things fall apart

Thesis: In the novel "things fall apart" Achebe influences and impacts our understanding of several concepts in regards of the novel through the use of personal history while while drafting his creative piece.  through the use and development of certain characters and events in the novel we are able to understand the cultural context of the novel.

Topic sentence 1: Due to the implications and alteration of culture that Achebe experienced in his childhood he was able to replicate and comprehend the impacts it had on him and society as reflected in his novel.

Topic sentence 2: Achebe exposure to the new religion gives him insight towards both hands of the spectrum allowing him to demonstrate the impact that was implemented on society.

Topic sentence 3: Due to the schooling of Achebe on the conditions he had when he obtained knowledge he was knowledgeable and aware of the cultural implications that were demonstrated in his novel.

Things fall apart

Thesis:

In the novel things fall apart Chinua Achebe uses the ideal of gender roles in order to implement and show a segregation and separation in dominance between the sexes through the use of Okonkwo, Ezinma, and Ekwefi.

Topic sentence 1: By taking a look at Oknokwo’s character it is evident that separation and segregation in the dominant sex is shown by portraying him a man that is almost flawless with power, that doesn’t tolerate women in society.

Topic sentence 2: By taking a look at the novel things fall apart it is evident that the character of Ezinma seems to portray the gender bias and barriers between the sexes.

Topic sentence 3: The character of things fall apart Ekwefi, Okonkwo’s wife seems to implement the role of women in society yet show segregation and division of power between the sexes through her role in society.

Okonkwo: a tragic hero

In the novel things fall apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is being portrayed as a tragic hero. According to Aristotle’s a tragic hero is portrayed as “a good man of high status who displays a tragic flaw (“hamartia”) and experiences a dramatic reversal (“peripeteia”), as well as an intense moment of recognition (“anagnorisis”)”. Okonkwo was known to be a leader a hardworking member in the society with no limitations to what he can achieve whose tragic flaws were his great fear of weakness and failure. As his downfall and his death satisfies Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero.

Okonkwo was known to be as a man of war and action, as a high member in the Igbo society, as he holds a strong position in the village due to the fact that he had shown “shown incredible prowess in two intertribal wars”. Die to his hard work he became wealthy and recognized amongst the nine villages in Umuofia. Okonkwo was a man that wasn’t afraid to work; on the contrary his fear of weakness derives from his father Unoka as he had an unproductive life and a shameful death. “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness…. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.” Okonkwo’s father was a lazy, carefree man whom had a reputation of being “poor and his wife and children had just barely enough to eat... they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back.”  Unoka had never taught Okonkwo what was right and wrong, and as a result Okonkwo had to interpret how to be a “good man”. Okonkwo’s self-interpretation leads him to conclude that a “good man” was someone who was the exact opposite of his father and therefore anything that his father did was weak and unnecessary.

Like many heroes of any tragedy, Okonkwo tragic flaw, also makes him excessively proud. Okonkwo’s downfall “death” is the result of the changes that had occurred when the missionary came in “British” to the Igbo society. As the introduction to the missionaries lead the tragic flaws of Okonkwo become worse. Okonkwo interprets a change as weakness, and as a result of his interpretation Okonkwo only knows how to react to change through anger and strength. Therefore a satisfaction is obtained, “hubris” or prideful arrogance, from the fact that he is a traditional, self made man and thinks that to change would mean submitting to an outside force

The Ibo culture had made Okonkwo a hero and a savior towards their society, but the Ibo culture had changed when the invasion of the missionaries had occurred, and looking at Okonkwo he would rather die than be humiliated by his enemies only to attain his pride, therefore by committing pride he prevents the missionaries from getting revenge because he had killed their messenger. Aristotle’s statement, “Man, when perfect, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all”, embodies the rise and fall of Okonkwo in things fall apart. Okonkwo, like many tragic heroes before him, maybe a hero but his tragic flaw prevents him from achieving true greatness as a human being

Igbo culture

Taking a look at a glimpse into the lives of the Igbo society in Africa, by taking a look at the villages that are found, its shown that traditions are highly regarded amongst many communities. Religion was also taken into account when it comes to the villagers it was taken in a serious matter as it helped shape their customs and traditions that were shown to be sacred. Taking a look at the simplest village or group of Igbo people, we could see that the role of controlling a family or a group of villagers was determined by the oldest man, as they would perceive him as the wisest and most knowledgeable person in their village due to his experiences. As in many villages his role was mainly involved in settling family fights and settle down issues with neighboring tribes therefore he was commanded with respect and reverence. Hence, many Igbo elders were composed of the oldest members in the village. Igbo land is rich in cultural and historical background due to the challenges and events it had faced before gaining their independence.

Taking a look back at the history of the Igbo culture it could be deduced that the invasion of the Victorians had brought some positive and negative changes to the culture. Taking a look the changes that had occurred the invasion caused many to learn about the culture in order to expand their knowledge about how the culture worked. Hence they had built schools and hospitals in order to educate the people and develop the society as a whole. Hence, taught both adults and youngsters how to read and write. The schools expanded in Igbo land bringing with them the church and religion and by looking at the villagers educatory system its found that faith had played a huge role in defying their identity so those who where enrolled in schools learned about Christianity the new religion that they had brought with them. According to Achebe “If Umuofia failed to send her children to the school, strangers would come from other places to rule them.” Indicating that the knowledge that was gained by the villagers was necessary as it would help them fight back and defend themselves against strangers both physically and as a people. Since they were a culture based almost solely on what was known to them from past experiences, and being unsure of the outside, they would have had no defense against any intruders coming into their land. Although due to Christianity many family were broken up and this lead to the destruction of an Igbo custom as before colonialism took place, family was an important thing in the Igbo society.

Looking at the judicial and the political stance that the Igbo society had it could be deduced that titles held by a clan member had a major part in the society. Taking a look at the society there was an order in which the titles could be achieved in, accompanied by payments that were required in order to get the title.  Taking a look the system established was a form of social security hence those who had titles were entitled a share of those who paid to get their title. However, getting a title wasn’t that easy as series of rituals were conducted and performed before one could receive a title which indicating ones position amongst his tribe and the level of his success in life. As a titled man had received different treatment than a man without a title, they were consulted and seeked for guidance by many of the villagers asking for tips and resources in order to be successful. Although some villages had kings and they had ruled the village yet they needed to consult and approve their decision by high ranked titled men in the village before taking any decision.

Looking back at the customs that are accompanied by the Igbo there are vast differences between their ideologies and western ideologies as an example in the Igbo culture polygamy, the practice of having many wives is spread amongst the villages as its known that the man with the most wives is shown to be the wealthiest man in the village. However polygamy isn’t something that is profound in the western societies, on the contrary monogamy (opposite of polygamy) is seen to be the accepted form of marriage in the west. As they western society perceives the ideology of having more than one wife is a cause that leads to divorce and disrupting family bonds. While like mentioned previously it is encouraged in the Igbo society. Nevertheless another example of cultural differences is polytheism, the practice of worshipping many gods, in the Igbo society they believe in many gods, and in their chi “their personal god” as Achebe says "A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi" therefore Achebe demonstrates the importance of god in an Igbo culture, a custom of killing and sacrificing animals is found I their traditions linking I back to getting closer to their gods. While in the western societies this ritual isn’t practiced, as they don’t believe in sacrificing animals to get closer to god, some western religions base it in being morally wrong and inhumane. As if westerns do sacrifice animals they would be violating their set of laws. 

After taking a look at the Igbo culture and by looking at their cultural, political and societal value, it could be deduced that the Igbo people are villagers that have simple aims in life as they aren’t complicated. It’s shown that they are peaceful and friendly, as they didn’t attack the British when they invaded them they allowed them to help their society prosper. By taking a look at the information mentioned wouldn’t you be excited to be a part of such culture. Wouldn’t you be excited to see the influence of your society on theirs, wouldn’t you be eager to visit and discover their beautiful nature and their tremendous villages, don’t waste your time and take part in something. I am Igbo so can you.

Most Meaningful Takeaway

Throughout our class discussion we had discussed and talked about an interview with Chinua Achebe considered by many critics and teachers to be the most influential African writer of his generation. As in his interview many aspects regarding his life and perspectives had been laid out but one thing that had grabbed my attention throughout the interview was the ideology of having a single story. Through the interview I believe that Achebe was trying to interpret that if we hear a one single story about a person or a country, we may have been interpreting and risking the image and portrayal of anyone due to a confusion. As there are dangers to such stories being told, as there are instances in which a single story can create negative image “stereotypes” which lead to portray certain cultures in a close-minded stereotypical view leading to destroy a cultures mage. As I believe that he was trying to demonstrate that a person should be open-minded and accept to hear many perspectives so that he can formulate a judgment. Therefore he stresses on the importance of seeking different views in order to have a proper understanding of the situation. Therefore in my opinion Achebe was trying to introduce the ideal of having a “balance of stories” where everyone contributes to formulate the overall image of a community.