Things Fall Apart (TFA) by Chinua Achebe and the film version of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (BMH) share both striking similarities in their major characters and plots, and differences that change the outcome of each narrative. The first parallel between TFA and BMH can be drawn between Charles Eastman and Isaac. Charles, born Ohiyesa, was converted to Christianity and raised in white society as a scholar. In TFA, Nwoye chooses to convert to Christianity, taking the Christian name Isaac. While these two characters share the experience of assimilating to white ways, the two men continue on to very different situations. Isaac never questions the forces colonizing Umuofia, but Charles grows to resent the ignorant, white government officials after witnessing firsthand the great harm they have inflicted on his people, the Sioux. The second major similarity between characters is between Okonkwo, from TFA, and Sitting Bull, from BMH. When white powers begin assuming control, Okonkwo and Sitting Bull strongly resist their …show more content…
Both plotlines encompass a culture in which people have been living happily, albeit primitively, for hundreds of years, and the radical changes that occur when Christian influence is added. Both Igbo and Sioux culture are eventually dissolved by the Christianization, but the Sioux put up more of a fight. In TFA, the Igbo people remain passive towards their invaders. They do not aid Okonkwo’s attempts to start a rebellion. In BMH, the Sioux’s resistance, although courageous, leads to their massacre at Wounded Knee Creek. In both stories, the Christians eventually achieve their goals by taking advantage of innocent people and violently destroying their cultures. In conclusion, the similar themes and characters shared by TFA and BMH are startling, and despite the differences that alter each plot, these two stories have the same tragic