Cosmopolitanism In Things Fall Apart And Kwame Anthony Achebe

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

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.

“We have albinos among us” (Achebe 141). The words vocalized by Uchendu, a wise African villager and Uncle of Okonkwo in the novel Things Fall Apart by author Chinua Achebe. Achebe does an excellent job at giving the reader an insight of life before and during the beginning of English imperialism over Africa in the 1800’s. This essay will identify and explain the effects imperialism had on the African villages.

The world is full of cultural collisions. Every day people meet other with different worldviews. This concept of cultural collision, is shown perfectly though Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. In the story it is the cultural collision, of the introduction of Western Ideas into the ibo society, that causes Achebe’s characters to grow and change. One character in particular is forced to reevaluate his sense of identity because of the cultural collision. This is the character of Okonkwo. The collision challenges Okonkwo’s sense of self, as a religious leader or an Egwugwu, as a leader of his people, and as a man. It is Okonkwo’s response to these challenges, that shapes the meaning of the book of that as your world changes so must you or you

Imagine living in a village where everyone shares the same beliefs and speaks the same language, but suddenly one person arrives, and the world seems to move off balance. This is what happens in Things Fall Apart when Reverend Smith replaces Mr. Brown, a white missionary, in the African village of Umuofia. Soon after Mr. Smith arrives, the village because of the white people seize control of the village, causing the main character, Okonkwo, to commit suicide. When one applies Kwame Anthony Appiah’s ideas of cross cultural communication and diversity within a society in Cosmopolitanism to Reverend James Smith in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the character would have a change in his attitude towards the African culture in Umuofia.

The novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, is a tale based on the traditional beliefs and customs of an Ibo village during late 1800’s Africa. Through the telling of this story, we witness the remarkable depth of Igbo culture through its functions of religion, politics, judiciary and entertainment.

Nwoye’s betrayal in the novel is the same level of betrayal that Achebe is condemned with in his lifetime. African literary theorists who vie for the purity of African literature for African languages defy Achebe as a European traitor, writing his stories with his back turned to his native homeland. Yet this thesis argues for a reevaluation of that criticism. Achebe does not in fact deny his beliefs, his country, or his heritage. He rather aligns himself in a tragically ironic way with the hero of Things Fall Apart. Achebe writes his own struggle with colonialism into the life and death of Okonkwo. It is interesting to note that Achebe’s father was in many ways very similar to Nwoye. His father, Isaiah Achebe, was orphaned early in life and spent most of his childhood with his uncle, Udoh. Udoh was a man of the land; he prided himself on tradition and leadership. Chinua writes in his essay, “My Dad and Me,” that the differences between Isaiah and Udoh were seen early through the eyes of Chinua, a questioning child who was placed in the middle

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

Often times, we trust a source to tell us our information, we rarely think that source could be dehumanizing their ‘research topic’. Chinua Achebe highlights the injustice through biased literature that was done by white Europeans to the African tribes. ‘Things Fall Apart’ was the first novel written about African tribes, by an African person. This gave an entirely new perspective for Europeans reading about Africans. Until then the literature made available to them was written by their own, and often created a biased and inhumane portrayal of the tribes in Africa. European literature was often made to create a sense of heroism for the European man, and savagery for the African man. ‘Things Fall Apart’ gives complexity to an African man named Okonkwo, a complexity that would have never been given through European literature. Often times during the novel we see a beautiful use of ambiguity used by Chinua Achebe, this ambiguity was used so the reader could consider an African man as more than his actions, but as a human being; one with a past, emotions and inexplicable complexity.

The indigenous ethnicity depicted in Things Fall Apart is more concrete and can be defined simply as the Igbo culture. The text asserts this culture through the recollection and reinforcement of its history. Achebe strips the style and language of symbolism and metaphor, presenting the everyday ordinariness of the Igbo people. Things Fall Apart ‘unites humanity.’’ Unlike in King Solomon’s Mines these Africans are not detached and are relatable. This adoption of ‘scientific objectivity’ 5does not change in the text; the style remains constant (to the extent that there is no change in approach between pre-colonial and post-colonial Africa, portraying the transition as unremarkable). We as the reader trust the narrative being created for us, and therefore favour it over the alternative narrative of the District Commissioner, ironically titled The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger (Pg 152). Consequently, the novel can be seen as not only an accurate historical account of Igbo culture, but also a compassionate delineation of its collapse.

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.

The novel, things fall apart was set in the late nineteenth century which was a period of conflict and drastic change in Africa, where indigenous societies clashed with imperialistic European powers. The author, Chinua Achebe adds this tension of the historic British colonial expansion to present another dimension to Okonkwo's tragedy. Achebe challenges ethnocentric views of Africa through his use of language throughout the novel. The author also includes themes of Cultural relativism by introducing the Ibo’s traditions and language.

Having a new perspective with new ideas can change a person. This is true and can be applied to many different people and events, including a character in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. In the novel missionaries come to a tribe, Umuofia, and convert some of their people. However, a convert by the name of Enoch creates tension and unrest between the tribe and the missionaries. If this character were to be more cosmopolitan, one who is familiar and accepts other cultures and ideas, and followed ideas presented in Kwame Anthony Appiah’s Cosmopolitanism his actions would have been vastly different. When one applies Appiah’s cosmopolitan ideas, in Cosmopolitanism to the character of Enoch in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the character of Enoch changes to become an individual of more respect, which in turn would prevent the unrest between the missionaries and the Umuofia people in Things Fall Apart.

Similar to how ancient civilizations conquered neighboring regions, the colonization of Africa by the Europeans was not executed without the resistance of the native peoples. Other than African countries classified as being in the Middle East where Islam is celebrated by a vast majority, many African countries are predominantly Christian. How the Africans adapted to include European culture was not without resistance. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the novel follows the life Okonkwo and outlines how his type of personality would react aggressively towards the collision of two contrasting cultures still while portraying the theme of how cultures will need to adapt to each other once they collide or else one with stomp out the other.