Figurative Language In Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe once said, "the world is like a mask dancing...if you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place," (Goodreads). Renowned for his novel Things Fall Apart, in which he responds to the stereotypes of the British who conquered the continent of Africa in the era of New Imperialism, Achebe explores Igbo culture through many aspects of daily village life. Contradicting the racism employed by whites in the 1890s in order to justify slavery in earlier history, Things Fall Apart offers a new fresh perspective into the lives of ordinary villagers of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, before they are taken over by the British. Just as the whites in Europe, the tribe applies their own religion, customs, beliefs, and language to their lives. Through this lens the reader is able to extract a deeper meaning of the powerful message Achebe communicates by penning the famous novel.

In “Things Fall Apart”, the Author Chinua Achebe wrote the book to show the real perspectives of the Igbo people.The difference from “Things Fall Apart” to other books about the Igbo people is that they are told by outsiders. Achebe book is a fiction about a main character name Okonkwo, who is an influential clan leader in Umuofia who experienced from british influence.

Things Fall Apart is not the only “weapon” that Achebe created to challenge Western literature’s portrayal of Africa; he also wrote Image of Africa with the intention of abolishing the usual Western portrayal of Africa. “We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there we could look at thing monstrous and free” (Achebe, “Image of Africa” 251). Achebe’s reference here in Image of Africa brings light to how Conrad portrays Africa. Indeed, one can easily notice how each word brings up a negative connotation to the audience, which in this case, Conrad transforms the image of “the shackled from of a conquered monster” to “monstrous and free” in order to

They believed that civilized meant white Christians that behave like Europeans, are literate, and have a European style of government and social structures. The Igbo were not British or European and did not fit model which colonizers believed to be the ideal to be civilized. The Igbo recognized cultural differences and the diversity of different peoples, as seen when when Uchendu states, “The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others” (Achebe 130). This shows the understanding of different values between different cultures. Even though the Igbo were not civilized from the narrow viewpoint of the British in this novel, the Igbo had their own civilization, with their own religion, customs, societal norms, and their means of communication through a complex language. Thus, The Igbo were a civilized society. The breakdown of Igbo civilization as a result of colonialism shows how the cultural collision can be extremely painful and destructive when the colonizers are close minded and

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,

Things Fall Apart is a literary novel written and published by Albert Chinualumogu Achebe, or Chinua Achebe, in the 1959. Chinua was born on November 16, 1930 into a Nigerian village named Ogidi. Things Fall Apart is based in Nigeria around the year 1890. The book addresses topics including, “Nigeria’s white colonial government and the traditional culture of the indigenous Igbo people” (SparkNotes Editors). The book also contains several controversial topics involving, Christian missionaries being labeled, “foolish”, the subject matter of death and suicide, and the physical and verbal abuse that the women received. Chinua well portrays the “macho” and chiefly attitude of the African men in the Ibo society. But the question is, how exactly are women treated within the society? The well respected Okonkwo is a prime example on exactly how men treated women during this time period.

Achebe wrote his first Novel Things fall apart in the year 1958 in response to Joseph Conrad's novel “Heart of Darkness.” Achebe's novel focuses on giving humanity back to the native people mistaken as uncivilized

Chinua Achebe wrote the book Things Fall Apart in the year 1958, a time when Africa was undergoing drastic changes, and experiencing new things. Achebe wrote his first book, Things Fall Apart in a way that reflected what he had experienced and what he believed in. This is evident in the many parts of the book, Including Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity, Igbo storytelling and folklore, and with the tribal leaders of Umofia and their thoughts on the missionaries.

While there are many novels written about white colonization in Africa, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart illustrates the views of not only the Nigerian people in Igbo but also the white imperialist side of the story. Achebe wrote the novel as a response to other books about the colonization of Africa, which were typically written by white men. Joseph Conrad, among many other authors wrote African characters as less intelligent and primitive humans who were better off after the colonization of Africa. Achebe shows the reader that the people of Igbo had a fully functioning civilization with a developed religion, language, and political system. They were not just a helpless, uneducated civilization waiting for someone to come and reconstruct

During the 19th century, European colonization and imperialism swept the face of African societies. The voices of these entrapped societies were highly suppressed throughout the time period resulting in a narrow westernized perspective of the event. However, this changed when Chinua Achebe-- the first African to have a novel published-- created his masterpiece Things Fall Apart. Through this spectacular novel, Achebe depicts the clash of cultures between the British colonists and the Igbo tribe as well as the mixed emotions in regards to western influence among tribal members through the lenses of Okonkwo and his son Nwoye. Through the cultural interactions between the British and the Igbo people, Achebe is able to artfully and elaborately

The tension between Europeans and Africans has been documented as early as the eighteen hundreds. The misconceptions and judgement was portrayed through literature works that showed Africans as less than, which caused written works to affect everyday life for the African people. Nineteenth century African literature work, Things Fall Apart, reflects on African culture while also analyzing short term European missionaries' toll on the culture in Nigeria. Things Fall Apart was surprisingly Chinua Achebe's first novel. This is shocking because Achebe's novel was a radical literature piece of his time period that reflected the truth about Africans instead of the negative light other books previously put them in.

The colonization of the Igbo people in Chinua Achebe’s debut novel Things Fall Apart showed the cultural collision between the people of Umuofia and Christian missionaries. In this novel, the character Nwoye is the only apparent member of his family that is shown to convert to the new religion being presented by the white men. This collision does not change what Nwoye feels but rather allows him entrance to a world that he can finally understand. It gives him answers to questions not satisfied while simultaneously showing the real reason the Igbo’s way of life fell apart. Throughout the book, one can clearly understand the feelings of many of the characters, especially as the white men ingrain themselves more and more into the Igbo’s life and government.

       According to Chinua Achebe, the religion was one of the reasons that led to the death of Okonkwo at the end. The clans of the Igbo society worshipped their gods, which made of stones and woods, differently than other religions. They had a representative for each of their goddess such as the Oracle of the Hills. The main god that they worshipped was Chukwu, who was believed had created heaven and Earth. For some people who

Chinua Achebe published the fictional account Things Fall Apart in 1958. It was written to provide a new perspective on the African culture and the societies of the pre - colonial villages in Africa. He tried to dispel stereotypes and overshadow the writers who previously persuaded the world to shun Africa and its culture. Things Fall Apart told the story of the village of Umuofia over a period of many years and how they behaved and what happened with white foreign missionaries entered their lives and started the village of Umuofia on the path to falling apart.