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The Ideology Of Culture In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

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The ideology of culture encompasses a broad range of elements. As culture may be defined as a religious concept, it also includes each individual’s personal values. In the book, Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, he depicts each individual’s cultural identity by showing their actions and beliefs. As an individual, many mindsets change throughout their lifetime, thus affecting that person’s cultural identity. Achebe shows the effect that occurs when Western influence comes upon the Ibo native homeland and how the upcoming of the Western culture had destroyed a few fragments of the Ibo culture. Chinua Achebe shows how one character in particular, Nwoye, succumbs to the influence of the Western culture. As a child, Nwoye had grown up feeling more “female” than male. In the Ibo culture, boys and men are supposed to act in a “manly” profession. If one was to act as a “female,” like crying, showing emotion, or even enjoy female activities, they would be beaten. “Later in the day he [Okonkwo] called Ikemefuna and told him that he was to be taken home the next day. Nwoye overheard it and burst into tears, whereupon his father beat him heavily” (Achebe 57). This shows how men in their society were frowned upon if one were to show emotion. Some men like Okonkwo would not show emotion and were well respected within their society. Other men like Nwoye had a different mindset. Nwoye enjoyed listening to his mother’s stories and cried when he was sad. Both of these were

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