European Imperialism In Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe was educated in the West, though he hails from an African tribe. His exposure to both African and Western thinking gives him a unique perspective on the colonization of Africa, which is argued to be barbaric by some, but beneficial and necessary by others. In “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe perspective comes through as he masterfully describes a pre-colonization African tribe, and how colonization percolated through it. His authentic accounts of the positives and negatives of both tribal society and colonization leave the reader to answer the question of whether imperialism was morally justifiable or not.

Pre-colonial Africa, or the “Dark Continent”, is mostly viewed negatively throughout the world, but people don't notice how rich their cultures and traditions are. Chinua Achebe, an African writer, proves this misconception wrong in his first novel by proving examples of Ibo cultures and society. Altogether, in the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe incorporates Ibo’s judicial system, ceremonial practices, and diplomacy with other clans to successfully combat the stereotype of pre-colonial Africa as “uncivilized”.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe describes the effect of colonialism in 19th century Nigeria. Okonkwo, a well recieved village member of Umuofia, struggles with adapting to European society while standing his ground through his morals. Things Fall Apart exemplifies European Imperialism’s effect on the village through moral deterioration. Past native law, change in ethics, and colonial influence exemplify the fall of the village's original morals.

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

Throughout history, foreign people taken over the country and change the native’s way of life. “In some cases, the Europeans brought benefits, but for the most part, the effects were negative”, : taking their land, demolishing their culture, etc. Even though there are cons, there are some positive effects: trade, education, stable government, substantial economy, etc. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the “white man” colonizes Umuofia. While the colonizers generally benefit from taking over, the Umuofians experience tumult when their culture, religion, and government were overthrown by the Europeans. While there are negative effects of colonialism/imperialism, there are positive effects that benefit the indigenous population: Christianity gave the poor and women sanctuary, an efficient trade with the other nine clans, a proficient government, and a steady economy.

Colonization has been a big part of our world. All over the world, colonization has abducted million of everyday lives and have forced people to convert religions, and upgrade ceremonial practices. How can an author use a fictional character to make a statement about culture? Chinua Achebe in his novel Things Fall Apart answers this question by telling a story of British colonization through an African point of view. In his work of historical fiction, Okonkwo wants his rightful power back, but has been overthrown by the british and there new ideas then the british overtook most of the villages’ everyday norms and converted people to their religion so finally after Okonkwo decides to give up he kills himself. Okonkwo illustrates that encountering a new culture can be challenging even though

The arrival of Europeans into Africa greatly changed the lives of natives. Imperialism and colonialism into the villages of Africans altered their culture which had developed so many years being untouched by outside civilization. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe portrays the response of Igbo culture to the changes initiated by European colonization through the resistance of change of Okonkwo. Change is the main component that comes along with cultural collision. In Things Fall Apart, the motherland, Mbata, and the fatherland, Umuofia, goes through many transitions upon the arrival of Europeans.

In order to justify the slave trade, Europeans made Africans look like primitive people through literature. Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, said in an interview that the main reason for writing this novel was to encourage other African writers to write about their past in order to refute the stories of the Europeans, claiming that Africans are uncivilized animals, but also shows that the Ibo were not a perfect society, highlighting the parts of Ibo culture that are considered heinous crimes today, in order to prove that there were no truly civilized societies. In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe effectively educates his readers about the culture and practices of the Ibo during the imperialistic age in order to show

In , 'Things Fall Apart' the setting is located in Nigeria within two villages called Umuofia and Mbanta of the Igbo tribe. Okonkwo had to live in both of these villages and experience a different but similar way of life. He referred to Umuofia as the fatherland and Mbanta as the motherland based on how the people acted and what they allowed to happen within their village. In the village of Umuofia Okonkwo was known to be a man with power. Living in this village was a period before Europeans tried to invade it and convert the villagers into Christians. After being exiled, he was sent to the village of Mbanta for seven years. This is where Okonkwo experienced imperialism from the Europeans. After serving his seven years in Mbanta, he returned

Beginning in 1880, there was a growing desire for European countries to expand and control their rule. The only continent at that time that was left uncontrolled and, in the European's eyes uncivilized, was Africa. This was the start of Western Imperialism. All European countries wanted their piece of Africa and to get it, they would let nothing stand in their way. They would change the entire government, religion, market, and behavior of most of the African nation and affect almost every person living there. An account of the impact of Imperialism is given in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. This book shows the changes that occurred in Africa during Imperialism and its affect on the community and the people

The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is about the lifestyle and the effects of colonization on the Igbo people in Nigeria, Africa. It shows the challenges they faced and what these people went through that led the civilization to their downfall. It also shows how much of an impact the white Europeans had on them. This story is told by a man named Okonkwo. He greatly expresses his opinions about the Igbo civilization but also reflects on his own life while apart of the Igbo people. Okonkwo gives good insight on how things were for him and others in the community.

In Things Fall Apart, author Chinua Achebe tells the story of Igbo tribesman, Okonkwo, and his village during the time preceding Nigerian colonization by Europeans. Igbo society is highly patriarchal and women are devalued and disrespected, regarded as possessions. The culture is built on extreme superstition that permeates every aspect of their lives and holds them back at times. Okonkwo has misplaced values that lead him to ruin. Although history has shown that there was nothing that the Igbo people could do to stop the eventual takeover by Europeans, it is possible that they could have saved themselves and, at least, delayed the inevitable. For both Okonkwo and Igbo society, things fell apart because they failed to value what was really important in favor of things that were not only meaningless, but, ultimately, detrimental.

Western cultural imperialism in Africa was one of the greatest events in African history. British colonists, referred to in the novel “Things Fall Apart” as the white men, felt morally obligated to go to Africa and civilize the African community because of the concept of the white man’s burden. At the time of the novel, England had a viceroyalty government. The queen of England sent a missionary, Mr. Brown, along with other white men to civilize the African clan that was made up of nine villages. In “Things Fall Apart” Chinua Achebe shows how Western cultural imperialism was able to penetrate the African community by showing the African people the better sides of Christianity, gaining an understanding of the African culture, forcibly taking away the their power, then stripping them of their cultural identity.

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.

Colonialism is “The process which, in the context of Western Europe, began about 1500 with European conquest, settlement and exploitation of territories in America, the East and Africa (Cook 78).” It is when a great nation invades another country with imperialistic motives. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, is a clear depiction of colonialism as European Missionaries entered into the fictional African villages with the purpose to assimilate their cultural beliefs and practices on the people of “Umofia,” “Abame” and “Mbanta.” Achebe creates the fictional novel based on the historical events in his native Nigeria where European colonizers invaded and distorted the life, beliefs and cultural practices of Nigeria. As stated by Emenyonu and Uko “Things Fall Apart, he portrays the events of the late 19th century and early 20th centuries Igboland as marking the end of traditional Igbo civilization and the ushering in of another civilization, the Christian–oriented civilization of Western Europe