Achebe illustrates the depth of the Ibo culture in Things Fall Apart to prove that hindered and unreliable communication causes conflict. One key way that Achebe illustrates the complexity of the Ibo culture is through their intricate language. He utilizes the interpreter of the missionaries as a way to prove just how unreliable the communication between the tribe and the missionaries truly is. Despite the fact that the interpreter can speak the Ibo language, he still makes simple mistakes, such as saying “my buttocks” rather than “myself” (Achebe 145). Later on in the novel, he stands as a barrier between the two groups when he changes the words of Mr. Smith and the Egwugwu (Achebe 190-191). Because the Ibo’s language is so complex, the …show more content…
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 …show more content…
For instance, the story that Ekwefi tells to all of Okonkwo’s children is about a tortoise manipulating birds to get food from their party in the sky, and then the birds coming together to get back at the tortoise (Achebe 96-99). In the story, the tortoise symbolizes the missionaries and the birds symbolize the Ibo because like the missionaries, the tortoise is very selfish and acts as if he is doing nothing wrong by his actions, until he fools the birds. Both the missionaries and the tortoise take what is rightfully someone else’s for personal gain. Achebe uses this story to warn readers that in order for the Ibo to salvage their culture and unity, they must communicate with each other like the birds. He also foreshadows the arrival of the missionaries later on in the novel with the tortoise. In essence, Achebe uses the story to convey not only how complex the Ibo culture is, but also just how important it is to be saved. He proves that through cooperation and unity, a group can come together as one to save what is rightfully theirs and limit excess conflict with just a few actions. What Achebe is telling the reader and the tribe themselves, is that sometime there is going to be something that tries to tear them apart and shatter their culture, but the worst thing they can do is separate themselves from each other. Despite the
As wise John Berger once said,“Never again shall a single story be told as though it were the only one”. A “single story” is the story of a culture that we learn from stereotypes and conspiracies developed throughout time in our society. In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe defies the single story of African culture while still tying their native language in to show the importance between a physical differentiation of culture, and the similarities with morals and values they have in common. Through gender roles and proverbs used in the language of this book, we have a cultural insight of Nigeria through a new set of eyes given to us by Achebe that detures us from the single stories that we were taught to by our society.
Culture makes us who we are. Each individual has their own culture from their experiences in life and is developed from societal influences. The various cultures around the world influence us in different ways which we experience at least once in our lifetime. There are occasions, especially in history, where cultures clash with one another. For instance, the English colonization in Africa changed their culture. Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, portrayed this change in the Igbo people’s society, especially through the character Okonkwo in the village of Umuofia; the introduction of Western ideas challenged him. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the author Chinua Achebe introduces to us Okonkwo whose character’s response to the
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.
By utilizing an unbiased stance in his novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe promotes cultural relativity without forcibly steering his audience to a particular mindset. He presents the flaws of the Ibo tribe the same way he presents the assets—without either condescension or pride; he presents the cruelties of the colonizers the same way he presents their open mindedness—without either resentment or sympathy. Because of this balance, readers are able to view the characters as multifaceted human beings instead of simply heroes and victims. Achebe writes with such subtle impartiality that American audiences do not feel guilty for the cruel actions of the colonizers or disgusted by the shocking traditions of the tribesmen. The readers stop differentiating the characters as either “tribesmen” or “colonizers”. They see them simply as people, much like themselves. With this mindset, the audience starts to reflect upon their own cultural weaknesses. Conversely, the colonizers forcefully declare their religion onto the tribesmen instead of neutrally presenting their beliefs. Achebe prevails over his anger to present his opinion without forcefulness and with open-minded consideration. Yes, the colonizers succeed in converting many tribesmen into Christians; however, their success is subjective because they destroy African culture in the process. Ultimately, Achebe is successful in delivering his political views, but he does so by encouraging open-mindedness and cultural relativity instead of forcing his individual ideals upon his readers.
In his work Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe tells a story describing the decay and destruction of ancient African tradition caused by the invasion of white culture. His tone in the book seems to side and sympathize with the Africans and their religion. Interestingly enough, though, he uses biblical allusion, as well as onomatopoeia and symbolism to bring the book to life and captivate the reader. The following will describe how he uses these.
In Things Fall Apart, Achebe is able to express this embarkation with his division of the novel into two parts. The first part introduces Okonkwo along with his family’s beliefs and their origins, religions, etc. However, in the second part with the arrival of the Christian missionaries, the seeds of colonialism take root within the Ibo tribe and Okonkwo’s family, particularly in his son Nwoye. At the beginning, the missionaries are calm and peaceful. However, as time goes on they start to undergo their mission and start to denounce the Ibo’s gods as “false gods, gods of wood and stone.” At first, many are appalled and find their preaching laughable, but as they continue to thrive, people such as Nwoye begin to reach out. Because Nwoye is unable to forgive Okonkwo for his betrayal in killing his adopted brother, he converts to Christianity in an attempt to get back at his father for his crime. In addition, the missionaries’ hymn about brothers living in “darkness and fear,...
Almost every civilizat in the world was at one time colonized by another civilization with differing cultural beliefs. this is just the case in the Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. were the Umuofia tribe in niger has being colonized by the british empire. which leds to the members of their tribe to either decide to learn to give into the brits and leave there way of life and accept the new christian teachings or have to fight to uphold their way of life that has kept order and peace in the village. by the end of the book many of the natives start rethinking their culture and join the christian church but the main character named Okonkwo all he is know is to work hard and slowly work his way up the umuofia's social ladder but it is now threatened by the the new christians teachings. at the end of the book okonkwo instead of fighting and knowing he will be unsuccessful he decides to kill himself because no matter how strong he is he knows that his fate was either kill himself or have all of his hard work to be
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...
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Achebe did a excellent job portraying how the life of Igbo was before they were forced to oppose their own culture. To support this theme, Achebe included detailed descriptions of social rituals within each family, the justice system, religious practices and consequences, preparation and indulgence of food, the marriage process and the distributing of power within the men. Achebe shows how every man has an opportunity to prove himself worthy to achieve a title on the highest level, based merely on his own efforts. One may argue that the novel was written with the main focus on the study of Okonkwo’s character and how he deteriorates, but without the theme that define the Igbo culture itself, we would never know the universe qualities of the society that shaped Okonkwo’s life. The lives of the Igbo people was no different to the actual lives of the Ibos people back in the early days of Africa. Just like in Things Fall Apart, in actual African tribes there was never a ruler. “Very interesting thing about these villages is that there is no single ruler or king that controls the population. Decisions are made by including almost everyone in the village” (AfricaGuide). Using the theme, Achebe educated readers on by mirroring real African life in her
Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart to be an antithesis to much of European literature, and his characterization of Okonkwo as almost a tragic hero serves that purpose. Because Okonkwo has similarities to Oedipus and others, such as Thyestes or Hamlet, he shows Western readers that Africans and members of other marginalized cultures are not completely foreign. As a corollary, Okonkwo 's failures to meet some of the qualities of a tragic hero demonstrate the failure of the mainly Western archetype to represent universal standards, a main point for postcolonialist writers. However, just because Okonkwo is an inversion of the traditional tragic hero does not mean that the archetype cannot hold for cultures outside of Europe; instead, it merely means that archetypes can be modified to create more literary variety in the same way that novels written by Africans, Europeans, and other cultures introduce essential diversity into the literary
In Chinua Achebe novel, “Things Fall Apart”, Achebe uses literary devices such as imagery, dialogue, and detail to show the challenges that the Igbo people struggled with to keep their traditions going. To show the traditions and challenges of tradition the Igbo people suffered with Achebe used imagery. Imagery is one of the most well used literary devices that Achebe used because it showed the conditions the Igbo people lived in, but it also showed their traditions of life. Goats were often slaughtered for traditional feasts, “And as the goats were slaughtered and a number of fowls. It was like a wedding feast.
Although establishing schools appears to be a good influence, Achebe shows how schools strip a society of its culture. Mr. Brown, the first white missionary in Umuofia, builds a school for the children. He convinces parents to send their children to school by arguing, “If Umuofia failed to send her children to the school, strangers would come from other places to rule them” (156). Mr. Brown’s ironic reasoning displays the negative result of religion. If the Christian missionaries did not intrude in the first place, there would be no need to protect Ibo people from more intruders trying to interfere with their culture. A similar type of irony is mentioned when Mr. Brown’s school start to become popular. The people begin to think, “Mr. Brown’s school produced quick results. A few months in it were enough to make one a court messenger or even a court clerk” (156). Prior to the missionaries’ arrival, Ibo society had no need for schools to give better jobs. When the missionaries bring their government to Umuofia, schools trick people into falling for the new system and forgetting about their old social structure and culture. Achebe uses these ironic occurrences to display how religion may seemingly positively influence a society, but in reality pillages the Ibo people’s original culture.
Mr. Achebe was behind the proverbial ?rock and a hard place?. If he spoke up about the missionaries growing power he would be admitting that they were being successful. On the other hand if he didn?t say something he would lose his tribe. He chose to lose his tribe.
Throughout Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, struggle between change and tradition is one of the most relevant issues. The Igbo villagers, Okonkwo, and his son Nwoye all experience this problem in many different ways. The villagers have their religion defied, Okonkwo reaches his breaking point and Nwoye finally finds what he believes in. People have struggled to identify and cope with change and tradition throughout history, and will continue to struggle with this issue in the
Throughout the world there are many conflicts. It has been that way all throughout history. Since the dawn of man, there have been many conflicts. These conflicts led to wars and changed the lives of many forever. Almost all of the conflicts are due to discrimination by different groups of people. Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, provide examples of discrimination between groups of people. The story focuses on the life and suicide of Okonkwo, a well-respected clansman of Umuofia clan. He struggles between the traditional strong masculine culture in a Nigerian Village and the new customs brought by white missionaries. The book shows the disastrous effects of prejudice and intolerance leading readers to reflect on the similarities of present and history. Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, strongly represents the vast amount of bigotry between those of different genders, religious groups, and social statuses throughout history.