Examples Of Language In Things Fall Apart

A proverb can be defined as “A short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought.” From Okonkwo’s dominance in the beginning of Things Fall Apart, to the fall of the Igbo culture, proverbs are a recurring topic. Throughout Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe repeatedly uses proverbs and aphorisms to portray different characters and build a bridge between African and Igbo culture and the reader. With this stylistic Igbo language, Achebe is able to utilize speech to convey spirituality and cultural values, character development and demonstrate the eventual collapse of Igbo society.

The character of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was driven by fear, a fear of change and losing his self-worth. He needed the village of Umuofia, his home, to remain untouched by time and progress because its system and structure were the measures by which he assigned worth and meaning in his own life. Okonkwo required this external order because of his childhood and a strained relationship with his father, which was also the root of his fears and subsequent drive for success. When the structure of Umuofia changed, as happens in society, Okonkwo was unable to adapt his methods of self-evaluation and ways of functioning in the world; the life he was determined to live could not survive a new environment and collapsed around

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs and customs, and also a story about conflict. There is struggle between family, culture, and the religion of the Ibo, which is all brought on by a difference in personal beliefs and customs of the Igbo and the British. There are also strong opinions of the main character, Okonkwo. We are then introduced to the views of his village, Umuofia. We see how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are confronted by those of the white missionaries.

On page 8 in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe it states, “ Okonkwo was still young, he was already one of the greatest men of his time. Age was respected among his people, but achievements was revered. As the elders said, if a child washes his hands he could eat with the kings.” This quote explains that Okonkwo didn’t let how people thought about his own father affect how better he could be off without him. His father was lazy and he disliked that, and so this quote explains the proverb that was used. Okonkwo had clearly rose in his fame, as he became a leader and someone to look up too. Whereas when the colonizers came Okonkwo knew he had lost a sense of power that he had worked so hard to achieve. “He knew he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan” (Achebe 172). Once Okonkwo had been exiled from his clan, he knew that he had slowly lost some of his power from his authority. This proves my thesis because soon after colonization had begun and Okonkwo had lost his right, in his father land, to help serve out justice. He was losing his sense of power within his

2. Page #______ How did Okonkwo bring honor to his village as a young man?

A relationship between a father and son can have a decidedly profound impact on each other’s lives. Whether this relationship is bifurcated, the psychological effects of having an intimate or inadequate parenting skills can have a nurturing or depriving effect on a child's personality from birth all throughout adulthood. This relationship although sustained has the potential to be either beneficial or untenable. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, we see a breakdown between a father and son relationship which created a very detrimental effect. The carved figure of a son that Okonkwo had predicted was erased due to his egoistic character and his terrible parenting skills.

Things Fall Apart tells the story of Okonkwo, a tribal African yam farmer, through trials and tribulations that change both him and his tribe. The Umuofia clan values traits such as strength, confidence, crop success, and honor. Okonkwo exemplifies everything that the clan wants in a man, and he was well aware of it. He thrives on being the antithesis of the image of his father, Unoka, who was viewed as considerably more feminine and generally a failure because of his failed harvests and love of the flute. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, is also considerably more feminine, and therefore lesser, in the eyes of his father. Okonkwo compensated for the failure in his blood line by putting on a front of hyper-masculine fervor; something that leads him down many troublesome roads. While Things Fall Apart is a tale of many things, Okonkwo’s struggle with femininity causes many of the major conflicts the story. Okonkwo’s learned opposition to feminine traits causes him to project machismo in order to cover up for the underlying feminine qualities that he has and is fearful of.

“Until the lions have their own historian, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” This quote can be applied to many different situations throughout history, but in the context of the novel, Things Fall Apart, the quote refers to renowned Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe, recounting the story of the Ibo people and their oppression. Achebe assumes the role of the lions’ historian by exhibiting the richness of the Ibo culture and showing its destruction by the colonialism of the late nineteenth century.

The excerpt taken from Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart comes from the end of the book, where the commissioner finds Okonkwo’s body dangling from a tree. This passage serves as closure for the novel, as the traditions of the past die along with Okonkwo. Achebe uses this specific scene in the novel to express both his views on the inevitable death of Igbo culture in the lower Niger (specifically Umuofia), as well as his perception of the portrayal of its people in western literature. In addition, Achebe continues to use this scene to drive the idea of cultural difference between both the inhabitants of Umuofia, and the missionaries that inhabited the land.

Chinua Achebe unfolds a variety of interesting connections between characters in the Novel Things Fall Apart. Relationships with parents, children and inner self are faced differently, however the attitude that Okonkwo gave them determined what kind of outcome he generated from these relations. Okonkwo looks at everything through his violent and manly perspective and is afraid to show his real feelings because he thinks that he may be thought out as weak and feminine this paranoid attitude lead him to self-destruction.

Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, depicts the life of a clansman of Umuofia, known as Okonkwo. Okonkwo was one of the wealthiest and respected men of his tribe. He gained respect as a great wrestler in his clan, and worked to surpass his father, Unoka’s image, which had been sullied by unpaid debts, and his work-shy attitude. Unoka was no man to Okonkwo, for Unoka had not taken any titles in his clan, therefore, he was nothing more than a woman in Okonkwo’s eyes. In such a patriarchal society being called a woman was disgraceful, and Okonkwo wanted nothing to do with anything womanly, and in turn he wanted nothing of his father, including any traits he carried, righteous or not. Okonkwo’s twisted view of masculinity and lack of compassion creates high expectations. When Okonkwo begins to see that his clan, family, and he himself cannot reach his expectations of strength, he will have nothing the turn to, but the noose that fate has made for him. The Igbo proverb “The thought that led a man to truncate his own existence was not conceived in a day” applies to Okonkwo’s suicide, which had begun with his twisted ideology of masculinity. The thoughts that led Okonkwo to commit suicide originate within his perception of weakness tied to his father; he sees this weakness in his son, in his tribe, and in himself. Okonkwo is disappointed in his son Nwoye for becoming so much like Unoka, he is ashamed of his clan for conforming to the views of the Christians, and he is

This perception leads the characters to decisions and changes in their lifestyle in order to avoid others to believe that they had “become a woman indeed” (Achebe 65). This is based on the belief passed down from one generation to another of men that once they were old enough they should demonstrate masculinity because “his father wanted him to become a man” and in order to do this he must forget all attitudes that “were for foolish women” (Achebe 54). One of the reasons why men would be shamed and called a woman would be because they possessed no titles, land or wives. Men who own a vast amount of land and many wives and are able to pay their bride-price are considered successful. The marriages in the ibo culture are negotiations, in which like in other circumstances the compensation is a woman. During these agreements between men, the women’s opinions are not taken into consideration. These customs build up on the main character’s frustration after being exiled from his fatherland to his motherland, and the fear of being considered by others less of a man. This same fear is the one which previously leads Okonkwo to kill a young boy who was sent to give with him and whom he came to care for in his “show of manliness” (Achebe 66). The culture and traditions in the ibo society perpetuate the image of women as

Okonkwo’s self value is dependent with the things that society judges him on. Many of the clan’s outcasts to grasp Christianity. Christians value the refuge from the Igbo culture

The Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a straight to the point story, embedded with interesting elements that capture readers’ attention. In my view, when I read the story, I found many interesting things about the theme of the book. But The Masculinity Okonkwo was what captures my attention. The story opens up to a Traditional Igbo lifestyle, a theme which is highly stylized from its ritual to the actions performed for certain ceremonies. Most of the action Igbo tribe has been an attempt to show respect to the gods, for example, when ikemefuna became sick and his stomach swelled up their traditions says that he take them to the evil forest and kill him. The story also seems to focus on gender,

In Things Fall Apart, proverbs are mainly used in the development of the important characters. Through proverbs used in character development, Achebe shows the distinct similarities and differences between the protagonist, Okonkwo, and two other important characters, Nwoye and Obierika.