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Things Fall Apart Research Paper

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Cultural Destruction One of the driving forces of history is the interaction between different cultures. Sometimes this interaction comes in peaceful forms such as trade and marriage. Other times, cultures act violently towards one another, oppressing or waging war against other ways of life. This second type of cultural exchange can be extremely harmful, especially when a culture ends up being erased. At that point, the people who once adhered to that culture must live with damaged identities. Because culture is part of identity, seeking to destroy a foreign culture is highly detrimental to the affected people, although some cultural change brought about by peaceful means can be a good thing. These ideas are reinforced by countless …show more content…

One notable instance of cultural destruction is the Scramble for Africa. This phrase refers to the efforts made by European powers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to take control of Africa and its resources. During this time, European cultures both mixed and clashed with native African cultures. It is worth noting that Europeans brought several good changes to Africa; in some cases, the introduction of certain moral and religious principles brought an end to harmful practices such as the abandonment of newborn twins. However, European colonialists harmed more than helped native Africans. Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart exposes the negative effects of colonialism. One speech given by a character towards the end of the book expresses the deep despair felt by the victims of cultural destruction. On page 203, Achebe writes, “All our gods are weeping… Our dead fathers are weeping because of the shameful sacrilege they are suffering and the abomination we have all seen with our eyes... Our fathers never dreamed of such a thing, they never killed their brothers. But a white man never came to them. So we must do what our fathers would never have done.” Because of the aggressive actions of foreigners against their culture, the Igbo people of Nigeria were provoked to unprecedented violence between people of the same tribe. The destruction of their native culture led to divisions between the people and a rift in their

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