Things Fall Apart
Things fall apart was a very “Change based” book. Okonkwo’s village was terrified of change so anything ‘different” could produce trouble for his village. The village was scared of the “White man’s” culture/differences so they rebelled against the change by attacking the white men/ Europeans. A literary device for Things fall apart could be an Analogy for change and how the village hated/feared the white man as the relationship between the two. This type of symbolism is used throughout the book.
Change could have gone in a good way, like Okonkwo’s village could have accepted the white man’s culture and ideas but instead, goes down a darker path. The change causes Okonkwo’s own destruction because he didn’t agree with their ideas, and only believed in his own honor. But would Okonkwo really be honorable? He killed a kid, he disowns his own son, he hated his father for everything he was and wasn’t, his family was disconnected from their village because of him, and he also kills himself for being afraid to go to jail for crimes he obviously committed. How could these be honorable acts? All of this happened because he was afraid of change. …show more content…
He was a protagonist who didn’t want to be like his father ( The stereotypical drunk father), but in the end he kind of ended up just like him, “The depressed, miserable father who could not support his family”. “Despite all of Okonkwo’s showy manliness, he is ruled by fear – a profound fear of being deemed weak and feminine, like his father. Essentially, Okonkwo fears nothing but himself.”(Achebe). “To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.”(Pg. 28) This describes perfectly what Okonkwo lives by; He beats his wives, he beats his children, and without the ideal of honor he would be
Change could have gone in a good way, like Okonkwo’s village could have accepted the white man’s culture and ideas but instead, goes down a darker path. The change causes Okonkwo’s own destruction because he didn’t agree with their ideas, and only believed in his own honor. But would Okonkwo really be honorable? He killed a kid, he disowns his own son, he hated his father for everything he was and wasn’t, his family was disconnected from their village because of him, and he also kills himself for being afraid to go to jail for crimes he obviously committed. How could these be honorable acts? All of this happened because he was afraid of change. …show more content…
He was a protagonist who didn’t want to be like his father ( The stereotypical drunk father), but in the end he kind of ended up just like him, “The depressed, miserable father who could not support his family”. “Despite all of Okonkwo’s showy manliness, he is ruled by fear – a profound fear of being deemed weak and feminine, like his father. Essentially, Okonkwo fears nothing but himself.”(Achebe). “To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.”(Pg. 28) This describes perfectly what Okonkwo lives by; He beats his wives, he beats his children, and without the ideal of honor he would be