The poem ‘Invictus’ by William Ernest Henley forms thorough comparisons regarding theme with Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’ as Henley conceives themes of fate, circumstance, and struggle in his literary piece. These thematic connections are shown when the protagonist, Okonkwo, of ‘Things Fall Apart’ is faced with the task of emerging from poverty and becoming a man that is successful, yet feared, and most importantly, divergent from his father, Unoka. He is also challenged with his own inner demons as the white man reshapes his way of life, driving Okonkwo to a fate much different than what he anticipated. Since Unoka lacked any social status or financial stability, his death was more or less of a weak blow to Okonkwo’s firm rooted position
He was in great conflict with the ideas of the white men and the missionaries. Okonkwo saw that their beliefs had not only changed the daily life of the Ibo, but it also changed the people themselves: “He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe 183). The author uses strong diction to compare the men before and after colonization. This quote also portrays Okonkwo’s opinion towards the cultural collision. He values strength and masculinity immensely because of his fear of appearing weak like his father Unoka. When he describes that the men of Umuofia changed to be soft like women, this shows how much he dishonors the Western ideas and how it has taken over the village. He made an attempt to get rid of the Western influence by urging the tribe to fight like men, but they refuse to. He was determined and still attempted to furthermore encourage the people of Umuofia to revolt against the new culture. He realizes that his attempts to return the village back to the way it was before were futile. He knew that Christianity was tearing his people apart, but knew he was incapable of making change to help his people. Okonkwo then starts to feel hopeless and abandoned by his clan, which causes him to commit suicide by hanging himself: “Obierika… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of the greatest men
In the book “Things Fall Apart”, Okonkwo is defeated by the White Men because he couldn't deal with the pain of being control so he decide to kill himself. In this chapter the Commissioner and Obierkia walk in on what Okonkwo did to himself after knowing he is not in control of his village anymore. The narrator states, “Then they came to the tree from which. Okonkwo’s body was dangling, and they stopped dead”(Achebe 207). Okonkwo couldn’t deal with the pain of being control by some on who should rule over him and his village.
In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses the literary devices of symbolism, dialogue, and detail to reveal both the tradition and the challenge of tradition to the Igbo people.
Okonkwo was respected, greatly acknowledged, he was a wealthy farmer, he had 3 wives and many children. His oldest son, Nwoye was sadly different and not on the same track as Okonkwo, scaring him that he might own a son whose mentality is alike to Unoka. “Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness. At any rate, that was how it looked to his father, and he sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating. And so Nwoye was developing into a sad-faced youth” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo desperately attempted to not have any of Unoka in his son and create a better man instead. Not only did Okonkwo severe and sharp behavior further him from his son but when the chance for Nwoye to escape came, he took
Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, is a lazy man who lacks the diligence that is needed to be a good father, husband and leader. As a child, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father. He knew that once he had a family of his own, he would do anything and everything in his power to stray from the bad example that his father had set. Unoka’s job is to provide for his family, but since he was unable to do so, his family had to face many struggles providing for themselves. Unoka abandoned his family when they needed him. He is a disgrace to them and a dishonor to the clan. Okonkwo faced struggles in his everyday live, when he needed to step up and take the responsibility that he father refused. Because he had experienced a live without a proper father, he promised himself that he would never get to that point and he would understand his obligations and do whatever he could to accomplish what was needed for his family and the Igbo people.
Culture collisions are in our everyday lives here in America in our own little towns. We might not notice our culture changing because it is a part of our everyday lives. Culture collisions cause some people to triumph and some people to fail. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Ibo tribe did not see these culture clashes everyday until the “white men” showed up and influenced the Ibo to change their ways. Achebe shows how many of the characters react to this culture shock. Obierika is one of the main characters that shows his sense of identity through this culture collision.
“Things Fall Apart” is a revolutionary novel which shows the unseen sides of tribal culture in Africa to the Ignorant western world. Achebe’s great feat is impactful and necessary to read, effortlessly explaining the life of a man, Okonkwo, throughout a novel who previously only had “a reasonable
Chinua Achebe is well known as the father of African literature. His first novel, “Things Fall Apart” is an interesting story full of tragedy, which takes place in Umuofia, Nigeria in the 19th century. Achebe sought to correct European writers who were misrepresenting Africans and life in Nigeria. According to Nnoromele (2000), the Igbo clan is a self-sufficient, complex, and vigorous group of African people. Achebe wrote “Things Fall Apart” to accurately represent the conflict between Nigeria’s white colonial government and the culture of the native Igbo people. “Things Fall Apart” is the perfect title for this novel. As the reader takes the journey through this interesting, yet tragic story, it becomes clear how, and why things fell apart.
Seeing the line “Things fall apart” in the poem , Achebe makes an outstanding association. At this point in time he says to himself, “I should name my book Things Fall Apart, It will show the main idea of the book.”
Throughout Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, the reader follows the story of an Igbo villager named Okonkwo and his large family. He is seen living everyday life throughout most of Part I of the novel, living in exile in another village in Part II, and returning to a very different life during Part III. The reader sees Okonkwo’s every triumph, defeat, and watches as he faces many obstacles along the way. Achebe, having lived in the area where his novel takes place, uses the character of Okonkwo to convey the pervasive and negative effects that globalization and colonization can have on villages such as Umuofia.
Chinua Achebe chose to write his novels in English to reveal a deep response of his people to colonisation and to make that response understood to people all over the world. Things Fall Apart was written in English to teach people worldwide of the struggles he faced and the people of Nigeria faced growing up. Many authors and critics have written about Achebe’s ‘Things fall apart’ adding their valued opinion on what he was trying to say and his decision to write in English. In the following essay I will be discussing why Achebe wrote the novel Things Fall apart in English and what messages he was trying to reveal, through the help of critics and secondary sources.
Throughout literature characters whom display tragic flaws often are of high status and are reasonably respected by those around them. Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is no exception, as we find out with the main character Okonkwo following him and his family throughout the story, discovering how flawed of an individual he actually is which ultimately determines his demise. Okonkwo lives in an African tribe of the Igbo people, where they have a simple life and rely on the skills of their ancestors that have been passed down. Being the son of a poor unsuccessful farmer Okonkwo demonstrates admirable characteristics, including hard work and determination which later lead to a spot as clansmen of the Igbo people. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw is not that he was afraid to work hard at what he loves, more so his fear of failure and instability of being compared to his father 's dishonorable life.
Chinua Achebe characterizes the novel, “Things Fall Apart” as a title doubt and confining to a reputation. The main character, Okonkwo, is diminishing his self worth by satisfying his belief in what is believed to be right – a man. Though his stubbornness to value Ibo culture backfires on him repeatedly. Okonkwo’s requirement to be true to his reputation was to keep the tribe, Umuofia, unharmed/uncolonized. The root cause of his fear grew from within him as a child from this insignificant person of his father, Unoka.
In order to understand Achebe’s presentation of masculinity we must first examine the traits that define masculinity in Things Fall Apart. According to some scholars the traits the define masculinity are closely related to “heroic behavior” and distinguishes one “above other males, then far above the other sex.” (Maduagwu 1). Such traits are seen throughout the novel in the protagonist Okonkwo. Okonkwo is the head of his home and rules his household with a heavy hand. Okonkwo’s definition of masculinity is anything his father Unoka wasn’t. Okonkwo sees his father as feminine character and believes him to be a failure. Okonkwo’s fear of resembling his father motivates to acquire masculine traits so that he may not be considered weak as his father was. The following observation by a scholar gives us a ...
In Things Fall Apart, Achebe structures the parts of the novel to depict this tridirectional relationship among culture, settings, and characters. The purpose of the narrator’s explanations abundantly throughout the first part of the novel is to