The Ibo clan, untouched and undiscovered by Europeans for hundreds of years, was a society rich in African tradition and culture. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart delves into the inner workings of this complex society and its eventual downfall in the late 1800s. The novel focuses on the fictional Okonkwo as he combated the dramatic shift of culture in his village, Umuofia, at the hands of white men. Two different groups of white men entered Nigeria, each making their own impact on laws and beliefs held by the people there. Protestant missionaries persuaded tribal outcasts to turn against their prior Gods and commit heinous acts, while British government officials implemented their ruthless judicial system. Although the two groups had different …show more content…
In his discussion with Okonkwo, Obierika quoted the oracle to predict the spread of British power: “Other white men were on their way. They were locusts…[the] first man was a harbinger” (139). During this conversation, the white men had just began to gain power in Nigeria through the destruction of Abame. The white men attacked the city and obliterated the entire village, demonstrating that the British had little regard for the value of African life as they killed an entire village because of one death. While the other white men didn’t directly kill any Umuofians, they tore apart their community without clemency. The first wave of white men were the devout Protestant missionaries. Mr. Brown’s action to include osu in the church was progressive from a modern standpoint, but at the time, it further divided the recently converted Christians and the traditionalist majority of the tribe. The Protestants also split apart family bonds. Okonkwo threatened to come back from the dead and snap his children’s necks if they convert to Protestantism. However, his own son, Nwoye, alienated by his father’s harshness, converted to Protestantism which caused his father to disown him and split apart the