Lost Fruits In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Lost Fruits The delusional concept of world domination has been dreamed of by every nation, from the Nazi’s conquest to the New World Order conspiracy, this perception satisfies the thirst for control as well as superiority. The colonization of Africa first began in the late nineteenth century and extended into the late twentieth century, when the British wanted holdings on more land. During this period of time, people, especially the native Africans, faced imperialist aggression, diplomatic pressures, and military invasions from the Europeans. In Chinua Achebe’s renowned novel, Things Fall Apart, the conflict between European powers and the resisting natives are vividly displayed through the protagonist, Okonkwo’s contrasting views of pre-colonial and post-colonial Nigeria. As a state is colonized, its cultures and traditions are lost within the struggle for power and its subsequent chaos, resulting in a downturn of lives for the natives previously residing in the colonized state. As a result of the colonization of Okonkwo’s clan, the new European laws challenges many of the clan’s original laws and cultures. When Okonkwo is prepared to return to Iguedo, his home village, Obierika, his close friend, visits him and updates him on the issues regarding a land …show more content…
Although the colonized state will dissolve into something new and foreign, it builds on the losses of unique cultures and people’s minds. Clearly shown through Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, colonialism takes on its most violent form, as a destructive force tearing through the African natives’ lives, through the new establishment of laws and customs, introducing a new foreign religion, and eventually leading to the suicide of the central character, Okonkwo. The critical link between a person and his/her culture, if ruptured, will result in the decline of the person’s emotions and thoughts as wells as the decline of the culture