Nervous Condition When 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.

Things fall apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe. It is set during the late 19th, early 20th century in a small village named Umuofia situated in Nigeria. This time period is important because it was a period in colonial history when the British were increasing their influence economic, cultural, and political influence in Africa. The novel deals with the rise and fall of Okonkwo, a man from the village of Umuofia. It also explains the effect of the appearance of the British on the Igbo society in terms of the destruction of social connections. In this text, there are several passages in which their

Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe about the tragic fall of Okonkwo, the protagonist, and the Igbo culture from the encounter with white missionaries. Okonkwo – a man of power and wealth – is a well respected and honoured leader of his clan, Umoufia of Ibo. As the novel progresses, Okonkwo accidently kills a man and he, with his family, are exiled from Umoufia for seven years. They settle in Okonkwo’s deceased mother’s village, Mbanta. During their years of exile, white missionaries who follow the Christian religion arrive and settle in Umoufia, changing the village drastically. When Okonkwo returns to Umoufia following the end of his exile, he is faced with the major transformations his village has undertaken over the years.

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart illustrates the traditions and beliefs of an African tribe and the influence post-colonialism has on them. The patriarchal tribe stresses the importance of relations and the expectations of those in them. Okonkwo, fearing he will turn out like his father, constantly corrects and beats his eldest son, Nwoye, yet, his behavior towards his daughter, Ezinma, drastically differs.

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.

The novel, Things Fall Apart, takes place in a Lower Nigerian village of Iguedo and Mbanta and is centered around a man by the name of Okonkwo. Okonkwo, the protagonist, is introduced as the most renowned warrior of all tribes who brought great honor to his tribe by becoming the top wrestler of the villages. Throughout the book, Chinua Achebe expresses Okonkwo as a man whose obsession with power is what ultimately leads him to failing in attempts to obtain that power through his role as a farmer, the actions towards his family, and his actions towards the new civilization of the village. When introducing the protagonist, Achebe makes Okonkwo’s thirst for power and status very apparent not just through his

Things Fall Apart takes place in a Nigerian tribe such as the one Okonkwo, the main protagonist, lives in. Okonkwo is a very independent, impatient African leader. Throughout the story the tribe Umofia demonstrates many of their religious beliefs, traditions and ways they go about their normal life. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe Okonkwo is affected by Christianity, impacting the way he is accepted back into Umofia or the way he lives.

When I first began reading Things Fall Apart, it helped me understand about the Nigerian culture. This novel is a post-colonial novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe in 1958. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. The novel follows the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo leader and local wrestling champion in the fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia who is afraid to share his feelings for fear of being thought as weak and he had to protect his reputation. He is a brave man, but stands alone a lot with his decision to fight. He believes everyone in the tribe has turned into women when they do not want to fight, but deep down he is just like them, but afraid of how people will now view him. When he starts to become violent he accidentally kills a man and is forced to leave his tribe. When he is allowed to

Throughout the story of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the author portrays Okonkwo as the tribes’ strongest warrior to a disgrace of the Ibo people. The author exposes Okonkwo negatively through his journey from earning a good reputation to a sudden extreme downfall. After not agreeing with the western ways and noticing he cannot turn the tribe back, Okonkwo kills himself which is why Okonkwo is the character most affected by cultural collision.

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe depicts the literal and figurative journey of Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s character changes slightly as he goes on his journey. Both journey’s reveal Okonkwo’s harsh character and the theme of the novel which is the value of tradition. Okonkwo’s character and the theme both tell the story of his journey. Okonkwo’s literal and figurative journey begin in Umofia.

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader follows the uncertain and constantly changing life of Okonkwo, who is a member of the Ibo tribe. Okonkwo can only be described as a headstrong and stubborn man whose goal in life is to make a name for himself amongst his tribe. His determination to gain a well respected title is spurred on by the constant reminder of his father’s failure as a man in the tribe. His father was an extremely lethargic man who did not care about the wellbeing of his wife or children. Because of these traits, he was considered a massive failure.

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,

Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe is a fiction novel about the Ibo tribe of Nigeria. Set in the early nineteen hundreds, the novel tells the story of a tribesman known as Okonkwo. He was a very strong, emotionless, and honorable man that held all the characteristics of a man that the Ibo society would admire. However, Okonkwo’s father Unoka represented everything that would be despised within the community. Unoka was very poor and weak. The only thing that Unoka could be trusted to do was fail to pay his debts. These two characters acted as dramatic foils for each other to emphasize the best, and worst characteristics of a man in the Ibo tribe.

“In response to Conrad's stereotypical depiction of Africans, Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart through the point of view of the natives to show Africans, not as primitives, but as members of a thriving society. Things Fall Apart follows Okonkwo's life as he strives for prestige in his community. When European missionaries come to Umuofia, Okonkwo's clan, Okonkwo tries to protect the culture that the missionaries would destroy in the name of "civilizing" the natives. However his rigid mentality and violent behavior has the opposite of its intended effect, perpetuating the stereotype of the wild African in the eyes of the

In my reading of Things Fall Apart, it has better informed me of a culture that I did not know of before, and by reading it helped correct some broad misconceptions that I previously held of the people and their cultures of Africa. Reading the novel also gave me another perspective on the effects of imperialism/colonialism by the Europeans on the Africans. I believe Achebe has succeeded in enabling the West an opportunity to have them "listen to the weak" (Achebe interview), but whether or not Western society decides to listen will come down to the individual within the society--if they do choose to listen to the call of the "weak." In this essay I will share