Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

Okonkwo. Mr.Brown. These two men are drastically different from one another. But it is only 2 things in this whole wide world that separate them. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the fundamental differences between Okonkwo and Mr. Brown’s core beliefs as to how society should run derives from they’re interpretations of moral religious requirements and culturally accepted or rejected actions when it comes to economy, women’s rights, as well as war and military. That glaring line between their beliefs on those issues is materialism and how present materialism is in their respective religions and cultures.

In the Western part of Africa there is one dominant religious group in Nigeria that surpasses the rest. They have had much success in politics, economics, an above all have had better education levels than any other West African group. This astounding group is known as The Igbo. During British colonial times Christianity was enforced into the Igbo way of life, this changed some Igbo to believe that what the Christian missionaries were saying is true and that the Christian faith was the way to go. Through commercial trading Islam spread into Igboland, and this led to more Igbo people leaving the Igbo way of life for another, whether it be Islam or Christianity which divide the country in two. In the novel Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe British colonialism and the migration of Muslims to Nigeria led to the change in the faith, social and economic changes in the Igbo society.

The first chapter of ‘All Things Fall Apart” by Chinas Achebe was very interesting. The book started by explaining the setting of the village then it introduced Okonkwo and his achievements as a young man that led him to be very wealthy. What caught my attention was the difference in character between Okonkwo and his father Unoka. In page four it revealed how Okonkwo felt about his father and how he disliked individuals like his father that were unsuccessful and lazy.

“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (Achebe 146). This quote, spoken by Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe 's novel Things Fall Apart, is the most significant quote in the novel itself. This story was set in the 1890s. During this time, missionaries and colonial government intruded the Igbo society. In a traditional African village, lived a well-recognized man, Okonkwo. Okonkwo was ambitious, powerful, strong, short tempered, and depended on physical strength and African morals. He also believed

Things Fall Apart, a novel written by Chinua Achebe, introduces readers to a strong-willed man who is desperate to be the opposite of his father: successful. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo unknowingly embarks on a figurative journey that highlights his character and illuminates the theme, which is that the sacrifices of one affects many, especially in the case of a family. Though he travels physically with his family, single-minded Okonkwo travels alone mentally, emphasizing the figurative nature of his journey. Obstacles faced on Okonkwo’s journey have caused his charactered to be developed in a negative aspect, because he becomes more vicious and afraid to show endearment.

Imagine a person who has been successful and independently for years living by their own personal standards. Now imagine that same person having every aspect of their life changed and controlled by a ruler who says the person’s way of living are outdated and savage. Also, imagine that if that person refuses to follow these new rules, and sticks with their original ways of living, that person will see his or her demise. Would this person be happy? Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a story written to show Christian missionaries and colonists invading African clans with the intent to take over and reform every aspect of the African clans’ traditional culture, customs, and traditions with their modern culture, customs, and traditions that they are executing their plan wrong, as cultures do not easily blend. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe shows how old culture, customs, and traditions do not easily blend with modern culture, customs, and traditions through the event at Abame, the conflicts between the church and the Ibo clan, and Okonkwo’s ultimate demise and failure.

Chi, is what gives life, it differentiates a corpse from a live human being. It is energy that unites the body, mind and spirit. This concept is one that we all would be familiar with and has its origins in early Chinese philosophy, but in terms of the novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe in 1958, this concept of chi differs slightly. In Igbo there are two distinct meanings of the word chi, the first is often translated as guardian angel, personal spirit etc. and the second day or daylight and is most commonly used for the transitional periods between day and night or night and day. It is an individual’s personal god, whose merit is determined by the individual’s good fortune or lack thereof. It is said that “wherever something stands, something else will stand beside it”, nothing is absolute. A man lives here and his chi there. Meaning that there are two versions of everything, one in the spiritual world and one in the human world. As there is for the characters in the novel. *Put up the two pictures of Okonkwo, write up one for Okonkwo + Okonkwo’s chi*

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe the ideas of the Ibo tribe are greatly influenced. The main character, Okonkwo, does not embrace the cultural collision of the introduction of Western ideas into the Ibo tribe and the cultural collision leads to his tragic downfall.

Ernest Gaines once said, “I write to try to find out who I am. One of my main themes is manliness. I think I'm trying to figure out what manliness really is.” Indeed, every society or culture has its own understanding of an ideal man. Even though these characteristics are different in various parts of the world, the significance of masculinity can never be overestimated. “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is considered as one of the best examples of a rise and fall of a man who strives to meet all requirements of an ideal masculinity. This paper will prove the manliness of the main character of the novel, and analyze the reasons of his downfall despite the fact that he lives in a society where masculinity is worshiped.

Things Fall Apart was a fictional story that documented the tragic death of the successful and highly respected Okonkwo, a leader in the Umuofian tribe; and upon further analysis, his death serves as a symbol of a much greater tragedy: the white man’s destruction of an entire culture through a forced societal transformation and conversion into Christianity. However, it is in my opinion that the conversion was a combination of the white man’s imperialistic actions, meshed with the Igbo people’s own transgressions, that led to the death of Igbo culture.

Western and European powers came to dominate life in the late-19th and early-20th century. These imperialist powers hoped to gain economic, and political powers through the use of others. They exerted their power and dominance to do so. With this power they could subdue and take over other countries. Although the right to do this can be argued heavily, it does not stray from the fact that sometimes it is alright to do. Displayed in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the introduction of the white missionaries brought new life into Africa. The white missionaries made changes and went against the religion of the Africans. They did it in their own view of righteousness: once abandoned babies were saved and rejected outsiders became accepted. However, their methods sometimes were underhanded and cynical. The extent of the force that they showed became unnecessary and when the white settlers began to infringe on the rights and cultures of the Africans, it’s clear that there is a certain extent of which they could oppress them. Europe had the right to take over Africa if they were making changes that would have benefitted both the Igbo and the Europeans, but should only make changes if it does not infringe on another’s culture or religion.

In today’s society, people cannot afford to miss out on changes in trends, or technology. With the ever-rapid pace of the growing economy, one must be able and be willing to adapt and accept changes. Perspectives within different cultures and societies may differ with changes. People need to teach each other that much like the changing of the seasons, our way of life in time will also change. It should not be something forced, and that a way of life for one may not be the best way for others. People should also know that when trying to change a culture or society; it’s better to incorporate their religions, beliefs, and traditions to help gradually make the changes. Forcing something on a person or society would only lead to chaos.

Yet by using English, Achebe faces a problem. How can he present the African heritage and culture in a language that can never describe it adequately? Indeed, one of the primary tasks of Things Fall Apart is to confront this lack of understanding between the Igbo culture and the colonialist culture. In the novel, the Igbo ask how the white man can call Igbo customs bad when he does not even speak the Igbo language. An understanding of Igbo culture can only be possible when the outsider can relate to the Igbo language and terminology.

Chinua Achebe has stated that he wrote his novel Things Fall Apart in response to Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, which appears, at face value, a piece of literature that demonstrates the horrors of imperialism. However, when compared with a novel such as Things Fall Apart, the novella’s numerous faults become glaringly obvious. It is effortless to construe why Achebe would write such a novel when Conrad’s novella did not recognize the people of Africa as people, rather casualties and never sought to understand or assist them. Achebe corrects the errors made in the Heart of Darkness by delving in his book into the lives, customs, and traditions of the natives allowing them to be seen as people. He also responds to Conrad through the way he writes and targets the book, along with how he demonstrates the ideas of the imperialist and Christians in Things Fall Apart.

Before Things Fall Apart was published, most novels about Africa had been written by Europeans, and they largely portrayed Africans as savages who needed to be enlightened by Europeans. For example, Joseph Conrad's classic tale Heart of Darkness (1899), one of the most celebrated novels of the early twentieth century, presents Africa as a wild, "dark," and uncivilized continent. In Mister Johnson (1939), which in 1952 Time called "the best novel ever written about Africa" ("Cheerful" para. 15), Irishman Joyce Cary's protagonist is a semieducated, childish African who, on the whole, reinforces colonialist stereotypes about Africans. In 1958, however, Chinua Achebe broke apart this dominant model with Things Fall Apart, a novel that portrays Igbo society with specificity and sympathy and examines the effects of European colonialism from an African perspective. Chinua Achebe uses the role of religion in Things Fall Apart from the Igbo tribe's perspective to illustrate the destruction that the ignorance of the white missionaries creates.