Things fall apart written by Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian depicts a story of pre and post-colonial life of the Igbo society in Umuofia. The story begins with vivid descriptions of Okonkwo, the main character of this novel and how he defies odds to claim the status he has in his society. Even with a bad role model father, he copes to succeed in his life through his accomplishments as a fighter for his village, marrying three wives and managing his farm. One day, he was exiled to Mbanta as a…
Often times in life men feel like they need to provide for their family and fulfill the roles of their society. Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe, which takes place in 1890’s Nigeria. The Ibo civilisation is falling apart and Okonkwo takes the damage. Krik? Krak! is a series of short stories written by Edwidge Danticat that takes place in modern day Haiti. Guy is a family man who is struggling to provide for them but gives up and has a downfall. Although both Okonkwo and Guy…
In this book, they talk about Okonkwo’s father, wives, children, and religion. Okonkwo is violent, wealthy, and a worrier of his village, Umuofia. Okonkwo’s biggest fear is to do not be weak or coward like his father, Unoka who left the village unsalted, so he tries to avoid being like his father by being violent and beating his wife. Okonkwo has a twelve-year-old son that Okonkwo is afraid that he will end up like his father, Unoka. Umuofia wins a fifteen year- old kid, so Okonkwo decides to…
“There is no story that is not true, the world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others” (Achebe). This quote greatly depicts the moral of one of Achebe’s most successful novels. In the book, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the author uses the introduction of Western ideas into the Ibo culture to overall develop a father-son motif between Okonkwo and Nwoye, along with the establishment of cultural identity. Additionally, in the novel Things Fall Apart,…
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was written during the turn of the nineteenth century. The book documented the downfall of African tribes by christian missionaries along with the protagonist Okonkwo. But what if this so called “downfall” was written by and through the perspective of a missionary? The book, Things Fall Apart, would change completely in its focus in which the author Chinua Achebe wanted it to be read. The effect of christian influence would highly overcome the focus of Ibo and…
Being a father can mean very different things to different people, in this book Okonkwo sees being a father in an incomparable way to the way his father Unoka saw it. In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo struggles to play both the role of a leader, and a father. Okonkwo sees no desire in creating meaningful relationships with those in his life. He chooses society's opinion of him versus his family's. As the story progresses it becomes more clear that Okonkwo deals with his emotions…
In these two books, Okonkwo and Celianne both commit suicide due to forces out of their control. The first book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe it takes place in Nigeria. This book is an example of fiction. In this book, Okonkwo commits suicide due to forces out of his control. The second book Krik?,Krak! by Edwidge Danticat, this takes place in Haiti. This book is another example of a Fiction. In this book, Celianne commits suicide due to forces out of her control. In the first book Things…
Kwasi Kwarteng, a former student at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned a Ph. D in British history has done extensive research in order to pen his book “Ghosts of Empire: Britain’s Legacies in the Modern World.” Fascinated with British colonial history, Kwarteng his written numerous articles on the subject. In one 2012 article, he discusses Nigeria’s modern day troubles faced due to its British colonial roots. Kwarteng (2012) writes that like its name, Nigeria was entirely artificially…
What does it really mean to be a ‘man’. To show how ‘manly’ you are. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe had written a story that is basically told in its title. From a village called Umuofia, Okonkwo’s life begins to fall apart due to various actions he has committed to soon be exiled from his village. During his exile missionaries have come into Umuofia and converted people into Christianity. Okonkwo’s madness lead him to kill a messenger of the missionaries and shorty after Okonkwo…
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, there are many tragic events that led up to the death of the main character, Okonkwo. Okonkwo, who finds himself unable to adapt to the changes taking place in society, is a personal tragedy. From this, we can learn that his death was indeed in vain. His refusal to change, which contrasted with the society’s willingness to change, can be a key example that close mindedness has it's negative outcomes with very little to few positive outcomes. In many ways…