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Things Fall Apart

Decent Essays

How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers?
Things Fall Apart
Language and Literature

Things fall apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe. It is set during the late 19th, early 20th century in a small village named Umuofia situated in Nigeria. This time period is important because it was a period in colonial history when the British were increasing their influence economic, cultural, and political influence in Africa. The novel deals with the rise and fall of Okonkwo, a man from the village of Umuofia. It also explains the effect of the appearance of the British on the Igbo society in terms of the destruction of social connections. In this text, there are several passages in which their …show more content…

A Nigerian receiver could absolutely relate to this system, if he has already experimented this. As regards of the British receiver, if he never knew about this, he wouldn’t be able to get the full message of what the author is trying to say and would find it hard to believe that strategy. By cons if the lector’s parents or grandparents have had to use this kind of technique in the old days before technology advanced over time, the reader could understand the Nigerian procedure because his parents or grandparents would’ve explain it to him. With these facts the Nigerian and British interpretations on the way the Igbo society heal sickness could have similar and different thoughts.

In conclusion, the interpretations that a Nigerian and a British reader could have on certain passages of the novel Things Fall Apart could be similar and different. The Nigerian receiver could interpret the novel in a positive way, by explaining certain reasons of why their society, politics and economy work. These interpretations could definitely relate to his life because he’s Nigerian. The British reader could also find some positive reasons of why things work in a certain way in Nigerian, by saying for example that they’re unique. However, this person could find their beliefs ridiculous and would want to influence them in believing in whatever the British person believes in. This brings up the question of

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