...Franklin D. Roosevelt said that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” In the Ibo villages, strength and masculinity are prized traits. This novel tells about the story of one man Okonkwo, a strong and masculine warrior, who faces several life changing obstacles in his life. In spite of those characteristics Okonkwo has a deep fear of becoming like his father, Unoka, who was lazy, irresponsible, and weak. Furthermore, he also fears Nwoye, his son, turning out like Unoka. Fear not only consumes Okonkwo, but also his village of Umuofia, which causes them to be unable to have the courage to fight against the white missionaries. The Ibo culture’s fear of weakness comes from their insecurity of their strength and masculinity which is the cause for destruction and failure in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe....
Words: 518 - Pages: 3
...In part one of Things Fall Apart there are father and son relationship between several characters in the novel, Okonkwo and is father Unoka and the other relationship is Nwoye and his father Okonkwo. In the novel the relationship between Okonkwo and Unoka was very unique. This led the reader to understand why Okonkwo was the character he was. It is shown from earlier chapters that Okonkwo and his father, Unoka, share many differences but their relationship also owns an underlying message. The author of the novel, Chinua Achebe, included the following saying: “When the mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth.” The saying translates into that a child will have a behavior similar to what his guardians show. How ever Okonkwo show no respect for his father. This is revealed from the quote “he had not been found of his father” (21) Unoka is a very sensitive man and is appreciative of the nature among him. Okonkwo is a total opposite of his dad. Okonkwo always wants to show his power and how he rules his family with an iron hand. Even though Okonkwo has to live with his fathers shame on his name they end up being quite similar based on how they choose to go about conflict....
Words: 393 - Pages: 2
...Okonkwo is a man who wants to be the greatest. Outwardly, he is very callous. He is impulsive when vexed. Inwardly, he can have a sympathetic heart. There are some good characteristics about him, but there are also a few unfavorable attributes. For the bad qualities, he acts insensitive towards people. Even to his wives, he can be harsh. There are occasions in the story where Okonkwo abuses his wives as punishment for mistakes they make. One instance of Okonkwo’s abuse took place when his wife, Oijugo, went out to get her hair done without making dinner. When she returned, Okonkwo beat her for what she did. His brutality is a quality that makes him look like a completely bad person. Okonkwo tries his hardest to be the person that his father was not, which can be a good thing but it can also be a bad thing. He frequently does not show empathy towards people. He does not want to be weak, so he does the complete opposite and acts as if he does not care whatsoever. His perseverance to...
Words: 399 - Pages: 2
...will glorify only the hunter.” Chinua Achebe, Home and Exile Literature is the expression of life in words of truth and beauty.It encompasses all genres of literature-poetry,prose,fiction,drama,philosophy,history etc.Among them,fiction is any narrative,whether in prose or verse,which is invented instead of being an account of events that actually happened. The voice of Africa in the world of letters tries to emancipate Africa from its literary stereotype.Africa is no longer a gloomy phenomenon,a dark continent.Chinua Achebe, the major exponent of the modern African novel,is greatly concerned with the two realities of social man –his individual and group identity,the legacy of colonialism, and the shift in the system of values of life leading to rampant corruption- moral and monetary. He is also concerned with the use of English as the medium of expression of African experience defining the relevance of colonial and post-colonial experience to the present .Achebe’s novels are dialectic tranformation of experience, a new way of looking at tradition to create a different order of reality through universalizing imagination.Though he has followed the established tradition of novel writing in English, Achebe has put few things ‘African’ and has successfully employed certain narrative techniques of narration to give authenticity and African flavour to his novels in order to attract the native audience and overseas readers as well. Chinua Achebe , the doyen of African writing...
Words: 1695 - Pages: 7
...Persephany Magdaleno Mr. Lopez July 23, 2014 AP Lit Things Fall Apart "The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart"(pg.176). Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, a historical fictional novel, was written to present a complex, dynamic society to a western audience who perceived African society as primitive, simple, and reversed. I strongly recommend this novel because of its differentiated perspectives of two intertwining stories for example: Okonkwo, a respected and powerful figure in the Ibo village, Umuofia, was also warrior whose major weakness in the novel is the inability to accept change. This ends up destroying him in the finale of the book. Chinua Achebe's other story described the influences of white missionaries on African tribes. Chinua Achebe also addresses the clash of cultures in the second part, especially within their religions, but implies that there is no right or wrong in their differences between their cultures. Fear is an emphasized theme throughout the novel because fear is what drives Okonkwo terror by the wrath of god's, guilt, and his community disapproval upon them. This theme is also looked as symbolization to Okonkwo's dedication to be a successful man because the fear was so fierce that it controlled...
Words: 921 - Pages: 4
...Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” is a twentieth century work of art that serves the purpose of conveying the intricacies of African culture while at the same time giving voice to the underrepresented and exploited inhabitants of Nigeria. This work was written in response to Western writings on African culture, which treated Africa in a cultureless and subhuman light of view. “Things Fall Apart” portrays the conflict between the White colonial government and the indigenous Igbo people in Nigeria, illuminating the European and African perspectives on Colonial control, race, religion and culture. The Igbos believed that each man was responsible for his fate or destiny. They believed that a man has the ability to change his life and achieve status through economics and military accomplishments, the latter being through agriculture, and that all of this results solely from hard work. The Nigerian society, unlike European societies, was characterized by a Darwinian society in the way that people who achieved great feats were rewarded, rather than a caste-like system where there was no chance of improving one’s status. The ability to move up in rank in Nigerian culture is portrayed in the story of Onkonkwo. Born to an indebted and effeminate father, Okonkwo strives to rise through the social system and achieve everything his father could not. He is intolerant and biased towards women to the point where he describes weak men as women. Okonkwo views emotion as a weakness and thus...
Words: 1520 - Pages: 7
...because it raises large and important questions. Therefore, the widest definition of post colonial fiction easily includes Chinua Achebe’s novels. Postcolonial study delineates all aspects of the colonial process from the beginning to the end of colonial contact. Chinua Achebe’s novels contain the experiences of Nigerian people after the end of British Empire. Achebe’s novels are the replication of African history as well. Therefore, his novels describe an archetypal post colonial era African country. Chinua Achebe is one of the finest Nigerian novelists of the twentieth century, whose novels show various post colonial aspects in them. Achebe throws light on the changes in African society and politics, His four novels cover the entire colonial history of Africa from the early days of European advent to the post colonial aspects like retrieval of an identity and own past, language liberty, cultural change, disestablishment of Eurocentric norms and complexes of this period of perplexity. Achebe wrote novels chronologically one is attached to another as, pre-colonial, colonial, post colonial and commonwealth. Chinua Achebe has depicted traditional Igbo society and African history through writing his novels chronologically. His opening novel Things fall Apart has given trace on the conflict between Igbo and Western customs through the character of Okonkwo, a proud village leaders whose refusal to adapt to the encroaching European influences...
Words: 1504 - Pages: 7
...Narrating orality and empire in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Jarica Linn Watts To cite this article: Jarica Linn Watts (2010) “He does not understand our customs”: Narrating orality and empire in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart , Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 46:1, 65-75, DOI: 10.1080/17449850903478189 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17449850903478189 Published online: 27 Jan 2010. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 501 View related articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rjpw20 Download by: [Indiana University Libraries] Date: 24 February 2016, At: 16:43 Journal of Postcolonial Writing Vol. 46, No. 1, February 2010, 65–75 “He does not understand our customs”: Narrating orality and empire in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Jarica Linn Watts* University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA Downloaded by [Indiana University Libraries] at 16:43 24 February 2016 jarica.watts@utah.edu Jarica 0 100000February 46 2010 &Article OriginalofFrancis 1744-9855 (print)/1744-9863 JournalandPostcolonial 10.1080/17449850903478189(online) RJPW_A_448194.sgm TaylorLinnWatts 2010 Writing Francis This article delineates different strains of Achebe’s narrative technique in Things Fall Apart, arguing that earlier critics have failed to account fully for two fundamental principles in Achebe’s narrative: the myriad phrases...
Words: 6891 - Pages: 28
...1. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Published in 1958, Paper back. 2. After reading through Achebe’s novel, “Things Fall Apart,” and doing some extra research, one of Chinua’s main purposes in writing this novel (in my opinion) was in fact to prove to foreigners that Africa was different from what they would perceive it to be. Anybody who has read through “Things Fall Apart” would be able to notice that Chinua was trying to really unveil Africa’s culture. Chinua really projected the tribe’s cultural values, rituals, and common practices purposely to change the Westerners perception of Africa as a continent. Before this novel was written, most westerners would believe Africa was just a simple continent just as other ones. Chinua Ultimately wanted to change this view of Africa to something more realistic and conclusive. Chinua did this by writing his novel, “Things Fall Apart. “ 3. Chinua did an excellent job when attempting to achieve his purpose. Achebe wrote this novel with the intent to alter the perception of Africa to Westerners. “Unoka had gone to consult the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves to find out why he always had a miserable harvest.” ( Achebe, pgs. 16) This quote in the novel allows readers to assume most tribes in Africa believe in superstitions. Chinua made sure to put details into who the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves was, Chinua also gave detail on how and why people would seek into the dark hole and talk to this “spiritual” figure. This detail...
Words: 801 - Pages: 4
...In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, men are presented as the more prominent gender in the village of Umuofia. The novel was written in 1959, and the purpose of the book was to provide a perspective to those who feel as if African Americans have no culture. This novel is set during the 1890’s in the poor villages of Nigeria such as Umuofia. When the book starts, we are introduced to two characters, Unoka and Okonkwo. Both of these men are opposites to one another, and Okonkwo is considered a success in the village of Umuofia, while Unoka is considered the village’s largest failure. Chinua Achebe portrays men as failures, masculine, and as weak minded. Unoka is Okonkwo’s father and in the village, Unoka is known as being the most irresponsible man in Umuofia due to him owing money to most of the people of the village and him not being able to provide for his family most of the time. “Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor, and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never...
Words: 800 - Pages: 4
...Africa from their tribal religion to Christianity. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, describes the white man’s transformation of the Igbo culture. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, exhibits an ineffective thinking process shown through his violent actions, Umofia’s negative reactions to his actions, and unnecessary dialogue between him and other Umofian citizens; this ineffective thinking process makes changing lifestyles impossible for Okonkwo, who, because of these events, commits suicide. Aggressive actions of Okonkwo present the extent of this ineffective thinking, which come to cause his death. Okonkwo performs one of his most thoughtless actions during the Week of Peace, a week in which any violence is prohibited. However, Okonkwo breaks the Week of Peace when “he beats [his first wife] heavily” for not returning early enough to cook his afternoon meal (Achebe 29). Failing to think about the ramifications of his decision, he acts on impulse and performs the most violent action possible. Not only does he just beat his wife, but he also does it heavily, showing how he cannot change from his normal personality in the slightest. Inability to change from his normal self for a week foreshadows how Okonkwo will not be able to adapt later on. In this instance, Okonkwo only gets punished a little, but his violent actions later get him killed. When a messenger orders a stop to a meeting in the marketplace of Umuofia, Okonkwo draws his machete and, in a matter of seconds, “Okonkwo’s...
Words: 1270 - Pages: 6
...Memorial of Rootedness “What is happening here- with these driven from their homeland no less than those who have remained?”[1] Martin Heidegger believed that man’s rootedness, or autochthony, is being threatened and lost to today’s technology and thoughtfulness. I believe that Heidegger would have been appalled by the white man’s actions towards the Ibo people in the Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Heidegger would have probably told the white men to let them be in their own rootedness. He may have not stood by all their views and traditions, but no man’s traditions should be neither superior nor inferior to another’s. As one of the characters in Achebe’s novel says, “What is good in one place is bad in another.”[2] The quote suggests that the Ibo people’s view was that of ethical relativism. This suggests that they know other cultures may view their beliefs as bad or unmoral, and they accepted this. This also suggest that the Ibo people accepted the cultural relativist view that good and bad differ from one cultural groups to another. Ethical relativism is the doctrine that there are no absolute truths in ethics and that what is morally right or wrong varies from person to person or from society to society. Ethical relativism means that there are no set ways of life. Every person has their own set of beliefs that differ from another person, even within the same society. I believe to fully believe in ethical relativism that there would have to be no judgment placed on...
Words: 1526 - Pages: 7
...English Dr. Swaralipi Nandi 18-09-2014 Theme of Colonialism in ‘Things Fall Apart’ Introduction : Poet and novelist Chinua Achebe was one of the most important Africanwriters. He was also considered by many to be one of the most original literary artists writing in English during his lifetime. He is best known for his novel Things Fall Apart (1958). Born Albert Chinualumogo Achebe, Chinua Achebe was raised by Christian evangelical parents in the large village Ogidi, in Igboland, Eastern Nigeria. He received an early education in English, but grew up surrounded by a complex fusion of Igbo traditions and colonial legacy. He studied literature and medicine at the University of Ibadan; after graduating, he went to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos and later studied at the British Broadcasting Corporation staff school in London. During this time, Achebe was developing work as a writer. Starting in the 1950s, he was central to a new Nigerian literary movement that drew on the oral traditions of Nigeria's indigenous tribes. Although Achebe wrote in English, he attempted to incorporate Igbo vocabulary and narratives. Things Fall Apart (1958) was his first novel, and remains his best-known work. It has been translated into at least forty-five languages, and has sold eight million copies worldwide. Chinua Achebe’s “African Trilogy” : Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God captures a society caught between...
Words: 6408 - Pages: 26
...African American History: Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is about the heartbreaking fall of the novel’s protagonist Okonkwo as well as the Igbo Culture. The protagonist is a respected and prominent leader in the Igbo community of Umuofia in Eastern Nigeria. His personal distinction and fame comes when he successfully beats Amalinze the Cat, in a wrestling duel. This earns him much honor. This novel is a demonstrative explanation of the culture of the Ibo clan as narrated from an insider's point of view while focusing on the life of Okonkwo. The customs and religion of the Ibo village comes out with simplicity and sympathy. This creates a sense of reminiscence for a way of life that is, no doubt, completely unusual to Western sensibilities and practices. This influences the reader to experience the strength and sense of a traditional culture as seen from within. The book is a vivid description of how rich African culture was before the invasion of the missionaries and colonialists rather than a bad portrayal of supposedly barbaric practices as has been claimed by some critics. For instance, Achebe describes a marriage ceremony of the Ibo community which paints a clear picture of their social and cultural aspect. There is so much socialism that an event such as marriage is a reserve and responsibility of the whole community. Achebe writes, “Women and children began to gather at Obierika’s compound to the bride’s mother in her difficult but happy task of...
Words: 691 - Pages: 3
...English Literature Summer Reading Things fall apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe. In the novel of things fall apart there are many characters that stand out, such as, Okonkwo, Nwoye, Ikemefuna, Mr. Brown and more. One substantial character is Ezinma - The only child of The main character Okonkwo,'s second wife, Ekwefi. As the only one of Ekwefi’s ten children to survive past infancy, Ezinma is the center of her mother’s world. Their relationship is atypical—Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name and is treated by her as an equal. Ezinma is also Okonkwo’s favorite child, for she understands him better than any of his other children and reminds him of Ekwefi when Ekwefi was the village beauty. Furthermore, he wishes that Ezinma were a boy because she would have been the perfect son. In the novel "Things Fall Apart" there are many themes and backgrounds, such as fear, sin and traditions. But the most frequent is respect/reputation. Reputation is extremely important to the men in the novel. Personal reputation is publicly denoted by the ankle bracelets men wear, which signify the number of “titles” they have earned. Reputation is based on merit – men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist, is extremely concerned with reputation because he grew up with a...
Words: 582 - Pages: 3
