Cultural Collision In Things Fall Apart

The novel "Thing's fall apart" by Chinua Achebe is a complex work that masterfully establishes and develops characters through their experience with cultural collision. The way that Achebe accomplishes carefully weaving his implicit claim throughout the work is such a beautiful subtlety that it deserves to be analyzed. The Igbo's pride is constantly challenged by the colonizers as they gain increasingly more power in Africa. The idea of pride is constantly developed throughout the thoughts and actions of the novels protagonist Okonkwo. His response to the colonizers is influenced by his own views on pride and is used by Achebe to illustrate his own opinion on pride.

In most fairy tales and novels a humble male role is used to dictate the normality of writing. In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo, a strong male role is not only that, a lead character, but he is also cruel and prone to violent tendencies In the novel Okonkwo experiences harsh changes when the white men first came and at the beginning of colonialism. In “Things Fall Apart”, Achebe uses Okonkwo to display the negative change in everyday Igbo culture after colonialism. In this novel by Achebe, before colonialism was introduced, Okonkwo was a known masculine member of Umuofia.

In Things Fall Apart, the main hero Okonkwo is the central character viewing tragic hero. The 1958 novel has depicted the series of tragedy about an ambitious man. Chinua Achebe, the writer reveals fear of social compromise, worst crime, masculinity, harshness, Colonisation and its impact. Okonkwo being the proud man in the Igbo society dedicate in preserving his heritage, culture ancestors and clans.

Among those of the same culture, individuals who are adaptive and open-minded can be successful when there is cultural collision. When the Igbo and European cultures collide, Okonkwo gradually spirals out of control, losing everything he values and his own sense of self. From the beginning of the novel, Achebe depicts Okonkwo as a virile warrior and a successful farmer within the Igbo tribe. Reacting with violence to anything he considers “womanly” or “weak”, “He was a man of action and man of war” (10). Because of his reputation as a warrior he is highly respected by his community.

Okonkwo wanted his tribe to fight back the missionaries in order to protect their Igbo culture but his persistence only led to his downfall. This can be seen when Okonkwo makes a rash decision to kill a messenger thinking Umuofia would fight back but ended up not fighting, “The white man whose power you know too well has ordered this meeting to stop.” In a flash, Okonkwo drew his machete. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless.

In the book “Things Fall Apart“ Okonkwo is a very strong man and from time to time he starts showing his true self. He has a lot of responsibilities and other things he has to do around the living environment and interact with lots of people. Okonkwo changes from being that strong man, to a man who feels like his tribe is not with him when he wants to go to war with the missionaries. For someone like Okonkwo a lot of people looks up to him and while in the tribe Okonkwo beats his wives and children. Not good behavior for someone who is supposedly looked at as strong.

Achebe set out to write the story of Okonkwo to help other understand the effects of Imperialism on Western Africa by using the Igbo tribe as an example. Chinua Achebe’s historical fiction novel “Things Fall Apart” and historical evidence from the 1800s shows that imperialism had a significant negative impact on Western African tribes’ political and cultural identity. Imperialism had a negative effect on the political identity of the Igbo tribe which is proven by Chinua Achebe’s writing and historical evidence. To show the negative impact imperialism has on the political identity of the Igbo tribe, Chinua Achebe writes, “... he carried a strong stick, and he hit each man a few blows on the head and back… Okonkwo was choked with hate”

Okonkwo Falls Apart Chinua Achebe offers a rare look at the natives perspective during colonialism in his work Things Fall Apart. The central struggle in the main character Okonkwo is that he is beginning to lose his way of life, and he is not able to do anything about it. Conflicts in religious beliefs with the arrival of the missionaries heightens Okonkwo 's internal aggression, and his inability to adapt leads to his downfall.

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe Tells a story of a warrior named Okonkwo. Okonkwo was a coward. This is what lead him to his fate. He was very proud of his village, Umuofia, Because they were a great warrior clan. Okonkwo was a very successful farmer of yams.

Okonkwo’s devastating effects Attention!!! Okonkwo’s effects on his culture’s communication in his tribe are devastating him!!! The reasons for Okonkwo’s change in their senses of identity included are he identifies with manliness as strength, wealth, power, and violence, what drives him to be UNLIKE his father, and it is important for him to be respected by his clan. Overall, their response to the introduction of Western ideas shaped the meaning of the work as a whole by making Okonkwo work with the negative effects inside him and making him stronger than he was in his young age.

In "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, the tragic hero archetype of Okonkwo and the dramatic situation of "Adversus Deus ex Machina" are used to explore the devastating consequences of colonialism on indigenous people, and the impact of an individual's tragic flaw on their community's fate. Okonkwo is a strong and respected member of his community, known for his courage, strength and success as a warrior and farmer. He is determined to be successful and to prove himself, and his determination is admirable. However, Okonkwo also has a tragic flaw, which is his fear of being weak or effeminate like his father. This fear drives him to be overly harsh and violent, particularly towards his family, and it ultimately leads to his downfall.

Things Fall Apart Essay By:Brendadette Lopez~ Paiz In Chinua Achebe’s masterpiece Things Fall Apart, he portrays the evolution of Okonkwo, a tribal leader, struggle to get out of poverty, and the colonization of Africa. Due to the colonization of his country and the changes it had brought caused the tear in Okonkwo’s tribe leaving him with nothing, and leading to his fate.

Colonization has an impact on an individual’s life and can either be positive or negative. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses Okonkwo, a tragic hero, to show loss of power and respect due to colonization and to exemplify change can be hard for people. Okonkwo’s identity is dependent on the Igbo Culture. At the beginning of the book, Okonkwo is seen as very strong. Also, Okonkwo only shows the emotion anger because he thinks that is the only emotion that men should show and every other emotion is feminine according to his standards.

In the beginning of the novel, Okonkwo was a highly respected individual however towards the end, this takes a turn. On page 205, chapter 24, it mentions, “Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war.” In this context, Okonkwo had just beheaded a messenger. Colonizers had influenced the beliefs of the villagers in the Igbo culture as Okonkwo had been gone and he was aware that he did not have the power to influence them.

The most prominent character in the novel is that of Okonkwo. He is depicted as a strong man who is ''well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond." (1). Okonkwo is a man of strong will and persistence who resists fear and detests failure. However, Okonkwo needed his village "Umuofia" to remain as it is, where no change or progress can be noted, as his value and self- meaning are measured by its traditions and rooted customs.