In Things Fall Apart there are many cultural collisions created by the introduction of Western ideas into Ibo culture. One example of a cultural collision caused by the introduction of Western ideas into Ibo culture is when Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye converts to Christianity. This causes a cultural collision between Okonkwo and Nwoye because Nwoye wants to become a Christian, but Okonkwo doesn’t like the white men or Christianity. This cultural collision is caused by the white men bringing in western ideas to Ibo culture. This collision is very important to the book because it leads to the destruction of Okonkwo and fuels his anger. This collision shapes the meaning of the novel as a whole by symbolizing many things and relating back to many important quotes in the book that help develop the plot.…
Throughout literary works in the past decades, the story of the tragic hero has always been one of interest. In Things Fall Apart, Chinau Achebe tells the story of a hero who makes his own success and is highly respected. As the story develops, the audience experiences his downfall because of his tragic flaws. Okonkwo, the protagonist, fits the definition of a tragic hero because of his characteristics that lead him to his fall.…
The time period following World War I and the 1960s were eras of chaos and rebellion in the modern era. World War I, as well as the years following it was a major period of conflict when murderous acts were committed. The sixties was also a chaotic time period due to the new ways in which teenagers were rebelling, as well as other conflicts, such as the Vietnam War. Many writers took note of these societal adjustments. Joan Didion and William Butler Yeats, for example, both wrote about their reactions to the undergoing transformations occurring in the world. As a result of the chaotic time periods they were written in response to, Joan Didion 's collection of essays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem and Yeats’s poem, “The Second Coming” share many themes including…
In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe selects the title of his novel to express the chaos of destruction, and the innately evil human behavior. The Second Coming gives the reader a new understanding of Things Fall Apart due to their undeniable connections. As the reader learns in both pieces, people that are blinded by their passion about the things they do can become evil, and achieve bad things. Some will say that things fell apart in the novel, but there are always two sides to each…
Historically Africa has been partly constructed by journals, books, etc. written by white hand. It is believed by many that one cannot truly talk about the land, unless they have lived the land. Two particular novels and oral epics that depict this perspective, the perspective of the colonized, are Things Fall Apart, written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, and Sundiata by author Djibril Tamsir Niane. At the end of Things Fall Apart, the District Commissioner, who was the British colonial administrator put in place to govern the Igbo society, is shown writing a book he plans to call the Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. Although the District Commissioner’s book doesn’t directly apply to Sundiata because the future book will have been based of different parts of Africa, it is safe to say that the epic will represent a prejudice account of Africa. Both societies will be portrayed as unprivileged, savage, and uncivilized for inhabiting strict gender roles and laws.…
In the book, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe portrays the main character, Okonkwo, as a fearful and stubborn protagonist. But, when the Christians arrived Okonkwo is challenged because of the societal changes that took place. He was left behind on things that he thought he controlled and believed was still in style. Okonkwo is greatly affected by the presence of the Christians because he is forced to show a form of weakness and jealousy while previous to this he was a great leader and was never intimidated by anything or anyone.…
What makes a tragedy so tragic is that the tragic hero, frequently because of his hamartia, falls a great distance from the high point where he is above many of us to the lowest point possible. In addition, they tend to be conductors of suffering as critic Northrop Frye says. These heroes catch the attention of the divine power and inevitably serve as instruments that bring suffering to both themselves and the people around them. The suffering that Okonkwo brings upon his clansmen in Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole by emphasizing how much control man has over his own suffering, especially when he is an instrument that brings pain upon others as well.…
The notion of balance in Achebe's novel is an important theme throughout the book. Beginning with the excerpt from Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming," the concept of balance is stressed as important, for without balance, order is lost. In the novel, there are many systems of balance which the Ibo culture seems to depend upon. It is when these systems are upset that "things fall apart." Okonkwo, the Ibo religion, and ultimately, the Ibos' autonomy were brought to their demise by an extreme imbalance between their male and female aspects. These male and female aspects can be generally be described as the external, physical strength of the male; and the internal, passive, and nurturing strength of the female. Achebe uses a disbalance toward the male side to destroy the people and their culture.…
American poet Henry David Thoreau once said, “Men are born to succeed, not to fail.” These words perfectly describe the mindset and values of Okonkwo, the main character in Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart. To Okonkwo, in order to be a man he must always show strength and never reveal his true emotions. In Things Fall Apart, yams symbolize the ideals of masculinity and power, as well as the pain and sorrow that can accompany denying one’s limitations and weaknesses.…
No one can change the inevitable. Yet how one adjusts to change is what defines whether the passage of time brings “fortune” or “misfortune” to an individual. When such changes lead to drastic alteration to one’s circumstances, it is commonly referred to as fate, or the will of some higher being. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart implies how a single man’s resolve led to both his triumph and fall due to an inability to change, adapt or compromise. Okonkwo’s dedication to his way of life brought him to his wealth at the exposition of the novel, but also his suicide at the resolution.…
“Until the Lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” Hearing this quote challenges one’s thinking because even if they think they know the other side of the story, or the hunt, a primary source is the only way to actually gain the perspective of the lion. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, was written not with a protagonist or antagonist but with first person perspective of each character as he or she has either succeeded or gone through bad events causing the story to have no real antagonist. In the beginning Okonkwo was the main character and was portrayed as a good person but a strong temper who only wanted to better his village. However as the chapters went on he is seen as an angry too quick to temper man who doesn't respect any of his fellow clan…
“Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true- that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation.” (Achebe, 131)…
Being defeated by something out of someone's control is a common issue in characters of the two books of Things Fall Apart and Krik?Krak! The first book is Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe which takes place in Nigeria around the 1900’s. This is a fictional book about the village of Umuofia and the people are all based on being a man. The second book Krik?Krak! Is written by Edwidge Danticat and is set in Haiti in the 1900’s. This is a nonfiction book about families and individuals that try and cope with the hardships of Haiti. These two books have characters that are defeated by forces they can not control. This is the information of how both characters in the two books are similarly defeated.…
talk to higher members of the clan or in the village. “Social status is based on wealth, regardless of occupation. The Igbo distinguish between obgenye or mbi (the poor), dinkpa (the moderately prosperous), and nnukwu madu or ogaranya (the rich). “ (everyculture.com) Titles were a major role in every…
From the title of the novel Things Fall Apart and from the name of the author…