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The impact of western culture
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During the colonial time period, people from European and North American countries attempted to convert the native people from the lands they colonized to Christianity. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, it tells the story of Okonkwo in his village of Umuofia which undergoes many changes throughout the course of the novel due to the arrival of Christian missionaries. One major theme in this novel is religion and the story’s main conflict is, in part, due to conflicting religious beliefs. The religious themes of this novel allow for different interpretations of the story. If this novel were to be read by a Christian and an atheist, it could be read and interpreted differently because of its religious and moral themes and the two different beliefs. …show more content…
A Christian would agree with the actions of the novels missionaries. In chapter 21 it relates the action of one specific missionary, Mr. Brown. “And so he built a school and a little hospital in Umuofia . He went from family to family begging people to send their children to school...”(pg 181). This great effort by Mr. Brown to help and educate the Ibo people would be applauded by a Christian based on this religion's principles of helping thy neighbor and doing good deeds under god. They would see these acts as justifiable for the missionaries attempts to colonize Umuofia. An atheist would take some aspects of the changes the missionaries bring as positive, such as the school and the hospital, but their introduction of a government would be seen too them as out of their
Imagine if you would, to be in another culture, and someone who is unwanted, unwelcome has come into it and has caused it to crumble. You and your family are plunged into failure and your life is falling apart. These people, the missionaries, arrived from England to colonize Africa during the colonial period. There were many problems faced by the native people, most of whom were not about to drop all of their beliefs to adopt a foreigners customs. Such beliefs existed in the protagonist, Okonkwo, and are the roots of the challenges faced by Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, in which the author, Chinua Achebe, writes of the challenges to Okonkwo's sense of identity. Western ideas have clashed with his sense of family, his ideas of gender, and position of leadership within the clan, which influences and forms the meaning of the book.
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.
In the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist Okonkwo struggles between tribal tradition, his internal conflicts with his own beliefs, and the arrival of European missionaries to Africa. Okonkwo’s own perspective is limited to a heavily masculine praising mindset, driving him to be rash and violent at times, but his own tribe has a variety of traditions and personalities. Immediately, Okonkwo sees these missionaries as a threat to his place in society, their beliefs are frowned upon by most of the tribes and people of power. Missionaries see African tribes as animalistic and primitive. Okonkwo’s perspective was valid considering all the damage missionaries would eventually cause in the long run. A loss of culture and the
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 succeeded in converting many tribesmen into Christians.
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.
For many people, religion is a very touchy subject. For most, it is a personal decision; people choose a faith that aligns with their beliefs, ideas, and faiths. Although people would like to think that religion is a personal decision, and they can adapt it to how they feel and what they believe, in practice, that is not the case. Religion represents a commitment to a set of principles that are not moldable, adaptable, or flexible. Religion, although it may be a personal belief, it is extremely defined, with little to no room for flexibility. If people try to modify their religion to their own beliefs or ideas, the pushback can be severe. The lines in religion and faith as to what is acceptable and what is not acceptable are clear, and crossing them can bring serious consequences.
Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" is a story that illustrates the effects of a new Christian religion in a tribal village in Africa. It is a well distinguished culture and has a value system that continued for many years as they trace back into their ancestry. However, a conflict arises when the culture suddenly starts to fade and modern tribesmen allow white missionaries to intrude on their system and convert many of the tribe's younger members to the Christian faith. The tribal system eventually falls apart because younger members are not able to remember people of the past or unable to relate to violence when they have lived in safety and peace. They then become uninterested in a faith that does not fulfill their needs for music, joy and love, instead of focusing on the obedience of a higher being.
Two passages from the story Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, provide the reader with a more profound understanding of Okonkwo, and his son Nwoye. The two do not have a good relationship and it becomes worse as the story progresses. Throughout the book the two become increasingly distant and it is apparent that Okonkwo is very disappointed in his son. After the death of Ikemefuna, Nwoye begins to question many aspects of his life, especially religion. As the Christian missionaries spend more time with the members of the village, Nwoye becomes interested in this new religion. The first passage I have chosen discusses Nwoye’s feelings about Christianity.
Firstly, the church disproves many of the Igbo superstitions ,which encourages the Igbo to break the traditions that they had followed for many years. Therefore, slowly destroying their society. For instance, when the white men who brought Christianity to the people of Umuofia speak to the clan of the village about their new religion. They request a piece of land to build their church on. The clan decides to give them a piece of land of the Evil forest and let them stay. To the clans surprise this happens ”At last the day came by which all the missionaries should have died. But they were still alive, building a new red-earth and thatch house for their teacher, Mr. Kiaga. That week they won a handful more converts.(151)”. The Evil Forest was known as a forest where people go to die, and the clan members thought that by allowing the missionaries to build their church in the evil Forest they could easily get rid of them. Since, the white men didn’t die but lived, this made the Ibo people question their own beliefs. When some of the villagers noticed that they were mislead by their gods they decide to convert to Christianity. Either because Christianity seemed stronger than the ...
Achebe’s View of Christianity and the Suicide of Igbo Culture In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the struggle of the Igbo culture to remain true to its values while the onset of Christianity is in full effect is examined through the eyes of an African, providing a vulnerable look at how the spread of Christianity in the 1850s affected other cultures. Chinua Achebe provided the first widespread view of this struggle in Africa from an African. Chinua Achebe was raised in a Christian household, but his neighbors who also happened to be his extended family, chose to continue to practice traditional Igbo religion, leaving Achebe to admire from afar. (Brucker, C., 1992) While a young man, Achebe was raised to believe his extended family
Religion is dying away. We live in a place where society has now changed. Women can get married to women, men to men, men can be women, and women can be men. It’s pretty cool to see how we have grown.
They had many other beliefs that seemed normal to them but we would find them questionable at the least. They thought the forests were evil and many superstitions. When the missionaries came to their land the people hated them. Over time the missionaries built trust among the people and began to teach them truth. They told the Umofia that the forests weren?t evil.
Many cultures tend to clash greatly, and an example is the idea of monotheism and polytheism. This is the culture clash of western ideas and the Ibo culture in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The Ibo culture was a polytheistic tribe that experienced the influence of Christianity by the Western people. One of the main characters, Okonkwo, was not pleased with the new missionaries ideas. The clan had their set beliefs and was not inclined to open up to a new influence. Okonkwo saw as though his clan was civilized, and there was no need to change matters. Unlike a few outliers, Okonkwo was one of the many that simply saw things begin to fall apart with the influence of western culture, as he began to question who he really was and what he
There are many themes evident throughout Things Fall Apart, but one of the most prominent is the struggle between change and tradition, in the sense that some people change, but others don’t. Nwoye’s callow mind was greatly puzzled” (Achebe 89). Nwoye finds the missionaries hymn soothing, but it leaves him more confused about what he believes. Nwoye finally finds the courage to convert after a violent encounter with Okonkwo, “He went back to the church and told Mr. Kiaga that he had decided to go to Umuofia where the white missionary had set up a school to teach young Christians to read and write” (Achebe 93).
Have you ever wondered what would happen when two cultures collide? Well in the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a culture clash takes place, with the main character Okonkwo’s village being overtaken by Christian white men seeking to influence and change his tribe and possibly other tribes.