Hannah Sousa H English 10 Ms. Murphy 10/30/15 Second Quarter Essay In the late 1800’s, the Igbo society was located in Nigeria. This was the time period of Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart. In the book, the main character Okonkwo is a powerful man who detests his father and strives to be exactly the opposite of him. One day Okonkwo murders a clansman and his family is exiled for several years. While he is gone, Christian missionaries start to take over the clan and when Okonkwo comes back, he sees that the clan has fallen apart. Not wanting to live in a clan so different from the one he used to know, he commits suicide. Social justice is justice in terms of the dispersal of opportunities, privileges, and wealth in a society …show more content…
Individual responsibility is the willingness to accept the standards that a society has set for individual behavior and to make a personal effort to live by them. Achebe writes, “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children” (Achebe 22). In the beginning of the novel, Okonkwo showed individual responsibility by taking care of his family and also becoming a role model for other men in the tribe. The fear his family had toward him showed how he was a fierce warrior who should be feared, to the other men, and they wanted to be like him. Achebe also writes, “Even when the men were left alone they found no words to speak to one another. It was only on the third day, when they could no longer bear the hunger and the insults, that they began to take about giving in” (Achebe 180). Okonkwo was a part of the group that were taken prisoner by the Commissioner. This act shows individual responsibility because the men didn’t betray their clan by speaking to the Commissioner. Instead, they said nothing and went through hunger and pain to keep respect for the clan and respect for
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe features the character Nwoye, the son of one of the strongest and most powerful men in the village, Okonkwo. Okonkwo is scared of failure because that is what his father became, so he is incredibly harsh on Nwoye. When the western men invade, Nwoye is torn between two worlds: converting to Christianity where he can start a new life, orstaying loyal to his family and village. Nwyoe ultimately makes the choice to go against his father. Due to the arrival of western culture, Nwoye leaves his family, converts to Christianity, and changes his name.
After Walter’s mother asks him how he will “feel on the inside”, Walter answers with his “voice breaking”, “I’ll feel fine! Fine! FINE!”(Hansberry 240). The last spark of morality lights his “taker” dream on fire and destroys him, with him breaking down and escaping to the bathroom to hide his shame. Unlike Walter, Okonkwo does not have the last spark. After the tribe leaders are released, the whole village gathers for a meeting regarding the District Commissioner and whether to go to war with the white men. In the middle of the gathering, five messengers sent by the District Commissioner calls to end the gathering. Okonkwo, being the “manly” man he is, draws his machete and kills one of the messengers while other clansmen have helped other messengers to escape (Achebe 189). Other clansmen, like Walter’s mother, give Okonkwo a wake-up call, making him suddenly aware of the changes to the land he lives on. Instead of accepting the changes, Okonkwo persists with his idea of being a macho man and commits suicide (Achebe 191). Ironically, having lost plenty already, Okonkwo and Walter both lose what they have been striving towards -- Okonkwo’s reputation as a powerful man and Walter’s wish to be wealthy. However, society is not the only one to blame for their destruction. Their falling apart is an inevitable result of the combination of societal-pressure and
For all of his desire to be strong, Okonkwo is caught up by the constant fear of being perceived as weak. He is afraid of failure and afraid of being considered weak. This fear drives him to do whatever he can to not become a failure like his father which ironically contributes to his death. While Okonkwo was a strong and important figure in his tribe, he had to keep his reputation that way by making some hard decisions. One of them was when he had to kill Ikemefuna, a young boy from the neighboring tribe. Okonkwo started accepting the decision to kill Ikemefuna because he started to call Okonkwo father. He had to keep his own valor intact and kill the boy to prevent himself from showing any weakness, but deep down, Okonkwo was really upset because of what he did which was ironic, “’When did you become a shivering old woman,' Okonkwo asked himself, 'you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.'" (Achebe 65). He continued to roll downhill when the white man comes to try and convert Okonkwo’s tribe. Okonkwo responds by killing one of the messengers that were sent. This cause Okonkwo's own tribe to question his actions. “"Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape.
I am Obierika, and I am a part of the Ibo tribe of Umuofia which is in Nigeria. I have been through a lot with my tribe and sometimes I do not fully agree with the actions my tribe completes. I am writing this to defend the Ibo culture against what the District Commissioner wrote about us in The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. The District Commissioner is an authority figure to the white government in Nigeria who thinks he completely grasps the culture of the Ibo.
The book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is a fictional look at the social and cultural life of an African tribe of the lower Niger River region. It depicts the every day life of the tribe and its members. It also shows the culture and customs of the tribe.
The novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, is a tale based on the traditional beliefs and customs of an Ibo village during late 1800’s Africa. Through the telling of this story, we witness the remarkable depth of Igbo culture through its functions of religion, politics, judiciary and entertainment.
His persona serves as a template of an ideal individual in Ibo society, which acts as a goal for others to strive towards. Achebe contrasts the success of Okonkwo with his father Unoka, who serves as an example of failure to conform to the Ibo society’s expectations. Achebe evaluates this through the characterisation of both Unoka and Okonkwo, “When Unoka died, he had taken no title and was heavily in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?” The rhetorical question revealing Okonkwo’s shame for his father’s lowly status prove Unoka’s position as the antithesis of success in the Ibo society. His contemptible circumstances serve as an example to others in the clan of what to strive against; the reverse effect of Okonkwo’s persona. Okonkwo and Unoka are consistently depicted as opposites by Achebe, serving as examples of success and failure within the Ibo society. Their differing positions within their clan outline the traits the Ibo society value within the individual. It is from these values that the Ibo people derive their societal expectations, which in turn act as guidelines for behaviour within their society, contributing to their continued stability. The expectations that a society places on individuals support the preservation of stability by providing a framework for proper
In Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, Mr. Brown, the first missionary in Umuofia, was a kind and respectful man. Not to say that Reverend James Smith was not, but his degree of kindness and respect were present in a whole different level. They both wanted to convert the lost, all those in Umuofia that were not in the church. Mr. Brown made friends with the clan and “trod softly on his faith,” (pg.178) while Mr. Smith told them how things were in a harsh voice and tried to force his religion on the people of Umuofia. The impacts the two had on the people and the church were exact opposites.
Okonkwo soon learns about this and confronts his son, Nwoye about his secret meetings, Okonkwo soon becomes enraged and disowns his son after hearing about his experience not before abusing him of course. This action causes an effect which ultimately leads to Okonkwo’s downfall. Okonkwo enraged by the spread of Christianity within his own village self-proclaims war on the “white man”. Okonkwo eventually was detained as a result of his actions towards the “white man”. After he was released from detainment Okonkwo killed a courier and began to truly understand he was a rebel without a cause as his fellow Tribesmen would not help him with his internal struggle. Okonkwo knowing, he would be caught and executed for his crimes, instead decided to ultimately end his own life by hanging himself. Okonkwo’s major downfall in the story was his inability to co-exist with the white man and began his own personal vendetta against the Christian missionaries. Throughout the story the main essential theme Achebe tried to relay to us would be the fact that even though individuals may be of different religions, skin color, and have different personalities there is a realization that
In Things Fall Apart there are many cultural collisions created by the introduction of Western ideas into Ibo culture. One example of a cultural collision caused by the introduction of Western ideas into Ibo culture is when Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye converts to Christianity. This causes a cultural collision between Okonkwo and Nwoye because Nwoye wants to become a Christian, but Okonkwo doesn’t like the white men or Christianity. This cultural collision is caused by the white men bringing in western ideas to Ibo culture. This collision is very important to the book because it leads to the destruction of Okonkwo and fuels his anger. This collision shapes the meaning of the novel as a whole by symbolizing many things
Different countries have people that hold many different views and beliefs. In Nigeria the Igbo area is located in the southern area of the country. And within this area is Umuofia, which is where the Ogidi tribe lives. These people have beliefs that rest strongly on religion and faith in god. "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe takes a look at the life of an African tribe that has been isolated from the outer more technologically advanced world where science has become a part of religion proving that certain things live sickness are not caused by evil spirits. But the African tribe has no knowledge of this and they live in a society where there traditions, beliefs and there forms of communication differ from are own.
Achebe and Adichie teach us about the importance of notice other culture around us and that their is always more than one side of a story. As I listen to the Adichie and read Achebe, I began to notice how much I don't know. How important Things Fall Apart is not only to teach us about African culture, but to know there side of how colonization began. All in all Things Fall Apart teaching us different cultures in the world, people, and that we should know more about the world we live in.
In the novel Things Fall Apart it states, “The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.” (Achebe 153). This quote conveys a negative tone in the word, “abomination” portraying the colonization and destruction of native people. This story focuses on the era of colonization/imperialism and in this quote the clash of cultures and its consequences is evident. The focus of the story is the head chief, Okonkwo, of an Igbo village tribe in Nigeria. It follows this “strong man,” Okonkwo, and his many heroic exploits and triumphs. In addition, it elaborates on his subsequent fall and expulsion from his tribal land. However, throughout this tale it is clearly evident that women were seen as
A relationship between a father and son can have a decidedly profound impact on each other’s lives. Whether this relationship is bifurcated, the psychological effects of having an intimate or inadequate parenting skills can have a nurturing or depriving effect on a child's personality from birth all throughout adulthood. This relationship although sustained has the potential to be either beneficial or untenable. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, we see a breakdown between a father and son relationship which created a very detrimental effect. The carved figure of a son that Okonkwo had predicted was erased due to his egoistic character and his terrible parenting skills.
In the beginning, Achebe states that, “Fortunately among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father” (Achebe 8). This quote is a solid structure in defining what this book is truly about. Okonkwo was not to be judged by his father's lack of integrity, and incoherent thinking abilities, but by whom he is. Reputation plays a key role as a theme in this novel, along with Okonkwo’s fear of following his father’s footsteps and the internal conflict that comes along with Okonkwo’s battle with himself and to keep the tribe united.