Missionaries Are to Blame in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart follows the events in the life of the main character, Okonkwo. Additionally, the book follows mini-storylines of other characters, such as Obierika. A family is very large in Ibo society because a man typically has more than one wife and children with each wife. Okonkwo has many children, but his oldest son, Nwoye, was crucial in the development of ideas in the novel. Nwoye did not conform to Okonkwo’s ideals, therefore, Nwoye felt out of place in his family. The missionaries aimed to convert people who were outcasts or out of place in the village, to give them a sense of belonging. When the Christian missionaries came to the Okonkwo’s village of Umuofia, the primary people converting were outcasts. This is explicitly said when the Achebe remarks, “None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in the assembly of the people” (Achebe 143). The detrimental effects of Christian acculturation on the Ibo people are shown in both Achebe’s novel and Adichie’s story, but however, the contrasts are that Achebe concentrates on the methods used whilst Adichie directs attention to the lasting

Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures-national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a character’s sense of identity into question. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, there is a cultural collision that takes the form of the missionaries coming to Umuofia and forcing their religion upon the people. Different people react differently to this clash of cultures, ranging from simply conforming to going as far as killing somebody.

Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, is a story of a traditional village in Nigeria from inside Umuofia around the late 1800s. This novel depicts late African history and shows how the British administrative structure, in the form of the European Anglican Church, imposed its religion and trappings on the cultures of Africa, which they believed was uncivilized. This missionary zeal subjugated large native populations. Consequently, the native traditions gradually disappeared and in time the whole local social structure within which the indigenous people had lived successfully for centuries was destroyed. Achebe spends the first half of the novel depicting the Ibo culture, by

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, presents the result of colonization of the Ibo people by the European missionaries. The Ibo culture is threatened to change by the European influence. Villagers are divided between resisting a new lifestyle or embracing it for better opportunities in society. The struggle to keep Ibo traditions alive is reflected in Okonkwo and Obierika’s relationship to one another. Okonkwo represents the resistance of change by keeping traditional values in high regard while, Obierika signifies the openness to opportunity by questioning the current Ibo values. The arrival of European missionaries persuades the exchange of traditional Ibo methods, customs, and community for Christianity, resulting in the community to fall apart.

More and more villagers were falling under this new idea of a single God, not only villagers from Umuofia but from surrounding villages. The locals were no longer against the new religion. Okonkwo was one of the few who still was. The local villagers were sort of thankful for what the white men had brought to Umuofia. “The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion, but he has also built a trading store and for the first time palm-oil and kernel became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umuofia.” (Achebe 178) The white men had slowly convinced the local people that what they were doing was productive after all. The arrival of the white men in Umuofia allowed for larger flow of commerce. This is yet another effect of imperialism over the African villages, though it isn’t negative. The next effect however, is indeed negative and

The Effect of White Missionaries on an African Tribe in Things Fall Apart by Achebe

In a society, religion is supposed to unite people that share a common belief and create peace, but in Umuofia and the other villages in Nigeria, it tears everyone and everything apart. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo religion was dominant in Umuofia prior to the Christian missionaries arrival. Everyone followed its teachings, despite how they made them feel. The villagers did what the religious figure (the Oracle) told them to, even if that meant killing someone that they loved. As a result of this, some relationships between people were changed. Despite some of the harsh teachings from the Igbo religion, society was united with a universal belief system. However, the day that the first Christian missionary arrived, this would forever be changed. Not only did the new religion transform relationships between people as well as change people individually (just like the Igbo religion did in some cases), but it also brought destruction to Umuofia and its neighboring villages. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe argues that religion has the power to destruct and change relationships, convince people to convert, and to break apart a society.

In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the beliefs of an afterlife and spirit world were strong factors in the daily events of an Ibo person’s life. These beliefs controlled their actions and thoughts all the time. The Ibo believed in not only personal spirits, but also in a supreme deity, the Creator of the world and the Ibo, as well as the minor gods and entities of the spirit world. To the Ibo, it was customary for one to approach a great and powerful man through his servants. Sacrifices were made to the minor gods and spirits, but when these fail to bring about the desired result, the Ibo went to the Supreme Deity for final intervention.

In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe introduces his readers to the Nigerian village Umuofia and its culture through the protagonist, Okonkwo, a well respected Umuofian leader. Umuofian culture is centered around pleasing and respecting spiritual life. Everything within this culture and religion has a specific order; however, the Umuofian culture ultimately reaches its demise when Evangelists arrive to convert the Umuofians to Christianity. As seen through the events that transpire in this novel, from Nwoye leaving his family to letting the osu have a place in society, religion has the potential to both build and break a society. Specifically, religion has the power to break apart families, introduce new ideas into society, and bring hope into one’s life.

Africa was always a savage place with no civilizations or so the white man thought. When the British first came to Africa to colonize it, the British writers wrote about how it was a savage land and had no makings of a civilization. That was completely wrong. A group of people cannot survive for thousands of years without some aspects of civilization. The novel Things Fall Apart (by Chinua Achebe) talks about and shows examples of all seven elements that make a civilization. Things Fall Apart shows some aspects of civilization such as religion, government, and social structure. In the novel, Achebe shows the Igbo culture is a fully functioning civilization.

The fact that these missionaries have started to really make an impact was unprecedented by the Ibo people; their continuous misunderstandings of one another contribute to make this situation frustrating to both the Ibo clansmen and the Christians that view their religion as superior. Okonkwo returns back to his home village of Umuofia after his exile to Mbanta, and he arrives to see missionaries have overtaken the village, created a government, and many Umuofians have joined the church. As Okonkwo and his friend Obierika are talking, Obierika says of the missionaries and their impact, “He says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us?...He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). The white men and missionaries have been successful in coming in and gaining power. They believe the customs to be “bad”, showing their disregard of Ibo culture, and how their motives for infiltrating Ibo life is based off of selfish ideas- only to gain more followers to their religion. Furthermore, by actually being successful in drawing Umuofians into their religion, they have turned

The accumulation of a congregation was a slow process.  Mr. Kiaga, the interpreter in charge of the congregation, was "firm" and it was this trait that "saved the young church" (157, Ach).  His strong faith and new beliefs were inspirational to those clansmen that had ever questioned the Ibo practices.  Mr. Brown, a white missionary, was characterized as "respected even by the clan" (178, Ach).  Mr. Brown was even offered a gift by one of the neighboring villages, "which was a sign of his dignity and rank" (179, Ach).  He did not simply preach his ideas, but educated himself in the tribe's culture through conversations with the clansmen.  Mr. Brown opened a school and hospital in Umofia.  "And it was not long before the people began to say that the white man's medicine was quick in working.  Mr. Brown's school produced quick results" (181, Ach).  Achebe chooses to characterize a missionary such as Mr. Brown favorably to create for the reader a respectable and exemplary view of the missionary.  This benevolent perception of missionaries is neutralized with Mr. Browns contrast: Reverend James Smith.

The Umuofia clan is known for is use in medicine and religious, supernatural customs. However, at times, the laws seem to be extremely stringent. During the funeral of Ezeudu, Okonkwo accidentally murders Ezeudu’s son, and as a result, he and his family are banished from Umuofia for 7 years. His close friend, Obierika, cannot help but think to himself, “Why should a man suffer so grievously for a crime he had committed inadvertently”(Achebe 125). Even though the laws were evidently harsh, the people of Umuofia assimilate to the 7-year absence of Okonkwo and his family from the clan. Furthermore, Okonkwo himself did not bother to challenge the sentence imposed upon him. The laws were as they were and no one should have the audacity to change them. Here, Freire’s idea of the negative effect of “depositing” is applied. Freire states, “The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them...in the world as transformers of that world” (Freire 73). After a while, the people who are being controlled adjust to their situation, not being aware of the destructive nature of those “deposits”. The catastrophic results of the depositing principle can be seen especially during the colonization period in Things Fall Apart. The Europeans, though they seem to have no harmful intention, end up destroying the culture of the Umuofia clan with a religion and

Umuofia is a village in Africa, and the inhabitants there are usually united. However, when the Christians arrive and permeate the village, the clan changes but also falls apart. The novel in which this story takes place is called Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The story is about a well-respected man named Okonkwo who has three wives and many children, the oldest being Nwoye. Okonkwo is banished for seven years from Umuofia, and during those seven years, Umuofia is changed fundamentally by the Christian faith. Many people are converted, but the whole clan is in conflict. This novel demonstrates that Christianity destroys but also guides the Ibo culture in Umuofia.

Furthermore, the Igbo society parallels agrarian societies of a lesser developed world before colonialism unlike British’s religion that has developed into a society of education through urbanization. The novel shows how the Igbo peoples are uneducated on the common understanding of humanity. For example, in Things fall Apart Umuofians believes that the killing of children, specifically twins is ethically right, believing that twins are a work of the devil. When the white man comes they learn the basis of fifth commandment which teaches that God is the decider of who lives and who dies. For this reason, a pregnant woman named Nneka had watched her twin children get killed multiple times. Her family had made her feel as if she has failed to fulfill her womanly duty so she converted to Christianity and found an accepting family. As Achebe states, “Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and childbirths. But each time she had borne twins, and they had been immediately thrown away. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found she had fled to join the Christians.” (Chinua Achebe 1958) This example really show how their religion could be deemed as uneducated because their society killed innocent children due to the fact that they were twins whereas in a Christian society they were