Hello class, for our IO presentation, we will be focusing on the cultural and religious differences found throughout the novel, Things Fall Apart written by a Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. For this novel, we will be centering our attention towards the clash of cultures and how common symbols used throughout the novel manifest the loss of culture as the Christians colonize and destroy the societal ramifications. SLIDE 2- SHAMRIN To start off, we will talk about the conflict between the two different religions in the book by analyzing this quote. "All the Gods you have named are not Gods at all. They are Gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. There is only one God and he has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us." From this quote, we can tell that the two religions, this novel talks about are Christianity and the Igbo. Christians being the white and the other being a local African tribe called the Ibo tribe who follow a set traditional actions. As we know from reading the book, the Christians think that they are doing good for the Ibo tribe by bring in a new religion. The Christians think that their religion is more developed and is better than the Ibo tribe's because the Christians only have one God and that God does not tell people to …show more content…
All of these factors convinced many of the people of the Ibo tribe that maybe the Gods weren’t real, leading most of the tribe to convert into Christians. However, not everyone could handle the amount of change that was going on. Some tribe members could not let go of everything that they once believed in. Okonkwo was one of those people who could not let go of his old life and he also could not handle the fact that all his friends and family were changing. The conflict between the two religions was to much for Okonkwo so he ended up ending his own
His tribes gods are manifestations of the earth and seasons and nature. Okonkwo gained his wealth by farming crops his entire life. To the Umuofia clan, respecting the gods that help with weather and rain is highly important since it is how they survive. Without their beliefs they wouldn't take care of their “home” as well as they do and Okonkwo wouldn't have turned into the man the reader sees in this novel. When the white missionaries come to their clan and try and change their belief system Okonkwo is enraged.
He was too proud to let his tribe give up their warlike history. He was to proud and self-assured to accept his son's choices. Okonkwo is a sad character whose pride has constantly led him down the crooked path. Achebe shows that being proud isn't a constructive thing for the future. That development can only occur when pride is put aside, and people think logically instead of
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story about colonials bringing Christianity and colonizing the people of Niger also known as the Ibo. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, is a confused child that is trying to find his way while battling the effects of two cultures. His own culture is full gods and customs, that to a Christian is utterly unethical and wrong. Nwoye realizes this and decides to join the Christians, but at a high cost. Furthermore, Achebe uses Nwoye to display how he changes as a character through his actions, how western culture clashes with Ibo culture, and theme.
Chapter 10: In chapter 10 of Things Fall Apart, the author had purpose in all text. The text supported the author’s purpose of being a female is difficult. Females had to deal with having their thoughts or opinions not important. “There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders” (Achebe 87).
Once again, Nwoye found peace away from his father when the Christian missionaries came to Mbanta, the motherland where Okonkwo and his family were exiled to. Nwoye converted to Christianity and escaped the force of his father in their household. Okonkwo, of course, didn’t support his son’s decision and was completely against Nwoye leaving behind the tradition the Okonkwo followed so deeply. A paragraph in chapter seventeen reflects on Okonkwo’s thoughts. “To abandon the gods of one’s father and go about
What would you choose if you had the option between a Christian or a Igbo? Christianity is the world’s largest religion, with over 2.4 billion adherents, known as Christians. In contrast, the Igbo religion is a religion mostly followed in Nigeria, specifically with the Umuofia clan. Christianity and Igbo have many similarities however many of the basis widely vary.
Thus, it can be concluded that the African and Native American idea of the high god is quite similar with few differences in different tribes. But the main concept of both is similar because both were immensely influenced by Christianity. Christianity, being a monotheist religion, when influenced both these religions it brought in the concept of the high
Okonkwo is not happy with their decision and advocates a violent reaction. His mentality is somewhat ironic: he believes that the village should act against its cultural values in order to preserve them.(153) The arrival of the white colonists and their religion weakens the kinship bonds which seems so important to Igbo culture. The Christians tell the Igbo that they are all brothers and sons of God, replacing the literal ties of kinship with a metaphorical kinship through God. The overjoyed response of a missionary to Nwoye’s interest in attending school in another village—“Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake”—shows that the Christian church knows Igbo familial bonds as the greatest obstacle to the success of
Okonkwo's father was seen as a failure by the Ibo culture and by Okonkwo himself, this made him fear that he would
In Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart," the collision of cultures is vividly portrayed, as the traditional Igbo way of life clashes with the arrival of European colonizers. As we follow the story of the proud and ambitious Okonkwo, we are drawn into a world rich with the customs and beliefs of a vibrant culture. But as tensions escalate, Okonkwo must grapple with the forces of change that threaten to upend everything he holds dear, leaving us to ponder the power of cultural collision and its impact on both individuals and society. In "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is primarily defined by his desire to be the opposite of his father, who he considers weak and effeminate.
His father was the exact opposite of what the Igbo people stand for. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, is a “coward [who] could not bear the sight of blood” (Achebe 6). In turn, Okonkwo became a ruthless warrior who was known across the different tribes. The worst aspect of Unoka is that he was considered to be a failure. This caused Okonkwo “even as a little boy [to resent] his father’s failure” (13).
Okonkwo blamed his son’s leaving on the Christians, in fact, hatred began to arise towards them from within, and it was only a matter of time before he reached his boiling point. When religions collide, they will belittle and try to acquire control over each other. Shortly after the missionaries arrived in the villages, they told the Ibo people of their God, “the creator of all the men and women.” They told them that they were worshipping false Gods, that they were not alive and “could do them no harm,” (53) that they were “pieces of wood and stone.” (53) This confused many Ibo people, and the later fact that the white men survived the “evil forest” caused them to question their own
This is a primitive example of how the Christians believed that the Igbo’s were more like savages than people. Mr.Brown was a gentle kind man who enforced no religion on anyone, but encouraged Igbo people to convert to his religion; because of this there was no uprising of the Igbo people to expel the Christians
Religion in Things Fall Apart Religion is the belief in a greater power, which shapes the way someone lives their life. Religion can bring people together, or it can pull them apart. The novel Things Fall Apart, a work by Chinua Achebe, is about a man named Okonkwo and how he and his village deal with the colonization of Christianity. In the end, it pulled Okonkwo away from his people, leading him to his death.
Adichie appears to make fun of her characters, take Odenigbo for instance; the war changes him from a well educated political disputant to a drunk. Once he was the unemotional figure within the novel, Olanna appears to require that place whereas he degenerates thanks to the war state of affairs. In reading the novel, I could not help but notice a similarity between the Holocaust and the Biafran Civil War. I found myself questioning why the Igbo were being massacred by the Hausa?