Post Colonial Lens Things Fall Apart

A lens, simply put, is a way to look at a situation from a different perspective. By experiencing a story through a post-colonial lens, the reader can better understand the effects of events throughout the text. Things Fall Apart, a fiction novel written by Chinua Achebe, depicts an African tribe in Nigeria in the year 1899. The novel's purpose is to educate the reader about the brutal effects of colonialism. This lesson is demonstrated by displaying life before and after colonization, emphasized by the main character hanging himself at the end. The colonial narrative or lifestyle of the missionaries is pushed on the Igbo tribe during the novel, slowly destroying the tribe's culture. The colonial narrative in Things Fall Apart is challenged

One element of Igbo culture that Achebe demonstrates is the education of the young. Educating children is important to any well-built society because it allows children to learn commonly used skills and beliefs. Children in Umuofia are taught by their parents: the men teach their sons how to farm, while the women teach their daughters how to cook and storytell. One saying that the Igbo people have is that “When a mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth” (Achebe 70). This simply means that children will learn from their parents. This proverb is especially reflective of Igbo culture as farming was valued as a strong masculine trait passed on through the males. When the missionaries were introduced into the story, they chose to provide education. Unlike the Igbo education which focused on life skills taught by parents, the primary goal of colonial education was to push the Christian religion. The colonial narrative suggests that the Nigerian people were primitive, meaning they were considered uneducated and uncivilized. Achebe challenges the colonial narrative by showing the reader that the Igbo people had an established form of education before the arrival of the

Laws and punishments are very important to any well-functioning society to maintain order. One example was how during the Week of Peace, which was created to honor the earth goddess, Okonkwo was punished after beating one of his wives. Another way laws were used was during the trial in chapter ten. During the trial, the elders demonstrated their use of laws by ruling that “The law of the clan is that you should return her bride-price” (Achebe 91). Achebe shows that the Igbo people have a well-built judicial system with a court, trials, and laws. Upon Okonkwo’s arrival back to Umuofia from his exile, things changed for the worse. When the missionaries arrived with them they brought a new system of government, laws, and a court system. The Igbo people were getting sentenced to prison where they were tortured for breaking the white man’s laws with which they were not familiar. Achebe challenges the colonial narrative by demonstrating that the Igbo people had rules, laws, and a court system even before the missionaries