Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe tries to bring back up cultural, social, and spiritual basics of traditional Igbo (Ibo) existence from the year 1850 and 1900. The novel cannot be fixed like other societal and political old times of Ibo society since it is a fictional novel. However, the novel describes disagreements and anxiety that occurred in Igbo society. It also shows changes initiated by colonial ruling and Christianity. Colonialism affected the people in the Ibo society by destroying of their family’s relationships, friendships, their religion or even created fights between the tribes. Additionally, Christianity attracted the people of the Igbo society. Igbo and other societies were changed considerably due to this variety of

In Things Fall Apart the Igbo society is dominated by gender roles. Husbands beat their wives just for bringing food a few minutes late. Women are completely discriminated against. In fact, it is an insult to call a man an agbala (a woman). To men, women exist in a world in which they are "to be seen not heard, coming and going, with mounds of foofoo, pots of water, market baskets, fetching kola, being scolded and beaten before they disappear behind the huts of their compound" (Mezu 2). However, the role of women is far more essential than the male villagers believe. Achebe repeatedly refers to the masculinity or femininity of a person. Though Achebe seems to believe that men seem to dominate relationships, in fact, there are many ways in

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.

In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Christianity is introduced to a tribal clan through missionaries. The clan, however, has their own religion, which comprises of a clear social structure. While the mission is beneficial to many members of the clan, others are not content with the new influence. The Agbala—men with no title—are grateful for the new religion: the mission provides them with a new opportunity to become a respected member of society. The powerful men are wary of this change, as it decreases their power and status in the society, and allows for more social freedom and movement. As many in the tribe take to the new religion, the culture is slowly forgotten, causing conflict. When the missionaries enter Umuofia and attempt

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,

As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall Apart deals with how the prospect and reality of change affect various characters. To some extent, Okonkwo’s resistance of cultural change is also due to his fear of losing societal status. Long scorned, these outcasts find in the Christian value system a refuge from the Igbo cultural values that place them below everyone else. The tension about whether change should be privileged over tradition often involves questions of personal status. Okonkwo, for example, resists the new political and religious orders because he feels that they are not manly and that he himself will not be manly if he consents to join or even tolerate them.

Historically, women have been viewed as inferior to men due to a female's lack of physical strength. In the candid novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe clearly defines gender roles; women are the caretakers and cooks- simply existing to satisfy men’s desires. Although “Things Fall Apart portrays the women as weak ,inferior, and being put in their place by men; however, Achebe also notes their importance during several parts of the story. By incorporating powerful dialogues and scenes to develop gender conflicts, Achebe uses the completely divergent character of Okonkwo, who constantly strives to achieve manliness to demonstrate that although women in the Igbo society are important, they are not treated as such. Chinua Achebe, the author suggests that there is a constant conflict which exists between the two genders and the expectations of the roles in which each of them must play.

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, masculinity plays a prominent role in Ibo society as it defines a man’s strength and character. Nwoye struggles with the idea of masculinity as he wants to please Okonkwo by being aggressive and violent but ultimately rejects the role of masculinity by joining the Christian movement. Throughout the novel Okonkwo constantly tries to instill masculine traits into Nwoye. When Okonkwo is telling Nwoye and Ikemefuna “masculine stories of violence and bloodshed” (53). Nwoye states that he, “knew that it was right to be masculine and violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell” (53).

In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the Igbo people objectify woman which shows that men are seen as superior in the Igbo culture. On Okonkwo’s first year of farming, Okonkwo worked for a prominent man in the village. He worked for a rich man “who had three huge barns, nine wives, and thirty children” (Achebe 18). The barns are filled with yams, the main currency of the Igbo. If that allows the man to be rich, the nine wives do too. Along with yams, women are seen as something that makes a man rich. Next, When Okonkwo was a young boy, a friend came and told him that his father was an agbala. He came to the realization that “agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no title” (13). Women, in the Igbo

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.

Have you ever heard of the phrase “With great power comes great responsibility?” Perhaps this quote from The Amazing Spider-Man sounds familiar. Even if it doesn’t, I want you to think about it for a minute. This quote is pretty self explanatory, but it does not explain the consequences that may come if one fails to have great responsibility. The complication that great power brings is the potential for power to fall into the wrong hands and dismantle a community. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe one observes the many consequences this issue can have on a town. Okonkwo is the main character of this novel, the leader of the clan of Umuofia. The violence that Okonkwo inflicts on his clan gradually turns him into the man he has always feared of becoming and without the guidance of an outstanding leader the people of Umuofia are with ease altered by colonialism which not only rips the people apart from each other but also tears them from their culture, one can learn to reflect on morality of their desires before acting out of control.

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.

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, women play the roles of oppressed homemakers that are perceived as weak and defenseless second-class citizens, as the educators of children, and as spiritual leaders in traditional Ibo culture. Through the life of Okonwo, the main character of Things Fall Apart, the roles of women in traditional Ibo culture are presented through various events that take place in the village of Umuofia. In traditional Ibo culture, women were to stay at home and tend to her husbands’ needs and satisfy them. Women were viewed as property of their fathers and were then sold to the suitor that was willing to pay her bride-price. A woman had no identity of her own, the status and position of her husband defined