How Does Achebe Present The Religion In Things Fall Apart
“In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to feel that the story that I was told about this religion wasn't perhaps completely whole, that something was left out” (Chinua Achebe). This quote by Chinua Achebe displays the gradual loss of culture detailed in his historical novel, Things Fall Apart. Achebe’s novel tells the tragic tale of Okonkwo, a well-off leader within the Umuofia tribe. The title of the book refers to not only Okonkwo’s gradual downfall, but also post-imperialist Africa at the arrival of the Europeans. Achebe utilizes Okonkwo, almost as a human metaphor, in order to portray the extremities of Igbo culture and how this culture interacts with that of the
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He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives. And now he was going to take the Idemili title, the third highest in the land” (10). Through this we can assume that Okonkwo takes immense pride in status and contains a disdain of the weak for his father was, in Okonkwo’s mind, a failure. This mindset leads Okonkwo to be rather stuck in his ways, clinging to his title as a way to prove his manliness and validate his work. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino” (1). As Okonkwo has established this reputation through his wrestling title, his agricultural skill when yams are involved, and his many homes, the arrival of the Europeans, and the resulting change in society, would crush him …show more content…
Despite his valor and previous influence within Umuofia, Okonkwo finds himself alone and without support from his tribe mates, causing him to feel the full weight of losing his culture and the titles he so desperately clung to and treasured, “‘ Okonkwo was deeply grieved… He mourned or the clan… He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (183). Here, the reader sees Okonkwo unveiling more emotion than ever before, and because the Western changes caused such a reaction and changer in his character, the reader can assume that this is where Okonkwo begins to break, leading to his ultimate
He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives. And now he was going to take the Idemili title, the third highest in the land” (10). Through this we can assume that Okonkwo takes immense pride in status and contains a disdain of the weak for his father was, in Okonkwo’s mind, a failure. This mindset leads Okonkwo to be rather stuck in his ways, clinging to his title as a way to prove his manliness and validate his work. “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino” (1). As Okonkwo has established this reputation through his wrestling title, his agricultural skill when yams are involved, and his many homes, the arrival of the Europeans, and the resulting change in society, would crush him …show more content…
Despite his valor and previous influence within Umuofia, Okonkwo finds himself alone and without support from his tribe mates, causing him to feel the full weight of losing his culture and the titles he so desperately clung to and treasured, “‘ Okonkwo was deeply grieved… He mourned or the clan… He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (183). Here, the reader sees Okonkwo unveiling more emotion than ever before, and because the Western changes caused such a reaction and changer in his character, the reader can assume that this is where Okonkwo begins to break, leading to his ultimate