Things Fall Apart Gods Quotes

Throughout many works of literature is the recurring theme of the belief in the fate of God/gods. The fate of a person given to them by God/gods is shown many times throughout Things Fall Apart and other writings by Chinua Achebe. According to Foley, the chi, “functions as the divine agent whereby an individual is created and through which that individual’s life-destiny is determined” (50). This quote clearly supports the theme of the gods dealing with the fate of an individual. Many times in Things Fall Apart, Achebe writes about Okonkwo’s chi, or personal god. Achebe’s writing leads the reader to believe that the chi is the reason that the good and bad things happen to Okonkwo. Achebe also writes about Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, chi and how
That is why many modern young adult books are centered around the theme of the protagonist embarking on a quest to find out their past. The same happened in ancient writings such as Oedipus the King. “The complex character of Oedipus and the intensity of his conflict-ridden struggle for self-knowledge is Sophocles’ work,” according to Zachrisson, “it is Sophocles’ conception of man” (329). Sophocles’ perception of man is that man is always working towards self-knowledge. Over time, other authors have taken Sophocles’ theme of self-knowledge and used it in their own work creating a universal theme of needing self-knowledge. In Sophocles’ play, Oedipus the King, Oedipus says, “You would provoke a stone! Tell us, you villain, tell us, and do not stand there quietly unmoved and balking at the issue” (374-376). In Oedipus’ need for self-knowledge, he called upon Teiresias the blind prophet for help. Teiresias would not tell Oedipus his past because of how horrible it was, but nevertheless Oedipus still demanded to know. Oedipus felt like if he knew his past and the past of his country, he would be relieved of anxiousness. Zachrisson’s article states that the main reason that people try to figure out their past is to find closure with them. In the beginning Oedipus’ search of knowledge was for the closure of his country, because of a person plaguing the nation. In the process of trying to find closure for the nation, Oedipus inadvertently found out about himself, and therefore started trying to find out all about himself to find closure. Both Zachrisson’s and Sophocles’ writing supports the universal theme of self-knowledge. Sophocles’ writing shows how man struggles in finding self-knowledge, while Zachrisson’s writing explains how modern day writing has the same universal theme and