Things Fall Apart- j.d

In his 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe depicts a village being taken over by white colonizers. Achebe’s protagonist, Okonkwo, belongs to the Igbo tribe Umuofia. The Umuofia clan is very traditional and values success and wealth. Okonkwo felt shame growing up because his father was not hardworking or wealthy, so he worked his way from poverty to being one of the most respected men of the clan. One traditional tribe practice is present in chapter fourteen. During a ceremony, Okonkwo accidentally shot and killed a young clansman. Because it was an accident, the act was deemed “effeminate”. A common theme of the novel is the difference of feminine and masculine actions, femininity is shameful, especially if a man does something considered effeminate, like not enjoying war, something that Okonkwo hated his father for. The punishment of an effeminate death is for the man who did the killing and his family must flee the village and not return for seven years. Okonkwo seeks ref...

Chinua Achebe has a very distinct writing style. Achebe writes in very short, simple sentences that get straight to the point. Aside from the sometimes difficult to pronounce Igbo names, Achebe refrains from using difficult language and inessential words that could further confuse English readers. Igbo words are used, they are italicized and accompanied by an English definition at the back of the book. Achebe includes several of the Igbo’s traditions like The Feast of the New Yam, which is “an occasion for giving thanks to Ani, the earth goddess and the source of all fertility” (31). The Feast is a way to thank Ani for providing fertile land for the yams to grow. Achebe describes the Igbo’s culture and traditions in a simplified manner, in order for non-Igbo people to understand. Throughout the novel, Achebe includes various Igbo phrases, songs, and proverbs. Within these, we discover the cultural expectations and standards that the Igbo people typically follow. One proverb can be fo...

Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart takes place in Umuofia, a village within the Igbo clan of Nigeria. The main character Okonkwo is a successful, but oftentimes rash clan lord. Okonkwo was born into poverty because his father, Unkowa was “lazy and improvident and quite incompetent of thinking about tomorrow” (2). Okonkwo resents his father because he was in debt with many of their fellow clansmen and because he was a coward who despised war. Okonkwo has a temper and will fight anyone who offends him. He is celebrated within his village because of his strength and the fact that at eighteen he beat Amalinze the Cat, a previously undefeated wrestler  Okonkwo is an angry man who is mean out of fear that he will end up like his father, who brought shame to the village. Unkowa died of the swelling of the stomach and limbs. This illness was an extremely shameful way to die, so Unkowa’s body was brought to the Evil Forest where he was left to die. Okonkwo was “possessed by the...