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Diction And Figurative Language In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

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In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the author uses unique writing styles to help add more effect to the story, and to help the reader better understand the Igbo culture. Achebe uses styles such as proverbs, diction, and figurative language throughout the novel. Each style contributes something important to the novel, and helps the reader to dig deeper into the book. That being said, Chinua Achebe uses proverbs, diction and figurative language to demonstrate his writing style, add more depth to the novel, and to help the reader better understand the Igbo lifestyle.
To start off, Achebe uses proverbs throughout the novel. A proverb is a short saying or story that tells the truth or a piece of advice. In Achebe's case, proverbs are used to tell the traditions and explain the culture of the Igbo tribe. These proverbs tell of traditions, culture and history. For example, a passage in chapter one tells us a story about Unoka and his neighbor Okoye, in which Achebe describes a custom of the Igbo tribe. In the proverb, Okoye brought Unoka a kola nut which is supposed to "bring life" (Achebe, 3). The proverb then goes on to say that "Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies" (Achebe, 3). This …show more content…

The proverbs help the reader to better understand the Igbo culture, traditions and history of the tribe through stories, while the diction gives the reader vocabulary to help understand the Igbo lifestyle. Achebe uses figurative language to emphasize the beliefs and customs of the Igbo, and all of the things that are significant to them and their society. Overall, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe had a very effective writing style. The originality of Achebe's writing made this book mean so much more than just words in a book, it shared the customs of the Igbo tribe and helped bring two cultures

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