The Falconer/Things Fall Apart

When cultures collide, more often than not there are differences of opinion. It is how we choose to handle these differences that determine whether there is peace or destruction. In William Butler Yeats’ poem The Second Coming, lines 2-6 say “The falcon cannot hear the falconer/Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world/The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned”. This excerpt essentially says that when communication fails and close mindedness prevails, there will be violence. Miscommunication often stems from misunderstanding, and many people are only familiar with their own culture. However, when there is exchanging of ideas and acceptance of differences, the chances
This demonstrates how Achebe uses the concept of women as an insult to illustrate the Ibo culture and its customs accurately despite the fact that it may offend readers of different cultures. Another example of this occurs when the egwugwu were making an appearance in the town. Before they arrived in town, they convened in the egwugwu house whose outer walls were covered with art made by women. “These women never saw the inside of the hut. No woman ever did. They scrubbed and painted the outside walls under the supervision of men” (88). This quote shows how women were only allowed to complete very specific tasks under direct orders and control of men. The women were forbidden from knowing the inner workings of the egwugwu, and they were also monitored to ensure that they did not find out more information than was ‘appropriate’. They were also discouraged from asking questions for fear of being disciplined by a man. This quote exemplifies how women were held to a much different standard than men, which is an aspect of the Ibo culture that Achebe wanted to accurately represent. A final example of the treatment of women in Things Fall Apart is how Okonkwo responds to the news that his son Nwoye has chosen to convert to the Christian