How Does Things Fall Apart Change Igbo Culture

Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe. This novel explains how imperialism affects a country. It also helps the reader visualize the drastic changes the Igbo culture had to experience when another country decided to expand their reign into Umuofia and the surroundings clans. Characteristics such as Okonkwo, who was the fearless leader of Umuofia, were immensely afflicted. After all, Things Fall Apart is a work about loss of culture and tradition. During the on-going conflict between the Igbo and the missionaries, clns started to lose members to Christianity. This new, rare and troubling religion did not discriminate, even the confident Okonkwo lost his older son, Nwoye, whose name was later changed by the new religion to Isaac. This unfamiliar religion started to allow
When the new government was introduced it also brought a stricter commissioner, he was described as intolerant towards the Igbo culture. He started to arrest people who threw away people that threw away their newborn children and for other cultural reasons. At last the Umuofia tribe decided to retaliate, they were determined to burn down the Christian church and drive them out of town. When the district commissioner called out the leaders of Umuofia for a meeting, to talk about the church’s burning, they agreed that they would go. The meeting was a trap and the leaders were imprisoned, the court messenger were sent to inform the villagers of a fine of two hundred and fifty bags of cowries, fifty of which the messenger kept for themselves. The leaders were teased and were humiliated by the messenger who had shaved their heads. “The six men ate nothing throughout that day and the next. They were not given any water to drink, and they could not go out to urinate or go into the bush when they were pressed. At night the messengers came in to taunt them and knock their shaven heads together.”