Modern World: Things Fall Apart

Upon an initial reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, it is easy to blame the demise of Okonkwo’s life and of the Umofia community on the imperialistic invasions of the white men. After all, Okonkwo seemed to be enjoying relative peace and happiness before then. He did have a few mishaps; one of them resulted in him being exiled for eight years. Nonetheless, he returned to his home town with high spirits and with prospects of increased success. However, everything has changed. The white men have brought with them a new religion and a new government. Okonkwo’s family falls apart. The men in his village lose their courage and valor; they do not offer any resistance to the white men. Consequently, Okonkwo kills

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.

Okonkwo continually rejected the ways of his father, who was deeply indebted to other members of Umuofia, holding no titles, to the point where Okonkwo’s “whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (16). He transferred his fears into the context of Umuofia and the traits that society valued, but what was really the driving force in his decisions “was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father” (17). The values of Umuofia resembled the polar opposite of what Unoka was and Okonkwo twisted his motivations around in his mind and presented them to himself and the community as derived from Umuofia’s traditions. From this delusion, Okonkwo established his ultimate goal of becoming a revered member of the village, possessing many titles, and achieving anything necessary displaying his prominence in the community.

His tragic downfall truly begins when his is sent away because of an accidental murder of a boy. Okonkwo and his family are exiled from the tribe for seven years and Okonkwo is stripped of the fruits of his hard work. While he is away the white missionaries move into the village. They preach against the culture and its violent ways, causing Okonkwo to become saturated with rage. Seven years later, Okonkwo is able to return. He plans to reestablish himself and his position with the help of his family. However, Umofia is not as it once was. The white men have moved in and dismantled the tribe with their laws and government. Okonkwo wishes to fight, but the clan does not agree with his suggestion. After realizing the fate of the village, Okonkwo chooses to take his life. He would rather die than watch everything he had worked for fall apart because of weak people. His tragic flaw, a fear of weakness, is so strong it destroyed him.

If a wife had been separated from her husband for some time and were then to be re-united with him, this ceremony would be held to ascertain that she had not been unfaithful to him during the time of their separation.” (211, A Glossary of Ibo Words and Phrases, Things Fall Apart), currency systems; such as cowries, and cultivation of their resources. When the whites arrived they brought many new things and ideas, however these ended up destroying the Ibo culture rather than improving it. Towards the end of the book, the white men had gained a lot of influence over the Ibo people. Things started to fall apart because only some of the Ibo people had been converted to Christianity. “‘Does the white man understand about our custom about land?’ ‘How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up this religion also say that our own customs are bad.’” (176, Things Fall Apart). Once they started to turn against each other this is when the white people had really won. Once there was a point of weakness, the Ibo people no longer stood together, but rather they started to fight within

The world is filled with many different types of societies and cultures. This is due to the fact that many people share dissimilar beliefs and ideas, as well as diverse ways of life. People lived under different circumstances and stipulations, therefore forming cultures and societies with ideas they formulated, themselves. These two factors, society and culture, are what motivate people to execute the things that they do. Many times, however, society and culture can cause downgrading effects to an assemblage if ever it is corrupt or prejudiced. Society and culture not only influences the emotions individuals have toward things like age differences, religion, power, and equality but also the actions they perform as a result.

For many decades, books present us with different characters that impact the course of history and literature. These personas all come with different and unique perspectives that add meat to a story in unexpected ways. Usually the characters with the biggest impacts are the major characters of a story; however, as seen Antigone by Sophocles and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, that concept may not always be the case. Both stories create a unique way of developing their plots: by utilizing their minor characters. The play and the book provide their minor characters, Obierika and Teiresias, impactful roles in the way they serve as the wise, reasonable, and sane personalities that hold the voice of reason in society.

Okonkwo had to deal with change when he was forced to move to his mother’s homeland of Mbanta for accidentally murdering a young boy, “Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart” (Pg 124). It was a crime to kill another warrior from the same clan, accident or not. He knew he had to leave, but it angered him to know how much he would be leaving behind. He thought, being a strong warrior, he would get free forgiveness for his mistakes, thinking the rules could be bent for his sake. Okonkwo wasn’t able to comprehend how his village was able to get by without him.

Okonkwo was not happy with the change that has happened. He faced more adversity with trying to keep his kids educated, but at the same time fighting against the new ways. This is shown when Okonkwo gather some of his clansmen who still believe in their original beliefs and had them help tear down the church, “Although they had not agreed to kill the missionary or drive away Christians, they had agreed to do something

The "changing" of Umuofia can be viewed in many different ways, the most important of which are, "religion, culture, and domination through white (British) rule." The most important part of the story is when the white (British) men come to the tribe. These men, these

From the outset it is important to acknowledge that the primary motive cause for Okonkwo’s destruction must be located in the fact of British colonisation of Igboland. Put bluntly, if the British had not come to Umuofia, the clan would not have fallen apart and Okonkwo would not have been led to commit suicide. Of course it is true that there are flaws and contradictions in Umuofian clan tradition which give rise to internal tensions and which alienate certain members of the society. These include such specific instances as the throwing away of twins, the irrational taboo of the osu or outcasts, as well as, at times, the apparently senseless decrees of the gods and oracle, which produce fear and uncertainty rather than stability in the society. More generally, there is the societal privileging of masculine, warrior-like qualities which leads to the marginalization of the gentle and the weak, such as Unoka and Nwoye; of the unsuccessful, who are labeled efulefu, or worthless men; and, most notably, of women, who are everywhere rendered subordinate to patriarchal domination. There is also the instance of Okonkwo’s seven-year banishment from the clan, which seems an overly harsh penalty for an inadvertent crime, and which causes Obierika, at least, to question the fitness of the punishment. Nevertheless, Achebe is at pains in the lengthy first part of the novel to establish that Umuofian society is generally stable and coherent, and that such flaws as do exist are insufficient

Fear is a powerful tool that if used incorrectly, can control how one lives. Okonkwo’s life is one that is dominated by fear. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart follows the Ibo people, set during the time of the colonization of West Africa, in the town of Umoufia. The protagonist, Okonkwo, is a strong follower of his culture’s rigid expectations and practices. While Okonkwo’s steadfast adherence earns the respect of the townsmen, many detest the cultural expectations and practices they are forced to follow. When Christian missionaries introduce Christianity to Umoufia, many of the Ibo people are quick to convert, including Okonkwo’s own son. This new religion slowly undermines the Ibo culture and religion Okonkwo firmly believes in, leading to his downfall. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s fear of weakness along with the arrival of Christianity causes Okonkwo’s downfall.

As the new religion and government grow stronger, it catches more people’s attention, and the warlike quality of the clan starts to subside. Okonkwo “mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (183). His clan starts to become weak, and that is the last thing he wants. He once again does not have a place or position; he feels worthless. The feeling of worthlessness can drive someone to take their life; it is partially why Okonkwo takes his.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel about a man in West Africa. It tells about his triumphs and trial ultimately leading to his demise. It explains how the “white man” came into his country and took over. It show you how the “white man” mad things fall apart.

The novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs, customs and also about conflict. There is struggle between family and within culture and it also deals with the concept of culture and the notion of the values and traditions within a culture. The word culture is Latin and means to cultivate. To cultivate has several meanings; it can mean to plow, fertilize, raise and plant, to win someone’s friendship, woo and take favor with, to ingratiate oneself with, to better, refine, elevate, educate, develop and enrich. In Things Fall Apart all these words are accurate in describing the culture of Umuofia. A culture is an