Essay On Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe intends to inform readers about the values and ethics of being an African during a period of Eurocentrism. Many European and Western nations were focused on “discovering” new land to seize, many using “gold, god, and glory” to further excuse the dehumanization of people and cultural genocide. Specifically, religion plays a powerful role by shedding light on a single ideology which creates a division amongst groups of people, thereby destroying the customs of the oppressed society and the individual. In Umuofia, conflict arises when the polytheistic faith of the Igbo people is challenged by the Christian beliefs of the aggressive missionaries. Paying respects to their gods provided the Igbo with ties to their rich ancestral history and was connected to many of their sacred traditions, some involving farming and governing techniques. Therefore, because such religious behaviours were embedded in their culture so deeply, for some, it created a sense of pride that would not be easily diminished nor deflected. Achebe presents an ironic depiction of colonialism when the prideful missionaries were determined to persuade some of the people
For example, proverbs are a representation of wisdom and respect to the Igbo, yet the Europeans fail to understand nor acknowledge them. Achebe, being an igbo who was raised in a Christian household, forms an ironic gesture by creating a character as “strong” as Okonkwo, who was willing to fight for the survival of his culture, yet ends up committing the biggest sin in the Igbo religion by killing himself. The title of the novel, Things Fall Apart, in it of itself symbolizes not only the downward collapse of the Igbo culture, but the confusion and loss of humanity of the individuals