Things Fall Apart

Question ( 2 ): Discuss Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe 's “Things Fall Apart” is a tragic hero.

Once the egwugwu went to confront Mr. Smith for the killing of one of their members, Mr. Brown’s ignorance and rudeness were revealed even greater than before when he refused to leave the grounds when asked. Because of the reputation and the friendships that were built by Mr. Brown, Mr. Smith was treated with the same respect when confronted by the spirits. Unfortunately, Mr. Smith still would not go and respect the wishes of “the spirits and leaders of Umuofia” despite their kindness regarding the situation at hand. Although “Mr. Smith stood his ground… he could not save his church” (pg. 191) and the hands of the egwugwu tore apart the hard work Mr. Brown put into the church in Umuofia before having to leave both physically and

Women are often thought of as the weaker, more vulnerable of the two sexes. Thus, women’s roles in literature are often subdued and subordinate. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, women are repressed by an entrenched structure of the social repression. Women suffer great losses in this novel but, also in certain circumstances, hold tremendous power. Achebe provides progressively changing attitudes towards women’s role. At first glance, the women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power and this characterization is true to some extent. However, this characterization of Igbo women reveals itself to be prematurely simplistic as well as limiting, once

Three themes illustrated in Things Fall Apart are manliness, religious beliefs, and pride. These three themes are prevalent throughout the story, and slowly lead to the death of Okonkwo. He does not give up in his beliefs and will do anything to defend his honor; this creates many problems for Okonkwo. One of the themes shown in the novel, Things Fall Apart, is manliness. Okonkwo is driven by his fear of unmanliness, which causes him to act harshly toward his clan, his family and himself.

Traditions play a huge role in someones personality and life. I wouldn’t say they define us but they shift and mold who we are going to be when we grow up. If you strip away the core of traditions or activities that were considered normal, it could really affect someone. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is a perfect example of this theory. He was torn that Missionaries came into Umofia while he was gone and changed everything. Okonkwo felt betrayed by how much change took toll in Umofia. He isn’t used to the new rules and regulars given by the Christians. He was offended and didn’t agree with anything the Christian's rules. Unfortunately for Okonkwo, it was too late to change anything. It had been 7 years and the people of Umofia had already been

From the outset it is important to acknowledge that the primary motive cause for Okonkwo’s destruction must be located in the fact of British colonisation of Igboland. Put bluntly, if the British had not come to Umuofia, the clan would not have fallen apart and Okonkwo would not have been led to commit suicide. Of course it is true that there are flaws and contradictions in Umuofian clan tradition which give rise to internal tensions and which alienate certain members of the society. These include such specific instances as the throwing away of twins, the irrational taboo of the osu or outcasts, as well as, at times, the apparently senseless decrees of the gods and oracle, which produce fear and uncertainty rather than stability in the society. More generally, there is the societal privileging of masculine, warrior-like qualities which leads to the marginalization of the gentle and the weak, such as Unoka and Nwoye; of the unsuccessful, who are labeled efulefu, or worthless men; and, most notably, of women, who are everywhere rendered subordinate to patriarchal domination. There is also the instance of Okonkwo’s seven-year banishment from the clan, which seems an overly harsh penalty for an inadvertent crime, and which causes Obierika, at least, to question the fitness of the punishment. Nevertheless, Achebe is at pains in the lengthy first part of the novel to establish that Umuofian society is generally stable and coherent, and that such flaws as do exist are insufficient

Two cultures, two kinds of people, two different ideas of what is right. All around the world there are thousands of cultures living side by side, their realm of influence dictated by boundaries. But what happens when one culture oversteps their boundary? A cultural clash. When two cultures clash, there is normally conflict followed by a wide range of results, both negative and positive. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the cultural clash caused by European imperialism in the Mbanta Tribe caused a widespread negative reaction in the community. However, in this hatred of the white people and fear of losing their own culture some Mbanta Tribe members, like Nwoye, found opportunity.

Many situations given do not directly affect the story itself, but serve a purpose in providing examples to enlighten the reader on the background of the heritage. An example pertaining to the development of Ibo culture comes from its system of laws and justice. Achebe dedicates a chapter of this novel to describing the rituals of the egwugwu (important clansmen who dress as village ancestors), as they determine the verdict in a wife-beating case during Peace Week (87). The villagers of Umuofia do not believe the costumed clansmen are the village ancestors, although, “Okonkwo’s wives...might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo. They noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu."

Umuofia was a known village that became feared by neighbors due to their local values. The tribe gained enemies, but were respected because they did not declare war unless invited. The smart villages were given an option of war on everyone, or just their one targeted victim, and most surrendered the one. Beheading showed strength within a warrior, violence being the foundation of their culture. In Nigeria, around the early 1900’s, a young man applying his local values to reach high ranking across many villages was done through . “The center cannot hold” when the Igbo tribe decides to withdraw from violence due to a new appealing European culture. There are instances where their culture gains control through violence and times when they limit any savagery to meet the commands of the Gods. Violence gave the Igbo tribe a lot of structure and played a great factor in

When I read Things Fall Apart, I had a clear mind of what a life could be like Okonkwo’s. For the rest of the reading, a question was contacting me in different places of the novel. Okonkwo was an angry man in front of his Nigerian tribe and changed when Christian missionaries came to the Ibo village; also, I responded to the book, and my personal applications to a different culture were related to a missionary trip that was a powerful one back in 1956 in Ecuador.

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.

For example, when Okonkwo accidentally shoots and kills a young man during a funeral, he is “condemned for seven years to live in a strange land” (214), even though he is one of the most revered men within his clan. This portrays that, no matter what social status one holds, no individual is above the law, and everyone will be rightfully punished for their wrongdoings. Additionally, it also illustrates Igbo society as civilized because, even though the laws are unwritten, the inhabitants know that they still stand strong, and it helps keep the society in order. Also, the egwugwu are spirits who settle disputes and develop solutions to dilemmas brought up within the society. Like judicial court in first-world countries today, their duty “is not to blame [the] man or to praise that, but to settle the dispute” (155).

Without the ability to rule themselves, the white men completely changed the structure of the Igbos government. The Igbos judicial system was thrown out and replaced with one ruled by the white men. In the Igbos old court system, when there was a dispute to be settled, you would take it to the egwugwu and it would be discussed publicly. Whereas in the European court system set up in Umuofia, is ruled by one man. The white man’s judicial system is also much less fair. When Okonkwo accidentally killed the young boy, he was only banished by the elders to a sister clan. When Aneto committed a similar crime under the European court system, “Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged” (Achebe 177). Aneto may have murdered a man, but under Igbo customs if he flees to another land, then he is to be spared. Even though Aneto did these things the white men did not pay any attention to Igbo customs and took the matter into their own hands. The extent to which the political infrastructure of the Igbo was damaged, was so great that the tribe ended up having to conform to European ways in order to survive.

“They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance. He had court messengers who brought men to him for trial” and ‘he’ also had a prison where men with or without a title were beaten by the kotma (Achebe 174-175). This form government is significantly different from natives’ own that the author introduced in the beginning, the egwugwu, who “represented a village of the clan” but were still, beneath the masks, the heads of the clan and people the natives knew (Achebe 89). The new types of people the church received were known as the osu or outcast among the natives. “These outcasts, or osu, seeing that the new religion welcomed twins and such abominations, thought that it was possible that they would also be received” and they were with an accommodation (Achebe 156).

The novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs, customs and also about conflict. There is struggle between family and within culture and it also deals with the concept of culture and the notion of the values and traditions within a culture. The word culture is Latin and means to cultivate. To cultivate has several meanings; it can mean to plow, fertilize, raise and plant, to win someone’s friendship, woo and take favor with, to ingratiate oneself with, to better, refine, elevate, educate, develop and enrich. In Things Fall Apart all these words are accurate in describing the culture of Umuofia. A culture is an