Change can normally be thought of as a good or bad thing that can happen to someone. Some people love to have change and explore new ideas and cultures but to others the thought of not having routine and being forced to change terrifies people. Things Fall Apart is a novel about a village that is being overcome with church missionaries trying to convince people to convert to Christianity and leave their traditions behind. In the novel Things Fall Apart the author, Chinua Achebe, recognizes how different types of people deal with change and wanting to stick to tradition through the characters as they either succumb to the new culture, stick to the life they know or face the consequences of staying in the past.
Some of the characters in the novel …show more content…
If you refuse to change or accept others’ change then you will end up hurting yourself. Okonkwo, an influential leader of the Igbo culture, despised the white men who came to Umofia to try to disrupt his tradition and peace. He even lost his weak son to this new religion. Okonkwo ignored this ridiculous idea the missionaries were spreading at first until it was too much to bare. As he watched his tribe go down in ruins he decided he couldn’t spend another day in this changing world anymore and took his own life. Obierika, Okonkwo’s good friend, who watched as his friend’s dead body dangled, thrashed out at a missionary by saying, “That man was one of the greatest men in Umofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog…” (Achebe, 157). Okonkwo and Obierika both blamed the missionaries for ruining their tradition, although they are the ones who could not accept change.
In life people can either love change or hate change but they should always accept others beliefs and understand that not everyone believes in the same ideas. Change will always be occurring and if people don’t keep up with the steady changing of life then they will get lost behind. It is possible to understand others people’s new ideas and accept them but still stick to your traditions like Akunna did. Everyone should reflect on who they are and think about how they would handle the situation if put in Okonkwo’s
Some of the characters in the novel …show more content…
If you refuse to change or accept others’ change then you will end up hurting yourself. Okonkwo, an influential leader of the Igbo culture, despised the white men who came to Umofia to try to disrupt his tradition and peace. He even lost his weak son to this new religion. Okonkwo ignored this ridiculous idea the missionaries were spreading at first until it was too much to bare. As he watched his tribe go down in ruins he decided he couldn’t spend another day in this changing world anymore and took his own life. Obierika, Okonkwo’s good friend, who watched as his friend’s dead body dangled, thrashed out at a missionary by saying, “That man was one of the greatest men in Umofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog…” (Achebe, 157). Okonkwo and Obierika both blamed the missionaries for ruining their tradition, although they are the ones who could not accept change.
In life people can either love change or hate change but they should always accept others beliefs and understand that not everyone believes in the same ideas. Change will always be occurring and if people don’t keep up with the steady changing of life then they will get lost behind. It is possible to understand others people’s new ideas and accept them but still stick to your traditions like Akunna did. Everyone should reflect on who they are and think about how they would handle the situation if put in Okonkwo’s