StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Things Fall Apart by Achebe Chinua Analysis - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
The author reviews Things Fall Apart book by Achebe Chinua which describes ancient African civilization, as well as, European occupation of Africa and which is based on the culture of a West African tribe known as the Ibo…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER91.8% of users find it useful
Things Fall Apart by Achebe Chinua Analysis
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Things Fall Apart by Achebe Chinua Analysis"

Book Review: Things Fall Apart Civilization is characterized by human progress and organization concerning science, culture, advancement, government, and other factors. The enlightenment that brings about civilization occurs gradually and at different periods in any type of society or culture. Things Fall Apart describes ancient African civilization, as well as, European occupation of Africa. The story is based on the culture of a West African tribe known as the Ibo. It focuses on the clan of the Umuofia and delicately illustrates the civilization that existed in their way of life.

The clan was not the size of a country but seemed to have systems that resembled leadership, religious, and governmental systems. The clan elders, religious leaders and the men with titles were the leaders of the clan. However, the Oracle that was a religious figure held the ultimate power. The leaders and the oracle seem to have put in place systems that maintained the balance of the clan by assuring justice and avoiding war. For instance, when a woman is killed in the nearby village, a virgin girl and a boy are given as peace offerings by the village in order to avoid war between the villages (Achebe 16).

Exile is a form of punishment used to get justice and maintain the peace. There are also penalties for unruly behavior. Okonkwo is required to make expensive offerings for his misconduct during the Week of Peace (Achebe 39). In another instance, when Odukwe’s people beat him up and take his wife, the Egwugwu who acts as a judge rules that Odukwe should persuade his in-laws to get his wife back. This is because they had a good reason for taking back their daughter. Although transparency or checks and balances did not characterize the leadership and judicial process, it appears that the clans had a certain level of civilization.

Additionally, they had blacksmiths who made guns and farmers who understood the importance of cultivation new land as opposed to land they have already utilized for a season. A medical system was also existent but not effective enough. The novel continues to show the occupation of Africa by Europeans. It started with the rumors of a white man taking Africans into slavery (Achebe 97). While most people thought that a white man was fictitious, they believed it when he started wandering into the interior to spread the gospel.

The first followers were community outcasts and the clan elders thought that the church would not last. Furthermore, they hoped that the oracle and the gods would fight the war for them. However, as the white man established the church and preyed on the weaknesses of the culture, he also established a system of government. This was in the form of a district commissioner’s office who tried men that offended the Christians and put them in jail where they were tortured. In the end, the white man became too strong, and very few men were willing to fight for their culture and traditions.

As a result, colonization started and Europeans occupied more and more land. Things fall apart is an amalgamation of African oral culture and its gradual interruption by European occupation. A historical fiction shows the erosion of a culture and the acceptance of new possibilities. Additionally, it is focuses on the brutality of each side of the divide. Works CitedAchebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New Delhi [u.a.: Allied Publishers, 2008. Print.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Things Fall Apart by Achebe Chinua Analysis Book Report/Review”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1680250-writer-decide
(Things Fall Apart by Achebe Chinua Analysis Book Report/Review)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1680250-writer-decide.
“Things Fall Apart by Achebe Chinua Analysis Book Report/Review”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1680250-writer-decide.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Things Fall Apart by Achebe Chinua Analysis

Dynamism in Precolonial African Society

This essay talks that the dynamism of precolonial African society is something that needs a lot of attention from the academic society of today.... In an increasingly globalizing world where people are losing their cultural identities to adopt a universal identity.... hellip; As the report stresses that the precolonial past of Africa still remains a largely unknown and unresearched area of study....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Tribalism and the Nation in the African Continent

The historical angle of the problem, while it needs to be argued, also needs to be looked upon as something that leads to a solution and not just presenting an analysis of the situation as it arrived.... Tribalism has in many cases been seen to emerge as one of the major factors that impede growth in the continent of Africa....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Analysis of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The author of the essay examines "things fall apart" novel written by Chinua Achebe which is a story of the society at a crossroads between the traditional way of life, and modernity, as represented by the coming of the white man and the colonial government.... nbsp;  … achebe criticizes the Igbo practice of killing of hostages from another village in revenge in a situation where a person from the said village has taken a life.... In this case, achebe seems to be criticizing the aloof nature of Okonkwo in raising his son, believing that if he shows any affection for Nwoye, then the boy will end up being weak and effeminate....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Things Fall Apart

These expressions of anti-colonialism seem to reflect the ideas of achebe as well, as a prevailing theme surrounding the colonists seems to be their inability to speak the language of the tribe.... Gender roles play an important part in this piece and by looking at several characters within the piece, one can see specifically what those gender roles are… The three distinct characters to be discussed are Okonkwo, Chielo and Nwoye. Okonkwo is the first character to be examined....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Tribal customs of the Ibo (Igbo) people

Chinua Achebe's things fall apart is an African novel that depicts a parallel between the personal tragedy of Okonkwo and the tragic destruction of native African cultures by colonialism.... As punishment, he is exiled for seven years (achebe 124).... On returning to his village He eventually kills himself because of the Christianity (achebe p208).... As achebe accurately depicts, the Ibo people have a rich culture as evidenced by their tribal customs such as their values, social structure, language, religious beliefs and government....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Women Representation in Things Fall Apart

“Chinua Achebe shows women as having little to no power in society in his book, things fall apart.... This paper analyses the women representations in things fall apart.... Okonkwo is acutely aware of what it means to be a man in the Igbo tribe and is ashamed that someone might call him or his male relations agbala” (things fall apart Gender Quotes).... Okonkwo, the main male character in things fall apart treated his wife as a servant....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Things Fall Apart Critique

For instance, the use of simile at the beginning of chapter one of… 's ‘'things fall apart”, gives a more precise and detailed description of OKonkwo in relation to the wrestling match against Amalinze the cat.... For instance, the use of simile at the beginning of chapter one of Achebe's ‘'things fall apart”, gives a more precise and detailed description of OKonkwo in relation to the wrestling match against Amalinze the cat.... things fall apart....
2 Pages (500 words) Assignment

Global and International Business Contexts

This research paper describes the analysis of the global market and international business.... It provides a detailed analysis of international business contexts, analysis of global retail industry and its consequences.... apart from the historical reasons, the Asian market and its countries are able to achieve good growth also because of the economic-based movements like globalization....
10 Pages (2500 words) Research Paper
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us