Cultural Collision In Things Fall Apart Essay

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An Unfortunate Result to Cultural Collision With the increased technology of today’s world, cultures collide constantly, and these interactions can either have positive results of a blended culture, or negative results of horrible tragedies and acts of violence. However, this trade of cultural ideas has been occurring for several thousand years, all over the world. The novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, is a breathtaking novel about the struggles of the African tribe of Umuofia to change their lifestyle to comply to that of a powerful group of white foreigners that invade their land. The collision of cultures is adapted to by some better than others, and the novel seamlessly conveys the results of each response to the newcomers, as …show more content…

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 …show more content…

At first, Okonkwo was very set in his ways, and determined to appear manly and powerful to his clansmen, and this came into play when the white people entered into Umuofia, as he tried to fight back. Finally, when he did not get the results he was hoping for, he resorted to killing himself, displaying that stubbornness towards colliding cultures leads to violence and destruction. Overall, when two cultures collide, they can either both accept each other, leading to peace and prosperity, or try to claim superiority over the other, which results, most commonly, in destruction. Unfortunately, Things fall apart ended in the latter, but the other is possible for those with an open mind and a flexible