Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Its impetrative to analyze and research the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe so as to be able to understand what the novel is all about. It involves deciphering all relevant interpretations about how one culture develops in direct competition against the emergence of another foreign culture, such as the colonialist. The novel, together with its various themes and aspects of culture therefore portray deep knowledge about the novel.

From era of imperi¬alism and pre-colonisation to this contemporary era, there have been major shifts, several changes and losses in these cultural practices of the Igbos owing to factors like colo¬nisation, neo-colonisation, western civilisation, etc. which led to their acculturations.

The Igbo culture also believed that the more wives you had, the richer you were. In Okonkwo’s eyes, anyone that was strong like him was considered man, but anyone who was weak to him was considered

Conflict Everywhere in the world some person is facing some sort of conflict. Everyone in the world strives to divert conflicts, but the truth is conflicts are essential to making us who we are. The worst part of conflicts is not the conflicts themselves but how everyone reacts to them. A lot of people need to remember the event does not equal the outcome. It it how a person reacts to an event that makes the outcome either negative or positive.

At the conclusion of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart it states how profound changes lead to the demise of Umuofia’s great warrior. “ Then they came to the tree from which Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead.”

Imagine your favorite TV show, and think about the characters. Which character is your favorite? Most of us would say it is the main character, the one that is the most relatable. That character is called the protagonist, and it is often the one that we identify with the most. In contrast to the protagonist, a character we think about less often is the foil character. This character is the complete opposite of the main character. Usually, a foil goes through the same events as the main character however he will see things differently and have a different opinion. The purpose of this character is to shed light on the main character, and to show how things could work out differently

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader is taken on a journey to a Nigerian tribe, Umuofia, to experience first-hand the struggles of a warrior named Okonkwo. Okonkwo showed that he had so much to live for, but as seen through the story, that quickly changed. Okonkwo was not any old village boy, he didn’t inherit a farm, nor was he from a wealthy family. Okonkwo disliked his father because he never paid his debts and was always looking to borrow money from others in the village. This left Okonkwo in a tough situation. The clash of cultures is one of the most important themes seen in book. After the Christian missionaries arrived in Umuofia, they immediately begin to alter the locals, which was ultimately the

For centuries, women have been and continue to be the quiet leaders and the backbone of our society. Although they are often times not in high positions of power they are powerful, and vital for society to function. In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, it is clear that women are viewed as the weaker sex. Throughout the novel, women are treated as property, shown as weak, and are ruled by men. Okonkwo's greatest fears are failure and weakness. When he was a child he learned that, "… agbala was not only another name for woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title" (Achebe, p.13). Although they are viewed as weak and powerless, when Okonkwo returns to his motherland, Uchendu explains to him that, "… when there is sorrow and bitterness

Traditions and customs serve importance here because if you hold a position of a women in the tribe you have specifics mannerism to men like Okonkwo. Rules on how to address one another, gods and spirits are all different and hold meaning in the culture and symbolizes identity amongst tribe members. On the other hand, the British christians require an interpreter who is not from the Umuofia clan and has translated words that are not to clear to the native people. Furthermore, the schools which are built in the African land are also a factor to the receding rich Igbo language. These schools with christian missionaries that institute english customs and values bring despair to the traditions of the Igbo people and this is clearly shown in Okonkwo and his friends reaction to the British people. As a result of the colonization the language of both native people are lost in meaning and significance. A overbearing power instituting its own language upon another's is demeaning in many ways. When one takes another languages for granted important history can be lost. Important concepts and essence is lost in the

Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is a novel that is based on one’s rough journey as an African man. Throughout the novel, the reader is shown the struggles an African citizen could have dealt with at the time. However, one detail that the author shows is the ability Okonkwo has to love not just as a parent, but as a man. While reading Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo faces many challenges that have relation to the youth of the community. Though the reader sees Okonkwo as a tough, brave man in the society; deep down Okonkwo cares for children. An example of Okonkwo’s caring attributes would be when he regrets not doing anything while hearing the twins cry in the Evil Forest, his depressed state post-killing Ikemefuna and when the Oracle calls for Ezinma.

Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe is a story which follows the life and foreshadowed downfall of Okonkwo, a respected warrior in his Umuofia clan in Nigeria. Disgusted by his late father, Unoka, and the reputation of incompetence and laziness he left behind, Okonkwo was determined to not let history repeat itself. He worked diligently and became a wealthy patriarch for his family. The beginning of Okonkwo’s demise occurs when he is given responsibility of a boy from a neighboring tribe who he ends up liking more than his own son. When that boy is ordered to be killed, Okonkwo doesn’t protest, for fear of not appearing manly to his clan.

Nigeria has always had extremely different traditions and culture than the United States. As Chinua Achebe described in his book, the native Igbo were treated like savages by the white missionaries who settled on their land. Women were lower than men in class. Wealth determined the status of many men in the villages. Religion at the time was changing and evolving into a more modern and Christian belief. Things Fall Apart, set in the 1890s, displays many scenes showing the culture of the time, such as race relations, religion, ceremonies, gender roles, and other cultural distinctions that Achebe faced as part of the Ibo tribe.

Many people look at unique social groups in their own way. In the novel, “Things Fall Apart,” by Chinua Achebe, the men are seen as superior and powerful than anyone else. In the novel, it states that men have to meet a certain expectation to be seen as worthy and to be respected. On the other hand, women are represented by being less than the men in any situation. They are seen as objects and trophies for the rich powerful men. The word “women” is used as an insult to men that hold no titles. The importance of women being seen less than a man is that many cultures see this as normal and natural, because in this case the Igbo culture wants men to be respected more than the women.

Okonkwo has three wives, who are the primary female figures in Things Fall Apart. His three wives each hold varying roles of importance in the household just as they do in the novel. The characterization of Ekwefi, Okonkwo's second wife, almost seems insignificant to one reading from a patriarchal standpoint, but when reevaluated, one will find that she is a well of knowledge, love, and fierce independence. Although she was married to another

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, the impacts of colonialism were amazingly apparent in the Igbo society. As the white outsiders moved into the local 's territory, their social qualities changed. Cases of these progressions were apparent in all parts of the Igbo individuals ' lives, in their religion, family life, young children, and the dead. A large portion of the Igboians was annoyed with the colonization of their general public, however, at last, they were totally unequipped for successfully turn around the progressions that had effectively occurred in their general public. As the English colonized the Igbo society, there were a couple of locals who contradicted it, the