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Colonialism in Nigeria essay
Post colonailism in nigeria
Post colonailism in nigeria
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In total, 19 Choctaw soldiers were recruited to the telephone squad… ‘Code talking was an idea that was copied over and over but it may never have happened had it not been for the Choctaw,’ says Nuchi Nashoba, president of the Choctaw Code Talkers Association... But at the same time,the Choctaw language was under pressure back in the US. It was a time of cultural assimilation. Government attempts to "civilise" American Indians involved putting their children in state-run boarding schools, where they were often severely punished for speaking in their native tongue (bbc.com).
Okonkwo experienced change because of the actions that lead to his banishment and this made some of his fears come true. Even after these parts of his life have occurred, Okonkwo would have still been able to recover from his incident. However, because of colonialism, this idea of returning to his old life was shot down by the new ideas and changes within the people of Umoufia. This negative change was caused directly by colonialism. In “Things Fall Apart” the Igbo have been shown to have a large amount of culture that was effected by western beliefs.
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.
The common assumption upon reading Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe might be that Okonkwo’s plight throughout the novel was self-inflicted, that he only had himself to blame for his altogether rotten lot in life. However, such is not the case, rather Okonkwo was nothing more than a product of a society which did not value him, per se but instead valued the virtues and morals of the warrior, the ethics of masculinity and strength, all qualities which Okonkwo epitomized. Okonkwo was a man of his clan, a perfect model of what he was taught an Umuofian should be, but one thing he was not taught to be was well suited for change, and thus when change did inevitably come he could do nothing but what he knew: stand forcibly and stoically against
In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo reacts to cultural collision in his society by having a closed mind and attempting to retaliate, which ultimately leads to his suicide, contributing to the novel’s theme that one
“This above all: to be true to yourself. ”- W. Shakespeare. This quote explains that nothing is more important than being who you are, being who you want to be, and staying true to yourself, especially in times of struggle and adversity. We are all taught this at young ages in our lives in different ways.
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown” (Lovecraft). H.P. Lovecraft’s words artfully describe fear of the unknown as a quality that everyone has. In the fictional text Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the main character, Okonkwo, is driven by his fear of the future to strive for full control over himself as well as partial control over fellow clan members. Okonkwo pushes himself to appear powerful in front of others so he can keep his control, since he knows that at any moment he could lose it, with a large clan with many high ranking leaders. He gains his control by becoming a leader of the clan, letting him make decisions for himself and the clan.
The novel “things fall apart” is about the fatal demise of Okonkwo and the igbo culture of Umuofia. Okonkwo is well known and respected leader in his community, who is successful in everything he does, such as wrestling and farming. He is quick with his hands and takes pride in his accomplishments. Okonkwo’s family relationship makes him a sympathetic character because of his support and an unsympathetic character because of his cruelty. In many ways Okonkwo showed that he had no sympathy for others , However at times he could be sympathetic.
What ultimately led to Okonkwo's untimely death was coming to the realization that his beloved Ibo culture would never be the same following his return from exile. Okonkwo faithfully practiced the traditions of his ancestors by having polytheistic beliefs, rituals, and his success stemming from farming the “manly” cop of yams. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe solidifies the depth religion reaches in establishing individual cultural identity. Religion is a vital component in all aspects of life in Igbo culture as it’s the fabric of their existence, and the white man uses that to his advantage. “The white man is very clever.
Clinging to tradition and religious faith comes to be nearly impossible for African clans. Throughout the novel, Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe the main character Okonkwo and his fatherland Umoufia strives to keep their clan as one. When Christian missionaries come to propose a takeover, the villagers of Umoufia dispute their capabilities to be able to stop the spread of Christianity. The villager 's actions begin to demonstrate that change is inevitable.
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.
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.
In the story Things Fall Apart When cultures collide they begin to change weather that be by force or by will. While Okonkwo was trying to keep his culture in the tribe, he got exiled for 7 years and couldn’t help them. To start with, Okonkwo was a man of his religion. He wanted to be left alone and not have the white men trying to change their ways. While the white men wanted to put their religion in the Igbo lives, Okonkwo thought that it was wrong to change beliefs.
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.
As Chinua Achebe revealed the story of Okonkwo within Things Fall Apart, he told of the progression of viciousness, harm to others, and the dangers of power that all arose from Okonkwo’s decisions. Over the course of the book, Okonkwo began to change into a far more vicious and power hungry person than he already was. Once the story began, Okonkwo broke away from the lack of power his father, Unoka, held