Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart highlights the impact of British Colonialism in Nigerian tribe culture. The Igbo people were meant to immolate the culture of Chinua Achebe. While, the setting in Umofia is a fictional place. In this novel, Achebe highlights the beliefs of the Igbo as well as their way of life by focusing on the main character, Okonkwo. Okonkwo in the beginning we see that he has to climb the social ladder to be seen as a respected man in the Igbo culture. This helps to add to his hypermasculinity throughout the story. However, the main focus is the impact of crop growth, wives, children, the communal justice system and finally the belief that there are multiple Gods/Goddesses. The picture of Umofia and the Igbo people help readers establish the pre-colonial society.
Later in the story, there is a time where Okonkwo is sent to exile for his participating in the accidental killing. The villagers in the community served justice by exiling him for seven years. However, when Okonkwo returns he is met with the British Empire and the work of missionaries. The introduction of Christianity, government institutions and new education systems seemed a bit overwhelming for Okonkwo. Okonkwo and a few other tribe members act to preserve their culture, however, in the end the British empire becomes too much for Okonkwo, leading him to suicide. The introduction of British culture shows that the introduction of their society in a way caused more harm than good.
In fact, the introduction of new life in the eyes of the British causes the end destruction and loss of the Igbo culture. Often times in the novel, the British Empire is compared to that of locusts. Locusts are insects that are known for consuming everything in their path. The British Empire’s introduction of new ways of life ended up destroying the Igbo tradition. In an analysis I read, it highlights the way British discredits their tradition by saying “All the god who have names are not god at all. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. There is only one true God, and he has the earth, the sky, you, and me and all of us” which implies that Christianity is superior (ISJR, 2015). The loss of culture at the hands of the British is a key factor in the fate of Okonkwo and helps to establish the long-term destructive impact of post-colonial society in Umofia.
The idea of pre-colonial society in the eyes of Britain helped fuel the stigma of third world countries. This false idea that there are different worlds based on their traditions, ways of governing, and many other factors is destructive to the culture of many people. In fact, it causes many of us to assume or have preconceived associations about other people based on their religion, appearance or identity. By Chinua Achebe sharing this story of his people it helps us to understand the impact of post-colonialism and why it is important to preserve culture for the sake of communities all around the world.
Words Cited:
Rhoads, Diana Akers. “Culture in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.” African Studies Review, vol. 36, no. 2, 1993, pp. 61–72. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/524733. Accessed 19 Sept. 2020.
(IJSR), International Journal of Science and Research. “The Impact of Colonialization and Cultural Change on the Igbo People: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Novel Things Fall Apart.” (2015). Accessed 19 Sept. 2020.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1995. Accessed 19 Sept. 2020
Thank you for the explanation on the book Things Fall Apart. As I did my presentation, I did the history context on the book so I did not get into great detail on what the actual story of the book is about till I read your presentation. As you stated, he was exiled for an accidental killing then he returned to the work of missionaries. It remind me on the research that I had done which stated that the missionaries targeted the weaker tribesmen to convert them to christianity which caused the clans to divide. I do agree that the British culture did do more harm than good to their society.
Thanks for your presentation! I agree wholeheartedly that we need to allow and feed into the preservation of cultures around the world. Reading this brought to mind Adichie’s Single Story TEDtalk, in that the British probably only had the one story about the Igbo, and saw them as a community in need of their saving. This community of people NEEDED their help with schools, religion, government, etc because the Igbo did not do things exactly like the British, therefore were classified as Others. So in come the British colonizers to save the day when, in fact, if they listened to anyone but themselves they would’ve seen the beauty in a completely different culture.
Madison,
I really liked reading your presentation because it gave me a much better understanding of what the book was about. I like learning about the history and background of the story because it allows me to analyze and take in the story better. It is clear, that this tribe wanted nothing but peace and unity. They worked really hard at building a culture and community they were proud of. This was all taken away from them when the British started moving into their territory. So it is clear that the British disturbed the peace and did a lot of harm to the people and natural environment.
It is a shame some people think others want to be like them. For example, how the British changed the Igbo culture to non-existence. I am sure the Igbo was forced to be like the British, but the Igbo people did not ask to change. Master-slave dialect once again at work.
Your presentation helped me to prepare for the reading.
Thank you for sharing Madison!