Almost instantly in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”, the reader is submersed into a world where consecrated practices are performed to pacify the anger of the gods. As with most religiously motivated rituals that are focused toward pacifying an angry and ever watchful god, these rituals do have only a transient soothing power to the gods above. The traditional practices that are pronounced in this novel are simply perplexing to an Igbo clan outsider and in the end cause a major rift between the conquering Christians and the local peoples in this region of Africa. Looking back and examining these now vanished African cultures, we can see the increase of empirical education corresponded with a decrease in superstation, religious beliefs and
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the side of contemporary knowledge of how the universe works today, it becomes relatively clear that few would take their belief to this level today. Considering the latest science based facts, over the centuries there has been an inverse trajectory drawn that can show the correlation between knowledge and superstition (Hungerman, 2011). Having the capability to explain and forecast events that occur all over our world removes most of the reasons to make up a mystical doctrine. In the story of “Things Fall Apart” there was a situation that happened during the week of peace. It was known that the Igbo goddess Ani should never be angered during the week of peace, so that she could bless the tribe with a good harvest. The Okonkwo desecrated this week of peace when he brutally beat one of his wives. This created the requirement of animal, vegetable and coin sacrifices for Okonkwo transgressions. Genuinely immoral doctrines were rampant in the Igbo tribe. From killing twins on their birth, beating of women, to the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo adopted son. In the case of the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo even struck the killing blow, “…you question the authority and decision of the Oracle, who said he should die” (Achebe, 1994). Though you can be sure that these beliefs and actions were based on mysterious and shocking situations over a period of time within the tribe, the judgment of their morality should not be based on …show more content…
Supernatural belief was a place to put your worries in an atmosphere where not all could be knowledgeably reasoned with or understood. As the human race becomes more technologically advanced, superstition becomes replaced with real world knowledge to clarify the many marvels within our universe. The changes brought by the Europeans to the Igbo were found to be so dramatic and bizarre that it overcame Okonkwo who showed signs of being mentally unstable or a man living in the wrong time, forcing him to take his own life. This was not because Okonkwo was afraid of what the sentence might be for killing the court messenger but because he could not grasp what was happening to his tribe, land, traditions and everything he knew and loved in his life was being destroyed. Overall this story put me a little off balance, moved me, motivated me to think about the evolution of our current psychology, philosophy and made me contemplate about where once we were and where we are going when it comes to religion in today’s world. Should some "backward" practices be valued and respected in a positive view because of cultural belief?
the side of contemporary knowledge of how the universe works today, it becomes relatively clear that few would take their belief to this level today. Considering the latest science based facts, over the centuries there has been an inverse trajectory drawn that can show the correlation between knowledge and superstition (Hungerman, 2011). Having the capability to explain and forecast events that occur all over our world removes most of the reasons to make up a mystical doctrine. In the story of “Things Fall Apart” there was a situation that happened during the week of peace. It was known that the Igbo goddess Ani should never be angered during the week of peace, so that she could bless the tribe with a good harvest. The Okonkwo desecrated this week of peace when he brutally beat one of his wives. This created the requirement of animal, vegetable and coin sacrifices for Okonkwo transgressions. Genuinely immoral doctrines were rampant in the Igbo tribe. From killing twins on their birth, beating of women, to the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo adopted son. In the case of the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo even struck the killing blow, “…you question the authority and decision of the Oracle, who said he should die” (Achebe, 1994). Though you can be sure that these beliefs and actions were based on mysterious and shocking situations over a period of time within the tribe, the judgment of their morality should not be based on …show more content…
Supernatural belief was a place to put your worries in an atmosphere where not all could be knowledgeably reasoned with or understood. As the human race becomes more technologically advanced, superstition becomes replaced with real world knowledge to clarify the many marvels within our universe. The changes brought by the Europeans to the Igbo were found to be so dramatic and bizarre that it overcame Okonkwo who showed signs of being mentally unstable or a man living in the wrong time, forcing him to take his own life. This was not because Okonkwo was afraid of what the sentence might be for killing the court messenger but because he could not grasp what was happening to his tribe, land, traditions and everything he knew and loved in his life was being destroyed. Overall this story put me a little off balance, moved me, motivated me to think about the evolution of our current psychology, philosophy and made me contemplate about where once we were and where we are going when it comes to religion in today’s world. Should some "backward" practices be valued and respected in a positive view because of cultural belief?