Essay about Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Post colonialism deals with cultural identity in colonized societies and the ways in which writers articulate that identity. Things Fall Apart is a good novel that serves as a reminder of what Nigeria once was. It shows how a society can deal with change, how change affects the individuals of that society, and how delicate a change can be; so much so that the people themselves are surprised at the change.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs and customs, and also a story about conflict. There is struggle between family, culture, and the religion of the Ibo, which is all brought on by a difference in personal beliefs and customs of the Igbo and the British. There are also strong opinions of the main character, Okonkwo. We are then introduced to the views of his village, Umuofia. We see how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are confronted by those of the white missionaries.

Who are you? Have you ever wondered where you get your identity; what exactly defines you as a person? The obstacles in our lives shape us people, Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart illustrates the circumstances one man and his son face in an Ibo village in Nigeria. Okonkwo, the protagonist/antagonist has a tragic flaw, the fear of weakness which ultimately causes him to expect more from his son, Nwoye who never falls short in disappointing him. The relationship between the two is not the most desired seeing that they both do not show the affection most father-son relationships do. Traditionally, most sons follow their father's footsteps, however, this is not the case for both

The role of women in society has grown and changed tremendously with the development of the world. Within the American culture, women’s rights have expanded to the extent of being able to vote for who runs our country or even possibly being the person that does run our country. Although the American culture has somewhat promoted the growth of a woman’s role in society, does not mean women receive the same respect in other cultures around world. For example, in Africa women are viewed lower on the totem pole of importance even though without them the village would fall apart. Chinua Achebe is an author that was born and raised in a village of Nigeria. From growing up there, Achebe understands the culture of Africa better than

In the book Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, we are able to read about the social changes the white missionaries had on an African tribe. Mr. Achebe describes the way of life before the missionaries arrived and then records some of the changes, which occurred due to the changed belief system introduced by these missionaries.

Chinua Achebe was educated in the West, though he hails from an African tribe. His exposure to both African and Western thinking gives him a unique perspective on the colonization of Africa, which is argued to be barbaric by some, but beneficial and necessary by others. In “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe perspective comes through as he masterfully describes a pre-colonization African tribe, and how colonization percolated through it. His authentic accounts of the positives and negatives of both tribal society and colonization leave the reader to answer the question of whether imperialism was morally justifiable or not.

The missionaries came and told people, like women whose twins were left to die in the forest, that they don't have to kill their children the next time they have twins if they join them and their religion. This made many people think that they took the evil people out of the tribe but in fact they were gaining power by getting a lot of people to follow them. For example, there was a girl named Nneka who had, several times, given birth to twins who were thrown away. Achebe says, Nneka had had four previous pregnancies and childbirths. But each time she had borne twins, and they had been immediately thrown away. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found out she had fled to join the Christians. It was a good riddance. This shows us the Achebe understands and is not surprised when the women fled with Christians. We can see that because when he says that her family was not "unduly perturbed when they found out she had left", this tells us that he didn't really care about the people who left. He understood why they left but as he said it was a "good riddance". As we see, it is highly

The excerpt taken from Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart comes from the end of the book, where the commissioner finds Okonkwo’s body dangling from a tree. This passage serves as closure for the novel, as the traditions of the past die along with Okonkwo. Achebe uses this specific scene in the novel to express both his views on the inevitable death of Igbo culture in the lower Niger (specifically Umuofia), as well as his perception of the portrayal of its people in western literature. In addition, Achebe continues to use this scene to drive the idea of cultural difference between both the inhabitants of Umuofia, and the missionaries that inhabited the land.

Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe like any other novel has its changes and progressions. When the novel first starts out it talks about Unoka. Then it goes to his son Okonokwo who is the main character and who the book is mainly about. It then talks about Nwoye who is the son of Okonokwo. Another is Ikemefuna who has to live in this village because of a crime who his father commits. It shows how much the tribe changes during these years and how it affects the lives of these four men.

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

Normally, a successful hero arises from a rough past. However, Chinua Achebe wrote a story that contrasts with the usual pattern of a hero’s life. The novel Things Fall Apart centers on a man named Okonkwo, a clan leader in the village of Umuofia. From Okonkwo’s tragic hero qualities and struggle with his son and culture, readers can learn several qualities to consider and to avoid. A tragic hero is defined as a person who experiences a disastrous fall after accumulating high titles.

Umuofia is a village in Africa, and the inhabitants there are usually united. However, when the Christians arrive and permeate the village, the clan changes but also falls apart. The novel in which this story takes place is called Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The story is about a well-respected man named Okonkwo who has three wives and many children, the oldest being Nwoye. Okonkwo is banished for seven years from Umuofia, and during those seven years, Umuofia is changed fundamentally by the Christian faith. Many people are converted, but the whole clan is in conflict. This novel demonstrates that Christianity destroys but also guides the Ibo culture in Umuofia.

The North and South Americas were colonized by the Europeans in the fifteenth century, while Africa and Asia became imperialized in the eighteenth century. Colonization is taking full control of each region, establishing a code of behavior for the colonized. With colonization, there is a belief of the Europeans that the native peoples of the land are capable to govern themselves, or profit from any resources, therefore, occupation of Africa began the Europeans are governing for them. Berlin Conference started by Bismarck to divide Africa. The Europeans divided Africa into fifty irregular countries, causing cultural problems between each country. Asians and African were not invited due to that the Europeans felt like they are not needed. The African countries were divided up by the Europeans and almost fully controlled by them. Europeans needed resources from the Africans states. Most of the African and Caribbean colonies served as plantation settlements, growing crops, which contained resources of economic value in the trade market. The setting of Chinua Achebe’s terrific novel takes place in the nineteenth century Nigeria. That being said, the main character, Okonkwo, experiences the dramatic cultural changes of the Igbo’s cultural identity from the precolonial as well as post- colonial era as a result from European colonization. Some, like Okonkwo, furiously rejected to adhere to the new code of behavior of westernizing the Igbo tribe he used to traditionally rule himself.

Achebe’s image of the African people is depicted extensively in his novel. Achebe gives us a look at life in an African village and what it was like during African colonialism. Tribal life in Nigeria is told from an inside perspective through the life story of a man, Okonkwo.

Change impacts everyday life, to the big picture in people's lives. People have dealt with change for ages. It is a challenge that people must face at some time in our lives. In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, he shows the effects of change on a civilization of people and their ways of dealing with it. It shows the story of the Igbo people and their story of change from colonization. From the arrival of Christian missionaries, things began to change for these people, they had to learn to deal with a new culture, turbulent results followed. Achebe portrays a positive change through constructive institutions and a peaceful religion, however with negative tradeoffs such as racist hierarchical problems.