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Imperialism in chinua achebe’s things fall apart
Imperialism in chinua achebe’s things fall apart
European imperialism and colonialism
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Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country. Throughout the 1700 and 1800’s many powerful countries such as Britain, France and Spain took part in the Scramble for Africa which is one of the largest scales of Imperialism. Many people believe that the nations which were imperial colonizer owe reparation to the people and countries they colonized. Nations that were imperial colonizers owe reparations to the people and countries they colonized. This is especially true in the case of Nigeria and other African countries that were colonized during the Scramble for Africa.
As depicted in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” imperial colonizers destroyed family bonds. “Nwoye struggled
Imperialism is when a big country takes over a smaller country to gain more land and materials. The age of imperialism started in the 1870’s when European countries started making empires in Asia, Africa, and the middle east. Algeria is a small country in Africa that was taken over by France in the 1830’s. In 1847 the Algerians wanted their land back so they fought for control but the French defeated the Muslim leader Abd al-Qadir and gained control of the land. Algeria had many positive and negative effects because of imperialism that shaped its culture, society and government. (Dipiazzia 66).
Imperialism is the practice by which powerful nations or peoples seek to extend and maintain control or influence over weaker nations or peoples. By the 1800’s, the Western powers had advantages in this process. They led the world in technological advances, giving them a dominance when conquering other countries. The European Imperialists made attempts to conquer China and Japan. In this process, they succeeded by influencing Japan greatly. However, they were not as successful with China.
Imperialism is the domination of a weaker country by a stronger country. For instance Britain dominated India and China in the mid 1880s to the beginning of the 20th century. Imperialism has had both a positive and negative effects on the countries involved. Britain was imperialistic for many reasons, it could dominate because it had the technology and power to do so. They also needed land to acquire raw materials for growing markets.
Imperialism is when a mother nation takes over another nation and become its colony for political, social, and economical reasons. Imperialism is a progressive force for both the oppressors (mother country) and the oppressed (colony), majorly occurring during the late 19th and early 20th century. It had more negative effects than positive effects due to its domination to other nations.
Throughout the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, almost every country in Africa was imperialized by other countries in Europe. To imperialize is to conquer another country, whether it be in the means of politics, economics and/or culture, and control that land. The aftermath for the imperialized country was either beneficial or harmful. The amount of African countries that a European country imperialized varied. Great Britain imperialized fifteen countries in Africa, including Egypt in 1882, Sierra Leone in 1808, and the Union of South Africa in 1910. Although Great Britain’s reasons to imperialize were selfish, Britain helped each country progress afterwards.
Imperialism is the domination by one country of political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region and occurred during the 1800’s in Africa. Imperialism in Africa was caused by four factors in Europe: economy, politics/military, humanitarian/religion, and Social Darwinism (Ellis). The Industrial Revolution in Europe caused the need for oversea expansion because the manufacturers needed things like: rubber, petroleum, and palm oil all of which Africa had. Europe moving into Africa was also caused by nationalism, when France went into Africa so did Britain (Ellis). The difference between France and Britain was the way of rule they used. There are four different methods of imperialism: direct, indirect, protectorate, and sphere of influence. The most popular were direct and indirect. The French used direct, they sent officials and soldiers from France to administer their colonies and their purpose was to inflict French culture on their colonies and make them into French provinces (Ellis). The British, however, used indirect, they used chiefs to oversee their colonies and encouraged the children in the colonies to get education in Britain. The British “Westernized” their colonies and only used military force when threatened (Ellis).
Imperialism was a time period in which more developed nations colonized less developed nations. The developed nations took advantage of the less developed nations resources, people, lands, and much more. Many countries lost their freedom and independence due to imperialism, however, they also received new technologies and innovations.
This paper will argue that no other literary work explores more about imperial stories focusing on resources besides concentrating on the need to speak stories to the people other than Things Fall Apart (1953) by Chinua Achebe and King Solomon’s Mine (1885) by Ridder Haggard. Chinua Achebe avers that the writer in both new and old nation has a bigger role to play while presenting his or her content to the audience (Faulkner, 2007, p. 52). Taking it from the African perspective, Achebe holds that the writer ought to help people from Africa and abroad comprehend that Africans had and maintained viable culture that remained intact before the arrival of the white man on the African land. In his book Things Fall Apart, Achebe demonstrates that the African writer carries recognizing and celebrating the culture as his or her biggest job in order to make people from Africa start salvaging their dignity. Chinua Achebe presents Things Fall Apart in a way that readers do not fail to appreciate and embrace cultural perspective. To facilitate this understanding, Achebe picks information accessible to the readers as well as that provides cultural and historical; context in many ways. He presents two stories that seem to overlap and intertwine at the same time in the novel under scrutiny in this context. Both stories revolve around Okonkwo, described as a strong man hailing from the village of Ibo in Nigeria (Achebe, 1997, p. 12). The presentation aims at making sure that readers get the right text-to-text, text-self, as well as text-to-world connections. To achieve this, Achebe applies various historical, geographical, literary, and cultural resources.
Throughout history, imperialism has led countries to extend their rule over weaker countries and then colonized those countries to expand their own power. Imperialism allows the ruling countries to use the weaker countries for their resources. Colonizing other countries would then lead to growth and a better reputation for the dominating country. There are many examples of imperialism throughout European history. When many European countries “scrambled” for Africa, it seemed as though Africa had no say in anything. During the 19th century, Europe found a way to use Africa for their own growth and power. Using Africa for their resources, the Europeans colonized Africa without a second thought. European imperialism in Africa had a negative impact because of social disarray, cultural loss, and death it caused.
In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the main character’s, Okonkwo’s, sense of identity is threatened to collapse when British colonists come to colonize the Igbo to which Okonkwo’s response to is very severe and, in the end, lethal. This sense of identity of Okonkwo’s character is strong, forever working to be the complete opposite of his father, whom he considered weak and an embarrassment to both himself and to the village. How strong this belief of his was, is reflected when Okonkwo states that, “ . . . his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness,” (Ch. 2).
Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart describes the colonization of the Ibo tribe by a group of white missionaries. The text details the life of Okonkwo, a successful yam farmer with many wives and great power in his village, from his early adulthood to his death. In the beginning, Achebe presents the readers with Ikemefuna, a young boy from the neighboring Mbaino tribe, sent to Okonkwo’s household as punishment for murdering an Umuofian woman. Ikemefuna integrates into the family rapidly, and is well-received by both Okonkwo and his biological son, Nwoye.
When a culture is introduced to different ideas, one may contemplate their sense of identity which will then illustrate the impact that the concept had as a whole.. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses his character, Okonkwo, to dramatize the effect western colonization had on the Igbo community simply through his reaction to the sudden change.
The Effects of Colonialism on Things Fall Apart In the novel, Things Fall Apart, the effects of colonialism were extremely evident in the Igbo society. As the white Englanders moved into the native land, their cultural values changed. Examples of these changes were evident in all aspects of the Igbo people's lives, in their religion, family life, children, and the dead. Many of the Igboians were upset by the colonialism of their society, but in the end they were completely incapable of doing anything to reverse the changes that had already taken place in their society.
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.
Colonization in Nigeria affected the Igbo culture and its people in many different ways. In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the author portrays events in the novel that reflect real experiences that he had. Many of the events in the novel deal with the act of colonization and how it affects different members in society, an idea that Achebe has experienced for himself. The author 's first hand experience with colonization allows the story to depict how colonization affected the Igbo people more accurately. Chinua Achebe creates an accurate representation of colonialism with his use of real events that occurred.