The Colonization Of Africa In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

The novel Things Fall Apart was written in 1958 by a late Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. Things Fall Apart alludes to the effects of European Imperialism on Igbo culture. This novel begins in a fictional town called “Umuofia”, on the boundary of modern day Nigeria. European missionaries arrive in Umuofia, uninvited and especially unwelcomed. Upon the missionaries arrival, Umuofia’s cultural tradition is shaken to its core and tampered with by the Europeans. The effects of the Europeans on the Igbo culture in Umuofia alter the village’s religion, political structure, and the Igbo peoples way of life.

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.

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.

Throughout world history, various countries and kingdoms have strived towards achieving power, territory and control. Many rulers would compete against each other at the expense of their armies and civilian population. The largest empires started small, slowly enlarging by engulfing smaller, weaker empires using religious, ethnical, and political strategies. Simply using the aid of technological advancements in machinery and power. During the 16th century, there was a rapid growth of inventions around the world and developments in technology, which helped pave for the Industrial Revolution to occur. This Industrial Revolution was the primary catalyst amongst European nations to conquer others for more power and land. Lack of natural resources in Europe, led the Europeans to Africa in search of lumber, raw materials, and cheap labor. When Europeans went to Africa to look for lumber, raw materials, and cheap labor, they noticed how the natives had a completely different religion than theirs and the Europeans took the opportunity to start a land grab in the African continent to gain more power, territory, and convert the Africans to Christianity. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, displays the warfare and consequences of European Imperialism in the Niger River region by focusing Nigeria’s early experiences with colonialism, from the first contact with the

In the tribe of Umuofia, Okonkwo is considered to be the “greatest men of his time”(Achebe 8), his characteristics fit the definition of an everyday hero, which is a man of distinguished courage, ability, and thought highly of for his brave deeds and noble qualities. Okonkwo is a well respected man in the tribe and rises to the top very quickly “like a brush-fire in the harmattan”(Achebe 3) and at a young age; he is muscular, vigorous, well respected, and wealthy. Achebe describes

Achebe uses Okonkwo to show that in the Ibo culture they do not judge based off what the members of your family have done but they judge on what you yourself have done. The author uses Okonkwo to shape the story in a negative way. The reader determines this because throughout the book Okonkwo is a very angry man who murders and beats his kids and wives. He views emotions as weakness and then kills himself showing even more weakness in the eyes of the Ibo people. Achebe uses Okonkwo as the tragic hero to show the cultural differences between the Ibos and the

Achebe’s Things Fall Apart serves as an outcry to the degrading perception of Africans by ethnocentric cultures (namely whites) as accentuated by assiduously practiced archaic traditions by African tribes. Thus said, the underlying theme becomes apparent as a protest to the ignorance and arrogance of an imperialist society as well as a analysis of distaste for stubborn traditionalists refusing progress. Consequently, the particular target audiences is easily identified as the developed Western world, with their patronization and disrespect for cultures alien to theirs, alongside neglectful and non progressing traditional tribes within Africa. Employing satire and rhetoric, Achebe effectively comments on a conflict that has emerged and reemerged countlessly throughout history and in doing so, makes a subtle statement on the ignorance as it transcends all levels of society.

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

A question someone would more than likely not ask themselves is what they would do if they invaded a culture or had their own culture invaded. For most, this question seemingly does not apply to them because of the “civilized” world in which they live in at that moment; however, it is that specific mentality and cause-effect consequence that author Chinua Achebe explores in his novel Things Fall Apart. This novel follows the main character, Okonkwo, of an Igbo tribe, through his life’s story. A major theme that presents itself at the end is the consequences of not caring for another’s culture regarding colonialism. So, the question is set: what would someone do if they were trying to invade a culture or had their own culture invaded? In the novel Things Fall Apart, one possibility is explored, and that is the people whose culture is being threatened will act violently which causes the perpetrators to act violently as well. Kwame Appiah discusses a cosmopolitanism’s view of the world and uses common ideas such as do to others what you want done to yourself, and pursuing conversation with people who are not like oneself. These two ideas will be used to explore an event in Things Fall Apart, so that an alternate view can be offered on a situation if it were in the context of a cosmopolitan’s world. In a cosmopolitan world, the people of Abame would have had conversation with the colonialists to try and negotiate a mutually beneficial setup whereas the colonialists would have

It is often said that Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel Things Fall Apart is one of the leading examples of postcolonial literature out of the African continent. The book’s setting takes place in a small fictional village, Umuofia who was rich in their culture and traditions, suddenly had to react to cultural changes, by the white missionaries that came in and threaten to change their government structure, institutions and every aspect of their lives. Chinua Achebe’s purpose of writing Things Fall Apart was to educate and inform people of the rich Igbo culture, and to show and blame the White missionaries that came in a destroyed their culture through colonialism, metanarrative and valorization of cultural identity.

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.

Introduced by the story of a young man’s troubles and accomplishments by mere fighting, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, from its first few paragraphs, begins to tell the story of a tribe in Africa right before its colonization. A lyrical story of the struggles and societal reality centered around a flawed man, Achebe attempts to make Africa human in a world were mostly limited and dehumanized European perspectives on African lives existed. A story about culture, characters, and perspectives that are not perfect, he perfectly produces a novel about the human and real side of colonialism. Things Fall Apart is about moral and immoral characters, the consequences of childhood trauma, the power of nostalgia, the constant shifting of beliefs and, most importantly, the everyday aspects of mere human existence.

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