Things Fall Apart Essay

The continent of Africa is considered to be the cradle of civilization. Yet today, Africa is less developed than most of the other continents. Many of its countries struggle with famine, civil war, corruption, poverty, debt, disease, and to a certain degree, ignorance. Nigerian born writer, Chinua Achebe, discusses the demise of the true Ibo culture in his novel Things Fall Apart. Achebe discusses the stringent beliefs and edicts of the Ibo culture and the consequences one must face when these rules are opposed.
Achebe highlights the internal struggle of individual characters as each realizes the flaws within their community and how it leads them to a self-discovery. Okonkwo constantly struggles to drift away from his fathers shadow, and in the process becomes more and more paranoid of his true identity. Okonkwo is extremely hubris, which eventually leads to his downfall. Okonkwo believes his society is heavily flawed and he thinks that all members of Umofia should generally be violent. Though he does not voice this opinion, it is evident because he sees reflections of his father in everything and he wants to make his family and society the opposite of his father. Okonkwo is
He is very realistic about the flaws and loopholes in Umofia. People tend to follow tradition without thinking if what they are doing makes sense. Nwoye and Oberika are exceptions to this habit. Oberika often offers reasonable counterpoints to Okonkwo’s desire for rash action, although Okonkwo rarely takes Oberika’s advice. More than any other character, Oberika is a thinker, one who works things out in his head. He is one of the few characters who is truly concerned with moral ambiguities and he encourages Okonkwo to view the world in a more balanced and less hasty manner. He offers Okonkwo important adages, telling him “If one finger brings oil it soils all the others.” (pg.44) Oberika is the harbinger of a new way of thinking for