Cultural Things Some would say that the essential element of Chinua Achebe 's "Things Fall Apart" is that of the struggle. The role of customs and traditions are incredibly important and decides the fate of men, women, and children. The main character Okonkwo is at odds with himself, the world, and his future throughout the story. This book deal with the obstacles arising from the conflicts of man vs. self, and man vs. society. Throughout the story Okonkwo gains morals and life lessons that change him on his journey of personal growth.
Tradition
Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s, at a point when the Europeans started to colonize Africa and in particular Nigeria. This novel explorers the traditions of European literature of Africans that describe them as primitive and savages. The attitudes in novel this are rooted into our insight that the District Commissioner in the book seems familiar with most people perspectives. He is superior acting and very dismissive of people calling them savages, and totally unaware of the rich of Igbo life. Digression is at tool that Achebe 's uses in abundance in the novel. The novel 's central story is the tragedy of Okonkwo, to Achebe The novel is a documentary, but the energy of Achebe 's narrative protects the book from reading like an anthropology text. The reader is allowed to see the Igbo people through their own eyes, as they celebrate rituals and holidays that mark important moments in the year and in the people 's
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, highlights the tradition of Igbo people through many rhetoric devices. Achebe uses the devices to vividly describe the impact of the tradition, as well as the challenge of tradition. Achebe exemplifies the significance of the tradition through detail, dialogue, and proverbs. The detail used in the novel solidifies the many factors that are involved in the tradition, such as the food served during an important occasion when Okonkwo gives a feast to the people of his mother’s land, Mbanta.
In Things Fall Apart, post-colonial author Chinua Achebe is effectively telling two distinct but related stories. The first establishes the traditions and customs of the Ibo people, particularly those living in the powerful village of Umuofia, while the second documents the culture clash between the old ways of the Ibo clan and the newly arrived white man, all of which is connected by the common thread of the fall of the tragic hero, disgraced warrior Okonkwo. Unsurprisingly, the demarcation between these two halves falls right at the point of the arrival of Christian missionaries in the region. Achebe’s episodic chapter style details a plethora of different reactions to this by the Ibo people, which can be broken up into three groups; acts of violence and rebellion, conversion and the embrace of Christianity, and relative inaction and indifference. All three reactions played roles in the downfall of the Ibo clan, but the most damaging in Achebe’s view is the actions of those who decided to ignore the new dynamic of the white man’s presence, and through their arrogance lead the African people as a whole to cultural eradication.
“Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe 13). In Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, the character of Okonkwo is driven by fear. By the time Okonkwo becomes a young man, he is proud, well-known, and respected. When the introduction of Western ideas occurs, Okonkwo is unable to adapt his ways of functioning in the world and loses the respect he has from many Ibo people.
Chinua Achebe wrote the fictional novel “Things Fall Apart” based on a tribe located in an Ibo village in Nigeria. This story takes place in the era of colonization and imperialism except this time; it is from the viewpoint of the Africans. It is reasonable to say that Achebe’s work focuses around the unique protagonist, Okonkwo, and his beliefs along with how white men’s colonization impacted the African society. This novel can tie into our classes’ discussion with the various elements of the white colonization of the African continent.
The literary book “Things Fall Apart is a well-written novel by Chinua Achebe about an ordinary Nigerian named Okonkwo, and how the impact of European colonization in his village, significantly changed his life in the most unexpected way possible. Though this is the main idea, the novel consists of many hidden messages that Achebe shows through the interesting plot turns and literary devices which appeal to the reader. A theme that Achebe explores through the book is the role of men and women in the Igbo society and how certain customs are associated with each of them. The powerful personalities of the characters and the way that some of them, such as Ezinma, Ekwefi, and Nwoye, reach out of their gender stereotypes is one of the main reasons
Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” tells the story of Okonkwo, an ambitious man from the Igbo village of Umuofia, in modern day Nigeria at the onset of the Colonial era. Okonkwo is a rising member of the society until he inadvertently kills a kinsman and must flee for seven years to his mother’s clan so as not to offend the earth goddess of the village. During this time, British Colonialism reaches the Igbo people and quickly alters their traditional way of life. Through this tale of the Igbo Achebe seeks to illustrate the complexities of African societies and how deeply
A person does not obtain strength with an easy and perfect past. Experiences of hardships are the things in life that force a person to change in order to survive. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, this especially applies to one character - Okonkwo. In the Ibo culture, the sons of a man inherit all of his things when he dies, but for Okonkwo that was nothing. Okonkwo’s father did nothing and was viewed as a very disgraceful man in the society, so all Okonkwo inherited was shame. He had to start from scratch and build his own huts, his own barn, and start his own farm. Furthermore, he had to be a successful man in order to obtain the yams seeds to plant in his farm because no one would give them to a man that would not make anything out of them. His path to his current position was not easy at all. In the novel, the idea of wrestling with powerful forces comes up often, especially for Okonkwo throughout his life on his journey of trying to become the most famous and fiercest warrior of the clan. Initially, Okonkwo is shown wrestling literally with other people to gain fame building his character in both a positive and negative way. Later, he was also shown wrestling figuratively with the culture, his family, and the change the white man brought to the tribe, leading to his eventual downfall.
Modern-day readers of this novel not only relate easily to traditional proverbs and tales but also sympathize with the problems of Okonkwo, Nwoye, and other characters. Achebe has skillfully developed his characters, and even though they live in a different era and a very different culture, one can readily understand their motivations and their feelings because they are universal and timeless.
The novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, deals with the confrontation of cultures and the violent alterations in life and values brought about by the commencement of British colonialism in Nigeria. Its spotlight is directed on the tragic fall of the protagonist, Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture. Okonkwo is also considered a tragic hero. A tragic hero holds a place of power and influence, chooses his course of action, holds a tragic flaw, and gains awareness of circumstance that led to his fall. Okonkwo shows several aspects of being a tragic hero.
Since the civilization of the African continent the natives were seen as uncivilized and wild. Achebe throughout Things Fall Apart works to counter these very stereotypes. Set in an Ibo village in Nigeria during the start of European civilization, the book focuses on the main character Okonkwo and his prideful life to give insight on the true nature of Ibo culture. Achebe uses the abstract concept of the patriarchal society and importance of conversation to humanize the Ibo people.
In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart the plot is advanced and development of theme. With this the story get a good meaning out of it. Achebe uses religion and family to show how Okonkwo gets violent. The author uses plot advancement to show how Okonkwo is showing a softer side but he isn’t showing it much. When he didn’t want to kill Ikemefuna.
In the novel,Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe tells the story of the Ibo culture on the verge of revolution,depicts the collision of the Igo traditional way of life and the “wind of change” that are introduced by Britian colony who have recently move to thier relgion. Okonkwo whose soul posses so much discontent with the idea of change that reacts in a harse manner in order to sees conversion of culture. To further porve that he established a real man but Okonkwo refusal to accept the colonial way of like reflect upo the idea. Okonkwo is afraid losing he power once and deal with his personal ego deferrent for “wind of changes upon igbo cultural life When first introduced to the idea of cultural change by British colonies. Okonkwo was furious in that he felt that those were only trying to diminsh the existance of one masculinity through the practice and agreeing to follow it.
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre. The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,”. Things Fall Apart, a story written by Chinua Achebe, depicts the African experience of European colonization in lower Niger during the 19th century through the eyes of Okonkwo, a leader of the Igbo community. Achebe centers the story around the compliance of fate and change and the role of free will in determining one's future.
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is often regarded as the epitome of African literature, as it covers topics never before seen within the genre and paints the Igbo people as much more complex than previously assumed. Achebe provides the reader with a look into West African Igbo culture with well rounded characters and complex themes, and immerses audiences in a world to which they were previously unaware of. The novel revolves around Igbo tradition, part one being so steeped with culture and tradition is what helps the reader realize the severity of the British colonization. Once the reader becomes accustomed to Igbo terms and and traditions everything shifts as the Christians move in.
Like a steel shiv through flesh, the European culture made a deep gash in the Igbo culture as a result of their colonization of Nigeria. This left a scar on the Igbo culture, signifying the mark left by the Europeans that will never revert back to what it once was. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart manages to encapsulate the dawn of these events and portray to the reader the consequences of Europe’s invasion of Nigeria. More specifically, the author manages to project these consequences through the character of Okonkwo within the novel, establishing his identity before the Europeans hit, how this colonization alters his thoughts and feelings, all the while utilizing him to bring home the idea, or theme, of the importance of adapting to inevitable change.