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Chinua achebe things fall apart cultural dimension
Chinua Achebe's Cultural identity as things fall apart
Chinua Achebe's Cultural identity as things fall apart
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1. First Entry Things Fall Apart, a story by Chinua Achebe, is about a man named Okonkwo who has many achievements and lives in an Ibo village in Umuofia, Nigeria. The beginning of the book introduces the main characters, including Okonkwo and his household. He has three wives and children with each of them. Okonkwo gained fame in his village from a wrestling match, respect from his titles in war, and money from farming; he is a leader in his Ibo clan. His success is driven out of his hatred toward his father who was not a strong man or a good farmer. This causes him great anger and makes him despise all things that his father stood for. The beginning of the novel is rather slow due to much detail written about day-to-day life in the clan, …show more content…
although it is necessary to explain and compare the cultures because of the many differences between the Ibo’s way of life and our own. The great Okonkwo has been said to be a great war hero however we have not seen very much of his warrior side. The author writes with much detail and interrupts the story often with flashbacks making the book a slower read. Most of the villagers are farmers with their main crop being yams. The people are dependent on yams for their survival, not only to sell and make money, but also for food. Their society and culture are centered around respect for their gods, personal deities and the earth. Because there are surrounding villages and clans the people must be prepared for war and defending themselves. The men in this society are very controlling and do not respect their wives. Wives and children must respect and obey their head of house or they may face major consequences. One of the most interesting characters is Ikemefuna, a boy who was taken from his home as a peace offering to live in Umuofian under the protection of Okonkwo. He adapts well to a new village, shows respect to his new family, and Okonkwo grows fond of him. What Ikemefuna does in the rest of the book should be very interesting. Given that the first few chapters in the story are dedicated to introducing the characters, setting, and culture the upcoming chapters may bring a challenge or adventure to the characters. Okonkwo may go on a journey or go to battle and bring one of his sons along. As he becomes older and wiser he may become more patient especially with his family. Ikemefuna may become a great farmer or journey back to his home when he gets older. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s oldest son might leave home and try to start a new life however since he is considered lazy he might just stay and accept his fathers disapproval. Ezinma, Okonkwo’s second wive’s only child who is also his favorite child, will probably stay close to home since she gets along well with her family. 2. Second Entry In chapter seven Okonkwo is told that Ikemefuna will be killed by the tribe but for the boy’s sake and his own Okonkwo should not go along with the men to kill him.
It was surprising that Okonkwo went along and ignored the advice of an elder, since he himself wants to become a great leader in the tribe. Shockingly, Okonkwo selfishly chooses to look brave and fearless over the love of the boy he called his own and ends up being the one who kills him. I believed that Okonkwo’s love for his son would outweigh his senseless pride and he would save his son, however I was wrong. Nwoye suspects his father’s wrongdoing and begins to fear …show more content…
him. Some of the themes developed in these chapters are the desire for status, suffering, protection of children, and family. The desire for status is exemplified when Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna, he chose to look strong instead of loving. Suffering is shown when Ezinma gets sick and we find out she is an Ogbanje. Protection of children is demonstrated by Ekwefi caring for her daughter while she is sick. Family is also a major theme that is shown when Okonkwo and Ekwefi secretly follow their daughter who was taken to see the priestess. Uchendu, the younger brother of Okonkwo’s mother can be considered a foil character to Okonkwo because they have both suffered greatly although he is patient and thinks things through while Okonkwo acts harshly and impulsively. A symbol that stands out in the story is the comparing of strong and weak to males and females. The women in this culture are not viewed as equals with the males. They are not treated fairly by society or their husbands. Okonkwo views men that are less willing to fight or weaker or more fearful than he as women. He also wishes that his daughter were a boy because she is strong and understands her father more than his son Nwoye does. 3. Third Entry Theses chapters primarily focused on the missionaries and the new religion brought by the white men. It takes place in Uchendu’s village where people are less war like than Okonkwo is used to. The village is similar to Okonkwo’s home in that they have the same belief system, “government” system, and the society is farm-oriented. The people in the new village, however, are less war like, having more patience and understanding. Nwoye has changed the most in the new village. In his old home he was never his fathers favorite and he was not a hard worker but now he has lost all of his fathers favor for converting to the evangelist’s religion. Nwoye had questioned to himself the killing of innocent babies and other practices of the tribes and found that he liked the teachings of the Christians. He also was “captivated” by the poetry of the new faith. The novel is written in the third person and it mainly focuses on Okonkwo. Different events in the story are told from different character’s perspectives. When an event is told from Okonkwo’s perspective, for example, it has a darker tone and criticizes more often. When an event is told from Nwoye’s prospective it is more unsure and questions the ways of his father and society. It can be expected that in the upcoming climax of the novel that a major conflict will come between Okonkwo and the village when he returns home. The church and missionaries will most likely play a part in this conflict. Okonkwo will probably face his son one last time before completely dismissing him as he did at the end of the second section. 4. Final Entry The ultimate impact and main idea of the novel is the end of the Igbo way of lie.
With the white men from Europe bringing new traditions and customs, the Igbo culture is damaged. Some people went against their own beliefs and converted to the white man’s religion. The end of the novel justifies this being the main idea when Okonkwo sees his tribe as people who are to afraid to fight for their ancestor’s beliefs. Knowing that the Europeans would continue to invade their land, he chose not to see his culture slowly drift away and took his life. Things did fall apart in the culture and in Okonkwo’s life. The author, Achebe, uses his novel as a way of conveying historical fact through a fictional story. He uses fiction to show his views and beliefs about the European explorers and the religion that they brought. In the novel, Achebe shows the white men’s ignorance to the customs and beliefs of the native people. He also uses Okonkwo’s character to show the lack of change in the native’s lifestyle and to show the contrast that lies between the two cultures. The author also put a story in the book when the missionary and an elder of the tribe are discussing religion. This can be shown as evidence that the author believes that the Christians and the natives could have learned things about their own religions by sharing their faith and facts amongst each
other. The author stresses the fear of change in the final chapters of the story, it is the most prominent theme at the end of the book. Although Okonkwo is a talented farmer, has a growing family, and is known widely as a fearless warrior he is so greatly distressed by the change that it ultimately causes him to end his life. He can not stand that the white men have brought their own religion taking some of his brothers and most definitely hates that they brought their own judicial system to judge the people of the native land. Things Fall Apart compares to most historical fiction works because the author uses interesting characters and stories to convey a message to the readers. The story can relate to the colonists treatment of Native Americans during the exploration of the American continent and manifest destiny. The colonists believed that it was their land to take and the native people should be judged by the American laws. It is also the same with the treatment of Native Californian people when the missions were built and the Indians were expected to change their lifestyle and religious beliefs. Even though the story is presented slowly I found the presentation of the Umuofian culture interesting and I am more likely now to further read stories by this author.
From birth Okonkwo had wanted his son, Nwoye, to be a great warrior like him. His son instead rebelled and wanted to be nothing like Okonkwo. Okonkwo would not change so that his son would idolize him, as he had wanted since his son's birth. He chose not to acknowledge his son's existence instead. This would weigh heavily on anyone's conscience, yet Okonkwo does not let his relationship with his son affect him in the least bit.
Set in Africa in the 1890s, Chinua Achebe's ‘Things Fall Apart’ is about the tragedy of Okonkwo during the time Christian missionaries arrived and polluted the culture and traditions of many African tribes. Okonkwo is a self-made man who values culture, tradition, and, above all else, masculinity. Okonkwo’s attachment to the Igbo culture and tradition, and his own extreme emphasis on manliness, is the cause of his fall from grace and eventual death.
It challenged his identity by losing his high title in the clan due to the change in the village as well as new customs. He responded to the clash of cultures by attempting to encourage others to fight in his mission to get rid of the Western influences in the Ibo community. Because he failed to do so, he lost hope and refused to accept the new culture which caused him to hang himself. The conflict between Okonkwo and his clan’s decision to change their way of living was portrayed through characterization and plot development. Achebe gives the people of Africa a voice with Okonkwo’s character who stayed true to his roots. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe reveals to us Okonkwo’s response as the cultural collision of the English and Ibo challenged his sense of
When I read Things Fall Apart, I had a clear mind of what a life could be like Okonkwo’s. For the rest of the reading, a question was contacting me in different places of the novel. Okonkwo was an angry man in front of his Nigerian tribe and changed when Christian missionaries came to the Ibo village; also, I responded to the book, and my personal applications to a different culture were related to a missionary trip that was a powerful one back in 1956 in Ecuador.
I think that what the author was trying to imply in this passage was that in his personal experience, he has noticed that many people take many things for granted and that they don’t live their lives according to what they want and need to do. So much is wasted during one’s lifetime, and people just allow their lives to pass them by.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a book depicting the life of a man named Okonkwo who had lost everything through a series of misfortunate events. The book begins by explaining Okonkwo’s Father and his beliefs. Okonkwo’s Father was a man who was always indebted to another and always sought the happiness of this world even if it cost him more than he could afford. His Father, Unoka, was not a respected official of the African tribe they were apart of and was looked upon as a fool who was weak for giving in to temptation of this world. Okonkwo had developed a fear of becoming weak as a result of his father’s terrible experience. I for one believe that the book was taken out of perspective and was written in a Postcolonial manner. As for
A novel which is set roughly at the turn of the century, Things Fall Apart proposes the idea that the Igbo culture possessed civility prior to it’s colonization by the British. Okonkwo, a character comparable to a Greek tragic hero is a man of very little compassion for anyone, including himself. The cultural standards, his own inability to handle the changes being made in his culture, and stressed family life are all conflicts created by his society that lead to his tragic downfall.
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,...
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is an African novel which happened in 19th Century. Achebe narrates the story mainly about Okonkwo’s whole life in one of the nine villages called Umuofia in Nigeria and the clashes as well as influences to the village from colonization of Europeans. The clashes include reactions and misconception after the first arrival of white people and the effect which missionaries bring about to the village from many aspects such as belief, family and culture. Beyond that, there are large amount of description of the background and details of the villagers’ daily lives are provided to readers for acquainting with Ibo culture. As a consequence, the changes which white people bring about to the village are vivid and unimaginable compared with their previous peaceful life. The conflicts generate from violence and misunderstanding between the Europeans and villagers with addition of colonial process among villages which lead to replacement of Christian domination rather than the Ibo culture.
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
Things Fall Apart. Such an intriguing title, because everything will eventually fall apart. Chinua Achebe's choice of a title may lead some to confusion, because throughout his book many things fall apart, from Okonkwo's personal life achievements and emotions to the town of Umuofia as its people split, and perhaps the biggest thing to fall apart, the very culture of the Igbo people. One could focus on any one of these topics and trace the complexity of it's fall from previous glory to the eventual ruin at the end of Achebe's novel. Studying the overall book provides a much more interesting conclusion, however, than simply tracking the different ways people or the town change, as instead it is possible to gain insight into Achebe's goals in writing this complex, tragic story. Achebe uses the details of Okonkwo's personal life falling apart and of the town of Umuofia's struggles to maintain it's traditions as metaphors for the falling apart of Igbo culture as it was known before the Europeans came.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs,customs, and also a story about an identity confliction. There is struggle between family, culture, and religion of the Ibo tribes. It shows how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are challenged and how a personal identity changes for a man. The novel concerns the life of Okonkwo, a leader and local wrestling champion throughout the villages of the Ibo ethnic group of Umuofia in Nigeria, Africa, his three wives, and his children. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo is internally challenged and slowly becomes someone that is no longer recognizable by his friends or his family. When Okonkwo faces change, his identity starts to fade.
Okonkwo is one of the respected leaders of his village. When a man from a neighboring village kills one of the women from Okonkwo 's village, a peace settlement requires the son of the man who killed the women to come live in Okonkwo 's village. Unfortunately, a decision is made to kill the boy. After the boy dies, Okonkwo accidentally kills Ezeudu’s son. For his crime, the village determines he must spend seven years in exile to appease the gods.
In the beginning of the story, Okonkwo’s relationship with his son was strained. Toward the end of the story, Nwoye has left is his family and will never see his father again. The elders of the village put much emphasis on family life and helping fellow clansmen. Okonkwo’s family life had increasingly gone downhill as the story progressed. This book can be related to any family, even though it was written in a different time and place. Family problems affect everyone and this story shows the reader how certain problems are dealt with. I don’t believe, however, that Okonkwo’s family took care of their problems in a productive manner. With better communication, Nwoye’s leaving and Okonkwo’s death may have been prevented.
Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, uses the changes in African tribal culture brought about by European colonization to illustrate the evolution of the character Okonkwo. As Okonkwo leads his life, his experiences, personality and thought are revealed to the reader. The obstacles he faces in life are made numerous as time progresses. Okonkwo's most significant challenge originates within himself. He also encounters problems not only when in opposition to the white culture, but in his own culture, as he becomes frustrated with tribal ideals that conflict with his own. The last adversary he encounters is of the physical world, brought upon himself by his emotional and cultural problems. The manner through which Okonkwo addresses his adversaries in Things Fall Apart creates the mechanism that leads to his eventual destruction.