Power In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

There have been many cases in which money has determined power and status. One such example was during the conversion of African tribes by Christian missionaries. In Chinua Achebe 's book, Things Fall Apart, the reader is told the tale of a village being slowly taken over by the Christian missionaries from England, from the point of view of one of the most revered men in the area, Okonkwo. Okonkwo has always been afraid of being perceived as weak, and this promotes him to fight against the opposing force that wants to ruin their way of life. Although the missionaries came for religious reasons, they also wished to "civilize" the area, so they installed their own government and began to improve the trading system, making much of their power …show more content…
Later on in the book, the leaders of Umuofia are told to visit the District Commissioner to discuss a recent upsetting of the peace. The leaders have violent intentions regarding the meeting. The Commissioner foresaw the hostility and the leaders are imprisoned. The bail to set them free is set at 200 bags of cowries and the punishment for the leaders, should the bail not be paid, is to be hung. The messengers of the court who tell the people of the bail raise it to 250 so that they can get some money for themselves. The situation is expressed clearly in the message given by the court messengers: “Unless you pay the fine immediately,” said their headman, “we will take your leaders to Umuru before the big white man, and hang them.” (Achebe 265) The people of the clan have power in their cowries, and the white man is demanding it in exchange for their leaders ' lives. The white man has much power and significance as well because they have gotten ahold of many cowries themselves through trade, explaining how they could make such a demand. The transfer of power can be seen in how the people of Umuofia submit to the District Commissioner and give him the cowries in exchange for the power of their leaders. Not only was one kind of symbolic power traded for another, but this incident has lowered the power of the Igbo and increased the authority and …show more content…
When the missionaries begin to come in and establish themselves, they have a profound positive effect on the trade in the area and make a considerable amount of money in the process. It is stated in the book as such: “The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion, but he had also built a trading store and for the first time palm-oil and kernel became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umuofia.” (Achebe 241) It can be easily implied that Umuofia became more powerful during this time, as the historical trend shows that rich places are often powerful and influential places as well. With a source of income established, it can be seen how the white men become more powerful as well. They have a source of income, and that means a source of power. Every time palm-oil and kernel are sold, the people of the area that purchase it are essentially handing power to the white men. This is what allows the District Commissioner to do such powerful and authoritative things later on. Even evaluated in a market situation, the constant flow of money is a flow of power and