Nigerian Culture In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

When Okonkwo cut down the guard, he made the swift assumption that his clansmen were as passionate about fighting colonialism as him and would follow him into war. When he found otherwise, he could not understand what had happened to his village. The next place he was seen was hanging from a noose in a selfish show of hypocrisy. In the end, Okonkwo's status among his tribe counted for nothing because his own despair over the colonization of his village led him to kill himself. His whole life Okonkwo strived to not to look weak like his father, but in the end he took the cowards way out, suicide.

He realizes that his attempts to return the village back to the way it was before were futile. He knew that Christianity was tearing his people apart, but knew he was incapable of making change to help his people. Okonkwo then starts to feel hopeless and abandoned by his clan, which causes him to commit suicide by hanging himself: “Obierika… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of the greatest men

Okonkwo chases him away by giving him violent threats. To his surprise, not many take any noticeable interest in his return and he is disappointed to see the change in his once warlike clan. Mr Brown had actually emphasized that kids be sent to school since he knew the consequences of language barrier. But when Mr Brown was replaced by Reverend Smith, who is absolutely in-tolerant, lack of communication between the clan and Smith led to the converts becoming over zealous. Okonkwo had always dreamt of returning back to his village but the church had changed so much that he did not get the attention he had dreamt of getting.

Once the village is taken over by the white men, he takes his own life because he cannot bear to see his people forced to go against what they believe. He knows that if he were to live, being forced to follow beliefs that he did not agree with, then that would go against all he stands for. Okonkwo’s noble decision to end his life shows his courage and bravery because he will not let anyone change him or bear to see his village fall apart. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, is a lazy man who lacks the diligence that is needed to be a good father, husband and leader. As a child, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father.

Fearing the possibility of following in his father’s lazy and cowardly footsteps, Okonkwo pushed himself to grow and prosper into a wealthy, hard working warrior, and farmer to provide for not only himself, but his family as well. He believed that the only way to stay prosperous, focused, and dedicated on all he has worked for was to avoid affection and emotions for those around him; he refused to look weak to others. Okonkwo commits murder and is forced to live in exile for seven years. During this time, many changes take place in his village of Umuofia: the white men come, missionaries spread new faith, and everything is becoming modernized, forcing the idea of tradition out of the picture of the future. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe infiltrates the roles of men and women, language, religious, and cultural changes into the Nigerian village, Umuofia, where Okonkwo resides.

Due to Okonkwo’s fear of becoming his father, he found himself struggling with his identity as both a father and leader in Umofia. As a father, he noticed that none of his sons met his expectations because they failed to take responsibility for their actions, fulfill their duties in the field, and acted more like their mothers. Therefore, Okonkwo often wondered whether he was “cashing in my (his) bad luck” (line 1). In other words, he was questioning whether he was a suitable father or if he was worse than his own father. Meanwhile, in his village, he was seen as a great leader.

After Okonkwo gets banished from his original village, he goes to his motherland. There, he learns that white missionaries have arrived in his original village, and have begun converting villagers to Christianity. He becomes so blinded with being the best and being better than his father that he does not want to be weak by conforming to the missionaries’ ways. He is so resistant against the new religion that when his son, Nwoye, comes home from a Christian school, Okonkwo “… suddenly overcome with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped him (Nwoye) by the neck” (151). This only shows how much resentment Okonkwo has for the recent conformations.

Grendel never understood why humans could be so monstrous until he finally learned they cannot be converted. He decided to stop attempting to aid them and turn on them by killing them off. He decided not to kill Hrothgar so he can observe and finally feel pain from his wrath. Killing warriors and people slowly would be like slapping Hrothgar in the face and allow him to regret everything he has done. “Hrothgar says nothing, hoarfrost-bearded, his features cracked and crazed” (13).

Being a democratic society, the village had no chief and therefore relied on the assembly to make decisions, such as whether or not to go to war. Nwaka, an important Umuaro elder, led the people to believe that they should attack the Okperi people because they had infringed upon farmland that traditionally belonged to Umuaro. Ezeulu did not agree with the war and believed that it would not be accepted by the gods. Therefore, he said, "If you choose to fight a man for a piece ... ... middle of paper ... ...tting their old god. As Ezeulu realized that the title of Ezeulu would not be passed on to one of his remaining sons (and that they would probably not accept it even if it was available), he lost his sanity.

However, when Okonkwo came face to face with defeat; realizing that the people whom he believed to be his kinsmen, who would fight for their right to live according to their religion and tradition alongside him, had already accepted the rule of the colonizers, he saw death as the only option to resist the change. Okonkwo, from the beginning, saw the new faith of the missionaries and colonizers as a threat to the traditions of his tribe. He wanted to fight to expel them from their land, yet he found little help from the other members of the clan. In both his mother’s village and his own, he saw how, one ...