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Allusions In Things Fall Apart

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In chapter seven of the book, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Achebe uses many biblical allusions such as the locusts representing the ten plagues of Egypt, Okonkwo playing a part in Ikemefuna’s death like the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, and Ikemefuna portraying a Christ like character throughout the chapter. The locusts swarming Umuofia, Okonkwo having a role in the sacrifice of Ikemefuna, and the way Ikemefuna acts during his sacrifice, all represent biblical allusions. After waiting seven years for the locusts to return, the people of Umuofia are relieved when the locusts finally arrive, “Everyone was now about, talking excitedly and praying that the locusts should camp in Umuofia for the night” (56). The locusts swarming Umuofia is a biblical allusion used by …show more content…

The reason Chinua Achebe chooses to allude to the plagues of Egypt in chapter seven is to not only foreshadow the arrival of the Missionaries being like a plague, but she also uses the allusion to tie Ikemefuna’s death to the tenth plague of Egypt, the death of the firstborn. After the Oracle has decided that it is time to sacrifice Ikemefuna, an elder from the village tells Okonkwo, “That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death” (57). Ikemefuna, who was a sacrifice given to Umuofia by their neighbors to avoid war, plays a big role in Achebe’s usage of biblical allusions in chapter seven especially when it came to Okonkwo playing a role in the sacrifice. Ikemefuna was sent to live with Okonkwo and his family until it was his time to be sacrificed, which ended up being three years, and by the time the oracle decided it was Ikemefuna’s time, Okonkwo and Ikemefuna had developed a father-son relationship. Achebe used this relationship to relate Okonkwo’s participation in the sacrifice of his “son” Ikemefuna to the biblical story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac, and this biblical allusion is important to the

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