Colonization In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Change is a reoccurring theme throughout history. It destroys and creates. It displaces and introduces. It can cause death and life. The movement of imperialism in Africa brought great change to the native tribal life. Forcing the indigenous people to turn away from their century-old traditions caused violent rifts between the European settlers and the tribes, as well as internal problems between once amiable members of the Ibo culture. With the introduction of the foreign Western Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the tribe’s life and ideals are drastically altered as the new ethics and principles collide with the old traditions and laws, causing the members of the society to either adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. Achebe’s character, Okonkwo, was impacted immensely by the cultural collision, as his previous way of life was pulverized before his eyes, and he found no reason to live any longer.

Starting with the first effect of imperialism, the introduction of Christianity in Umuofia, Okonkwo’s fatherland. Four years into Okonkwo’s exile, his good friend Obierika payed him a visit, informing Okonkwo of the arrival of missionaries in Umuofia. The Christian followers had to come to Umuofia to build a church and to convert locals into their anomalous religion. Most importantly, “what moved Obierika to visit Okonkwo was the sudden appearance of the latter’s son, Nwoye, among the missionaries in Umuofia.” (Achebe 143) The introduction of Christianity was one of the many effects set upon the African villages. Locals were becoming

An archetype in literature expresses “a realm of human experience in many myths and fantasy stories” that can go deeper than “any rational or intellectual thinking” (Gillespie). The archetype of the monomyth, or “The Hero’s Journey” first originated from a mythological researcher named Joseph Campbell. The monomyth consists of “several basic stages that almost every hero-quest goes through, no matter what culture the myth is a part of” (Hamby). The Hero’s journey is vaguely apparent in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, which depicts the African clan leader, Okonkwo, as the archetypal hero. Achebe reveals throughout the novel that Okonkwo’s ability to

“Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart” (124).

Africa was always a savage place with no civilizations or so the white man thought. When the British first came to Africa to colonize it, the British writers wrote about how it was a savage land and had no makings of a civilization. That was completely wrong. A group of people cannot survive for thousands of years without some aspects of civilization. The novel Things Fall Apart (by Chinua Achebe) talks about and shows examples of all seven elements that make a civilization. Things Fall Apart shows some aspects of civilization such as religion, government, and social structure. In the novel, Achebe shows the Igbo culture is a fully functioning civilization.

“Civilized Society is when the culture has a social order characterized by a government, a system of justice, a social structure, and some kind of belief system”. The Igbo people are indigenous people of Southern Nigeria. The Igbo culture has many unique attitudes. They comprised of polygamy marriages, beliefs in polytheism, farming customs, and showing of masculinity. In Things Fall Apart, the Igbo society is civilized because it established a justice/ government system as well as gender roles/ relationships.

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.

Imagine having your lifestyle and culture by a group of unknown men who has contradicting beliefs, and single handedly changed in the course of your lifetime, some changes are for the greater good and vice versa. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the people in the igbo culture lived with their culture being not tampered for quite some time with living in a polytheist religion, inequality in gender roles, and practices of ancient tribal rituals. Rumors started to arise from distant villages about unidentified white men with iron horses were roaming around land, converting and dissembling the way the igbo people lived with, but it took some years for those same white men to arrive and tamper with the village of Umuofia. Time

The tension between Europeans and Africans has been documented as early as the eighteen hundreds. The misconceptions and judgement was portrayed through literature works that showed Africans as less than, which caused written works to affect everyday life for the African people. Nineteenth century African literature work, Things Fall Apart, reflects on African culture while also analyzing short term European missionaries' toll on the culture in Nigeria. Things Fall Apart was surprisingly Chinua Achebe's first novel. This is shocking because Achebe's novel was a radical literature piece of his time period that reflected the truth about Africans instead of the negative light other books previously put them in.

One of the flaws inside the Ibo culture that eventually leads to their downfall is the social system. The weaker people join the church as a way to gain acceptance. The osu, or outcasts who lived in the Ibo culture want to feel accepted and as a result, follow the Christians. “The two outcasts shaved off their hair, and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith” (157). These two outcasts never have the feeling of

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.

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.

William James, a famous American philosopher, once stated, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”. This quotation effectively illustrates how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives. This concept is clearly demonstrated throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, authored by Chinua Achebe, by establishing a connection through the development of its characters and the change in traditional African tribal villages seen in the Nineteenth Century. It will be established how various characters demonstrated by the author throughout the novel exemplify how change

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.

Imperialism; the taking over of another country's political, economical, or social system is the surrounding motif behind Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. While the story follows Okonkwo, a man of esteem in his tribe of Umuofia, many themes and ideas from Achebe about imperialism and what it did to his home of Africa are shown through other characters in this book.