As see in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe we see a lot of culture collisions mostly with lbo, and Christians. The book things fall apart is based off of a tribe in south africa, Achebe wrote the book to get more awareness to the world about their struggles. There was only a few books like his out there, so he was not sure how it would go, but it became one of the most well known books across the world. One of the main characters is Mr brown a christian that turns some of the igbo people to his religion is kind of what started the conflict. Then again we don't know if it was the main thing that cause it. Even when we have too cultures collided there is always the one person that is doing it right, and you can either choose to accept …show more content…
He tried to stop the conflict, and not be so pushy unlike his partner Mr Smith, who is the one who kind of messed it up, because he made the igbo people hate them more. Even though Mr Brown was not a main character, but he shapes the novel. In the way that he steered the book in different directions, and if he was not there they would have just lived in peace. In the end the Christians won they drove the igbo people to the brink of disappearing, and at the end of the book Okonkwo hangs himself rather than give up. The collision of the two tribe is a big part of the book, and the missionaries are trying to change the igbo people to christianity. The collision challenges the tribes, and cultures to stick with the people, and not converite to the other side. The new head of the Christian church, the Reverend James Smith, possesses nothing of Mr. Brown's compassion, kindness, or accommodation. He despises the way that Mr. Brown tried to lead the church. Mr. Smith finds many converts unfamiliar with important religious ideas and rituals, proving to himself that Mr. Brown cared only about recruiting converts rather than making them Christians.(Ch. 22) Which some did like Okonkwo's son. The igbo people did not like them for that especially because the got some of the igbo people to turn over to there side, like Okonkwo's son. When he turn Okonkwo was not happy, but his son was always did not like the style of the igbo culture. Mr Brown in the book he is challenged a lot by trying to save to his culture the igbo people, make it more challenging. He respects them a lot though, so like when they say they don't want anything to do with his christianity he leaves them alone. We see that Mr brown's identity was challenged a lot in the book, and when he
The book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe details the account of an African tribal named Okonkwo as his life goes from great to horrible. While this book has many lessons that can be learned, I will be primarily focusing on the effect that Christianity had on the population of the African tribe. While Christianity is a religion of peace, its followers often do not follow this basic tenant. The first missionary, Mr. Brown, practiced compromise and tolerance. His replacement, Mr. Smith, was much more aggressive in his tactics. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe shows through the characterization of Mr. Smith a shameful and harmful look at the spread of Christianity during the British empirical period.
He displays it through the conversation Mr. Brown has with Akuma, in which he “learned a good deal about the religion of the clan” and made the conclusion that “attack… would not succeed” (Achebe 181). Unlike Mr. Smith’s quick and dramatic reaction to the clan, Mr. Brown makes it his duty to interact with the tribe and understand them. Mr. Smith’s refusal to understand the Ibo culture makes him interpret all of their actions as a culture to be violent, such as the burning of the church (Achebe 191). Because of his impatience for comprehension, Mr. Smith sacrifices the harmony that could coexist between the two cultures. Mr. Brown, on the other hand, makes an effort to understand the universal themes and similarities that run through each of their religions, like the importance of an absolute deity. Despite the differences, Mr. Brown chooses to accept the culture, even though he may not agree with it. His acceptance is what truly allows the Ibo to coexist with the missionaries without conflict for a short period of time, proving that with communication, conflict can be prevented. However, the lack of communication once Mr. Smith takes over is what causes the clash between him and the Ibo because he jumps too quickly to conclusions rather than trying to understand why the Ibo do what they do. The depth of the culture that is shown through the conversation between
Imagine a group of foreign people invading your home, disavowing all your beliefs, and attempting to convert you to a religion you have never heard of. This was the reality for thousands and thousands of African people when many Europeans commenced the Scramble for Africa during the period of New Imperialism. A great fiction novel written by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, highlights the responses to missionaries by African people. The African natives responded to the presence of white missionaries with submission to their desires, strategic responses to counteract them, and with the most disruptive response of violence.
Throughout the book Things Fall Apart, three main topics help Achebe get his argument across to the reader. First, Okonkwo’s rough relationship with his family. Evidence from the book support that Okonkwo did abuse his wives and children. Whether this was acceptable or not at the time, the result of his actions led to major distrust within Okonkwo’s compound. In addition, Ogbuefi Ezeudu cautions Okonkwo about Ikemefuna through his interpretation of the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. Ogbuefi Ezeudu talks with Okonkwo the night before he was planning to kill Ikemefuna, explaining that what he is doing is wrong. Yet again, Okonkwo’s paranoia gets the best of him. This event fueled the fire for Nwoye’s distrust for Okonkwo, as well as his wives. Achebe’s third argument conveys that the spread of Christianity throughout the region and Okonkwo’s fear of change led him to hang himself. Nwoye was drawn to the new religion almost as soon as it arrived in the Ibo villages. However, he knew that his father was refusing to accept it. Thus, Nwoye moved back to Umofia to enroll in the Christian school set up by Mr. Kiaga. Okonkwo was also supporting the mob that burned down the first church, in efforts to drive the Christians away from Mbanta. Though proven unsuccessful, Okonkwo shot and killed one of their messengers. This allows the reader to infer
William James, a famous American philosopher, once stated, “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives”. This quotation effectively illustrates how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives. This concept is clearly demonstrated throughout the novel Things Fall Apart, authored by Chinua Achebe, by establishing a connection through the development of its characters and the change in traditional African tribal villages seen in the Nineteenth Century. It will be established how various characters demonstrated by the author throughout the novel exemplify how change in one’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs can alter the environment in which one lives addressed by William James’s quote above. First, by analyzing Achebe’s development of Okonkwo’s character through his initial character description and the emergence of outsiders, it is evident that he is portrayed as an old fashioned character that is less responsive to change. Secondly, through examining Nwoye’s character, Okonkwo’s son, it becomes apparent that the youth in the novel are more open-minded, easily persuadable and more adaptive to societal changes. Lastly, uncovering the meaning behind the arrival of European missionaries, it becomes apparent that Achebe defines this group as being a “disease”, poisoning the society in which Okonkwo lives. The author look’s at individuals as being critical and influential figures in shaping the environment to which they belong, beginning with Okonkwo.
Planet Earth harbors seven billion independent human minds, living seven billion independent, equally complex lives. Even more impressive, each mind contains unique perspectives and opinions. With so many different minds interacting, conflict between individuals’ perspectives and opinions becomes inevitable. Unfortunately, no single perspective, held by a single mind or a group of minds, dominates as the correct perspective. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the meeting of different cultures creates conflict between perspectives, in which both parties assume righteousness but neither is entirely correct. Though Okonkwo may draw a readers’ sympathy for his role as the tragic hero, the author’s sympathy sits with Obierika, who is positioned between the missionaries and Okonkwo as the most humane balance of the two cultures.
In conclusion, it is clear that the coming of Christianity to Africa was not greeted with open arms. While it granted Africans the chance to acquire new teachings, it also insinuated itself within politics, family, and traditions, utterly destroying them from the inside out. Having been detailed within novels by Achebe, Oyono, and Thiong’o, it is easy to see how these “pacifying” roles eventually led to a total conquest for all of Africa.
One of the flaws inside the Ibo culture that eventually leads to their downfall is the social system. The weaker people join the church as a way to gain acceptance. The osu, or outcasts who lived in the Ibo culture want to feel accepted and as a result, follow the Christians. “The two outcasts shaved off their hair, and soon they were the strongest adherents of the new faith” (157). These two outcasts never have the feeling of being a part of the clan. The church welcomes them. The osu cannot cut their hair, marry, or receive a title in the clan. They are “cast out like lepers” (157). The church welcomes the osu and treats them like human beings. This is where the Ibo social system is at fault. An ideal job is to be a farmer and since not everyone can afford seeds and a barn...
In the book “Things Fall Apart”, evidence of a social structure was apparent within the Igbo community. This rigid social structure served as a purpose to balance the life of the people within the society, as well as promoting the downfall of the clan. The social structure was important in keeping a centralized society and preventing any sign of corruption within their clan. The social structure had advantages in keeping a balanced and equal society, supporting a division of labor, providing a surplus of food, individual huts, a communal society, and the development of some kind of government. In contrast, this social structure led others to reject to cooperate with the new religion and aided the lack of unity among the people. It also promoted a more patriarchal society, the inferior rank of women, and the lack of strong bonds between family members.
Achebe shows us a culture that is on the verge of change. Within the story we find out how the reality of change is brought upon several characters, and what their actions follow. Just like how African’s resisted the white’s over taking their country in reality, Achebe implements the same idea with the use of several characters. Okonkwo, for example, is completely opposed to the new political and religious upbringing that has come upon his clan. He feels that a real man does not change his views and beliefs for another mans views and beliefs. He see’s it as a sign of weakness. As we see throughout the novel, Okonkwo’s fear of losing his title and status, drives him further away from the idea of changing and adapting to the new religion. Achebe shows us how there will always be those that fight against the change, but in the end the stronger religion will over take and turn the others. Unfortunately for him, Okonkwo finding out his clan is converting is heart aching and he finds complete weakness in his clan. Achebe ties both themes of change and masculinity very well, and both themes support each other in every way. In reality, many Africans resisted the colonizers trying to destroy their religion, but the colonization wasn’t as severe as Achebe presented in her novel. “Groups strongly resisted the coming of European
In the end it is Okonkwo’s inability to recognize change that forces him to commit suicide. It is the white missionaries’ inability to recognize that the Africans did not wish to change which adds to his demise. The missionaries represent the ruthlessness of the white man in Africa. The native Africans were expected to accept the ways of the white culture, for their own benefit, or suffer the consequences. In this light the missionaries can only be seen as brutal, and anything but true Christians, but rather religious zealots who like Okonkwo wish to force their world view upon others.
Throughout history, there have been many instances of people struggling to identify and cope with change and tradition, and this is no different in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
Chinua Achebe cleverly described the complexity of each religion and how it affected the African community at that period of time. & nbsp;   ; The death of Okonkwo at the end was unpredictable to the readers because throughout the novel, Chinua Achebe described him as a strong warrior who feared of nothing besides failure and weakness.
All throughout history, we see this dichotomy between tradition and modernity. On one hand, we have tradition, the force living perpetually in the past and refusing to change. On the other hand, modernity leaves tradition behind in favor of progress. These two concepts, much like oil and water, dare to divide but coexist as a debatable founding solution. Not only are the themes Western ideas, but they have been present and are found in literature all around the world, from China to Africa.
The Importance of Things Fall Apart & nbsp; & nbsp; The novel "Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe, was an eye-opening account of the life and eventual extinction of an African tribe called the Ibo. It focuses on one character, Okonkwo, who at a very early age set out on a quest of self-perfection. Coming from a family ruled by a man who was lazy and inconsistent with everything he did, Okonkwo vowed to never accept the fate of his father. Okonkwo and his family have suffered through many hard times in their lives, but usually managed to come out on top. Through terrible crop seasons and bad judgement calls, Okonkwo usually prevailed, until the day came when he was faced with a situation that could not be resolved by his strength and character alone.