Essay on ‘Things Fall Apart’ Characters

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For this essay, I will be choosing the character Okonkwo. Similarly, as his dad was inconsistent with the estimations of the network around him, so too does Okonkwo become incapable of adjusting to changing occasions as the white man comes to live among the Umuofians So pretending that I’m Okonkwo and the missionaries and commissioners come I would not agree with what they are doing. When these Westerners came Okankwo was not there at the tribe’s village because he was exiled. His being exiled made his family, mainly Nwoye a good target for these Westerners to convert over to their beliefs. I would not agree with what they are doing because Okonkwo gets exiled and while he is gone things change, it also attacks the core of the Igbo religion while trying to spread Christianity, and breaks apart the Unity of the tribe.

The first reason that I would not agree is that Okonkwo gets exiled and while he’s gone these changes happen. Okonkwo accidentally killed a fellow clan member in a ritual ceremony when his gun exploded. Because of this, this family was exiled for seven years to repent of the sins he had done. Okonkwo is banished to learn how to become a balanced man who understands the supremacy of his mother’s feminine qualities. While Okonkwo was gone, his village changed. The Europeans have destroyed the Igbo framework that gave Okonkwo his validation, and they have destroyed the villages and people who stood in their way. Missionaries arrived, built a church, and converted a number of the villagers. Had Okonkwo been here for this he would have fought the changes. This causes Okankwo to be frustrated with himself because he wasn’t there for the people who needed him including his own son. He didn’t agree with any of their beliefs including the christianity which brings us to the next reason why Okankwo does not agree with what they are doing.

The second thing that these people are doing here is they are attacking and changing the religion of these people to what they prefer and forcing it upon them. Along with colonization was the arrival of the missionaries whose main aim was to spread the message of Christianity and to convert people to their religion. These missionaries eventually established a strong foothold in the tribe which then allowed a government as well as a law court for administering justice to become part of the indoctrination of native peoples to Western ways. This was the beginning of the falling apart of this society. Among the people to convert to Christianity is Nwoye his son. Nwoye changes over to Christianity to a great extent to dismiss the unreasonable standard of manliness his dad needs him to maintain. Nwoye isn’t at all like his dad, and Okonkwo continually rebuffs him for being different. Smothered by his dad’s desires, Nwoye flees and joins the European church. Nwoye’s change additionally gives him a chance to master reading and writing, which, alongside the verse of the Bible, sustains his affection for narrating. All these changes that were made to Christianity Okonkwo doesn’t like in the story so why would he agree with what is going on? This breaks tribal unification and is what will be talked about next.

Lastly, these people are trying to break apart the tribe’s unity that they’ve always had. Before the invasion, these people kept their cultures structured with unification and these Westerners came into their territory and tried to tear this away from them. In a tribal society, the most important factor is the unity of the members of the tribe and their absolute obedience to the ruling of the elders as well as the gods and goddesses. This is lost when some of them accept contrasting values brought to them by the missionaries. This leads to an increasing openness to Western thought and religion and allows for the eventual exploitation and assimilation. Okonkwo is one of the few who resist this. At the end of the book, this causes the eventual death of Okankwa. In a way, this is Okankwo showing that he does not accept the people of this tribe.

So why would I agree with the changes that were made? I don’t think there are many things to say. I believe that these Westerners should not have gone into this tribe and attempted and succeeded in changing their beliefs. Now Okankwo would also not agree with these changes because he was exiled while all of this started causing him to feel responsible for what happened to the people, They took over the tribe and changed its religion to Christianity which isn’t part of their culture, and this broke the tribes unification which is how tribes thrive they are unified.

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