“Things Fall Apart” is a novel by Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe. It was first published in 1953. The story centers around Okonkwo, an Igbo man who is determined to improve his social status within his community. Because his father was seen as lazy and irresponsible. Through hard work, he rose to a high position in Umuofia, his village. When one of the neighboring clans offends him, they give him a young virgin and boy in exchange for peace. Fearing being labeled as weak, Okonkwo participates in the killing of the boy from the neighboring clan put under his care. Things start to take a sour turn for Okonkwo. This novel is different from most western novels making it difficult for students to write essays on Things Fall Apart. There are sample papers that give an outline, introduction, and conclusion of the book. Students can use these samples to help them writing the Things Fall Apart essay.
Discussing the role of women in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart requires a thorough and unbiased reading of the novel. This might be challenging for someone from a western country as at first sight, the women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an...
Proverbs are a vital form of communication within the Ibo culture. They are sayings that have their roots in folklore and are typically passed down from generations to generations. Proverbs aid the Ibo in defending their thoughts and opinions, however in the hands of Chinua...
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel full of individuals, within a tribe, as they deal with the frequently tragic and disappointing events of their lives. Okonkwo, the protagonist, and his son, Nwoye, are two of these individuals who must learn to cope...
Okonkwo is a character in Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” who attempts to conform outwardly while questioning inwardly, although he definitely might not appear to be at first glance. Okonkwo’s inner conflict caused by the tensions of conformity and personal questioning add to the...
Tradition and change are as much at war as the people are in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The events that define this war are centered on and around the main character, Okonkwo, who finds himself unable to adapt to the changes taking place...
The South African Igbo tribe of Umuofia, as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” (1958) encompasses layer upon complex layer of social order. From birth to death, every aspect of Umuofian culture is defined by an intricate balance of ritual, which is transmitted through...
In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses Okonkwo’s story to elaborate a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the cultural values of African tribes. Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart as a rebuttal to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Thus, Achebe uses the book to...
Within any system of oppression, the oppressed, once they realize their treatment is a type of oppression, oftentimes have the impulse to resist. This resistance, sometimes exceptionally dangerous, often bucked by popular opinion and those who have not recognized their own oppression, can take several...
When the Europeans arrived in Nigeria to harvest ivory and spread their religious ideals, many Africans were exploited and their cultures were irreversibly changed. Two novels, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, provide accounts of how the white...
“The white man is very clever…He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is a prime example of African literature that demonstrates the clash between cultures and peoples that occurred...
As a field of study dedicated to surveying countries which have undergone a period of colonial takeover, often by Britain or France, Postcolonialism is thought to have its first roots in the seventies. During this period, the world, more specifically the third one, was on...
Perhaps one of the most influential elements of literature, a setting may potentially dictate the plotline of a story, establishing culture, tradition, and a backstory. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart sees an African world that largely revolves around the geographical location of Nigeria; this agricultural...
Adapting to Change Cesar Chavez once said, “Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.” Respecting other cultures is very important if you want to have peace within your own culture. In the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua...
Okonkwo was a fierce warrior with a short temper. He had 3 wives and 7 children, and seemed to never fully appreciate any of them. This character in the book “Things Fall Apart”, written by Chinua Achebe, lived in the small African village of Umuofia,...
“During last planting season when a white man appeared in an iron horse, sipping his wine the people ran away in fear as he beckoned them. Then when elders sought help from the Oracle, it told them the strange man would break their clan and...
This paper is in a file format called LaTeX. You can compile it into something that looks good, or you can just read through all the formatting info. Much literary criticism find similarities between two books, merely because they have similar settings or address superficially...
The process of colonialism is the ongoing eradication of old practices and the exploitation of new practices, and often entails settlement into a foreign land, the introduction of new cultural practices, and the enforcement of religious practices. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe...
The portrayals of imperialism in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness contrast significantly. As Joseph Conrad portrays expansionism as a rough power deconstructing the people of savages and brutes. As opposed to Chinua Achebe delineates imperialism as a savage power deconstructing a refined and...
The prose utilized to write Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is uniquely stylized and molded to suit its African setting. The author is largely successful in developing a blend between the English language and the culture of the Ibo people. Using this European language...
