“We are a party of innovations. We do not reject our traditions, but we are willing to adapt to changing circumstances, when change we must. We are willing to suffer the discomfort of change in order to achieve a better future.”- Barbara Jordan. One of the major themes of “Things Fall Apart” was the traditions and customs based on complex characters, and their different cultural experiences and perspective. Achebe began to develop this theme by conveying traditional interactions between men and women before the arrival of the white men, and after it, and another way Achebe developed the vital theme was using the comparison of the Igbo religion, and Christianity. The vital theme of “Things Fall Apart” was traditions and customs, and it was
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The Igbo people were taught that men were of higher status than women, and had more power since their culture was that way. Throughout the novel the interactions between men and women slowly began to change with the coming of the Europeans. “Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title.” (2.12). Okonkwo's father was referred to as an agbala, another name for a woman. Okonkwo was offended by the word, because it was used to describe his father as a women. Women symbolized weakness in the Igbo culture and that is why it’s an insult for men to be called an agbala. Okonkwo is aware of what an agbala means, and what is meant to be a man in the Igbo tribe and Okonkwo is ashamed of his father, and what people thought of him. As the white men began to arrive the traditions of the Igbo people slightly changed. Women were still identified as the weaker sex, although that began to change. Women could bare children, and that was needed for their civilization to grow bigger and more powerful. The ideal woman made the ideal man. It was an honor for a man to have a pure bride, who could give him many …show more content…
But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw.” (2.12). The Igbo people were taught to fear and to be feared. The neighboring villages feared Umuofia, they feared their priests, weapons, and men. Although the men were feared by others, they feared the wrath of the gods and what may happen to them if they were to sin. The comparison of the Igbo religion and Christianity based on complex characters, and their different cultural experiences and perspective affected the book in a variety of ways. In the Igbo religion men were stronger and more powerful than women. They had more rights and could marry many. The Igbo people resulted to violent occurrences, and thought it was manly to fight. Christianity refined the Igbo religion. They began to convert villagers to Christianity; plotting family against friends, or even family against family. If the Igbo people ever sought to fight they couldn’t since it’d be like they are fighting against one another. The white man hadn’t resulted to violence until Okonkwo killed one of their messengers. Although they disrupted the peace and the well-being of the Igbo villages they also improved the lives of many. Nwoye was urged to become a strong warrior like his father. Who was violent, and
The Igbo people were taught that men were of higher status than women, and had more power since their culture was that way. Throughout the novel the interactions between men and women slowly began to change with the coming of the Europeans. “Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title.” (2.12). Okonkwo's father was referred to as an agbala, another name for a woman. Okonkwo was offended by the word, because it was used to describe his father as a women. Women symbolized weakness in the Igbo culture and that is why it’s an insult for men to be called an agbala. Okonkwo is aware of what an agbala means, and what is meant to be a man in the Igbo tribe and Okonkwo is ashamed of his father, and what people thought of him. As the white men began to arrive the traditions of the Igbo people slightly changed. Women were still identified as the weaker sex, although that began to change. Women could bare children, and that was needed for their civilization to grow bigger and more powerful. The ideal woman made the ideal man. It was an honor for a man to have a pure bride, who could give him many …show more content…
But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw.” (2.12). The Igbo people were taught to fear and to be feared. The neighboring villages feared Umuofia, they feared their priests, weapons, and men. Although the men were feared by others, they feared the wrath of the gods and what may happen to them if they were to sin. The comparison of the Igbo religion and Christianity based on complex characters, and their different cultural experiences and perspective affected the book in a variety of ways. In the Igbo religion men were stronger and more powerful than women. They had more rights and could marry many. The Igbo people resulted to violent occurrences, and thought it was manly to fight. Christianity refined the Igbo religion. They began to convert villagers to Christianity; plotting family against friends, or even family against family. If the Igbo people ever sought to fight they couldn’t since it’d be like they are fighting against one another. The white man hadn’t resulted to violence until Okonkwo killed one of their messengers. Although they disrupted the peace and the well-being of the Igbo villages they also improved the lives of many. Nwoye was urged to become a strong warrior like his father. Who was violent, and