Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

The Clash of Cultures

In the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo culture is rapidly decreasing due to the force of change caused by the difference of culture and traditions by Christians who enter their society. Achebe points out the white missionaries destroying the Igbo culture because they cannot simply understand and relate their them and their traditions. This is a sign of pure blindness to the way of people’s lives. In Umofia, religion is not a just one’s personal belief but the way and how a person lives their life. People of Umuofia stay loyal to their gods and religion is the way everything is lead, and if anyone disobeys those rules, they will be thrown out of the village. For instance, when Okonkwo broke the week of peace by beating his wife, he committed a huge sin according to their religion. “The evil you have done can ruin the whole
At the end of the novel Okonwo hung himself after he saw the many changes that had occurred in the community. Christianity was growing, people were converting, churches were being built, and his own son had disobeyed him and converted himself into Christianity. I believe Okonkwo’s death is the symbolizes culture or more of the old Igbo culture being put to do death with all of these changes occuring. Okonkwo was strong in his ways of keeping his religion and roles of the community. His values of manliness and strength are the values of the Igbo people. He couldn’t adjust towards the new changes in his community. While the break down of the Igbo culture brought negativity it also brought positivity of colonialism to the Igbo people. In the beginning women were treated poorly, men always had to be strong and could not show no sort of emotion, women had to give up children because they had twins etc. Now that missionaries came in Igbo people had relief from all these things when they broke apart the identity of Igbo