New Insight Into the Culture Things Fall Apart gave me a new perspective on the life of Africans before and during European colonization. I could relate to the life of Okonkwo and gained new insight on him when he shot at his second wife, Ekwefi. Okonkwo's fit of rage lead him to be impulsive and this was something I could relate to. I did not understand why anybody would listen to the Oracle but when he called for Ikemefuna to be killed I finally understood his significance, it gave me new insight into their culture.
One thing about the book that was a mirror for me was Okonkwo’s impulsiveness.In Chapter 5 Okonkwo’s second wife Ekwefi, made fun of Okonkwo’s shooting skills. Okonkwo became very upset and shot at her trying to prove he had a good shot. Okonkwo did this in a fit of rage and immediately regretted it.
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In today's 21st century world if someone claiming to be an oracle told my community that we needed to kill somebody as a religious sacrifice nobody would listen to them and would act with reason and not kill the person. I could never understand why people listened to everything an oracle would say and thought lesser of people for listening to them. Things Fall Apart gave me new insight on why people from this time period would listen to them. The people of Umuofia during the 1890’s were not well educated in science and modern reason so most things were explained in supernatural ways. This is evident when Ezinma gets sick and it is said that the reason she is sick is because she is an Ogbanje, a kid possessed by an evil spirit that kills the children of one mother.
“After the death of Ekwefi's second child, Okonkwo had gone to a medicine man, who was also a diviner of the Afa Oracle, to enquire what was amiss. This man told him that the child was an ogbanje, one of those wicked children who, when they died, entered their mothers' wombs to be born again.”
His fear took over his entire life. Achebe says, "Okonkwo ruled his house with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children."(9). This quote explains that Okonkwo was very abusive towards his family members, not only that but whenever his children, especially his first son, Nwoye, showed signs of being anything like Unoka, "-he(Okonkwo) sought to correct him(Nwoye) by constant nagging and beating. And so he developed into a sad-faced youth"(Achebe 10). This intimate fear of Okonkwo's has affected the livelihoods of his family, however, there's one event when he let his fear of femininity get the best of him. In Chapter 7, Okonkwo's adopted son, Ikemefuna, is murdered. But the blood of Ikemefuna is on Okonkwo's hands. Achebe explains,"-He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, "My father, they have killed me!" as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, he drew his machete and cut
Based off the book Things Fall Apart, the videos we watched in class, and the poem “The White Man’s Burden”, the white man’s burden of spreading Christianity was more harmful than helpful. In both the book and the film the African Tribes were already fully functional as a whole. They had systems in place such as forms of government, art, social systems, and economic systems. After the whites came to convert them, things started to fall apart and become chaotic.
but on further thought he told himself that nwoye was not worth fighting for. why , he cried in his heart, should he, okonkwo, of all people, he be cursed with such a son?”(114) this shows how okonkwo was in fear the his children would follow nwoye and break the traditions of their religions. okonkwo disclaimed nwoye because he was weak in his eyes. weakness was okonkwo’s biggest
Okonkwo’s everyday life before the new religion interfered, consisted of his heated emotions, a complete family, and living in a strong, dependable Umuofia, where he was greatly respected. He first gained his respect in Umuofia by literally throwing his biggest obstacle, “In the end, Okonkwo threw the Cat” (Achebe 13). This symbolizes the time in his life when fear took over everything weak in his life, and when he stands up for himself. Gaining his respect in a place that is, “powerful in war and in magic, and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country” (Achebe 21), is a major achievement. In Umuofia, decisions by the tribe whether to go to war or not, were easily made. For example, when a neighboring tribe murdered a daughter of Umuofia, the Oracle and Umuofia knew that “the war that now threatened was a just war” (Achebe 22). The neighboring tribe therefore fearfully handed over a virgin and Ikemefuna. In this feared place is where Okonkwo raised his family of three wives and eight children. He “ruled
The world is filled with many different types of societies and cultures. This is due to the fact that many people share dissimilar beliefs and ideas, as well as diverse ways of life. People lived under different circumstances and stipulations, therefore forming cultures and societies with ideas they formulated, themselves. These two factors, society and culture, are what motivate people to execute the things that they do. Many times, however, society and culture can cause downgrading effects to an assemblage if ever it is corrupt or prejudiced. Society and culture not only influences the emotions individuals have toward things like age differences, religion, power, and equality but also the actions they perform as a result.
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.
In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is drunk on power, and aggression pumps through his veins. The rules of his tribe seem to be mere suggestions to him. Okonkwo beats his wives during the sacred Week of Peace; he kills of Ikemefuna though a high-ranking clan member warns him not to. Okonkwo lives by his own rules, and every violent action, to him, is justifiable. When a group of white Christians insert themselves into the land of Okonkwo’s tribe, he is outraged, though his fellow tribes folk do not assert themselves. Some members of the clan actually betray their tribe and join the side of the Christians. Had it been up to
In the novel “Things Fall apart” there's a character named Okonkwo, he's basically lived his entire life to believe that the culture he lives in is what it's supposed to stay like. Hes believed that change should not need to happen. The novel in general consists of change. The key event that occurs in the novel which carries dramatic consequences along with it. Characters who know absolutely nothing about it but experience it all by the end.
The law and legal systems in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe In this short novel, Chinua Achebe tells us the story of a man named Okonkwo, and his life. At the beginning of the novel, Chinua introduce to us Okonkwo’s father Unoka, he was a drunk and failure. Unlike his father Unoka, Okonkwo became the strongest warrior in Umuofia.
Question ( 2 ): Discuss Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe 's “Things Fall Apart” is a tragic hero.
Sean Chappell Professor Watkins December 1, 2014 Western Civilization II A Response to “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe The book “Things Fall Apart”, written by Chinua Achebe, is a story that follows a protagonist named Okonkwo who lives in Umoufia and focuses on his life and all the way until the end of his life. This story also brings up the influence of other countries and how they can affect and change a culture.
Rarely are Africans the main characters in Western literature. Even in the Media, when Africans make an appearance, it is often just pictures or short clips. There is no interview, no way to learn that the person is anything other than what is seen in that picture. In Things Fall Apart the characters have qualities that cannot be seen in the carefully chosen information that the media gives us. Okonkwo, Obierika, and Nwoye exhibit the complexity needed to cast away the single story.
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.
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