Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

In the novel, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe the Igbo tradition revolves around structured gender role. Everything essential of Igbo life is based on their gender, which throughout the novel it shows the role of women and the position they hold, from their role in the family household, also planting women crops, to bearing children. Although the women were claimed to be weaker and seemed to be treated as objects, in the Igbo culture the women still provided qualities that make them worthy.

Imagine living in a world of perfect paradise, where no one disturbs you or takes away your freedom of thought. You’re living in pure harmony and feel as if your life is going to be peaceful forever. But what if one day someone comes along and changes your world, taking away your custom beliefs and changing your culture. What would you do? In the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the character Okonkwo, an indigenous member of the Ibo tribe, comes in conflict with the European settlers as they try to convert his tribe to Christianity. Even though many people choose to convert to this new system, Okonkwo, along with a few friends, respond adversely to this foreign settlement as they attempt to restore order in their native village. As the Europeans bring their religion, messengers, and government into the tribe, the outcome of Okonkwo 's response, causes him to bring his identity into query when he realizes that things that were formerly common, will always collapse in the end.

Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, once said: “A man who makes trouble for others is also making troubles for himself”. This concept can be seen in the development of Okonkwo as a character throughout the book. Creating plenty of trouble for others, but ultimately creating the most trouble for himself is possibly the plot for the entire book. Generally, the creation of trouble is not a value that is appreciated in any culture, especially in Umuofia. Okonkwo breaks many of the boundaries and social norms within his culture; his tendency to be immature and unaccountable combined with being very self-concerned and the defiance of elders creates an interesting mix adjacent to the cultural standards.

Social rank and relative wealth play great roles in determining a person’s life in Umuofia society. Sometimes a man with sheer force of will cannot change his future through hard work. One of the main conflicts in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the clash between Okonkwo’s determination to succeed, his free will, and fate – which seems to have less appealing things in mind. Okonkwo’s will plays a major factor in determining his future; he chooses to kill Ikemefuna with his own hands, he chooses to kill a government official, and in the end, he chooses to take his own life. However, the pre-destined conditions of his life, his father’s failures, and a series of unfortunate circumstances ultimately lead to Okonkwo’s downfall.

Change is a natural process that triggers the evolution of human societies; it is the continuous eradication of traditions that are replaced by the new. Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ (TFA), a novel written in 1958, explores the gradual transformation of the Ibo culture as a result of colonialism and also the attitudes the people of Umoufia developed when exposed to foreign ideologies; the change was either accepted or resisted. Peter Skrzynecki’s ‘Crossing The Red Sea’ (CRS) and ‘Feliks Skrzynecki’ (FS) from the Immigrant Chronicle, a poetry collection published in 1975 depicts the evolution of the Australian society due to factors including migration, assimilation and different perceptions. These forces of change contributed to the

The women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power which is true to some extent with the way some women are treated. This characterization of Ibo women is limiting, but when more in depth in the book it shows the divers roles of women, and how important the women are to their tribes. The women in the tribes are sometimes shown as the weak ones of the group but when these women are the foundation, nurturers, and caretakers of the tribe that shows the great responsibility they have and how important they are.

This world can appear to be a very large place when looking at the perspective of the earth on a globe. We notice the many continents and the vast country places, which exist within in it. The blueness of the seas that stretches from one end to the other is overwhelming within itself. It’s an elementary fact that life is prevalent on the dry places on the earth. However, another fact is true. Every society wants to establish its importance along with its reason for living and existing. The people of Umuofia were a people who had a strong belief in their power for oneness. Okonkwo’s people were a society of people who exercised strength and agility. The power of their strength came partly from their cultural beliefs. The clan of

Solomon Northup executed his very gruesome and serious tone throughout his memoir by providing dialogue said by real life people and using diction to give nauseating details to events going on around him throughout his twelve years in bondage. For example, Solomon Northup explains in chapter five how a fellow free slave named Arthur was abused for trying to protest the unfair kidnapping. Solomon states,” He fought until his strength failed him. Overpowered at last, he was gagged and bound with ropes, and beaten, until he became insensible.” (39). The slave masters were not compassionate and defiantly enforced the depressing tone of the memoir. Solomon Northup explains how Eliza, a slave mother, is being separated from her son and the cruel,

Things fall apart, this phrase being used in both the novel title Things Fall Apart and the poem written by Yeats, “The Second Coming” keeps us wondering how both are related. Achebe uses Yeats’ poem as an epigraph to foreshadow how the events in the novel later on might occur. Reading the epigraph, we come to understand that Yeats is referring to an image of disaster and to a society that is losing control. In Things Fall Apart, the community faces some changes that affect the lives of certain main characters and leads to a very severe disaster. Achebe uses a lot of imagery and dualism in his novel to portray certain messages to the readers and to clarify his point. Also, Achebe wanted to answer back any writer who criticized the Africans and insulted them. He wanted the voice of the Africans to be heard and to take a stand when the Christians came in and tried to change a lot in the traditions that were present. Both, the poem and the novel are related in a way that shows how the downfall of the main character, Okonkwo, happened and what lead to it. Both writers have many things in common in their writings that can be compared in a social and religious way. Achebe uses double meaning in order to pass on his messages to the readers.

In history many ancient and early cultures lived in a society where gender influenced their way of life. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo tribe in Africa bases their people’s social status and everyday life on gender. Women are expected to be submissive and thought to be weaker compared to their male counterparts. Men on the other hand are thought of as strong and must live up to the expectations of the clan. There are several instances in the book that strongly emphasize the masculine roles in the Ibo tribe’s society. Throughout the book, Okonkwo’s extreme views on masculinity gains him the respect of his community. In his community Okonkwo is greatly praised for his masculinity. It is Okonkwo’s desire to be accepted by his community and insecurities that leads to him becoming an outcast in his community which eventually led to him committing suicide. Okonkwo would rather die than to develop a feminine reputation like his father. As a clansman of the Igbo, being a well provider for your family, a strong protector, and an influential fatherly figure are things that define masculinity.

With its fluidity and ever magnifying physical presence, Christianity has spread with the powers of the world. Speculation of Christian growth combined with historical evidence show how it has spread: “In 1900, 83 percent of the world’s Christians lived in Europe and North America. In 2050, 72 percent of Christians will live in Africa, Asia, and Latin America” (Jenkins xi).This demographic and geographic change can be traced back to the beginning of Christian Imperialism. The Roman Empire adopted religion in the Fourth Century and spread its word across the Empire. Christian writings originally written in Coptic and Greek began to be written in Latin (Jenkins 22). Although the Romans left Britain in the Fifth Century, the indigenous Celts and Anglo-Saxon peoples of the Isle had learned of Christianity though Roman conquest and adopted it as their official religion in the Seventh Century (Jenkins 23). Firmly rooted in Britain, Christianity was able to stowaway on the boats of missionaries and soldiers as the English Empire spread its wings. Following the Protestant Reformation and establishment of the Anglican Church, English settlers pushed West across the Atlantic seeking religious freedom and the ability to raise a new Church the way they saw fit (Merriman 407). These brave men and women were Pilgrims and Puritans and they carried the torch of Christianity to the New World. With the establishment of the British colonies in the New World came the eventual establishment of the United States, the world’s next great power in succession after Rome and Britain. Christianity is and always was the dominant religion of the United States, and as technology developed and sharing information became easier, global communication and travel increased. With the Christian faith firmly grounded on both sides of the Atlantic, these developments made it easier to spread its word and convert even more people to the cause of

In the same way every character is going to have a fatal flaw, backstory, etc. they 're also going to have an inner driving force. Characters ' driving force is what authors use to rationalize their characters ' actions and explain the reasoning behind them whether it 's ignorance or an incorrect belief. No one character is evil just for the sake of being evil and no one is without fault. Every character is just doing what they think is right. The protagonist of the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a man named Okonkwo, lives in the Umuofia village of Nigeria in western Africa during the early 1900s, pre-european rule, and he is no exception. He is unlikeable and unsympathetic in many ways and it 's easy to argue that his driving force and fatal flaw are one in the same; hubris. But I beg to differ, on many occasions Okonkwo proves it 's not pride driving his actions but rather cowardice. This cowardice is manifested from his internalized misogyny, leads him to make many bad decisions, and though he rationalizes his actions to be what are expected of him it is shown that they aren 't synonymous with his societies ' values.

Africa has always been the centre of colonization for many European countries. With its colonization came stereotypes of African’s being inhumane, primitive and savage in comparison to the humanity of the civilized Europeans. The tradition model simplifies the stereotypes into Africans are bad and Europeans are good. Fortunately, it is not as clear cut as this. In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, both the Igbo of the Umuofia and the British of Europe have good sides and dark sides of their respective races revealing that traditional perceptions of these races are not entirely accurate. Through their systems of government, court systems and religion both parties have the positive and negative effects on each other.

Imagine a world one day when every single person shares one culture, the most influential and powerful existing. There are millions of cultures in existence but how can they all possibly collapse, equaling only one? In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the father-son conflict of Okonkwo and Nwoye is used as a microcosm representing how societies of multiple cultures fall apart, reflecting upon the roots of the conflict. In this particular case, the Igbo society and British culture collides, resulting in the destruction of the inferior Igbo culture.

No Longer at Ease is an interesting book. While it has its negatives, the way this book was written and the deeper meaning to be found once you look closer into the book outweigh said negatives. In the book No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe, morals are tested and eventually lost. The author places the main character, Obi Okonkwo, into many financial struggles and tests his idea of being an incorruptible person. Eventually Obi falls to the corruption of bribery and is arrested. The author makes a lot of effort in placing Obi in financial situations where he just cannot keep up with all of the expenses and at times makes bad financial decisions. Obi’s constant struggle with his fiancée, Clara, his parents, and the Umuofian Progressive Union beat down Obi’s will to continue struggling to pay his expenses and takes the easy way out.