Chinua Achebe Essay

“Things Fall Apart” is a novel written by Chinua Achebe about how the Europeans affected the Ibo society in the 19th century. The British wanted to occupy Nigeria because of the major slave-trading opportunities. The British first invaded Lagos but eventually occupied the rest of Nigeria. In the book, the main hero is Okonkwo, who is a leader of the Ibo community. Okonkwo strives to be unlike his father whom Okonkwo saw as lazy and a loser. Okonkwo’s name means pride and stubbornness…

themselves with a new culture, further abolishes and exploits the weaker class. This assimilation stops the continuations of the culture, traditions and customs throughout the family. The theory of assimilation being destructive can be directly related to Chinua Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart. In the novel, the Europeans invade the Ibo community of Umuofia to convince them to change their way of life. The Ibo people lose sight of the very things that keep them closely knit together like faith, the…

In the novel “Things fall apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo was a brave, respected, intimidating, and wealthy man. He had a severe look, with a wide nose and bushy eyebrows, and “seemed to walk on springs”(4). Although Okonkwo was highly respected by the villagers they still thought he was unsympathetic. Okonkwo believed that anyone who was not succeeding was doing. So due to the lack of trying he did not believe those people deserved very much respect because of all the hard work he had to put…

individuals. By seeing different aspects of the world, people tend to find a sense of individuality. Many also start to form their own opinions that can interfere with the thoughts of a group, causing a conflict. In his novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe expresses through the symbolic death of Nwoye and Okonkwo’s suicide that unity and support is necessary in a community for it to become successful. Nwoye becoming Isaac is due to encouragement he did not receive from his father. This…

granting the feeling of protection, and the undying love of a woman who would do anything for her darling child. To the Ibo people, these two concepts, however different they may be are both fulfilled by the women who inhabit their villages. Throughout Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the role of women is met with some ambiguity due to a facade of blatant oppression and abuse. Though women in the Ibo culture are proven to be some of the most…

She marries Okonkwo due to his conquests and similitude to virility. Efweki, although, tends to one adolescent, Ezinma, because of an ogbanje child or “a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn” (Achebe). Considering Ezinma is Okonkwo’s preferred descendant, Efweki receives more affection and approbation from her husband. Okonkwo cares more for her contentment and values Efweki’s presence. When Ezinma is seized by the priestess of Agbala, Efweki…

Imagine a society in which it is acceptable for men to treat women as their inferior. The way that women were treated as inferiors in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe helps the reader to understand Ibo society and men’s accepted superiority within the society. In Things Fall Apart, women’s role in Ibo society is crucial to the society, understanding it and grasping the men’s behavior as the superior sex. The preconceived idea that women are weak, the women’s responsibilities and the women…

“A man does not die of love or his liver or even of old age; he dies of being a man” Miguel De Unamuno. This quote connects to Things Fall Apart since Okonkwo ends up taking his life and dies a “man’’. In the book Things Fall Apart the author Chinua Achebe uses the power of masculinity to allow the reader to understand Okonkwo and his culture. There are many pieces of evidence supporting this idea throughout the book. Okonkwo classifies a man as physically strong and tough. He thinks women do…

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe tells a story of a man whose life is dominated by fear and anger. That man is Okonkwo. He is a strong and masculine character. He is also against the influence of Christianity. His son, Nwoye, believes in Christianity. This makes Okonkwo to despise Nwoye because he wants Nwoye to be like him. Okonkwo is powerful and masculine. Nwoye is the exact opposite. This makes Okonkwo depressed because he wants Nwoye to be like his father when he grows up. “Okonkwo’s…

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo has good qualities to him such as being a hard worker, and he is respected throughout the villages, but he often blocks his emotions and becomes a murderer. These actions make him seem like a bad person which makes him actually become one and leads him to being banished from the village. He is strong and honorable but his offsets often distract people from the real Okonkwo. Okonkwo is an unsympathetic character with his wives Ojiugo and…