...or people who does their work, but personally I am the person who does their work without complaint. When the book, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was assigned I wasn’t against it, I enjoy reading and this book sounded relatable. The thought of reading this book didn’t seem too difficult, but once I cracked it open the intensity and importance of this book hit me. This book shows the importance of having a good structure and support system in life. Things Fall...
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...Tragic heroes are characters who have flaws that lead to their downfall. These two things make up tragic heroes but the discovery is the last final factor. The discovery is when the character becomes aware of how their flaw led to their downfall. Both Chinua Achebe and William Shakespeare wrote about tragic heroes. In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Shakespeare’s Othello both Okonkwo and Othello are tragic heroes; however, Othello better exhibits the qualities of a tragic hero. Because they are both tragic heroes, they have a flaw. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is seen to be aggressive and prideful. His aggressiveness drives away his family for, some of his family converted to Christianity due to his flaw. His pride makes him kill Ikemefuna;...
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...In the book “Things Fall Apart” we are thrown into the culture and customs of the Igbo/Ibo people. However, during the book Umuofia gets visited by a white man.The white man that visited them also brought with him a foreign religion that slowly tore apart their community. One of the characters that was impacted by this change was Okonkwo’s son Nwoye. In the beginning of the book Nwoye was deemed lazy and sulky by his father Okonkwo. Okonkwo is very harsh on Nwoye because he fears that his son will turn out like his father Unoka. In reality, Nwoye is a very thoughtful and sensitive. However, when the village brings in Ikemefuna, Nwoye quickly grows attached to him. Nwoye being attached to Ikemefuna, changes him into more of a “man” in his father’s eyes. This is because Nwoye starts to take on/act like Ikemefuna because Nwoye looks up to him....
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...Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” is a twentieth century work of art that serves the purpose of conveying the intricacies of African culture while at the same time giving voice to the underrepresented and exploited inhabitants of Nigeria. This work was written in response to Western writings on African culture, which treated Africa in a cultureless and subhuman light of view. “Things Fall Apart” portrays the conflict between the White colonial government and the indigenous Igbo people in Nigeria, illuminating the European and African perspectives on Colonial control, race, religion and culture. The Igbos believed that each man was responsible for his fate or destiny. They believed that a man has the ability to change his life and achieve status through economics and military accomplishments, the latter being through agriculture, and that all of this results solely from hard work. The Nigerian society, unlike European societies, was characterized by a Darwinian society in the way that people who achieved great feats were rewarded, rather than a caste-like system where there was no chance of improving one’s status. The ability to move up in rank in Nigerian culture is portrayed in the story of Onkonkwo. Born to an indebted and effeminate father, Okonkwo strives to rise through the social system and achieve everything his father could not. He is intolerant and biased towards women to the point where he describes weak men as women. Okonkwo views emotion as a weakness and thus...
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...Things Fall Apart Theme Things Fall Apart is a book that has many different themes throughout the story. One important theme that continues throughout the book is that destiny is not a fixed thing but a result of our actions. Another reoccurring theme in the storyline is, change is a part of life and to be successful it has to be dealt with positively. Each of these develop in the book from the events in Okonkwo’s life. In the book Okonkwo and his father Unoka did not get along. Okonkow strived to not become like his father. Throughout the story Okonkwo has to deal with a neighboring tribe coming into his tribe and making many changes. Okonkwo shows a violent side of himself and kills many people and continually abuses his wives. These actions led his tribe to turn in him and not be on his side. In the end he realized he made many mistakes and this led to the tribe turning on him....
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...1. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Published in 1958, Paper back. 2. After reading through Achebe’s novel, “Things Fall Apart,” and doing some extra research, one of Chinua’s main purposes in writing this novel (in my opinion) was in fact to prove to foreigners that Africa was different from what they would perceive it to be. Anybody who has read through “Things Fall Apart” would be able to notice that Chinua was trying to really unveil Africa’s culture. Chinua really projected the tribe’s cultural values, rituals, and common practices purposely to change the Westerners perception of Africa as a continent. Before this novel was written, most westerners would believe Africa was just a simple continent just as other ones. Chinua Ultimately wanted to change this view of Africa to something more realistic and conclusive. Chinua did this by writing his novel, “Things Fall Apart. “ 3. Chinua did an excellent job when attempting to achieve his purpose. Achebe wrote this novel with the intent to alter the perception of Africa to Westerners. “Unoka had gone to consult the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves to find out why he always had a miserable harvest.” ( Achebe, pgs. 16) This quote in the novel allows readers to assume most tribes in Africa believe in superstitions. Chinua made sure to put details into who the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves was, Chinua also gave detail on how and why people would seek into the dark hole and talk to this “spiritual” figure. This detail...
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... They realized it wasn’t a bad thing to let change happen. People accept and resent change from happening all the time in the real world and in books. This is illustrated In Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, and Benjamin Hoff’s novel, The Tao of Pooh, where the authors demonstrate acceptance of change leads to restoration, while resistance to change leads to destruction, which they portray through the characters...
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...Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe gives a vivid portrayal of the African society before colonialism, during colonialism and after colonialism. It is centered on a tragic hero, Okonkwo, whose aim for success and fear of weakness drives his entire life and eventually leads to his fall. Achebe uses Umoufia, a land surrounded with strong traditions and culture as the case study to depict the effects of culture clash on a land where “Things Fall Apart; the center cannot hold” (Achebe, 2009). The title of this book is symbolic to the turnout of events in the story and foreshadows the inability of Umoufia to resist the pressures of change. In the novel, we see a clash between cultures and change that leads to the fall of the Igbo society, a clan that used to be strong and powerful before the white people came. The Igbo people face a dilemma on whether to accept the change, keep their way of life or better still balance both worlds in one. The way Achebe presents the arrival of the colonists and their imposition of change on the Igbo Society raises some thought to me on the true intention of colonialism i.e. did they come to spread Christianity or to acquire the land? The rapid unfold of events in the novel makes me harness the latter view; they took the stronghold of the Igbo society i.e. religion, turned it into a weakness, in the name of change, to enable them exploit the land. One thing that held the society together was their religion/tradition and once the colonists introduced...
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...Things Fall apart literary analysis For many decades, yams have been held to a sacred level in the Igbo culture. Those who are able to produce large quantities of yams are considered prosperous. Many aspects are represented in production of yams, such as success, leadership, and strength. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe exemplifies the importance of yams in order to signify the necessary custom of strength in the Igbo society. In the community like Umuofia, yams are characteristics of the higher powers and the positive traits. The cultivation of yams is known for bringing much success and the prosperity. Those who produce yams are perceived as strong individuals due to the “yams [being] a very exacting king” that demands constant care...
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..."A proud heart can survive general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone." - Chinua Achebe. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a brilliant story that opens the readers mind to an entirely different way of living in a Nigerian village. Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He was raised in the large village of Ogidi, one of the first centers of Anglican missionary work in Eastern Nigeria. His life in Nigeria would later lead him to write Things Fall Apart which gave a different view on the colonization of Africa that previous novels portrayed in a negative way. Achebe allows us to enter the mind of the main character Okonkwo. Okonkwo, a very high ranked member in his village is very respected for his many achievements. Although he is arguably the most powerful man in Umuofia, his personal flaws of fear of failure and uncontrollable anger do not allow him true greatness as a human being. And although Okonkwo means well for his village, the novel invites the reader to see him as a flawed character who eventually suffers from the consequences of bad decisions that he makes throughout the book. Okonkwo allows his fear of failing cloud his judgement, which will eventually lead to his downfall. While Okonkwo is highly respected and a man of many achievements, he has failed to see his many flaws. That is why Okonkwo is a detestable character and human being. Okonkwo allows his self destructive...
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...In Western and Igbo society killing another is viewed as one of the worst crimes imaginable but to kill one of your own family is on a level of its own. In Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart Okonkwo, takes part in the execution of his adoptive son Ikemefuna. Despite going to the execution to comfort Ikemefuna, Okonkwo ultimately swings the blow that kills his son after the execution was botched by the other tribe elders. Okonkwo feels moral responsible for the death of Ikemefuna and goes into a deep state of depression that ultimately caused his banishment from Umuofia and exile in his mother village. Yet because the killing was not out of anger, but a mandated execution Okonkwo should not take the moral responsibility for Ikemefuna death. To Ikemefuna’s...
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...English Literature Summer Reading Things fall apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe. In the novel of things fall apart there are many characters that stand out, such as, Okonkwo, Nwoye, Ikemefuna, Mr. Brown and more. One substantial character is Ezinma - The only child of The main character Okonkwo,'s second wife, Ekwefi. As the only one of Ekwefi’s ten children to survive past infancy, Ezinma is the center of her mother’s world. Their relationship is atypical—Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name and is treated by her as an equal. Ezinma is also Okonkwo’s favorite child, for she understands him better than any of his other children and reminds him of Ekwefi when Ekwefi was the village beauty. Furthermore, he wishes that Ezinma were a boy because she would have been the perfect son. In the novel "Things Fall Apart" there are many themes and backgrounds, such as fear, sin and traditions. But the most frequent is respect/reputation. Reputation is extremely important to the men in the novel. Personal reputation is publicly denoted by the ankle bracelets men wear, which signify the number of “titles” they have earned. Reputation is based on merit – men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist, is extremely concerned with reputation because he grew up with a...
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...Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe. It is a fictional story that portrays the tribal life of the West African community. All the scenes revolve around the life of the main character Okonkwo who is a member of the tribe of Umofia. The story is set in the pre-colonial Igbo society and Colonial Igbo society. This book is into three parts: the pre-exiled Okonkwo, exiled Okonkwo, and returned Okonkwo. In all these parts, we recognize the values and virtues of the African life. The life of Okonkwo is comparatively the same Rip Van Winkle written by Washington Irving. In this story, Rip Van Winkle lived in the countryside, was exiled at some time, and came back to find that his country has changed to the extent of being not recognized. “You reap what you saw,” might seem to be a trite, because its presence in many languages. However, it does not cease to apply in the life of the pre-exiled Okonkwo. Okonkwo, whose father was lazy, seemed to be condemned to poverty but his inveterate propensity to work harder and hustle made him rich and influential in the community of Umofia. In this part, Okonkwo is a resilient person considering the difficulties that he faced mainly due to the empty start that his father offered. Additionally, Okonkwo was a famous wrestler in the entirety nine tribes of the land of Igbo. As a result, he has been involved in all the warfare issues of the land of Umofia. He took a young boy Ikemefuna as retribution to avoid strife between the tribes...
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...Okonkwo A Tragic Hero Okonkwo's fortune really helped him become a tragic h Is Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart a tragic hero who dies at the end of the story.There are many ways that Okonkwo can be a tragic hero. Can Okonkwo and these three ways peripeteia,superiority, and his hamartia make him his own tragic hero in his life,village,or story. ero. From his farm to his titles he became a tragic hero of fortune. Okonkwo's farm helped him make fortune by his yams. His yams had stocked him up for the winters and he could also help his friends. Another way he has fortune is his wives. Okonkwo has three wives and with this he seems to have fortune to be able to have three wives to support.The last way okonkwo has fortune...
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...Okonkwo viewed women and men similar to other characters in the story. The women in the book Things Fall Apart are all viewed as weak; they are all treated as slaves in their own homes. Okonkwo had beaten his youngest wife for not having his food ready on time. “He walked back to his obi to wait for Ojiugo’s return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily (pg29).” Okonkwo’s father was a very peaceful men, he never tried to show his strength by physically or verbally abusing his family. I think Onkonwo rebels like any other child would. While growing up kids never understand their parents and always want to act different from their parents. While growing up Okonwos father was in debt and was a very lazy man, so okonkwo became a totall different person. He wanted to be a man that his father never was. To be a total opposite from his father, he showed no emotions and only courage; even if he had to beat his kids and wives to prove it. Men in the village of Umfuofia are warriors; they are all looked up to. They have criteria men should act like. They had to be the man of the house, courageous to obey the rules of life. In the beginning of the book, Okonkwo was viewed as a warrior a person the whole village looked up for his courage and the titles he had won. As we read on, we learn that Okonkwo has many fears that he is scared of. He did not want to be weak like his father, did not want his son to become like his father and he did not want to loose his prestige in the village...
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