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Things Fall Apart Comparative Essay

1146 Words5 Pages

A civilized society means that a society has a well-developed culture, an effective government, and treats the people who live there fairly. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the author shows two well-developed societies that have many differences but are also very similar. While both the Igbo and the British have well-developed cultures and governments, they, to some extent, do not treat people fairly in their own society. While not perfectly matching the definition, Both societies are somewhat civilized.

The Igbo and the British both have well-developed cultures. They have shared languages, shared religions, shared customs, and a community to be a part of. The Igbo have many traditions they follow that emphasize how important their culture is to them. The text highlights how “they argued like this for a few moments before Unoka accepted the honor …show more content…

Okowye and Unoko were arguing about who was going to break the kola because it's part of their ritual. This shows that their tradition of breaking the kola was a great honor that they took very seriously. Furthermore the text says, “As he broke the kola, Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies” which continues to emphasize how important their culture is to them by showing the audience how seriously they take this cultural ritual (6). Just like the Igbo people, the British also have a culture that is very important to them and their society. Religion is one of the main examples of this. The text explains that “the white missionary was very proud of him and he was one of the first men in Umuofia to receive the sacrament of holy communion, or holy feast as it was called in Ibo” (174). This shows that the British took their religion seriously because it's a part of their culture. The missionary described was proud to convert men from Umuofia

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