The Role Of Umuofian Culture In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

A form of order and stability are essential for the continued existence of any society. Order and stability are often maintained through religious traditions and societal expectations. Conflicting ideologies however, can lead to a society’s stability being jeopardised. Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ explores the concept of societal stability in reference to the West African Ibo society. Through the use of omniscient narration, characterisation, juxtaposition and novel structure, he examines how order can be achieved through religion and societal expectations, and how instability can arise from conflicting ideologies.

Upon his return, Okonkwo wants people to see him as a leader again with many titles. However, that wasn’t the same as before. He was even shocked that none of his people wanted to go to war after the Europeans have taken over. Okonkwo realize that his old village and the people there have converted and changed, including his son, Nwoye. He even proposed to go to war with the European men and the missionaries. “‘The waiting backcloth jumped into tumultuous life and the meeting was stopped. Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action. He discerned fright in that tumult. He heard voices asking: ‘Why did he do it?”’(205). This illustrates the enormous change in their society. At the start of the novel, everyone is willing to fight one another and to show that they are better and well respected than others. In this situation, we can see that everyone is following stringent rules set up by the Europeans. This change in religion will bring an end to the Igbo

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.

The evangelists are very accepting, as they take in the osu, outcasts from the clan. They offer salvation along with freedom, which Nwoye has been searching for for a long time. However, because of Nwoye’s action, Okonkwo disowns him. Later, when Obierika goes to visit Okonkwo, he finds that “Okonkwo [does] not wish to speak about Nwoye.” Moreover, Okonkwo tells his other children that “if any one of [them] prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye” (Achebe, 172). Okonkwo then asks himself how he could have “begotten a woman for a son” (Achebe, 153). According to Okonkwo, Nwoye has become weak because he has joined another religion. Since Okonkwo believes he is the most masculine man in Umuofia, it is unbearable that his child turned out to be such a failure. This unbearable change in his family creates a ripple effect of events that become worse and worse for Okonkwo.

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.

A major aspect of one’s society is religion. Without it, the way people hold themselves accountable would be nonexistent. In addition, many moral standards that exist today are values taken directly from religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Currently, there exists a feud between people who believe in a god, and of those who do not. Eventually those who believe in a higher power will fight against each other. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe brings to light the differences and similarities of Christianity and Animism in order to demonstrate the effects of religion upon one’s society, which is exemplified by Okonkwo and his people. This is noticed in the lives of the Ibo, the missionaries, and

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.

Umuofia is a village in Africa, and the inhabitants there are usually united. However, when the Christians arrive and permeate the village, the clan changes but also falls apart. The novel in which this story takes place is called Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The story is about a well-respected man named Okonkwo who has three wives and many children, the oldest being Nwoye. Okonkwo is banished for seven years from Umuofia, and during those seven years, Umuofia is changed fundamentally by the Christian faith. Many people are converted, but the whole clan is in conflict. This novel demonstrates that Christianity destroys but also guides the Ibo culture in Umuofia.

William James, a famous American philosopher, once stated, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”. This quotation effectively illustrates how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives. This concept is clearly demonstrated throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, authored by Chinua Achebe, by establishing a connection through the development of its characters and the change in traditional African tribal villages seen in the Nineteenth Century. It will be established how various characters demonstrated by the author throughout the novel exemplify how change

For many cultures, religion is a glue that holds a community together. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, religion is at the base of the Ibo people’s culture. All of the clansmen and their families are adherents to a polytheistic religion, and credit both good and bad happenings to their many gods and goddesses, and live in a constant fear of displeasing them. Religion was very important to these peoples, and was a common thread that kept the villages united. One day, Europeans came to the villages looking to spread their religion of Christianity. After that day, nothing was ever the same. The new religion attempted to reshape the villages and people in them, altering their values, actions, and morals. Before long, more people converted and outnumbered those left to fight for how it has always been, creating conflicts between both man vs. society and man vs. self. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, it is seen how religion can control a person or group of people by destroying physical things, affecting mental wellness, and challenge one’s morals by dictating right and wrong.

In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the setting sets forth in Umofia, a lower Nigerian Tribe and Mbanta, Okonkwo’s mother’s kinsmen. The novel begins with a man, whose name is Okonkwo, a noble warrior, resides in Umofia, with his three wives and nine children. Okonkwo is haunted by his father, Unoka’s disgraceful past. Okonkwo desires his son to be a tough, powerful warrior. Thus, this being said causes havoc upon Okonkwo’s families, tearing Nwoye and Okonkwo apart. Meanwhile, missionaries visit the nine villages convincing the villagers to believe their religion and abandon their own beliefs and traditions. After many events occurred, the novel comes to an abrupt end with tragedy and uncertainty. The marvelous author,

Chinua Achebe, was a nigerian writer, poet, critic, and professor. Born and raised in south-east nigeria, Achebe became curious and fascinated with traditional African cultures and religions as he grew up. Then, as a university student studying English Literature, he starting writing stories and in 1959, he eventually created Things Fall Apart, a story that depicts african imperialism in the 1800s and 1900s and captures the rapid changes that occurred in african culture during that time. . This novel received attention and praise from the whole world, Chinua Achebe suddenly became renowned for his literary workmanship and went on to publish many more creations. Living in Lagos, Achebe witnessed the issues with development from old to new cultures in African communities. Europeans envisioned africans as uncivilized and most were not enlightened of the post-colonial conditions and freedom in Africa. These factors prompted Achebe to inform the world about Africa’s real identity and establish a new voice in African literature. The viewpoint of Achebe was biased to some extent when writing this novel, as someone who came from africa and had a goal of restoring his country’s cultural dignity, but it also provided a unique point of view and a story produced from real life experiences. This book by Chinua Achebe is known as a historical fiction, the characters and events did not occur in the past, but they were devised according to historical occurrences and are correct in terms

Chinua Achebe, birth name Albert Chinualumongu Achebe is a well-known author and educator best recognized for his portrayal of social injustice and perplexity at the hands of Western ideas and beliefs towards traditional African lives and cultures. Achebe was born in 1930 into a Christian household in the Igbo community of Orgidi, southeast region of Nigeria. His academic excellence early on in life led him to outstanding opportunities of scholarships and would later open doors to positions such as working for Nigerian Broadcasting Services and Metropolis of Lagos. While attending the University of Ibadan, Achebe began writing stories leading him to discover his passion for African cultures and world religions. While Achebe had been writing for some time, he published his first novel: Things Fall Apart in 1958 which caught the attention of many individuals across the globe. Throughout ‘Things Fall Apart,’ Chinua Achebe thematically exposed fundamental elements of traditional roles placed to indicate the fate of individuals of Nigeria. The experiences of the fictional character – Okonkwo – clearly depict the interactions and customs Africa faced during the European colonial presence on the continent itself.

“If you want to learn about a culture, listen to the stories. If you want to change the culture, change the stories.”(Unknown) Throughout the story “Things Fall Apart By: Chinua Achebe” the entirety of Unuofia & the Ibo culture itself experienced a rather unexpected change. New ideas of government, faith, and culture are taking a toll on Umuofia. The presence of Western ideas brought forth by European missionaries ultimately conflicted with the ideas and beliefs of the Ibo culture-and later resulted in the falling apart of their culture as a whole

Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe a Nigerian novelist, poet professor and a critic born in Ogidi in 1930. Things Fall Apart was his first novel and won the Man Booker International Prize in 2007. Achebe’s novel is extremely popular in modern African Literature. Through illuminating author’s purpose, skillfully decided formal diction, and the substantial influence of secondary characters, Chinua Achebe has produced an award winning novel that enlightens the reader about authentic Nigerian history.