Things Fall Apart Imperialism

As progress occurs within a civilization, it results in various forms of change within society. The ability of discovering one’s identity is removed from humanity’s privileges resulting from the buildup of all of these changes. Within many historical time periods throughout the world, there have been societal, social, political, and economic changes that have resulted in this inability. The class struggle within the Industrial Revolution of England and the Europeans taking over foreign areas such as Africa and India to imperialize are both historical time periods that show the cost of progress within changing societies. Within the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, white, British missionaries use the ideas of imperialism to imperialize

During the Industrial Revolution a working class and middle class emerged within society causing social and economic conflicts. An example of this roots back to Manchester, England, where poor sanitation and inadequate housing were everywhere and insufficient for the amount of working people it housed. The Condition of the Working-Class in England, written by Friedrich Engels, illustrates these poor aspects of the working class’s lifestyle. On the streets and living areas there was a distinctive physical separation between the classes. Income acted as an economic separation and within their knowledge and ideas, was a social and intellectual separation. These classes limited the ability of the members of the working class to voice their opinions and fight for their rights. The lack of privileges the working class in England had, due to the inconsideration of the middle class, forced them to adapt to the changes within their lifestyle. This forced adaptation made them unable to discover their personal identities as individuals. Also, imperialism within Africa and India illustrated the loss of identity in a prospering society. The people within these areas were imperialized by white European missionaries. Assimilation was a common tactic of the Europeans that created schools, courts, governments, etc ( These new attributes within society were similar to their own in Europe. The Europeans incorporated assimilation in the hope that natives would adopt their culture and become more like them. This force of new lifestyles, customs, beliefs, and traditions caused adaptation to be present within society and the minds of the natives. The natives were often tied between this societal modification and the desire to find oneself in their changing world. The careless actions that came with imperialism made it that much