...chosen, why did he commit suicide? Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, narrates the struggles and changes due to the white colonials that Okonkwo faces in his village, Umuofia,. Okonkwo strives to be the opposite of his weak and selfish father. As Okonkwo’s values grow outdated due to the new generation of weak men who betray their ancestor’s, he battles to stop the change and return to the comfort of the old customs. The continual friction between Okonkwo and the new religion, people, and values adopted by his society contributes to his downward spiral. At the conclusion of the novel, Okonkwo hangs himself; the suicide of Okonkwo was the result of Okonkwo’s struggle with the changes taking place, the loss of his status in his culture, and the fears he possessed....
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...actions-elf next level through their actions, and each one takes is different. Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” and a member of high status in the Igbo village. He holds the prominent position of village clansman due to the fact that he had “shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars”. Okonkwo’s hard work had made him a “wealthy farmer” and a recognized individual amongst the nine villages of Umuofia and beyond. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw isn’t that he was afraid of work, but rather his fear of weakness and failure which stems from his father’s, Unoka, unproductive life and disgraceful death. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness….It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” Okonkwo’s father was a lazy, carefree man whom had a reputation of being “poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.” Unoka had never taught Okonkwo what was right and wrong, and as a result Okonkwo had to interpret how to be a “good man”. Okonkwo’s self-interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” was...
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...Christianity. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, describes the white man’s transformation of the Igbo culture. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, exhibits an ineffective thinking process shown through his violent actions, Umofia’s negative reactions to his actions, and unnecessary dialogue between him and other Umofian citizens; this ineffective thinking process makes changing lifestyles impossible for Okonkwo, who, because of these events, commits suicide. Aggressive actions of Okonkwo present the extent of this ineffective thinking, which come to cause his death. Okonkwo performs one of his most thoughtless actions during the Week of Peace, a week in which any violence is prohibited. However, Okonkwo breaks the Week of Peace when “he beats [his first wife] heavily” for not returning early enough to cook his afternoon meal (Achebe 29). Failing to think about the ramifications of his decision, he acts on impulse and performs the most violent action possible. Not only does he just beat his wife, but he also does it heavily, showing how he cannot change from his normal personality in the slightest. Inability to change from his normal self for a week foreshadows how Okonkwo will not be able to adapt later on. In this instance, Okonkwo only gets punished a little, but his violent actions later get him killed. When a messenger orders a stop to a meeting in the marketplace of Umuofia, Okonkwo draws his machete and, in a matter of seconds, “Okonkwo’s machete descend[s] twice and the...
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...Things Fall Apart Essay Often in times, the themes an author expresses in his or her book frequently serve as a microcosm of the entire book, and even sometimes the actual feelings in the world at that particular time in history. In Things Fall Apart, a book about Nigerian culture from the viewpoint of a strong-willed, traditional tribesman and the effect of European influence on Africa, Chinua Achebe expresses a main theme of masculinity, which encompasses many other ideas such as the relationships between masculinity and femininity, masculinity and the upbringing of children, and masculinity and bloodshed/violence. Similar to other African cultures in Nigeria in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the male figure was dominant to the female. Achebe shows this behavior through the character development of Okonkwo, and his interactions between his 3 wives. The males would often do the “manly” work of the village which required much strength and a good work ethic, such as farming, and other tiring activities, while the women usually confined to the houses or huts and the surrounding gardens to carry out the household chores and care for their many children. In that society, a prosperous man often had many wives, and in order to fully be recognized as a man, the male figure of the household would have to be able to manage his wives and children. This idea is shown in the book when Okonkwo, the main character in the story states that “No matter how prosperous a man was, if...
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...The novel "Thing's fall apart" by Chinua Achebe is a complex work that masterfully establishes and develops characters through their experience with cultural collision. The way that Achebe accomplishes carefully weaving his implicit claim throughout the work is such a beautiful subtlety that it deserves to be analyzed. The Igbo's pride is constantly challenged by the colonizers as they gain increasingly more power in Africa. The idea of pride is constantly developed throughout the thoughts and actions of the novels protagonist Okonkwo. His response to the colonizers is influenced by his own views on pride and is used by Achebe to illustrate his own opinion on pride. Pride is something that must be second when it comes to potential change and...
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...African American History: Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is about the heartbreaking fall of the novel’s protagonist Okonkwo as well as the Igbo Culture. The protagonist is a respected and prominent leader in the Igbo community of Umuofia in Eastern Nigeria. His personal distinction and fame comes when he successfully beats Amalinze the Cat, in a wrestling duel. This earns him much honor. This novel is a demonstrative explanation of the culture of the Ibo clan as narrated from an insider's point of view while focusing on the life of Okonkwo. The customs and religion of the Ibo village comes out with simplicity and sympathy. This creates a sense of reminiscence for a way of life that is, no doubt, completely unusual to Western sensibilities and practices. This influences the reader to experience the strength and sense of a traditional culture as seen from within. The book is a vivid description of how rich African culture was before the invasion of the missionaries and colonialists rather than a bad portrayal of supposedly barbaric practices as has been claimed by some critics. For instance, Achebe describes a marriage ceremony of the Ibo community which paints a clear picture of their social and cultural aspect. There is so much socialism that an event such as marriage is a reserve and responsibility of the whole community. Achebe writes, “Women and children began to gather at Obierika’s compound to the bride’s mother in her difficult but happy task of...
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...Osvaldo Zavala 11/29/15 African-American lit Period 6 Things Fall Apart The background music and silence plays a huge part in how the narrative is described. The drums representing a fast paste of intensity and competition. Silence is shown as nothing but mysterious and tense moments in the book. Silence and music are in involved to set the mood for the current event or scene. “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe incorporated these two things into the book in way to help build depth throughout the novel. Drums are a huge symbol of importance in Okonkwo’s tribe, the Igbo. Drums are used to break the silence of the night by the town crier when calling all of the men to the meeting that was to place in the morning. They are also used as a symbol of passion when they are being beat for the Igbo tribes beloved wrestling competition. Drums are a loud, aggressive, and a very fast paste instrument. This musical invention can be related to the macho sport, wrestling. ”At last the two teams danced into the circle and the crowd roared and clapped. The drums rose to a frenzy.” The drums support the situation perfectly. The occasion fit drums in the scene by hearing loud banging that hype the moment up. “They were possessed by the spirit of the drums.”, this type of drumming expressed a sense of passion and excitement to the wrestling matches. The Igbo tribe takes this communal festival for wrestling...
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...Inequality Towards A Stronghold In today’s society you think of most everyone being treated equally. Of course there are always people that do not respect everyone. Twenty plus years ago is an example of the extremes of how women were treated. In the books Things Fall Apart and Persepolis there is a plethora of examples of how women were not treated as equally as the men. One of the major reasons that the women are being treated badly is because of religion. Marji was experiencing the start of people trying to enforce the veil when she was younger. It was hard for her to adapt because she didn’t understand how it fit in and why she had to wear it. “We didn’t really like to wear the veil, especially since we didn’t understand why we had...
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...Things Fall Apart 3 layer response. Epictetus once said “First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” Epictetus was a promoter of Stoicism who flourished in the early second century C.E. about four hundred years after the Stoic school of Zeno of Citium was established in Athens. He lived and worked, first as a student in Rome, and then as a teacher with his own school in Nicopolis in Greece. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, a man named Okonkwo and his choices in life are showcased. Okonkwo is a clear embodiment of the quote mentioned above. He is a man who works himself up from nothing and becomes something. The root cause of his actions throughout the novel are his subconscious feelings towards his Unoka, his father. The prevalent failures of Unoka fundamentally shapes Okonkwo’s actions as a husband and as a father. Okonkwo is a man who truly started from the bottom. He did not have the head start in life which many young men had and was plagued by the fear of weakness and failure (13,16). Despite his situation, he began during his father’s lifetime to build the foundations of a prosperous future (18). His father’s example shapes his character in a way that he becomes “possessed by the fear of his father’s contemptible life and shameful death” (18). In light of Unoka’s...
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...involves two characters or people that have opposing viewpoints, desires, and interests. The two most common character archetypes that are involved in man versus man conflicts are the protagonist and the antagonist. A good example of man versus man conflict can be found in the novel Things Fall Apart, which was written by Chinua Achebe. At the beginning of the novel, it is shown that the protagonist, Okonkwo, defeated a man known as the cat. By reacting to the man versus man conflict and defeating the cat, Okonkwo was able to gain respect and influence within his tribe which was a positive impact on Okonkwo and his future family....
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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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...Cultural Imperialism in Africa European imperialism had a strong influence over African culture in many ways. Essentially all of Africa fell victim to the very influential and dominant European nations. The process of imperialism on these economically and militarily weak countries of Africa was obviously simple for the Europeans. In most of Africa, there were no countries, only clans and tribes, which made the imperialization much easier as well. These imperialist nations, such as Great Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, showed African nations many new ideals and tools that spread like a cultural virus. One very well-known story of this part of history is a book written by Chinua Achebe, titled Things Fall Apart. The book tells a fantastic story of a tribe in Nigeria which becomes a victim of the European imperialists. Achebe does a remarkable job of giving the reader the vivid change from the African tribe before and after the Europeans arrived. Things Fall Apart centers around a Nigerian tribe leader named Okonkwo. Known for his strength, courage, and most of all, pride, Okonkwo is looked up to by most the people in his tribe. Okonkwo doesn’t handle the European invasion as well as others due to his large sense of pride, which ultimately leads to his downfall and death. Christian missionaries were one of the main forms of imperialization used by Europeans. The two missionaries in Things Fall Apart were Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith. It is common in African communities that...
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...Colonization and Cultural Change in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe There is a major importance of customs and traditions in the African nations. The customs and traditions decide the fate of the men, women, and children of each separate tribe, as well as how the men are viewed from neighboring tribes. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart achieves the paradoxical effect of enabling African tribal life to be accessible to western society, while simultaneously excluding it. The incursion of the colonizing force is changing or threatening to change almost every aspect of their society: religion, family structure, gender roles, relations, and trade. In this novel Achebe uses the term Locusts to symbolize the arrival of white settlers who will feast on and exploit the resources of the Igbo. Achebe aims to show that Africa is not the uncivilized, simple country that it is portrayed as by other cultures. His work aims to show the reader to understand the tribe and assist the reader to think about the reasoning behind the beliefs that may be viewed as odd or illogical. For instance; that a child should be murdered or the spirits of the dead must be appeased, if not it can have grave consequences for some tribal members. Or the tribal concept of 'bloating' they simply take people suffering with it to the evil forest and leave them for dead, to them this perfectly logical. Paul Brians (Washington State University, 2002) states that "its most striking feature is to create...
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...Women in Okonkwo’s Life Okonkwo is considered the picture of masculinity. He has two barns full of yams, three wives, and is known throughout the village for defeating the undefeated Amalize the Cat in wrestling. He did not start out this great, for his father was lazy and improvident. He was unwilling to help while his loving mother had died when Okonkwo was young. In the book Things’ Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a man determined to be strong, powerful, influential, courageous, hard-working, and able to provide for his family; everything his father was not, and somewhat of what his mother was like. The role of women in Okonkwo’s life seemed to be an unimportant role, but in reality, it is the key factor in running his life. Women’s role in Okonkwo’s life is huge, for his mother’s influence was able to get him a home to stay. His wives role in child bearing allows him to have children. His wives caring for the family run the household. Although Okonkwo has a rough exterior, inside he is a man determined to never be what his father was like. In his village of Umofia, Okonkwo is banished for seven years after accidentally shooting a boy, so customs stated that he pack up and leave, along with his family. Okonkwo, with nowhere else to go, went to his mother’s old village. The book states “It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land…Okonkwo was well received by his mother’s kinsman…” This means it is...
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...The introduction of the British missionaries to the Ibo people and to the book has an enormous effect on the characters and plot in the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. Along with the introduction of the British comes Christianity leading to some of the characters clashing with the new foreigners, and others to accepting the foreigners and their beliefs. The introduction of Christianity also leads to the book finally earning its title; when things literally start to fall apart for the main character, Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s response to this new foreign religion and his reasonings behind that response are quite prevalent in the text. However, Nwoye’s response to this new religion and his reasoning behind it is quite interesting, as there...
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