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

Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, is a story of a traditional village in Nigeria from inside Umuofia around the late 1800s. This novel depicts late African history and shows how the British administrative structure, in the form of the European Anglican Church, imposed its religion and trappings on the cultures of Africa, which they believed was uncivilized. This missionary zeal subjugated large native populations. Consequently, the native traditions gradually disappeared and in time the whole local social structure within which the indigenous people had lived successfully for centuries was destroyed. Achebe spends the first half of the novel depicting the Ibo culture, by

Who are you? Have you ever wondered where you get your identity; what exactly defines you as a person? The obstacles in our lives shape us people, Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart illustrates the circumstances one man and his son face in an Ibo village in Nigeria. Okonkwo, the protagonist/antagonist has a tragic flaw, the fear of weakness which ultimately causes him to expect more from his son, Nwoye who never falls short in disappointing him. The relationship between the two is not the most desired seeing that they both do not show the affection most father-son relationships do. Traditionally, most sons follow their father's footsteps, however, this is not the case for both

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

One of Achebe’s challenges was to illustrate the Ibo’s religious system. Even though the Ibo people had little contact with the outside world, they had developed their own beliefs and practices that became essential elements in their everyday lives. The Ibo religion played a role in the way they raised their families, communicated, entertained, and governed their society. Similar to those of the early Egyptian and Greek religions,

In Chinua Achebe 's novel Things Fall Apart, a well-known aphorism, "pride goes before a fall", was used. I agreed with and supported this statement. The story line itself backed up this statement as well. Through Okonkwo 's hard work he became a "great man" with a sense of pride and haughtiness, who then suffered a loss of pride, which ultimately led to his down fall and his own suicide.

“What is the son but an extension of the father?”-- Frank Herbert, Dune. The relationship between father and son can be difficult and sometimes strained. One notable example of this is in the story Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo struggles with accepting his father, Unoka’s, actions as noble or even tolerable. He grows up hating his father and consciously adopts different ideals.

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

In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the characters Ikemefuna and Obierika are used as “foil characters,” and reveal pertinent traits of Okonkwo’s true nature. The traits of Ikemefuna and Obierika contrast the traits Okonkwo, and allow the reader greater insight into Okonkwo’s fear of emasculation and his trepidation for the transformation of Igbo culture. Both Obierika and Ikemefuna accentuate the abhorrence Okonkwo has for becoming epicene and opprobrious like his father. Obierika also is skeptical of the Igbo culture in that he questions aspects of Igbo traditions and rituals, for he feels a certain degree of change may benefit their society. Furthermore, Ikemefuna’s character also reveals not only Okonkwo’s fear of emasculation, but

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.

Abraham Lincoln once said “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart she tells a story about a culture deeply rooted in tradition that’s facing the prospect of change. The story gives the reader an insight on the reality of change and it effects on the characters. The aggravated circumstances of whether or not change should have advantage over tradition oftentimes involves questions of both societal and personal status and reputation. An example being the protagonist, Okonkwo, who opposed the incoming political and religious changes, for the idea that such practices are “unmanly” and in turn he would eventually be seen as weak and

Cultures cannot acknowledge other cultures, for each one believes they are superior. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart centers on an isolated African tribe. When Christian missionaries arrive in Umuofia from Europe, they cause uproar among the tribe with their alien religion. The missionaries begin to build a church and establish a small community within the tribe’s land, which divests substantial power away from the Igbo tribe. Okwonko, a respected member of his clan, must face the changes caused by the missionaries. He attempts to hold both his clan and family together as the missionaries unravel and suppress his culture. Achebe shows that Christianity not only guides the Igbo people toward better education, but also divides their families

In the book, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe presents the main character, Okonkwo, to us as a tragic hero. We watch Okonkwo progress through the book, and observe as his tragic flaw leads to his ultimate downfall. Obierika, Okonkwo’s best friend, always stands by Okonkwo and serves as Okonkwo’s voice of reason as they face the British colonization of their villages. The way Achebe presents these characters to helps shape the overall theme of the novel: the interpretations people have of one another’s culture can lead to their downfall when they clash. More specifically, the misinterpretations the Igbo tribe had of British intentions led to their downfall when the cultures clashed in Things Fall Apart.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was wrote in 1958 as a response to European Literature viewing Africans as savages who were then enlightened and found peace and safety by the Europeans. Chinua describes the Igbo people and showed the culture and showing the way of life of the Igbo people. This book shows this powerful and eye opening look into the complex society of these tribes and villages and how law and order is run. The major theme that is I will focus is that traditional development of the Igbo tribe alone and with the influence of the Europeans.

Chinua Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart, is a post-colonial novel that details the violent story of the British’s colonization of Nigeria at the end of the 19th century from an African perspective. Published just before Nigerian independence, the novel narrates the fall of the highly respected village leader Okonkwo as well as the destruction of the Ibo culture. Achebe’s use of English, the language of the colonizer, put Things Fall Apart at the center of the great language debate in African literature. Should African writers use English, a colonial language forced upon them by their oppressor, in writing literary works or do they have a duty to write in their native tongue? Can English, a foreign language, properly convey the African experience? In his essay, “The African Writer and the English Language”, Achebe answers these questions and defends his stance to use English. He argues that African writers “should aim at fashioning out an English which is at once universal and able to carry his peculiar experience” (Achebe 433). He refers to his use of English in his writing as a “new voice coming out of Africa, speaking of African experiences in a world-wide language” (433). In his novel, Achebe has been successful in following this theory of English. Through the use of words, rhythm, proverbs, and oral stories of the Ibo language, Achebe has transformed English into a language that conveys Ibo culture and ultimately the African experience.