Things Fall Apart by Chinua, Essay Example

The major purpose of this paper is to analyze how the book, “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe depicts how the British colonization had an impact on the culture and the people in Nigeria. The paper takes into account the pros and cons of British colonization on the people of Nigeria and how the author avoids the dangers of a single story in depicting these pros and cons. Chinua Achebe, who lived from 1930-2013 uses the novel, “Things Fall Apart to depict Africans as savages in need of the enlightenment from the British colonies (Alvares 34). He presented to the reader the history of the natives as having both strengths are imperfections through giving a description of the Igbo festivals, their system of worship and the ritual ceremonies and how colonization helped to shape these culture both in a positive and negative way. In doing so, the author evades the possible dangers of the single story, thus giving it varying levels of perspectives. For instance, the novel elucidates the similarities existing between the contemporary society and the ways of life of the Igbo people. Just like the people in Umuofia, the modern society places great importance on the reputation of a person. The modern society just like the Umuofia society had respect for elders and the thinking that the Europeans are superior (Bloom 34). This paper proves the fact that in avoiding the dangers of a single story, Chinua Achebe depicts that his Things Fall Apart novel conveys both the pros and cons of colonization as leveled by the outside presence of the native tribe of Igbo.

This paragraph takes into account the positive impacts of colonization on the Nigerian community as conveyed by the novel; Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe through the use of different perspectives of the story. In the first incident, the novel depicts Africans as savages who were highly in need of the enlightenment of the Europeans. This implies that colonization was a form of enlightenment on the people of Nigeria. Achebe describes enlightenment as a positive impact on the natives by describing the imperfections within the history of the Igbo. “When the moon is shining, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk,” (Achebe 39). For example, Achebe shows the imperfections like the belief in the ancestral powers, the act of sacrificing young boys and the act of killing twins as being some of the practices that required divine power from the colonies. Moreover, Achebe describes the oppression of women and gender roles as being oppressive, where he is in contention with the fact that the coming of the missionaries was of great importance in ending such archaic cultural practices (Alvares 45). The other major positive impact that the system of colonialism had on the native Igbo community and Nigeria as a whole is the introduction of education, which eliminated illiteracy and made people view economic activities in different perspectives. For instance, it is evident that honor was the major reason why “Umuofia demanded Ikemefuna from Mbaino after a daughter of Umuofia was killed” (Achebe 14). This shows that there was the imperfection of killing of twins. It is evident that the Igbo people depended entirely on agriculture as a source of livelihood. Moreover, the position of women at the economic scene was changed as a result of the introduction of education brought about by colonialism.

On the contrast, the presence of colonialism in Nigeria had negative impacts too. For instance, colonialism eroded the positive values that existed in the rich culture of the natives (Devisch 23). For instance, Achebe uses the multiple perspectives of the story to show the colonized as being individuals who are confused about their sense of identity. It is evident that these colonized individuals did not know whether they wanted to follow their culture or to follow the culture of the colonizer. This also shows that the colonizer erodes away the positive values that were embodied within this culture. It is also evident that in a heterogeneous society like that in Nigeria, it was expected that colonization could lead to conflicting ideologies on the existing cultural practices and the new culture. For instance, the Igbo society and the cultural; practices therein were perceived to abhor the ability to transform the social status of a person. For instance, despite the fact that Okonkwo “did not inherit a barn from his father,” and “he did not have the start in life which many young men usually had…” (Achebe 16). He can despise all odds with being culturally active to rise to fame in Umuofia and beyond. This implies that the cultural orientation had the ability to rise people to higher echelons in life, while colonization was the sign of erosion of this same culture.  In addition, the European customs and traditions are inherently superior as they supersede the ones for Igbo people. “Does the white man understand our custom about land?” “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad” (Achebe 183).

Conclusively, Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” is a story with many perspectives, where these variations in perspectives do not only evade the danger of a single story but also depicts the pros and cons of colonization. The novel notes the positive impacts of colonization as being a way of enlightenment of the imperfect cultural practices such as the killing of twins, worship in ancestral spirits and the gender imbalance. On the other hand, the novel gives the benefits of the cultural practices of the Igbo community as having been beneficial to the natives, where colonialism was an act that could erode these rich cultural practices. On end, Achebe uses the novel to show the values of both the colonial culture and the native culture, which helps the reader in appreciating each of the cultural values.

Works Cited

Alvares, Claude, and Shad Saleem Faruqi, eds. Decolonising the University: The Emerging Quest for Non-Eurocentric Paradigms (Penerbit USM). Penerbit USM, 2014.

Bloom, Harold. Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart. Infobase Publishing, 2009

Chinua, Achebe. “Things fall apart.” (1958).

Devisch, Rene, and Francis B. Nyamnjoh, eds. The postcolonial turn. African Books Collective, 2011.