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Comparing Religion In Things Fall Apart 'And Hungry Tide'

1205 Words5 Pages

Abigail Wheeler
Mark Causey
GC2Y Term Paper
May 9, 2018

GC2Y Term Paper – Religion

The theme and “issue” of religion is present throughout all three of the books we have read this semester, and this paper will seek to examine and interpret that theme. In Things Fall Apart and The Hungry Tide, there are clear Christian influences and those are seen as superior, at least in the eyes of the colonists. In The Hungry Tide, we do not see any overwhelming Christian presence, instead, we see a sort of ethereal and spiritual character Bon Bibi, the goddess and guardian of the tigers and the mangrove forests.
In The Hungry Tide and Things Fall Apart, the main religious theme is that of conversion. In Things Fall Apart, we see the British colonists, specifically Mr. Brown attempting to convert the Umofian people to Christianity. While Okonkwo was never a huge fan of the Christian missionaries in general, as soon as his son Nwoye converts to Christianity Okonkwo reaches his breaking point and decides to wage an all-out war …show more content…

When Piya sees this shrine, she is reminded of her mother’s puja table, but without any of the familiar Hindu gods. Equally unique as the shrine for Bon Bibi is, is the way Fokir worships the shrine, notes Piya. Once again, Piya notices that Fokir’s actions are similar to her mother’s Hindu pujas, and she realizes that Fokir’s worship of Bon Bibi could be a mix of Muslim and Hindu worshipping practices. This idea of a blended religion alludes to the larger more abstract themes in the book of the conjunction between the environment of the islands and the people who live on and around them. The religion of the Sundarbans people is one that cannot be pinned down to one thing, it is a mixture of all of the religions of the people who live there, but also influenced by the environment around them and the divine presence of Bon

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