ipl-logo

Change In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

889 Words4 Pages

Everyone as a human being has experienced some form of change in our life, big or small, and it has a lasting effect on who they are and how they act. In Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’, change is a forward facing theme of the whole story, we see change in all forms occur throughout the book; the arrival of the white men and their changing of the igbo culture, the tearing apart of Okonkwo’s family by religion and traditions, and the change that occurs within Okonkwo himself when he realizes he cannot prevent change from happening in the community and culture he loved. Change is destructive in ‘Things Fall Apart’, especially to such a magnitude as we see in the story, it is destructive to communities, to families, and especially to individuals. …show more content…

The story has many examples of the importance of community through tradition and religion, which also plays a major part in the story. For example, we see the community working together and supporting each other throughout the book, until change visits them and changes their culture and muddles their ideals. The introduction of the white man forever changes the Igbo culture which we see at the very end of the book when Okonkwo kills the missionary to try to bring war to drive the change out, and no one supports him. The community has changed, and Okonkwo hadn’t realized it, this change was destructive to both the Igbo culture and to Okonkwo, as he realizes that the change he is trying to prevent is inevitable, and the community he once was respected in and loved, had turned their backs on

Show More
Related
551 Words | 3 Pages

What makes a society civilized is the culture has a social order characterized by a government, a system of justice, a social structure, and some kind of spiritual belief system. What makes an uncivilized society is when they do not show respect, they do not have social systems or technologies that are seen in modern societies, and not showing any concern for people or for the proper way to behave towards people. The Igbo society is uncivilized. Reasons why they are uncivilized is men are allowed to beat their wives, people that they think are haunted they put them in the Evil Forest, and they have to follow the Oracle even if it says to kill someone. The men in Umuofia are allowed to beat their wives.

Read More
755 Words | 4 Pages

China Achebe demonstrates the disrespect the Ibo men had for woman in Things Fall Apart by depicting verbal and physical abuse within the community. The men have control over a woman through power of authority. This physical and verbal abuse lets the men of the society feel empowerment over the woman. “ Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” Achebe 12.

Read More
728 Words | 3 Pages

Okonkwo experienced change because of the actions that lead to his banishment and this made some of his fears come true. Even after these parts of his life have occurred, Okonkwo would have still been able to recover from his incident. However, because of colonialism, this idea of returning to his old life was shot down by the new ideas and changes within the people of Umoufia. This negative change was caused directly by colonialism. In “Things Fall Apart” the Igbo have been shown to have a large amount of culture that was effected by western beliefs.

Read More
1027 Words | 5 Pages

Because the missionaries do not respect the Igbo religion, tension in villagers like Okonkwo increases. Once the white missionaries arrive in the village of Igbo they immediately start criticizing the natives religion. One missionary even told the people that “they worshipped false gods, gods of wood and stone.” completely

Read More
924 Words | 4 Pages

In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo reacts to cultural collision in his society by having a closed mind and attempting to retaliate, which ultimately leads to his suicide, contributing to the novel’s theme that one

Read More
1158 Words | 5 Pages

The Palestine-Israel conflict showcases two groups of people fighting for land they both believe rightfully belongs to themselves. Similarly, in Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the District Commissioner and Okonkwo are enemies who also have many similarities. In the beginning of the book, we mainly focus on Okonkwo, a strong warrior and father. The novel then reveals that white men are beginning to show up in Africa. The Commissioner leads the westerners and begins to spread Christianity to the natives.

Read More
1279 Words | 6 Pages

The critically acclaimed novella, titled “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe is written from the perspective of the protagonist, Okonkwo; who holds a very traditional Ibo tribe cultural perspective on what masculinity is, which readers are exposed to repeatedly throughout the story. Although, different perspectives on the matter are observed through characters such as Nwoye, Okonkwo’s oldest son, who had a different idea about true masculinity in comparison to his more extreme father. Okonkwo shows his support for Both Okonkwo and Nwoye’s ideas on masculinity are compared to the European culture and norms towards the end of the book. Both Nwoye and Okonkwo weigh the European culture differently, and react to the conflicting ideologies in different manners;

Read More
446 Words | 2 Pages

Chinua Achebe, in his novel, Things Fall Apart, exhibits the importance and beauty of the wrestling match in the Igbo tribe. Achebe’s purpose is to explain how drums and pots are more than just objects, they are symbols of their culture. He adopts a playful tone, in order to get opinionated people to think about how celebrations bring people together to form their culture. Through pages 42 to 44, Achebe, uses diction, personification, and dramatic irony to display the amount of emphasis objects can influence culture. The word choice used by Achebe throughout this passage illuminates how well known drumming was in their village.

Read More
881 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, the authors' claim of "balance" within the Igbo tribe is invalid. Although one may view that women and men existing in this society as balanced due to the fact that both the men and women have a particular part in the general public; The men hunt for dinner, while the ladies prepare the meals and care after the kids. However, through close reading, the society is actually imbalance. While the women are living oppressed, the men are holding positions of high power. The women in the tribe not only being socially oppressed by men of high authority, but also physically and emotionally abused by men in their home who likewise holds power.

Read More
307 Words | 2 Pages

The term hero means a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe follows the life of Okonkwo who was a well respected and wealthy man of his tribe as he deals with the influence of British and Christian missionaries in the Igbo community. Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero because although he was a important person in society of the Igbo tribe his actions, choices, and tragic flaws lead to his downfall. Okonkwo was a important person in society. Because of Okonkwo's high rank in the village he “was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond” showing his importance among the people in society.

Read More
703 Words | 3 Pages

Contrast Essay In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe there remains a central plot of son and father conflict. The son Nwoye is in deep conflict with his father. And he is dramatically changed by the influence of Western ideas.

Read More
855 Words | 4 Pages

Among those of the same culture, individuals who are adaptive and open-minded can be successful when there is cultural collision. When the Igbo and European cultures collide, Okonkwo gradually spirals out of control, losing everything he values and his own sense of self. From the beginning of the novel, Achebe depicts Okonkwo as a virile warrior and a successful farmer within the Igbo tribe. Reacting with violence to anything he considers “womanly” or “weak”, “He was a man of action and man of war” (10). Because of his reputation as a warrior he is highly respected by his community.

Read More
1252 Words | 6 Pages

Things Fall Apart, a book written by the author Chinua Achebe is a story filled with amazing culture. It is about the rise and downfall of the main character, Okonkwo. The book had many different aspects of the African culture and the different time period. For example, characters and their importance throughout the story, and how women were treated in this culture and time period. Topics from religion, family, and the social complexity were very much involved throughout the entire book and portrayed by many of the characters.

Read More
814 Words | 4 Pages

European colonialism has destroyed the cultures and traditions within many groups of indigenous people which has led to the downfall of many societies such as African tribes. It is undeniable the negative consequences that contact from colonialism has impacted unto those groups of people who have suffered at the hands of the Europeans’ arrival. The negative implications of colonialism is far too large a topic to be left untouched. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, Umofia, an African Igbo tribe, is plagued with the arrival of Christian missionaries where Onkonkwo is unable to change with his adapting tribe, ultimately leading to his death. Furthermore, Achebe effectively appeals to the reader’s emotions to present his dissenting perspective

Read More
1837 Words | 8 Pages

S. Naipaul and J. M. Coetzee these Post-colonial writers have all dealt with Africa in their own individual and unique ways. Achebe does not treat the African culture and ways of life as something hybrid, complex, dependant for its significance on the Western style of perceiving things or neither has he shown Africa to be existing only in relation to its difference from or consonance with the Western form of religion, culture, identity, and discourse. The major theme of the novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ centers around the destruction of Africa’s intricate, almost incomprehensible but unique way of life and culture in the wake of British colonization and forced or maneuvered conversion to Christianity. The administrative as well as religious changes that the British tries to impose upon the native Africans has the disastrous effects of uprooting the indigenous people from their original root and tradition and can be seen as some instruments of subjugation, subordination and subservience which starts with creating distrust, doubts and insecurity in the minds of people for their Igbo tradition, and its cultural and religious practices and ends with making them internalize the Christian way of life and British administrative apparatuses. Another theme that is explored in this novel is the inherent fault of the central character Okonkwo, who is ambitious, industrious, honest, masculine but is rash, and unthinking and his sense of self and identity is wholly dependent on the approval of others in his community and he thinks of anything that intrudes into it as a threat and he tries hard to be a man though in a flawed manner.

Read More

More about Change In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Related Topics

Open Document