Symbolism In The Allegory Of The Cave And Things Fall Apart

Imperialism is the idea that governments of nations have the right to acquire territory through direct force and govern over that territory by political and economic means (Encyclopedia Britannica). A significant ideal associated with the construct of Imperialism is the belief that the culture of the governing country is superior to the culture of the country being taken over (Cleary). This belief has been seen multiple times throughout history, such as with the colonization of Africa by European nations. However, Plato and Chinua Achebe also include Imperialistic ideals in The Allegory of the Cave and Things Fall Apart respectively. In both works, Imperialistic ideals are included to signify how society can become tumultuous due to changes in culture and personal knowledge. The term “society” refers to both the people living within boundaries and the setting by which they interact with. The setting of the characters, symbolism of the roles that the …show more content…
“Symbolism” is defined as “the use of any object, person, place, or action that both has a meaning in itself and that stands for something larger than itself” (Stepnowsky 1). This demonstrates uneasiness throughout society in Things Fall Apart during the onset of Imperialism. In that work, Achebe writes, “They [the missionaries] had built their church there, won a handful of converts, and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages” (79). Achebe also writes on page 89 and 90, “The village has outlawed us,’ said one of the women...‘We will go with you to meet those cowards.” In the first quote, the missionaries symbolize Imperialism entering society while the converts symbolize those who favored the cultural change (Westernization). The second quote builds upon this, but shows that the converts thought of the those who stayed to live their traditional culture as being