Comparing Things Fall Apart 'And For My People'

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, it is about the colonization of the Europeans through the views of an African American. In the novel, there was a cultural collision between the Ibo people and the white people that came to their land which is now modern day Nigeria and tried to change the culture of the Ibo people by force. Through the views of the novel’s main character Okonkwo, Chinua Achebe describes the cultural collision between the Ibo and Europeans from an African American’s view instead of a white man’s view. Okonkwo was caring, he was considered this because although he is stubborn, violent and doesn't show his true feelings he cares deeply about his family and his children. Okonkwo cared about his family because when one of his wives wasn’t in her hut making food, he became angry and violent towards her because he didn’t want his children to be hungry like how he was when growing up and being raised by his own father Unoka.

different. They both share similar topics, in that they are two stories of cultures, but written from

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.

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

During the African colonization period, Western beliefs greatly impacted the African mindset and belief system. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe the impact of Western beliefs is very evident. The novel focuses on pre- and post- colonial life in Nigeria. It was among the first novels to be recognized globally by an African author, and it is widely read in modern African literature. The story is about the fall of the main character Okonkwo as well as the Igbo culture. European beliefs clashed with the traditions that are rooted deep into the society of this Nigerian community. The Igbo, especially Okonkwo, at first try to fight the influence of the evangelists; nevertheless the arrival of Christianity largely affects the Igbo religion,

Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart illustrate the different ways of presenting Africa in literature. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad shows Africa through the perspective of the colonizing Europeans, who tend to depict all the natives as savages. In response to Conrad 's stereotypical depiction of Africans, Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart through the point of view of the natives to show Africans, not as primitives, but as members of a thriving society. Things Fall Apart follows Okonkwo 's life as he strives for prestige in his community. When European missionaries come to Umuofia, Okonkwo 's clan, Okonkwo tries to protect the culture that the missionaries would destroy in the name of "civilizing" the natives. However his rigid mentality and violent behavior has the opposite of its intended effect, perpetuating the stereotype of the wild African in the eyes of the European readers.

Of Imperialism, English writer and composer Anthony Burgess once said, “Colonialism. The enforced spread of the rule of reason. But who is going to spread it among the colonizers?”. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe chronicles the life of underdog turned successful clansman Okonkwo, as well as the complexity of the Ibo culture in pre-colonial Africa. With the arrival of British missionaries, Okonkwo’s world crumbles as their cultures clash, and more African people begin to join the church. The Ibo people at first greatly underestimate the power of the colonizers, yet they make a deep and lasting impact on their culture. These missionaries completely change the lives of the Ibo people. Achebe’s main message is to communicate this clash of

In Things Fall Apart, Umuofia is representative of Africa. Achebe writes the novel in the tumultuous time of postcolonial Africa. Western literature at this time has not been friendly towards the African nations. European arrogance and unfamiliar African mythologies and religions create stereotypical ideas about the Sub-Saharan cultures and lifestyles. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of darkness specifically aids in the Western mindset about Africa. Conrad’s aim, although perhaps not primarily meant to degrade Africa, nevertheless paints a picture of African citizens and cultures in a light that Achebe could not accept . In a conscious effort to counter the influence of novels like Heart of Darkness, Achebe decides to write Things Fall Apart as an attempt

     Knowledge of Africa and the inhabitants of the massive continent were often portrayed as barbaric beasts by the first missionaries to enter the land.  Because of skewed writings by European missionary workers, a picture was painted for their readership of a savage Africa saved only by the benevolent, civilized western influence.  Achebe successfully attempts to redirect this attitude. Achebe educationally has the means to convey a different perspective, an advantage most other individuals of his culture lack.  In his novel Things Fall Apart, rather than glorifying the Ibo culture, or even offering a new view, Achebe acts as a pipeline for information to flow freely without partiality.

Achebe wanted to discuss the impact of colonization, therefore, Things Fall Apart was set in Nigeria. During the late nineteenth century is when Nigeria was colonized by the British. In the novel, Okonkwo felt as if Umofia’s unity was broken when the white men entered their territory; for the purpose of colonizing the land. “How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has a put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart (Achebe 135).” This quote explains how Okonkwo believes his village was weak for allowing the missionaries to come and remain in their homes. He believes this has caused Umofia to “fall

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a commanding account about the rise and fall of an African tribe. The powerful narrative depicts the life and customs of the people and how they change through the years. Theere are many different ideas and characters that are preseneted throughout the novel. The depiction of women is one aspect that is of extreme relevance. It can be shown through several passages in the novel that the women are actually the unseen power behind the mighty Umofian tribe.

Things Fall Apart is a depiction of Okonkwo and his interaction in his Nigerian Ibo community in late 1800s and early 1900s where as Heart of Darkness is the journey of a Marlow into an unfamiliar African Congo during the late 1800s. Both have an impact and negative opinion of the imperialism and colonialism that was going on during this time but the presentation of the African people are very different. The British claimed Nigeria as a colony while Congo was claimed by Belgium. Various forms of atrocities where perpetrated on the African people by both countries. Each country was known for killing multiple people and wiping out entire community for actions taken against white people within the area. Chapter 15 of Things Fall Apart gives the story of the complete eradication of the Abame clan. Apparently a white man had come into the village on a bicycle looking for directions to Mbaino but the Abame killed him out of fear based on a bad prophesy from their Oracle. Following this was a tremendous reprisal:

Furthermore, beyond Okonkwo’s personal identity and the book’s themes, Achebe had a purpose of creating this classic. “Once you allow yourself to identify with the people in a story, then you might begin to see yourself to identify with the people in a story, then you might begin to see yourself in that story even if on the surface it’s far removed from your situation. This is what I try to tell my students: this is one great thing that literature can do--it can make us identify with situations and people far away,” says Chinua Achebe in an interview with Katie Bacon (Bacon 270). Achebe has wrote Things Fall Apart to talk about colonization in an African’s perspective, to erase negative African stereotypes created by white men, and to relate to his own exile from Nigeria. Written in 1958, Achebe wrote the book to tell the story of colonization in an African’s perspective, other than Joyce Cary’s novel Mister Johnson, which was written in a white perspective (Bacon 268). They would portray Africa as a slum, a place that is so different to the world that it doesn’t seem to fit into society; that the people living there are human themselves (Bacon 272). This helped opened the eyes of Achebe and his students, for they were upset that people portrayed Cary’s work as “the best book ever written by Africa” though, it was merely the opposite (Bacon 268).This is important because it shows how severe Africa has been portrayed, and how their people, like Achebe, was tired of their

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe adopts a calmatious tone and utilizes diction, figurative language, and symbolism to capture the corruption of the Igbos culture with the arrival of the white colonists. Achebe used intense diction throughout the text to make the readers feel the tragedy and immersion into Igbo culture. He laces his sentences with words like “haggard,” (Achebe 4) “malevolent,” (Achebe 13) and “esoteric,” (Achebe 88) all of which were used to describe personalities or actions of clans men. His use of such words emphasizes the tragic and dismayed tone he utilizes and entices the reader to empathize with the characters. Alternatively, Achebe utilizes a plethora of Igbo words such as “ndichie,” (Achebe 12) which is the Igbo word for elders, or “Kotma,” (Achebe 174) which was a made up word for the fair skinned court messenger, that was a corrupted translation to mean “ashy buttocks.” The use of african words in Things Fall Apart helped emphasize the importance of their culture, especially upon its corruption. The Igbo language also created a sense of dramatic irony because the intentions of the translations from white men where altered and neither group, the Igbo or the “locusts,” truly understood what the other meant. In addition to diction, using symbolism, Achebe illustrated the Igbo values by emphasizing the importance of kola nuts, yams, and the gods to the reader. In the beginning of the book Okonkwo’s father Unoka was conversing with a man named Okoye,

In my reading of Things Fall Apart, it has better informed me of a culture that I did not know of before, and by reading it helped correct some broad misconceptions that I previously held of the people and their cultures of Africa. Reading the novel also gave me another perspective on the effects of imperialism/colonialism by the Europeans on the Africans. I believe Achebe has succeeded in enabling the West an opportunity to have them "listen to the weak" (Achebe interview), but whether or not Western society decides to listen will come down to the individual within the society--if they do choose to listen to the call of the "weak." In this essay I will share