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