Things Fall Apart

There are multiple frames of reference through which to look at the world, but the differing views may often lead to tension and conflict. In Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, Achebe symbolizes the tragic fate of the Igbo culture as it was encountered by Western missionaries that had a skewed perception that the Igbo population is a primitive society. The different perspectives identified by the clash of the two cultures is emphasized in Achebe’s article, named An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, to justify himself in order to remove racial stereotype present in the novel. Furthermore, although Igbo culture is perceived to be primitive by the Western Civilization, Uchendu’s article, The Igbo World, discusses the

The imperialization of cultures can lead to a problematic situation due to contrasting perspectives. Achebe illustrated this when an English speaker comes and tries to spread Christianity among the Igbo people. The Englishman even goes as far as saying that “‘All the gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and kill innocent children. There is only true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us”’(Achebe, 146). The arrogance shown by the Christian speaker is a clear indication of the amount of racism and disrespect the Igbo culture felt. The speaker did not only offend their religion, he supplemented it with promoting his own, which led to the clan thinking that he was insane. However, the speaker believed that he was filling their souls with Christianity and thus saving them from the devil and that the people should be grateful for saving them. In fact, the Englishman even tried to exert his dominance in a place in which he believed to have some, because of his distorted belief that he was civilized and the

This divide is seen first hand with the introduction of the white men. Achebe also hints at these differing cultures earlier in the novel. Before the day of Ikemefuna’s death, the “‘Locusts are descending” and it “was joyfully chanted everywhere…”(Achebe, 55). In the Igbo culture, this event is seen as a gift from the gods to give everyone a tasty meal. However, the reverse is seen in Christianity with the locusts being viewed as the carrier of death and disease. When the white men have established their presence, a similar event occurs when a Christian kills the royal python. The Igbo people are furious because in their culture, “The royal python was the most revered animal in Mbanta and all the surrounding clans” and “no punishment was prescribed for a man who killed the python knowingly. Nobody thought that such a thing could ever happen”(Achebe 157,158). Achebe himself planted many indications of a difference of opinion religiously with the python as an almighty god for the Igbo people while Christians view it as a sin. This event probably wouldn’t have occurred if the Christians knew about the importance of the snakes in the Igbo culture. One person who tried to utilize this conflict was Mr. Brown. However, Mr. Brown’s differences with his successor, Mr. Smith, worsen because “...on one of his frequent visits to the neighboring villages