The And Its Effects On The Culture

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe discusses the rise of an Igbo chieftain who came from great poverty to power and the eventual loss of Igbo traditions, rites, and the influence of his clan through his eyes due to western imperialism and colonialism. The intended audience for this novel is very broad, but if we tried to define it would primarily be people who have not experienced the Igbo culture and westerners or people who speak English. In this essay I will be focusing on the last six chapters: chapters 20 to 25. These chapters highlight the loss of power and customs of the Igbo people who have succumb to colonial rule. I fell Achebe is rhetorically effective and

Change is a reoccurring theme throughout history. It destroys and creates. It displaces and introduces. It can cause death and life. The movement of imperialism in Africa brought great change to the native tribal life. Forcing the indigenous people to turn away from their century-old traditions caused violent rifts between the European settlers and the tribes, as well as internal problems between once amiable members of the Ibo culture. With the introduction of the foreign Western Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the tribe’s life and ideals are drastically altered as the new ethics and principles collide with the old traditions and laws, causing the members of the society to either adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. Achebe’s character, Okonkwo, was impacted immensely by the cultural collision, as his previous way of life was pulverized before his eyes, and he found no reason to live any longer.

Chinua Achebe was educated in the West, though he hails from an African tribe. His exposure to both African and Western thinking gives him a unique perspective on the colonization of Africa, which is argued to be barbaric by some, but beneficial and necessary by others. In “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe perspective comes through as he masterfully describes a pre-colonization African tribe, and how colonization percolated through it. His authentic accounts of the positives and negatives of both tribal society and colonization leave the reader to answer the question of whether imperialism was morally justifiable or not.

Preconceived ideas about one’s culture often arises from stereotypes passed down from generation to generation. It is those stereotypes which shape one’s way of thinking, without being educated properly. In the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, misunderstood culture is what drives the story of a small African clan called the Umuofia and the life story of Okonkwo, a fearless warrior and farmer. An in-depth look into pre-colonial African culture helps the reader discover and understand an unbiased point of view of a world one may not understand. In doing so, Achebe uses imagery as well as strong narration to describe the cultural norms and activities that the Nigerian tribe undergoes in everyday life. Through this he offers a nonbiased point of view, and communicates and accurate picture of pre-colonial African culture to a western reader.

Imagine one day to the next the culture that some despise shows up out of nowhere and wants to take control. How would someone feel about this cultural collision? In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo the main character is a wealthy, titled man, has 3 wives , 8 children, and is a young leader of Umuofia. Okonkwo shows very little emotion, but one that he shows most of the time is anger. Everything changed with the western’s arrivals. Okonkwo’s response to western ideas illustrates the theme that no matter what culture, never let one emotion take control over the way other cultures are and how they are viewed.

When the Christian missionaries came, they shook the foundation of the Igbo culture. The Igbo religion is rooted in their culture, it becomes part of who the Igbo people are (Okeke, et al). Through Chinua Achebe’s book, “he even seems to show that a culture or religion which cannot change itself with time would obviously fall apart” (Mahanta). Some people were able to adapt their culture with the new ideas, but others, such as Achebe’s character Okonkwo, was unable to accept the changes. “Furthermore, within the traditional life, the individual is immersed in a religious participation, which starts before birth and continues after death, for the life of an Igbo man is like a religious drama, which vitally links the living with the ancestors and those yet to be born in a mystic continuum” (Okeke, et al). The Igbo people were so closely intertwined with their religion that it was difficult for them to deal with the wave of a different

Our values are what defines us; it’s an integral part of our lives, the way we live, the mores, traditions, and customs that dominate our lives are all a part of our culture. No society can exist without a culture. Our culture is what binds us together with other people. Customs and Traditions are important in many cultures, and example of this is in Chinua Ache novel “Things Fall Apart.” This essay will analyze the role of traditions and customs of "Things Fall Apart" and consider why these may be vital to this culture of the Igbo society and how their customs changed after the whites have colonized the land.

Cultural beliefs are bolstered by those who are influenced by them, and often times when these cultural groups come into contact, their opposing beliefs lead to conflict. Unfortunately, these differences often are a catalyst for bloodshed and loss, and ultimately one culture replaces and suppresses the other. This idea of conflict between the metaphysical beliefs of societies is explored in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, a novel describing the events and downfall of the Igbo tribe in Africa as Western colonialism overtakes their traditional values. The book follows Okonkwo, a proud warrior and leader in the tribe who is prone to violence, which eventually leads to his exile from his beloved home.

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

In the excerpt from the novel “Things Fall Apart” Chinua Achebe shows the level of importance the Igbo people hold tradition in. Throughout the whole story, the tradition of ancestral prayers, worshipping a multitude of gods, and even the tradition of keeping several weeks sacred are all presented to the reader. However, in these few pages, the tradition of staying true to your kinsmen, and promoting the bond of kinship, is heavily expressed. Through the use of proverbs, dialogue, and symbolism, Acehebe is able to effectively portray his thoughts.

In conclusion, as it is seen within Things Fall Apart, Europe’s colonization of Africa did have a devastating effect on the native peoples identities. In his novel, Things Fall Apart, author Chinua Achebe shows how the cultural collision brought upon by the introduction of western ideas to Ibo culture caused one character, Okonkwo, to respond violently. Things Fall Apart was written in 1958, and its purpose still resonates today. It shows us how to see from another perspective, even if that perspective has long

Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is an excellent piece of literary work that addresses the history of post-colonialism in Africa. The writer intentionally situates a colonized people as the cultural norm while portraying the colonizing people as outsiders, or as “the other”. Achebe’s work is meant to correct people’s misconception that African culture and society is savage and primitive by narrating the story of the colonialization of the Igbo people from an African point of view. The novel depicts the tensions and conflicts within the Igbo society as well as being under colonial rule. The justice system of the Igbo people impacts the lives of everyone within the community. They have complex social institutions that delivers

As machines roared and prices soared throughout industrial Europe, one continent turned with greedy eyes to lands outside their borders, hungry for greater resources to fuel their ever-growing factories. Armies poured forth and spread out all across the globe, trampling those in their path. Here we see a common story; the colonizer bulldozing over the colonized with little care, however times have changed, and the colonized have been granted a new voice, in the form of postcolonial literature, of which one star shines especially bright: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Throughout this story we follow Okonkwo, a man whose life we watch get torn to shreds by colonization. Such stories provide a new and unique perspective on colonization, and create a new channel of information through which postcolonial writers can express their resentment of colonialism, which is often expressed through their interpretations of colonial discourse, valorization of cultural identity, and in rewriting history. Things Fall Apart exemplifies these three aspects in spades, such that even now, so many years later, we as the reader can still understand how terrible an event colonialism really was.

This paper reflects the novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe in 1958. Achebe gives an overview of pre-colonialism and post-colonialism on Igbo, detailing how local traditions and cultural practices can “fall apart” in some scenarios through some introduced, externally created hassles elevated because of colonization. The protagonist named Okonkwo mentioned in the story is a proof showing the lifestyle of the tribe. My main objective and focus is to lay emphasis on Africa specifically the Igbo society, before and after the arrival of the Europeans in Umuofia community; the results of their arrival concerning Igbo culture, thus leading to the clash of cultures between the two categories. I will also draw on post-colonialism with respect to globalization.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was wrote in 1958 as a response to European Literature viewing Africans as savages who were then enlightened and found peace and safety by the Europeans. Chinua describes the Igbo people and showed the culture and showing the way of life of the Igbo people. This book shows this powerful and eye opening look into the complex society of these tribes and villages and how law and order is run. The major theme that is I will focus is that traditional development of the Igbo tribe alone and with the influence of the Europeans.