Symbolism In 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.

Post colonialism deals with cultural identity in colonized societies and the ways in which writers articulate that identity. Things Fall Apart is a good novel that serves as a reminder of what Nigeria once was. It shows how a society can deal with change, how change affects the individuals of that society, and how delicate a change can be; so much so that the people themselves are surprised at the change.

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

In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Mr. Brown, the first missionary in Umuofia, was a kind and respectful man. Not to say that Reverend James Smith was not, but his degree of kindness and respect were present in a whole different level. They both wanted to convert the lost, all those in Umuofia that were not in the church. Mr. Brown made friends with the clan and “trod softly on his faith,” (pg.178) while Mr. Smith told them how things were in a harsh voice and tried to force his religion on the people of Umuofia. The impacts the two had on the people and the church were exact opposites.

Soon after the missionaries began to teach the tribal people about the Christian faith, their tribal customs began to be questioned. This caused a sense of unrest in the village. The missionaries were trying to bring with them new ways of life, and mostly better ways of life. Mr.Achebe tries to show us that the missionaries showed people who were hurt by

The book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is a fictional look at the social and cultural life of an African tribe of the lower Niger River region. It depicts the every day life of the tribe and its members. It also shows the culture and customs of the tribe.

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

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.

Secondly, the Christians unite the converts, but this unity does not prevent the new converts from demeaning others because of their religion or beliefs. When Mr. Kiaga, the missionaries’ interpreter, persuades the converts to accept the osu, or those who are cast out of the clan, Achebe writes, “‘Before God,’ he [Mr. Kiaga] said, ‘there is no slave or free. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers’”(136). The people are guided by Mr. Kiaga’s words as he teaches that they are all children of God and are, therefore, equal. One might think that converts would subsequently show the other religion in Umuofia an equal amount of respect as before, but they do not. While the church is still new to the village and does not perish in Evil Forest, Achebe says, “Three converts had gone into the village and

Each individual culture; Unoka, Okonkwo and Nwoye’s culture, and the factors; Christianity and the white man, in the end, lead back to the mother culture of the culture, Unoka’s culture. No matter how hard they try to deny and avoid the mother culture, they still end up with the same traits, beliefs and customs as the mother culture does. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe draws on three generations to demonstrate the progress and change the culture undergoes. Unoka, Okonkwo and Nwoye are symbolic of three successive generations and therefore, each represents a part within a culture. The parent generation shapes the child generation’s views

       The book Things Fall Apart successfully expressed how Chinua Achebe had succeeded in writing a different story. It pointed out the conflict of oneself, the traditional beliefs, and the religious matters of the Africans. Throughout the novel, Chinua Achebe used simple but dignified words and unlike other books, he also included some flashbacks and folktales to make the novel more interesting and comprehensible. Things Fall Apart was about a man named Okonkwo, who was always struggling with his inner fear although he was known for being a strong, powerful, and fearless warior. He feared of weakness, and failure more than the fear of losing

Things Fall Apart is a novel about Igbo people and their unique culture. Through the novel, Achebe shows that Africa had a rich history and culture before the arrival of the white man. Achebe rejects the assumptions of imperialist critics and

Symbolism creates a range of associations beyond itself. In novels, it brings out what is behind the text, and gives you a glimpse of the reality of storyline. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something. Things Fall Apart and The Poisonwood Bible contain a massive amount of symbols that gives the reader more realization, background, and what the author’s actual intent is for the story. If these two pieces of literature did not contain any symbolism, the plot of the stories would be completely different and change the meaning behind the novel. It also influences the characteristics of certain characters within the novels.

Things Fall Apart describes the decline of the Ibo tribe, due to conflict between the intervening Christians and the traditional Ibo culture. At first, the missionaries cause no trouble with Ibo traditions. However, conflicts, like the split between Okonkwo and his son, begin to emerge from the differing ideology. The symbolic tattoos display factors, such as the introduction of Christianity, that contribute to the overall decline of the Ibo people in a way that would bring empowerment to the Christians, specifically the converts.