The Importance Of Igbo Culture In Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, is an African novel written for the benefit of non-Africans. Okonkwo is a main character throughout the story and is a strong man who has always been all about the traditions of his people. “I wasn’t thinking of that at all when it came time to find a title. That phrase “things fall apart” seemed to me just right and appropriate” (Brooks). In Things Fall Apart the Igbo culture is very interesting and great to learn about. The culture includes how the parents treat their children, how marriages are arranged, and how the bride and groom meet. From the food to the weddings, to the funeral, there’s so much to learn about their beliefs and how they tie into wealth and power in their society. In the Ibo culture, the most important thing was not money but was the crop yams. Yams are a very important piece to have and harvest. Yams were a way to tell if a person could afford a lot or what kind of life they were going to live. Normally the parents would loan some yams to their young sons to help them start a crop. “Okonkwo did not have the start …show more content…
Money has a lot to do with the Ibo culture and how things are handled. If you have a bunch of yams you are considered rich. If not, you are considered poor and useless. When Unoka died they didn’t go all out because he was in debt and didn’t have money. “Unoka was, of course, a debtor, and he owed every neighbor some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts” (Achebe 3). Unoka was one of the many characters that did not have money and for that reason he was useless. “When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt” (Achebe 5). If you have money your weddings are more enjoyable and more blown out then if you didn’t. The people around have a gathering after death in your favor to help the celebration of the things you have accomplished and come within your