In the time of 1892-1975, The continent of Africa was struggling with imperialist aggression, military invasions and eventually colonisation. Many countries within Africa were occupied by other, more powerful, countries. This impacted the social effect placed on the indigenous people of africa. For…
He had grown up in Ogidi, a large village in Nigeria. His father taught at the missionary school, and Achebe witnessed firsthand the complex mix of benefit and catastrophe that the Christian religion had brought to the Igbo people. In the 1950s, an exciting new literary movement grew in strength. Drawing on indigenous Nigerian oral traditions, this movement enriched European literary forms in hopes of creating a new literature, in English but unmistakably African. Published in 1958, Things Fall Apart is one of the masterpieces of 20th century African fiction.…
Africa is a continent that contains many individualistic, unique, and culturally independent countries, tribes, and people. However, Africa is conceptualized as a continent that is riddled with poverty and savagery. The misconception of Africa and its identity was induced by Western colonizers, that oppressed not only the colonized but also their culture and traditions. The colonizers gave inaccurate, ambiguous, and self glorifying accounts of Africa. However, Achebe disregards these deceptive stories of his home, and strives to give a scrupulous and authentic view on Africa's culture and traditions through his novel, Things Fall Apart. The novel Things Fall Apart contradicts…
Of the many themes that appear in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, individuality versus nationality becomes a central topic as the story progresses and develops. With the invasion and colonization of the European missionaries, Okonkwo’s nationality and contributions to society are called into question. Achebe explains the idea of nationality over individuality by showing that society is the precursor to individuality. Examining the life of the protagonist, Okonkwo, before and after his resistance exemplifies this key idea in Things Fall Apart.…
After World War II, the people of Africa fought to end the effects of European imperialism in order to achieve political independence and reclaim African culture. However, tensions caused by artificial political boundaries established by European powers exacerbated preexisting tribal and religious divisions. The newly ‘freed’ African states were unstable and struggled to deal with these conflicts, often resulting in civil wars and genocide. During this struggle, Africa received very little support to help develop African economies or governments from the very countries who caused Africa’s weak infrastructure. 19th-century European imperialism was a major factor in causing the political weakness within African states, but the fact that the solution…
Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe. This novel explains how imperialism affects a country. It also helps the reader visualize the drastic changes the Igbo culture had to experience when another country decided to expand their reign into Umuofia and the surroundings clans. Characteristics such as Okonkwo, who was the fearless leader of Umuofia, were immensely afflicted. After all, Things Fall Apart is a work about loss of culture and tradition.…
In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe recounts this event from the perspective of Nigerians. Specifically, the novel describes the downfall of the Igbo society, which was overtaken slowly and stealthily by white men. The white men came into the clan to spread Christianity, and they accomplished this by winning over converts to completely disregard their native beliefs. The members of the clan that refused to convert to the new religion were affected emotionally by the dismembering of everything they knew. Achebe reveals the thoughts of the indigenous people when he writes, “Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). The comparison of the events in Africa to the cut of a knife explains the sharp harshness of it all. At this time, clans in Nigeria were very much like families, so the people truly felt the loss of their brothers. In this example, detachment of cultures was detrimental to the native…
Imperialism: the establishment of a policy extending control or authority over foreign entities in a political, cultural, and economic way as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires. This is either through direct territorial conquest or settlement, or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. Some takeovers were brought upon by rivalries, while others would do it to boost the imperial nation’s wealth and value. Whether it was for humanitarian or nationalist reasons, dominant nations have continuously intruded into the affairs of weaker, more vulnerable nations. It arose in the 1800’s; a time period in which Europe’s growth and prosperity was at its peak. Having gained a considerable amount of power, nations with strong central governments had surfaced after the enrichment provided by the Industrial Revolution.…
Starting in the nineteenth century and ending through the years of British Imperialism, “White Man’s Burden” was a common term used by Europeans to state that the white race is superior to all races and were obligated to civilize all non-white people. When one is reading Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, they may ask themselves what makes the missionaries want to “help” others? Or what makes them think their way is better than the norm? Throughout the novel, readers follow the life of Okonkwo and his family as they learn to adapt to changing community. The British characters, Mr. Brown and Reverend Smith, constantly use the philosophy of “White Man’s Burden”; believing that it is their duty to “purify” the non-whites. However, each colonizer…
Okonkwo’s Fall In the novel things fall apart the new Christian religion makes Okonkwo feel that his identity will be threatened. It took his pride and made him feel as some of his characteristics were not superior as he thought they were. He is unable to adjust to the newcomers leads to his downfall. This example explains the way Colonization can have affects on its victims.…
In the minds of the Europeans, the Africans were nothing more than savages. Many times, the Europeans equated the Africans to cattle or horses, as wild animals to be kept in a pen. Because of this dehumanization mentality towards Africans, the Europeans were able to so easily and with such a lack of guilt, divide and conquer Africa. At the time this was happening, Achebe decided that something should be done about this, and thus wrote Things fall apart in order to influence change in the world. In this response to the book, we will see how this was accomplished.…
Imperialism- The policy of extending the rule of authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries; or of acquiring or holding colonies of independencies (Random House Western College Dictionary).…
Imperialism, defined as a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force; this represented the ideology behind expansion. This developed into an important factor in the development of early Europe as it forced growth amongst nations and pushed into an era of exploration and discovery. This took place throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe and yet the same motivations held true. Early Europeans participated in imperialism to fuel economic growth, fulfill moral obligations, and equalize rivalries.…
Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, is a story about a Nigerian Igbo tribe forced to endure, and live with European Christians. These Europeans were colonizing Africa with the intentions of setting up Christian missionaries. While their intentions were genuine, their presence was devastating to the Ibo culture. Achebe did not like how the Europeans and the Igbo people interacted with each other. The European missionaries viewed their religion as superior to the Igbo religion because there was never an effort made by them to understand the Ibo religion.…
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, investigates the exploitation of a traditional African culture through the development of colonial forces. Achebe illustrates the Igbo heritage through the spiritual concepts and values which are closely linked with its nature and religion.…