Things Fall Apart follows the tale of a wealthy and respectable man in Umuofia by the name of Okonkwo, who faces traumatic experiences that ultimately lead to his imminent death. With Okonkwo’s tragic story comes the inevitable colonization of the native tribes of Lower Niger. A clear lens to look through is the Marxist lens, which explains that economic and political conditions determine social conditions. Karl Marx’s theorem transposes itself in Umuofia as the colonists brought their capitalist ideologies and ways of life to the natives of Lower Niger, and as a result, the rise of capitalism lead to the descent of the Umuofian community.
A trademark to Umuofian life is the captivating lust for power and wealth. Each man works to achieve titles, …show more content…
Once the albino missionaries arrived in the village, the “...white man brought a lunatic religion, [and] he had also built a trading store and for the first palm-oil and kernel became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umuofia” (178). New forms of development were introduced to the natives, and as a result, tensions grew over whether or not to trust the white man’s seemingly benevolent efforts to grow their society. Prior to the colonists’ arrival, Umuofia’s economy drove men to insanity as “...many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself” (24). A man becomes so reliant on a good harvest that a poor harvest could make him resort to suicide. It can be further stated that Okonkwo is a primary example of this fear, as “...his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (13). With the sudden cultural changes to the natives’ way of life came hostility, as the natives opposed the dispersal of their traditions as a tribe. Okonkwo, returned from his exile, “mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart” (183). Despite the brusque nature of the natives, Okonkwo saw the falseness in the colonists’ plans of reform. By the same token, the imprisonment of the Umuofian officials shows capitalism because certain officials receive dispensation from the common law of Umuofia. For example, the
A trademark to Umuofian life is the captivating lust for power and wealth. Each man works to achieve titles, …show more content…
Once the albino missionaries arrived in the village, the “...white man brought a lunatic religion, [and] he had also built a trading store and for the first palm-oil and kernel became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umuofia” (178). New forms of development were introduced to the natives, and as a result, tensions grew over whether or not to trust the white man’s seemingly benevolent efforts to grow their society. Prior to the colonists’ arrival, Umuofia’s economy drove men to insanity as “...many farmers wept as they dug up the miserable and rotting yams. One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself” (24). A man becomes so reliant on a good harvest that a poor harvest could make him resort to suicide. It can be further stated that Okonkwo is a primary example of this fear, as “...his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (13). With the sudden cultural changes to the natives’ way of life came hostility, as the natives opposed the dispersal of their traditions as a tribe. Okonkwo, returned from his exile, “mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart” (183). Despite the brusque nature of the natives, Okonkwo saw the falseness in the colonists’ plans of reform. By the same token, the imprisonment of the Umuofian officials shows capitalism because certain officials receive dispensation from the common law of Umuofia. For example, the