Chinua Achebe 's Things Fall Apart

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe discusses the rise of an Igbo chieftain who came from great poverty to power and the eventual loss of Igbo traditions, rites, and the influence of his clan through his eyes due to western imperialism and colonialism. The intended audience for this novel is very broad, but if we tried to define it would primarily be people who have not experienced the Igbo culture and westerners or people who speak English. In this essay I will be focusing on the last six chapters: chapters 20 to 25. These chapters highlight the loss of power and customs of the Igbo people who have succumb to colonial rule. I fell Achebe is rhetorically effective and

Throughout “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, aspects of Igbo culture are presented to the reader in order for them to obtain a grasp on how people from a part of Africa live. For the majority of Part I, different sides of Igbo culture are relayed to the reader predominantly through the 3rd person, as well as through the perspective of Okonkwo, in order to gain the understanding that these people do indeed, have a rich, intricate, and sophisticated way of life. However, things turn for the worse and in Parts II and III, where Achebe recreates the conflict between European and Igbo cultures at the turn of the twentieth century by focusing on the cataclysmic changes introduced by the forces of Christianity and colonialism, and how they destroyed the strong foundation of the once proud Igbo people.

Even though the Ibo are described as ‘primitive and savage’ by Mr. Smith, one of the missionary church leaders, the tribesmen evidently show their etiquette through their mannerisms. Proverbs, a form of Ibo mannerisms, are used quite frequently throughout this novel as ‘the art of conversation is regarded very highly [by the Ibo], and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.’ (Achebe. P.5:1986) The Ibo people are also not as violent and savage as many of the missionaries believed. This is shown when a villager from the Mbaino village kills a woman from the Ibo village, the Ibo village elders and those with titles, instead of initiating war against the neighbouring Mbaino, reach a peaceful agreement on the reparations from the Mbaino tribe.‘… [A]t the end it was decided to follow the normal course of action. An ultimatum was immediately dispatched to Mbaino asking them to choose between wars on the one hand, and on the other the offer of a young man and a virgin as compensation.” (P.8)

Chinua Achebe was educated in the West, though he hails from an African tribe. His exposure to both African and Western thinking gives him a unique perspective on the colonization of Africa, which is argued to be barbaric by some, but beneficial and necessary by others. In “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe perspective comes through as he masterfully describes a pre-colonization African tribe, and how colonization percolated through it. His authentic accounts of the positives and negatives of both tribal society and colonization leave the reader to answer the question of whether imperialism was morally justifiable or not.

Pre-colonial Africa, or the “Dark Continent”, is mostly viewed negatively throughout the world, but people don't notice how rich their cultures and traditions are. Chinua Achebe, an African writer, proves this misconception wrong in his first novel by proving examples of Ibo cultures and society. Altogether, in the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe incorporates Ibo’s judicial system, ceremonial practices, and diplomacy with other clans to successfully combat the stereotype of pre-colonial Africa as “uncivilized”.

What effects can fear have on a person? And how can these effects influence that person? Fear is defined in the Oxford dictionary as ‘an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain or harm’. The tragic novel “Things Fall Apart”, written by the renowned Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe, is an incredibly influential text. The novel is also an example of how fear can be utilised as an approach to characterisation. Achebe composed his novel in a manner, which portrays a complex and dynamic community to represent Nigerian cultures to a western audience. Achebe was able to attain this through the Ibo communities and the main character Okonkwo. In the beginning of the novel, Okonkwo is represented as a man of pride, success, and hard

Traditions is a representation of the history, beliefs, and language of a group of people or country. Traditions usually have a symbolic meaning due to the origins in the past. Unfortunately, most traditions aren't as positive as they should be. There's really negative traditions that can sometimes effect the people and the way they think. The people can sometimes become very narrow-minded or depending on the customs and traditions, they'll become violent. In the book Things Fall Apart Umuofia's traditions have a negative effect on the people, specifically Okonkwo. Okonkwo happens to be a respected member of the Umuofia clan. Okonkwo's wealth and High-ranked position in the community makes him very powerful. On the other hand his extreme

In the story Things Fall Apart the author, Chinua Achebe, uses the character Okonkwo to show that a man’s hubris can one day lead to a terrible fate. Achebe does this by having the main character Okonkwo struggle with keeping his life together. As Victor Uchendu talks about life in The Igbo World “is an equilibrium that is constantly threatened, and sometimes actually disturbed by natural and social calamities”(Uchendu 227). In the beginning of the story Okonkwo starts off as the strongest character when he defeats “Amalinize the Cat” (Achebe 3). This shows the reader that Okonkwo is the strongest and is determined to stay the strongest. Achebe uses certain events later in the story to foreshadow that Okonkwo will soon meet a terrible fate by having him kill Ikemefuna, by having him get kicked out of his village, by having the British change his son, and by displaying his rage and despair at the end of the story.

Growing up in an environment where one’s parents and society restrict the behavior of that individual, can be a very challenging situation to be in. This was so for Nwoye. Raised in the Igbo culture, social order was said to demand conformity. It was a culture where he was forced to act a certain way, or be punished by his father Okonkwo, which wasn’t a type of lifestyle Nwoye would want to be living all his life. The book, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe uses Nwoye to exemplify the outcomes in a relationship, of a father forcing masculine and cultural tradition values his son, Nwoye. Although, Nwoye’s curiosity on the Igbo culture and will to become the person that he wants to be, comes before him even if it calls for going against

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe demonstrates how the integration of two different cultures can result in the destruction of one entirely. The story is centered around Umuofia, one of the 9 Ibo villages in Nigeria, Africa. It is a confined, well-structured society that is commonly viewed as a Utopia, or an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. It is a tight-knit community with little to no conflict. All inhabitants share the same cultural beliefs, the village has a well-developed justice system to keep things in order, and they even have traditions that bring them all closer together. However, it doesn't take too long for things to completely fall apart. Sooner rather than later, the village

Ekwefi, the second wife of Okonkwo, in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, had endured a lifetime of hardships and heartache. Once the village beauty, she became smitten with a fierce wrestler named Okonkwo after he defeated the notorious Cat. After leaving her first husband and marrying Okonkwo, she was determined to raise a family of her own. Over the years she lost nine children, and with every one she buried the happiness she had exuded in her youth was slowly draining out of her. Finally, she gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Ezinma, but that did not mean that her struggles were over. Upon further analysis, it is evident that Ekwefi’s sole motivation in life is to be the best possible mother for her only daughter, Ezinma. Despite her painful past, her journey to follow Chielo when she took Ezinma to meet Agbala, and the near death of Ezinma, Ekwefi is motivated to be the best possible mother to her daughter even if she has to overcome struggles and hardships.

Things Fall Apart (1958) is a fictional novel by Chinua Achebe that examines the life the Igbo tribe living in a rural village called Umuofia in Nigeria during the early 19th century. The central values of the novel revolve around status, virtues, power, and traditions that often determine the futures and present of the characters in the Achebe story. The novel shows the life of the protagonist Okonkwo and his family, village, and Igbo culture and the affects of colonisation of Umuofia on him and the people of his village by Christian missionaries. In this essay, I plan to look at colonialism in the novel before and after and the impact on Okonkwo and the village Umuofia and examine how

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

When people read books, they look for the shared connections, ideas, and similar memories to advance their insight of the book, or make it more interesting. I guess you could say this makes the character more personable. When the characters share common characteristics with the reader, they begin to feel attached to the story and they feel what the character feels. The book I felt the most in sync with was Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I feel like I shared the greatest connection with Okonkwo out of all the characters in the novel. I feel this way because I can relate to the feelings he holds toward his father anger, embarrassment, and hatred just to name a few.

This paper reflects the novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe in 1958. Achebe gives an overview of pre-colonialism and post-colonialism on Igbo, detailing how local traditions and cultural practices can “fall apart” in some scenarios through some introduced, externally created hassles elevated because of colonization. The protagonist named Okonkwo mentioned in the story is a proof showing the lifestyle of the tribe. My main objective and focus is to lay emphasis on Africa specifically the Igbo society, before and after the arrival of the Europeans in Umuofia community; the results of their arrival concerning Igbo culture, thus leading to the clash of cultures between the two categories. I will also draw on post-colonialism with respect to globalization.