Thing

wisdom and perception of life as they affect and control their communities.” Much of the philosophical statements were handed over from the respective ancestors, and its use is connected from their past to the present, and relevant from the future. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is one such book. The author continuously incorporates elements of the Igbo language and tradition, to bridge the cultural divide as westerns come into the village. Achebe considers conversations and the use of the…

been fighting for power. Many times, those countries are pulled in many different directions, with their traditional beliefs trying to be changed. Colonialism affects people in which their lives are radically changed, for better or for worse. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader is given insight on the Ibo struggle with colonialism, following the story of an Umuofian man named Okonkwo as he struggles with adapting to the changing times. The invasion of white men in Ibo society…

The Tragic Hero The protagonist of things fall apart, Okonkwo is known as a tragic hero who holds a position of power and prestige choosing his course of action that possesses a tragic flaw, and gains, awareness of environment that lead to his fall. In his thirties, Okonkwo is a leader of the Igbo community of Umuofia. Achebe describe him as “tall and huge” with “bushy eyebrows” and a “wide nose that gives him a very server look”. When he walks, his heels barley touch the ground, like he was…

The book “Things Fall Apart” tells a story of a man, Okonkwo who was very well respected in his clan called the Umuofia clan from an Ibo village in Nigeria. Okonkwo comes from a father called Unoka who was a laughing stock throughout the entire village, and died leaving many debts unpaid. Becoming his father is something that Okonkwo never wants for himself or his twelve year old son. Okonkwo falls from a place of high respect in his village and this book follows his story. It also tells of how…

In Chinua Achebe’s short novel, Things Fall Apart, set in male-dominated late 19th century Africa, the African community specifically the Umuofia tribe, struggles to uphold their own traditions while the invading Europeans try interject their own religion and customs upon them. The tragic hero of the story, Okonkwo, becomes infuriated with his own people as he witnesses them betray their own morals and culture. He desperately tries to preserve the ethics and traditions of his community while the…

Chinua Achebe’s Literary Analysis “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosened upon the world.” The famous words of W.B Yeats fully represented the tragedy of both wars: war for conformity, and war against the human spirit. If one challenges society’s own rules as well as their own morals, life starts to crumble in both the challenger and the one challenged. Award winning Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe, stresses the message through the Umuofia Clan, an Igbo tribe who…

societal gender norms, men are often given the idea that masculinity is expressed through dominance, anger, violence, and the ability to provide, and that anything lying outside of that is unmasculine. This is especially relevant in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart - set around 1900 - for the character of Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s infatuation with his understanding of what a perfect man of high status should be became the central cause of his self-inflicted demise. Okonkwo’s obsession with…

Colonization was a huge part of our history and it has impacted many people, some of who choose to tell their story to better inform the rest of the world. Three literary works especially focus on colonization. The first of these is Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, which follows Okonkwo, who is a well respected Igbo man, as he and his clan deal with the impacts colonization has on them in Nigeria. Similar to this is Rabbit Proof Fence, which also follows people impacted by colonization.…

know one side of the story. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, is an insightful presentation of African culture which has been lost to enigma in our history books. On the surface the novel functions as an antithesis to Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, but on a deeper level forms a connection between Conrad’s novel and other literary works. Through these connections, and also through the application of universally relatable themes, Things Fall Apart reveals the universality of all…

The novel « Things Fall Apart » by Chinua Achebe is written in English. However, there are some Ibo expressions set in this novel to introduce the reader’s mind into a more authentic and unique African atmosphere. The author, Chinua Achebe, is the first to write a novel about colonialism in the perspective of a colonized tribe from within. Furthermore, he is the only African who has ever described the African culture before and after the settlement of the Christians. This essay will examine how…