Things Fall Apart Essays

In the book “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, there are many characters that faced the challenge of having two different cultures. The character that stood out the most is Nwoye. He faced a very difficult challenge of not being accepted by his hometown’s culture. He wasn’t accepted by his father because he was very feminine like his mother. Nwoye’s father is Okonkwo, and he expects his children to be masculine and strong like him. He expects his children to be hard workers and earn their

Peter Ntourntourekas Professor Joe Mealey EN 3515 20 September 2017 Okonkwo and Fear of the Feminine Things Fall Apart tells the story of Okonkwo, a tribal African yam farmer, through trials and tribulations that change both him and his tribe. The Umuofia clan values traits such as strength, confidence, crop success, and honor. Okonkwo exemplifies everything that the clan wants in a man, and he was well aware of it. He thrives on being the antithesis of the image of his father, Unoka, who was viewed

Nineteenth Century Nigeria is when the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, transpires. The protagonist, Okonkwo the greatest warrior of the time, is a masculine figure. The fear of becoming his father, Unoka, coerces him to have an extremist attitude towards his wives and his son, Nwoye. His father, who is lethargic, motivates him to become everything his father isn’t. Consequently, Okonkwo takes this impulse to an extreme level. Weakness does not appear in his vocabulary. He has an anger

From the novel, Things Fall Apart, a cultural universal can best be represented by the concept of reputation. The definition of reputation is the common perspective of how the general public portrays an individual. In Umuofia, the concept of reputation revolved around masculinity. The Ibo culture considered two qualities of a true masculine: having the ability to provide for his family and having the skills and traits such as courage and bravery essential for war. A particular exemplar would be the

Have you ever met a father and son that have very different perspectives on life? Well this is the exact issue that comes up in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo and his son have been raised in very different households, with extremely different circumstances. They also have conflicting ideas when it comes to religion. This makes the white man’s arrival a crucial time in the pair’s relationship. Okonkwo was brought up with a father who was known by the town as weak and lazy.

person of whom it can be said as it has been said about the Hindus that they eat religiously, dress religiously, sin religion . . . religion of these natives is their existence and existence is their religion…” this shows that although the novel Things Fall Apart is a novel of the protagonist Okonkwo, the agenda of European colonization was simply to enlighten the Igbo nation for cultural and religious nuances. Who was Chinua Achebe? I thought you'd never ask! Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian writer and Author

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe conflict is almost inevitable when two cultures come into contact. Okonkwo has a normal life as a male villager he has to grow his yams and live normal but when foreigners show up conflict occurs. This is shown in the book by showing the villagers saying to the white men to build their church in the evil forest and the white men go on and do it. This attracts some of the villagers to this which leads to major conflict in the village and they start to attack each

His choice to kill himself was based on that fact that no one listened to him. When he came back from exile, no one in the tribe wanted the missionaries to be pushed away because they provided the tribe new things that benefited them. He thought if no one would listen to him than there is no point in trying to change it. In the book, Achebe wrote, “The clan was like a lizard, if it lost its tail it soon grew another.” What Achebe meant by this quote is that Okonkwo thought when he came back from

The central theme in Achebe Chinua's novel, Things Fall Apart, is masculinity. The main character, Okonkwo has an obsession with being masculine and refuses to look weak. From the beginning of the novel, it is clear that his idea of his own self worth and his masculinity are strongly interrelated. This obsession is a result of his unsuccessful father, Unoka, who is very cowardly and fears the sight of blood. Okonkwo makes a vow at a young age to be nothing like his father so he adopts opposite ideals

Okonkwo’s thirst for power is greater than just doing it for publicity and for the people. Okonkwo endless hard work to gain titles is personal for him. Okonkwo wanted to be nothing like his father Unoka since he was a child. Unoka resembled all the things Okonkwo was not such as weak, a liar, cheap, couldn’t take care of his own family, and considered a women to the rest of the clan members. Okonkwo rarely speaks about