Throughout the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, the continent of Africa has dealt with several difficulties involving Europe, including European missionaries being sent over for the change of religion. This lead to a lot of conflict between Africans and Europeans, as both sides held their own beliefs and stuck with them. A great man named Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria, 1930. He is a graduate of University College, Ibadan, and was a professor of English at the University of Massachusetts, from 1972-1976, and again from 1987-1988. Chinua wrote and published a book called “Things Fall Apart” in 1959. The story included conflict between Africa and Europe, just like what happened in reality, but also focused on one man in particular who was battling both …show more content…
After reading and taking several notes on this story, I can say that Chinua Achebe uses a realistic style in his writing to create relatable and likeable characters in his story, and also conveys a realistic relationship between the Ibo and the European missionaries at that time period.
Okonkwo, the main character in “Things Fall Apart”, has traits to help prove the thesis. Okonkwo may have only been a relatable character to few, but he grew a hatred for the white missionaries. Okonkwo was a man who desired great things. He only wanted the best of the best, and he aimed to be the best of the best. Okonkwo did not have many flaws, but one flaw that he had put him down in a few situations. This flaw he had was anger. Okonkwo was not a man who accepted failure, he gave effort into everything he did and expected many people to be the same. But that did not always happen, so his anger would drive him to do crazy things, and he would be disciplined for doing so. But either way, Okonkwo was a very compelling man because he followed the customs of his culture and stood up for his tribe too, especially when the missionaries from Europe