Things Fall Apart Culture

The Culture in Things Fall Apart The tragic story that unfolds in Things fall Apart , by Chinua Achebe, is about a strong and power man named Okonkwo who lived in Nigeria. Although Okonkwo was one of the main leaders in the tribe of Umuofia, his whole life was driven by his constant fear of becoming like his dad. Because of this, he went out of his way to be the complete opposite of his father. Later on in the story, Okonkwo accidentally killed a boy and his town exiled him to his mother’s homeland for 7 long, dreadful years. Once he was allowed to come back, it didn’t take long for Okonkwo to realize all the things that had changed in his village because of the Christian missionaries that had gone to Umuofia. Achebe makes many connections
In document H it said, “Most tribes seem to have some notation of a supreme being…” These very few simple words almost sums up Okonkwo’s and the rest of the Nigerians way of life. Most of the people in Nigeria spent every day worshiping the manifestation of nature and its elements. The people of Nigeria needed these supreme beings to help them conduct their life. Without them, they wouldn’t have any direction of where they were headed. Achebe made this very clear all throughout the story because Okonkwo’s life practically revolved around all these supreme beings. Document H also said, “Murder is atoned for by a fine. Marriage is regarded as a sale, and strict fidelity is neither expected nor practiced.” These things are very true in Okonkwo’s culture. In Okonkwo’s culture, there was a very strict set of rules and those rules were always to be followed no matter what. That was one of the main factors that helped decide how long Okonkwo would be exiled from Umuofia for accidentally murdering a boy. Also, in their culture, the man’s family would have to buy his wife from her family and the men were also allowed to have multiple wives. That was just the way their culture worked. Abeche made sure to not leave out any of the important culture that shaped Okonkwo and the Nigerians
In document J it said, “In the end the feminine virtues of Christianity - the softer ideals of love, gentleness, tenderness, forgiveness and patience - were invoked in Africa in a manner which made the pacification of Africans easier.., The harder warrior values of Africa - courage, endurance, manhood, and even purposeful ruthlessness - were discouraged.” Once Okonkwo came back from his exile, he came back to a totally different culture than what he had left remembering. Achebe and Okonkwo both feared the Christians and all they had brought with them. When the Christian missionaries started going to Africa, they changed the Nigerians culture completely. Not only that, they also brought a new government with them. The Nigerians were brought up in a totally different culture than the Christians were. Okonkwo always thought that violence and force was the answer because that was what he grew up knowing, but the Christians completely disagreed with him. When Okonkwo saw his own people coming together with the Christians, he lost it. He couldn't believe what was going on before his eyes. He thought every man in Umuofia had to be brave and tough but that was not the case anymore. When Okonkwo finally realized that no one would join him in war, he knew that the choice left for him was to kill himself.The Christians thinking and way