a warrior was a warrior.”(Achebe, page 192). He had slowly started to change some of his views when Okonkwo was exiled to his motherland. This was all for nothing when he came back home to a cultural collision he could jump into. He thought he could redeem himself but got too wrapped in the mess. His identity was challenging itself seeing just how far Okonkwo would
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.
Nnolim, Charles E. "Achebe's Things Fall Apart: An Igbo National Epic" Modern Black Literature. ed. Okechukwu Mezu New York: Black Academy Press, 1971, 55-60.
Nwoye felt ignorace for believing in the Ibo culture. Doubting his belief for his current religion, he converts to christianity. Nwoye tried to keep this hidden from the rst of his family, as they would be highly dissapointed and dissown him for such an act. One day, one of Okonkwo friend noticeses Nwoye walking around with other christians. Okonkwo later confronts Nwoye about his whereabouts. Okonkowo chokes Nwoye, demanding him to tell him the truth. Inturupted by Uchendu, Okonkwo lets go of Nwoyes neck. Nwoye later flees to go study, so he could learn how to read and write. The missionaries made Nwoye change religion and wating him to be more
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
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
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 Chinua Achebe novel, “Things Fall Apart”, Achebe uses literary devices such as imagery, dialogue, and detail to show the challenges that the Igbo people struggled with to keep their traditions going. To show the traditions and challenges of tradition the Igbo people suffered with Achebe used imagery. Imagery is one of the most well used literary devices that Achebe used because it showed the conditions the Igbo people lived in, but it also showed their traditions of life. Goats were often slaughtered for traditional feasts, “And as the goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls. It was like a wedding feast.
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.