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Things Fall Apart Colonialism Analysis

Decent Essays

Colonialism is one of the main conflicts that occur in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Colonialism is what strips Okonkwo of his culture during the book. Colonialism has been going on for many years in many different parts of the world. Many people are affected by colonialism If your culture loses its control and you are stripped of what you have always known, you have been stripped of your identity.
Things Fall Apart was one of the first novels by an African author to garner worldwide acclaim. Though mostly fictional, Nigerian author Chinua Achebe claims that the book documents Africa’s spiritual history.”(Shmoop Editorial Team). Things Fall Apart helps us to understand African culture. In the book we learn how the Europeans came came in Africa and began to introduce christianity. This starts to change everything about the culture that Okonkwo grew up to and followed. Okonkwo's son Nwoye even goes to the new European ways. When Okonkwo realizes how much is changing in his culture he feels as if he is being stripped of his culture, and I would have to agree with him. The Europeans came into his town and started changing all his traditions and everything he had ever known. This left Okonkwo with very little of his culture left. This shows how someone's culture could very easily be stripped from them.
If a person is stripped of their culture it can completely mess them up. For example in the book Things Fall Apart, after Okonkwo is found dead the author puts in

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