Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, portrays the life of Okonkwo, an accomplished. extremely-masculine, leader of the African Igbo Tribe of Umuofia. Those of the Igbo Tribe endure an extreme culture shock when Christian missionaries come to preach the religious beliefs of “Jesu Kristi”, the son of all powerful, “Creator of all the world and all the men and women.” (Achebe 145). The feminine subjects and outcast of the Igbo tribe are initially drawn to the religion for the sense of unity and community. The “white men” won over Nwoye, Okonkwo’s unmanly son who publically shames his father by turning to the faith that the missionaries where teaching. The Umuofia Tribe falls apart because they preach masculinity and power however, the missionaries welcome the misfits and the women with open arms. …show more content…
Unoka, the father to Okonkwo, was lazy and effeminate, he was an embarrassment to the family, “Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure.
People laughed at him because he was a loafer.” (Achebe 6). This drove Okonkwo to succeed in life. Okonkwo's hard work and prowess in war have allowed him to achieve high status in his Umuofian Tribe. Okonkwo now has three wives and many kids, one being Nwoye. “Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo was brutal and very judgmental to his children and wives. He could not except mistakes made by his wives or the feminine side of his
sons.
White men had cause a great amount of chaos is the village of Umuofia to preach the word of god, “The missionaries spent their first four or five nights in the marketplace, and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel.” (Achebe 148). The missionaries had established a church in the village and it appealed to many citizens. They encouraged any one to join the church. They preached of a unified community and that all citizen where equal. This made the females and their children who were twins “But each time she had borne twins, and they had been immediately thrown away.,” (Achebe 152), the outcasts, and the “soft” males attracted to this religion. The masculine, head-strong, men of the community laughed at the religion and believed it had no significance in their lives.
The church eventually settles in the surrounding areas of the Igbo tribe contradicting the belief that they would be able to live in the Evil Forest. The church thrives and have obtained many converts, and after a near death experience with his father Okonkwo, Nowye, “walked away and never returned” (Achebe 152). As time passes, the Christians and the people of the tribe are able to live in peace, until rumors of the white man’s government starts to spread. All converts are outlawed from the village. This creates a major divide through the city. After Okonkwo came back after his exile, he believes that it will be easy to rid the Christians of their land but while he was away more men of the tribe converted to Christianity.
The missionaries have compromised the unity of the tribe and has made them fall apart. As Obierika said “They [the missionaries] have put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”. (Achebe177). Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, represents his complex relationship with both the Igbo and the West by incorporating the division between the Igbo and the Missionaries. Achebe write about how he left the Igbo to live a life in the modern world with a government and school. He writes about his father as, Unoka, himself and Okonkwo, and his son as Nowye. Chinua Achebe, felt as if he was an outcast in his own community so he converted to the life of a western community.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, portrays the life of Okonkwo, an accomplished. extremely-masculine, leader of the African Igbo Tribe of Umuofia. Those of the Igbo Tribe endure an extreme culture shock when Christian missionaries come to preach the religious beliefs of “Jesu Kristi”, the son of all powerful, “Creator of all the world and all the men and women.” (Achebe 145). The feminine subjects and outcast of the Igbo tribe are initially drawn to the religion for the sense of unity and community. The “white men” won over Nwoye, Okonkwo’s unmanly son who publically shames his father by turning to the faith that the missionaries where teaching. The Umuofia Tribe falls apart because they preach masculinity and power however, the missionaries welcome the misfits and the women with open arms. …show more content…
Unoka, the father to Okonkwo, was lazy and effeminate, he was an embarrassment to the family, “Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure.
People laughed at him because he was a loafer.” (Achebe 6). This drove Okonkwo to succeed in life. Okonkwo's hard work and prowess in war have allowed him to achieve high status in his Umuofian Tribe. Okonkwo now has three wives and many kids, one being Nwoye. “Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness.” (Achebe 13). Okonkwo was brutal and very judgmental to his children and wives. He could not except mistakes made by his wives or the feminine side of his
sons.
White men had cause a great amount of chaos is the village of Umuofia to preach the word of god, “The missionaries spent their first four or five nights in the marketplace, and went into the village in the morning to preach the gospel.” (Achebe 148). The missionaries had established a church in the village and it appealed to many citizens. They encouraged any one to join the church. They preached of a unified community and that all citizen where equal. This made the females and their children who were twins “But each time she had borne twins, and they had been immediately thrown away.,” (Achebe 152), the outcasts, and the “soft” males attracted to this religion. The masculine, head-strong, men of the community laughed at the religion and believed it had no significance in their lives.
The church eventually settles in the surrounding areas of the Igbo tribe contradicting the belief that they would be able to live in the Evil Forest. The church thrives and have obtained many converts, and after a near death experience with his father Okonkwo, Nowye, “walked away and never returned” (Achebe 152). As time passes, the Christians and the people of the tribe are able to live in peace, until rumors of the white man’s government starts to spread. All converts are outlawed from the village. This creates a major divide through the city. After Okonkwo came back after his exile, he believes that it will be easy to rid the Christians of their land but while he was away more men of the tribe converted to Christianity.
The missionaries have compromised the unity of the tribe and has made them fall apart. As Obierika said “They [the missionaries] have put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”. (Achebe177). Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, represents his complex relationship with both the Igbo and the West by incorporating the division between the Igbo and the Missionaries. Achebe write about how he left the Igbo to live a life in the modern world with a government and school. He writes about his father as, Unoka, himself and Okonkwo, and his son as Nowye. Chinua Achebe, felt as if he was an outcast in his own community so he converted to the life of a western community.