ipl-logo

How To Write An Analytical Essay On Things Fall Apart

1346 Words6 Pages

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

Show More
Related
1189 Words | 5 Pages

Many readers and historians refer to Islam as a prominent religion in the world for its values and principles. Islam prospered during what is considered the Post Classical period. It was a time of many developments and changes that effected the world. Afro-Eurasia was overtaken by Muslims due to military expansion, and Islam was expanding rapidly. Islam was a religion that caused controversy as it disregarded many of the concepts that had been established in the world such as polytheism, as it claimed that Allah was the only God.

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

Many stereotypes of African culture have emerged due to western literature and media and first hand accounts of explorers. Things Fall Apart offers a view into the truth and reality of African cultures, which are often misconceptualized by these stereotypes. Acebe shows how African society functions well without assistance from foreign travelers. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe counters the imperialist stereotypes of Africa by keeping certain words in the Igbo language, as opposed to translating them into English, to fight back against the spreading western culture and to embrace their own way of life. He also counters the imperialist stereotypes of Africa by using Igbo proverbs to show how their culture values many of the same things that western

Read More
1999 Words | 8 Pages

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, colliding cultures takes a significant part in Okonkwo’s sense of not only himself, but the whole clan’s identity as well, precisely by the means of their religion, beliefs, and traditions to the work as a whole. In Things Fall Apart, religion is one of the most important aspects in Okonkwo’s sense of himself and the clan when the two cultures of the missionaries and the clan collide, leading to the tragic death of Okonkwo. For instance, “‘There are no other gods,’ said Mr. Brown. ‘Chukwu is the only God and all others are false.

Read More
1027 Words | 5 Pages

Okonkwo Falls Apart Chinua Achebe offers a rare look at the natives perspective during colonialism in his work Things Fall Apart. The central struggle in the main character Okonkwo is that he is beginning to lose his way of life, and he is not able to do anything about it. Conflicts in religious beliefs with the arrival of the missionaries heightens Okonkwo 's internal aggression, and his inability to adapt leads to his downfall.

Read More
1042 Words | 5 Pages

Achebe set out to write the story of Okonkwo to help other understand the effects of Imperialism on Western Africa by using the Igbo tribe as an example. Chinua Achebe’s historical fiction novel “Things Fall Apart” and historical evidence from the 1800s shows that imperialism had a significant negative impact on Western African tribes’ political and cultural identity. Imperialism had a negative effect on the political identity of the Igbo tribe which is proven by Chinua Achebe’s writing and historical evidence. To show the negative impact imperialism has on the political identity of the Igbo tribe, Chinua Achebe writes, “... he carried a strong stick, and he hit each man a few blows on the head and back… Okonkwo was choked with hate”

Read More
889 Words | 4 Pages

The novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, defines an important literary example of the historical conflict of European colonialism in Nigeria during the

Read More
248 Words | 1 Pages

According to the book, “Things Fall Apart” the people of Africa were blind folded. They ignored/made up excuses for every sign that appeared that indicated things are going to change. They continued to live their life until they suddenly unfolded their blind and saw what their lives are going to be controlled by strangers moving forward. These

Read More
1600 Words | 7 Pages

Timothy Odusote Ms.Calo English 12 , Period 8 January, 29 2016 Annotated Bibliography: Things Fall Apart "Albert Chinualumogu Achebe; 16 November 1930. " Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web.

Read More
1313 Words | 6 Pages

In the 1900s, the actual lifestyle of Africans was intensely distorted by novels such as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary by not only illustrating Africans as inhumane, but describing the entire continent as mystical and enigmatic. Chinua Achebe hoped to abolish this racism with a novel that symbolizes the true picture of Africa, Things Fall Apart. The novel educates the ignorant who misrepresent or misbelieve African society, while simultaneously announcing the negativity associated with any stereotype. Although Achebe provides confirmation of a civilized society to contradict Imperialist views, the fulfillment of these perceptions occurs with Okonkwo’s refusal to adapt. The relentless acts of aggravation shown by the Christian missionaries and Europeans compel Okonkwo to emancipate his etiquette and murder a court messenger.

Read More
888 Words | 4 Pages

Colonization has an impact on an individual’s life and can either be positive or negative. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses Okonkwo, a tragic hero, to show loss of power and respect due to colonization and to exemplify change can be hard for people. Okonkwo’s identity is dependent on the Igbo Culture. At the beginning of the book, Okonkwo is seen as very strong. Also, Okonkwo only shows the emotion anger because he thinks that is the only emotion that men should show and every other emotion is feminine according to his standards.

Read More
175 Words | 1 Pages

In conclusion, Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart in order to explain the impact of European views on the Igbo culture and their perceptual vision of the Igbo people acting similar to savages, even though they had a civilized society. Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart specifically in response to European misconceptions of African culture and how they existed as being depicted as savages who need to learn civilized manners from the Europeans, but at the same time, already had an established society of their own. This contributes to the work as a whole by reminding people that perspectives vary and even though something may be seen as different, does not mean it exists as abnormal. Social and cultural traditions and conversational values represent reasons

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Today, Christianity is one of the largest religions in Africa. In the past few decades, there has been a large growth of Christians in Africa - this is coupled with a steady decline in the more traditional African religions. The book, Things Fall Apart shows that a character that has a tragic flaw is one that constantly makes error in there actions that eventually cates us to them and leads them to there doom. Okonkwo, a perfect tragic character, is driven by his fear of being unmanly, this causes him to act very harsh toward his fellow tribesmen, his family and himself; he will judge all the people in the village. In the eyes of Okonkwo, a true man is wealthy, hard-working, and violent.

Read More
965 Words | 4 Pages

In the book “Things Fall Apart“ Okonkwo is a very strong man and from time to time he starts showing his true self. He has a lot of responsibilities and other things he has to do around the living environment and interact with lots of people. Okonkwo changes from being that strong man, to a man who feels like his tribe is not with him when he wants to go to war with the missionaries. For someone like Okonkwo a lot of people looks up to him and while in the tribe Okonkwo beats his wives and children. Not good behavior for someone who is supposedly looked at as strong.

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

“Things Fall Apart”, a novel written by Chinua Achebe about Africa through the character Okonkwo, a man who Achebe uses to illustrate the complexity Igbo culture, contrary to what the Europeans portrayed Africa as. One main focus of the book is to counter the single story, which is the idea that an area is represented by one story, similar to a stereotype. However, differing from a stereotype a single story often completely misrepresents something, and in this case Africa. Europeans had been the only ones writing about Africa, describing all the culture as problematic for being different, rather than looking at what African culture really is. Achebe was one of the first to write about African culture for westerners to read about, making Things Fall Apart a true innovation in writing.

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 How To Write An Analytical Essay On Things Fall Apart

Related Topics

Open Document