Things Fall Apart Essay
Things Fall Apart: A Critical Analysis
Things Fall Apart (1958) is a fictional novel by Chinua Achebe that examines the life the Igbo tribe living in a rural village called Umuofia in Nigeria during the early 19th century. The central values of the novel revolve around status, virtues, power, and traditions that often determine the futures and present of the characters in the Achebe story. The novel shows the life of the protagonist Okonkwo and his family, village, and Igbo culture and the affects of colonisation of Umuofia on him and the people of his village by Christian missionaries. In this essay, I plan to look at colonialism in the novel before and after and the impact on Okonkwo and the village Umuofia and examine how colonization transformed their tribe’s culture, tradition, and religion. As well, I plan to compare and contrast Achebe’s novel it to Allen Issacman’s “Resistance and Collaboration in Southern and Central Africa 1850-1920” reading which shows the scramble for Africa to further illustrate the affects of colonialism in Africa from two different perspectives to better understand conflict in Africa. Therefore, my argument for this essay is when two cultures intertwine together the imposing culture that is more powerful will alter or destroy aspects of the weaker culture’s way of life with negative consequences.
In Things Fall Apart (1958) the main protagonist of the story is Okonkwo who is a wealthy farmer, with three wives and many children. Despite his highly feared and respected exterior, Okonkwo is man obsessed with an overwhelming fear of failure and weakness caused by his own father’s shameful life and suicide death. This motivates him to become the most powerful and respected man in his village by his skills as a strong warrior and rich farmer, and makes him a prominent member of his community. As the people of Umuofia honour his extraordinary achievements and reward him with many distinguished titles. To Okonkwo, his beliefs often
Things Fall Apart (1958) is a fictional novel by Chinua Achebe that examines the life the Igbo tribe living in a rural village called Umuofia in Nigeria during the early 19th century. The central values of the novel revolve around status, virtues, power, and traditions that often determine the futures and present of the characters in the Achebe story. The novel shows the life of the protagonist Okonkwo and his family, village, and Igbo culture and the affects of colonisation of Umuofia on him and the people of his village by Christian missionaries. In this essay, I plan to look at colonialism in the novel before and after and the impact on Okonkwo and the village Umuofia and examine how colonization transformed their tribe’s culture, tradition, and religion. As well, I plan to compare and contrast Achebe’s novel it to Allen Issacman’s “Resistance and Collaboration in Southern and Central Africa 1850-1920” reading which shows the scramble for Africa to further illustrate the affects of colonialism in Africa from two different perspectives to better understand conflict in Africa. Therefore, my argument for this essay is when two cultures intertwine together the imposing culture that is more powerful will alter or destroy aspects of the weaker culture’s way of life with negative consequences.
In Things Fall Apart (1958) the main protagonist of the story is Okonkwo who is a wealthy farmer, with three wives and many children. Despite his highly feared and respected exterior, Okonkwo is man obsessed with an overwhelming fear of failure and weakness caused by his own father’s shameful life and suicide death. This motivates him to become the most powerful and respected man in his village by his skills as a strong warrior and rich farmer, and makes him a prominent member of his community. As the people of Umuofia honour his extraordinary achievements and reward him with many distinguished titles. To Okonkwo, his beliefs often
Bibliography: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 2nd. New York: Anchor, 1994. Print.