Things Fall Apart

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

Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, is a story of a traditional village in Nigeria from inside Umuofia around the late 1800s. This novel depicts late African history and shows how the British administrative structure, in the form of the European Anglican Church, imposed its religion and trappings on the cultures of Africa, which they believed was uncivilized. This missionary zeal subjugated large native populations. Consequently, the native traditions gradually disappeared and in time the whole local social structure within which the indigenous people had lived successfully for centuries was destroyed. Achebe spends the first half of the novel depicting the Ibo culture, by

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe it is demonstrated how the Ibo culture slowly deteriorated from their own culture. The Western ideas influenced a different impact on certain characters, this also included characters like Okonwo and his son Nwoye. Many from the Ibo culture were confused by the merge of the European people slowly but subtly trying to enforce and covert their religion upon them. The books ending explained why the book was written in the first place, which was to “break the silence” that existed from the unheard side of the colonized people. The novel explained the impact Nwoye encountered with Western ideas was a clear and positive one. Nwoye felt like he resonated, was wanted, and more suited in the new culture

Things Fall Apart is a story about personal beliefs and customs and also a story about conflict. There is struggle between family, culture, and religion of the Ibo people which is all brought on by a difference in personal beliefs and customs. There are the strong opinions of the main character, Okonkwo. We are also introduced to the views of his village, Umuofia. Finally, we see how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are confronted by those of the white missionaries. Chinua Achebe is a product of both native and European cultures. This has a great effect on the telling of the story. When he tells the story with an understanding and personal experiences in both cultures. He does not portray the African culture and their

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.

In Things Fall Apart, there are many things that make it a great piece of postcolonial literature. The book is about the Igbo tribe, and how Christian missionaries came into the town of Umuofia. Okonkwo was the antagonist of the story, and it also shows the development of this town and his relationships. In Things Fall Apart, there are numerous examples of colonialism, how Christians invaded and what they did once they arrived in Africa. Along with that, many metanarratives were shown, and Chinua Achebe used two different languages in this story. Things Fall Apart is a great book, with many different contextual features.

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

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.

Of Imperialism, English writer and composer Anthony Burgess once said, “Colonialism. The enforced spread of the rule of reason. But who is going to spread it among the colonizers?”. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe chronicles the life of underdog turned successful clansman Okonkwo, as well as the complexity of the Ibo culture in pre-colonial Africa. With the arrival of British missionaries, Okonkwo’s world crumbles as their cultures clash, and more African people begin to join the church. The Ibo people at first greatly underestimate the power of the colonizers, yet they make a deep and lasting impact on their culture. These missionaries completely change the lives of the Ibo people. Achebe’s main message is to communicate this clash of

The Ibo host usually offers palm wine and asks the guest to crack a kola nut as a sign of respect and friendliness. The Ibo also ask hospitable question about each other’s personal lives and wellness before conducting business. When Okaye visited Unoka for business, even Unoka, Okonkwo’s lazy and titleless father, offers Okaye a kola nut and palm wine before discussing money. Achebe writes, “‘I have Kola,’ he [Unoka] announced when he sat down… ‘Thank you. He who brings kola brings life. But I think you ought to break it,’ Replied Okaye… ‘No, it is for you, I think’” (Achebe 6). After the Europeans started appearing on Ibo land, these traditions started to fade away. The Europeans were so successful in conquering the Ibo in Umuofia because they acted on the idea of divide and conquer. They focused on separating the youth from the religion and the customs of the religion. Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, is a prime example who was separated from the religion and the customs that his father had practiced, “At Nwoye’s age Okonkwo had already become famous throughout Umuofia for his wrestling and his fearlessness” (Achebe 153). The changing youth caused trouble between the native people who practiced the customs and the new generation that departed from the religion and its cultural

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.

As a simply written novel with an incredibly complex theme, Things Fall Apart gives readers a touch of cultural shock which manages to leave them unwilling to return home after the last page. Chinua Achebe, the author, bases the plot around the experiences his people group has with imperialism and uses events throughout the story to prove his opinion on this controversial occurrence in history. The tale centers around Okonkwo, an Ibo man determined to stay traditional, which becomes problematic when Europeans begin to take over African tribes and reorganize their governments. This experience exhibits imperialism, which most know of as the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring

Why is it that the Ibo society fell apart, and what could the villagers have done differently in order to salvage their culture? In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, it explains how imperialism affected Africa in many horrid ways. The setting of “Things Fall Apart” is in Nigeria;

Achebe wanted to discuss the impact of colonization, therefore, Things Fall Apart was set in Nigeria. During the late nineteenth century is when Nigeria was colonized by the British. In the novel, Okonkwo felt as if Umofia’s unity was broken when the white men entered their territory; for the purpose of colonizing the land. “How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? 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 a put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart (Achebe 135).” This quote explains how Okonkwo believes his village was weak for allowing the missionaries to come and remain in their homes. He believes this has caused Umofia to “fall

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