Chinua Achebe 's Things Fall Apart

White. White everywhere. White men everywhere. White men with new idea everywhere. These are the thoughts running wild in a person’s mind who has never seen a person with white skin and when they begin to bring new things and ideas their thoughts begin to build. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe what seemed to be a normal day in Umuofia turned into a day of new faces and later to come, a new clan. As white men arrived they brought many things from their culture and at the beginning they seemed to be making a difference for a more positive society but readers quickly find out that these things were only brought to manipulate the Ibo people into doing the desired actions of the white men.

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe exercises the importance of traditions in an Ibo village of Nigeria. Africa is very well known for their long history, dating back to two million years ago, and their ancient ethnic customs have lived on since (“African History”). Unlike families from a rich white society, African families are usually required to live the traditions that have been survived through many generations, even if they are frowned upon in other parts of the world. However, the colonialists’ arrival in the late 19th century to Umuofia influences African characters of the novel to disobey these gender, religious, and cultural customs.

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, presents the result of colonization of the Ibo people by the European missionaries. The Ibo culture is threatened to change by the European influence. Villagers are divided between resisting a new lifestyle or embracing it for better opportunities in society. The struggle to keep Ibo traditions alive is reflected in Okonkwo and Obierika’s relationship to one another. Okonkwo represents the resistance of change by keeping traditional values in high regard while, Obierika signifies the openness to opportunity by questioning the current Ibo values. The arrival of European missionaries persuades the exchange of traditional Ibo methods, customs, and community for Christianity, resulting in the community to fall apart.

Things Fall Apart is a story about personal beliefs and customs and also a story about conflict. There is struggle between family, culture, and religion of the Ibo people which is all brought on by a difference in personal beliefs and customs. There are the strong opinions of the main character, Okonkwo. We are also introduced to the views of his village, Umuofia. Finally, we see how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are confronted by those of the white missionaries. Chinua Achebe is a product of both native and European cultures. This has a great effect on the telling of the story. When he tells the story with an understanding and personal experiences in both cultures. He does not portray the African culture and their

This novel is the definitive tragic model about the dissolution of the African Ibo culture by Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo, a great and heroic leader, is doomed by his inflexibility and hubris. He is driven by fear of failure.

Preconceived ideas about one’s culture often arises from stereotypes passed down from generation to generation. It is those stereotypes which shape one’s way of thinking, without being educated properly. In the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, misunderstood culture is what drives the story of a small African clan called the Umuofia and the life story of Okonkwo, a fearless warrior and farmer. An in-depth look into pre-colonial African culture helps the reader discover and understand an unbiased point of view of a world one may not understand. In doing so, Achebe uses imagery as well as strong narration to describe the cultural norms and activities that the Nigerian tribe undergoes in everyday life. Through this he offers a nonbiased point of view, and communicates and accurate picture of pre-colonial African culture to a western reader.

In Things Fall Apart there are many cultural collisions created by the introduction of Western ideas into Ibo culture. Through careful examination about the character Okonkwo in the novel “Things Fall Apart”, by Chinua Achebe, we come to realize Okonkwo was in fact un-accepting of the cultural collision. Okonkwo was sadly unable to adapt to the new society that was set forth to him.

The world is full of cultural collisions. Every day people meet other with different worldviews. This concept of cultural collision, is shown perfectly though Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. In the story it is the cultural collision, of the introduction of Western Ideas into the ibo society, that causes Achebe’s characters to grow and change. One character in particular is forced to reevaluate his sense of identity because of the cultural collision. This is the character of Okonkwo. The collision challenges Okonkwo’s sense of self, as a religious leader or an Egwugwu, as a leader of his people, and as a man. It is Okonkwo’s response to these challenges, that shapes the meaning of the book of that as your world changes so must you or you

The novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, is a tale based on the traditional beliefs and customs of an Ibo village during late 1800’s Africa. Through the telling of this story, we witness the remarkable depth of Igbo culture through its functions of religion, politics, judiciary and entertainment.

Daisy pantoja December 7, 2015 English 10H Mrs. Smith Literary Analysis essay In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by chinua achebe,Okonkwo is a well-respected, powerful member of the Umuofia clan. Then the European missionaries come in and cause chaos throughout umuofia. Okonkwo responds to the cultural collision by planning attacks toward the western missionaries believes they are a threat, and changes his sense of identity.

Visitors to the African continent and traditions of the inhabitants, the imperialists gain their power in two ways. The first strategy, force, initially led by the invasion from “the three white men and a very large number of other men,” (139) provided the missionaries with the physical manpower to annihilate the village of Abame. Soon enough, word spread through the villages of the atrocities committed by the white invaders, and intimidation set in. This put the villagers, specifically of Umuofia, on their back heels. As the Umuofians were already timid towards the white men, the missionaries no longer needed to force their way to power.

Before all of commotion began, “Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness” (13). After the beginning of the imperialism, Nwoye converted to Christianity, so Okonkwo acted as if he had never known Nwoye as part of his family. It was as if Okonkwo never had a son, even though he worked so diligently on training him to be a good person throughout Nwoye’s childhood. Okonkwo’s reaction and change in identity contributed to Achebe’s overall purpose for writing the

Chinua Achebe, a native born Nigerian, with an education from the University College, Ilban, has written multiple novels, short stories, essays, and children’s books. Achebe wanted to make a realistic novel with a true African viewpoint. As an author, Achebe made an internationally affecting, cultural contribution to everyday literature by creating a novel so embedded into the African Culture that he experienced when he was younger. In the book, Things Fall Apart, author, Chinua Achebe, introduces the reader to an entirely new side of African culture, and the changes brought when outside forces collided with a different culture through the author’s characterization, the novel’s theme, and the author’s purpose.

After the destruction of Abame, missionaries arrive in Mbanta to spread the message of their Christianity bringing along with them, the English government system (Achebe, 1994). Achebe describes the arrival in such a manner that the reader can visualize the distinct differences between the two groups of people. The Christians are visibly more modern with a religious foundation that is extremely different from that of the Igbo people. They also bring with them laws that function in no way close to the Igbo culture’s form of crime and punishment. When Okonkwo hears this news he feels like

The novel, things fall apart was set in the late nineteenth century which was a period of conflict and drastic change in Africa, where indigenous societies clashed with imperialistic European powers. The author, Chinua Achebe adds this tension of the historic British colonial expansion to present another dimension to Okonkwo's tragedy. Achebe challenges ethnocentric views of Africa through his use of language throughout the novel. The author also includes themes of Cultural relativism by introducing the Ibo’s traditions and language.