Compare And Contrast Chocolat vs. Things Fall Apart

Louie Hamati
Jensen
H English 10
20 April 2015
Change in Society
People around the world encounter unfamiliar cultures almost every day. My mother experienced a great example of this almost 20 years ago, when she immigrated to the United States. Having lived in the Middle East all her life, the USA introduced new customs to every aspect of her life, including the food she ate, her occupation, and even the way she dressed. A married woman in Jordan exclusively wore fancy dresses and classy attire when in public. My mother then saw how nearly every woman here wore more casual clothing, such as jeans and sweatpants, apparel my mother had never seen a married woman wear freely. My mother having to adjust to a completely different environment affected her in similar ways as other cultures affected civilization in certain pieces of fiction. In the novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and the film Chocolat, directed by Lasse Hallstrom, the influences of new culture on an existing society shows that actions carry consequences.
In both pieces, each society experiences a similar influence caused by new cultures. When these new cultures present themselves, both stories include a sort of abandonment to old traditions in replacement for these new ones. In Things Fall Apart, many people living in Umuofia, including Okonkwo’s son, convert to Christianity when the missionaries introduce the new religion. Okonkwo feels a deep shame towards these converts for betraying their gods and their customs, so deep that he ultimately disowns his own son, commanding him to never come back home. Similarly, in Chocolat, Vienne opens a Chocolaterie during the weeks of Lent, shocking the extremely religious townspeople, including the Comte de Reynaud. Infuriated, he orders the people not to purchase from the shop, in hope that Vienne goes out of business. Although, most townspeople choose to desert the rules set on them by the Comte and Lent and indulge the chocolate. As a result, the Comte and other loyal church members avoid interacting with the chocolate consumers, ashamed of their actions. The Comte and the church members shun the members of the town as a result of them betraying the church, just like how Okonkwo rejects his son for converting to Christianity. Furthermore, the two towns previously mentioned feel a related urge to neglect any change to their existing culture, refusing to accept new ideas that could possibly improve their lives. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo and several other men set fire to the Christian church while masked as egwugwu, or spirits of their dead ancestors. However, the missionaries have already established a position in Umuofia, and they imprison Okonkwo and his men for quite some time. Also, in Chocolat, the Comte and Serge watch Vienne welcomes the intruders harboring on the river, an action against all of the Comte’s orders. Serge then decides light a flame to one of the harboring ships, justifying it as an act for God. Disgusted, the Comte then orders Serge to leave the town as soon as possible. Okonkwo and Serge both choose acts of destruction towards their oppressors, actions that imprison Okonkwo and leave Serge without a home. The introduction of new cultures influences the two stories in similar ways, but it also affected them differently. The way people in the movie and the novel react and handle unfamiliar situations caused by new beliefs differs extremely. Specifically, the unique way both towns react to the introduction of the new customs. For example, when the people of Umuofia hear about the Christians, the village elders feel strongly against letting the intruders have land in their town. They decide to give them part of the evil forest, thinking they will not survive. When the Christians grow in population and start converting villagers, the elders then realize the problem on their hands. However, the Comte de Reynaud treats Vienne like a friend at first, and welcomes her into the town. His judgment initiates once he finds out Vienne does not go to church, but by then people have already began to eat from the chocolate shop. The Comte originally welcomes Vienne in a way completely differently from that of the village elders in Umuofia, who gave them the worst piece of land in the town, but ultimately, both leaders lose power in their villages due to a generated influence over their people caused by new concepts. Additionally, when these new cultures settle in their new environments, the original societies have to figure out how to resolve their conflicts, which also shows differences between the two stories. Okonkwo yearns for war against the Christians, and during a meeting at the marketplace, he brutally rips off the head of one of the Christian court messengers. In turn, this action ends up humiliating Okonkwo among his villagers, and acts as the final blow in his decision to take his own life. On the contrary, the Comte longs for people not to eat from the Chocolaterie, but only to mask his own desire for Vienne’s chocolate. He finally breaks, and Vienne catches him passed out on one of her displays in the window, after breaking in her store and devouring her chocolate, shaming him beyond belief. Overall, Okonkwo attempts to prevent new cultures from interfering with his village by using violence, but this results in him committing suicide. On the other hand, the Comte de Reynaud hides the fact that he wants to accept the influence of chocolate in his town, causing him to fall into temptation, humiliating himself. Although the two stories ended differently, they both ended with the choices of a leader acting as the final blow to their downfall. The influences of new culture on an existing society prove that actions carry consequences, as shown in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and Chocolat, directed by Lasse Hallstrom. The two pieces show connections through the accepting, and rejecting, of these new beliefs. Yet, at the same time showing differences in how the two societies react and resolve the conflicts that the new cultures bring along with them. The village of Umuofia and the town in Chocolat undergo unusual situations caused by new cultures comparable to how my mother adjusted to her move from home. With the constant introduction of new cultures, the choice remains, whether to neglect change, or to accept it at the cost of old traditions.