Commentary on Things Fall Apart Essay

Things Fall Apart Essay

Before the Western colonization of the Ibo people, the Ibo society was a complex and unified group of clansman. When the Ibo people encountered the white men, it brought chaos and drastic changes towards the Ibo society. Things began to fall apart as the unification between the African tribes deteriorated. The Western colonization of the Ibo people destroyed the Ibo culture and changed the traditions of the tribes because they introduced a new religion, government, and perspective on the once stable society. Clansman went against each other, which has never been done before until the Western colonization. The White men broke the bonds between brothers of the African tribes and took full control over the Ibo society.

Religion was a dominant factor in the decline of the of the Ibo society. As Christianity was the white mens religion, it was heretical to the Igbo men. Christianity went against the Ibo society traditions, rituals, and beliefs. On the other hand, the white men thought that the religion of the African tribes was blasphemous because of the Igbos polygamy. The white men felt that the Igbo needed to leave [their] wicked ways and false gods and turn to [righteousness] so that [they] may be saved when [dead](Achebe 145) The white men thought that African religion was wicked because of its practices so the missionaries imposed Christianity as a remedy to stop their repulsive practices. The Christian Church welcomed twins and outcasts, an action traditionally considered a farce. When the missionaries asked the village leaders on where they can build a Church, the elders gave the missionaries land in the Evil Forest believing they would die. When the missionaries survived, some of the Africans started to question their faith because the missionaries proved that some of the beliefs of the Ibo religion were false. This uncertainty brought in by the white men was one of the main causes that decimated the powerful relationship of the tribes.

The Europeans new rules and government immensely impacted the Ibo community because they laid the first official government in the Ibo society. They had built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance.(Achebe 174) The people of Umuofia never had an oppressive type of government in the past. The Europeans brought in prisons for men that offended the white mans law. The court messengers, who once were fellow clansmen, beat the prisoners. The leaders like Okonkwo and Obierika could not bring down the government of the white man anymore because their brothers began to follow the white man. Some of the people of the Ibo society approved of the white man government because it brought control and a better sense of security in the region. Nevertheless through this new administration, the Igbo people were forced to obey the white mans authority.

The Europeans degraded and conflicted with the proverbs of the Igbo people. As our people say, a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness. (Achebe 19) Okonkwo was an example of this because he turned himself into one of the most respected and mighty rulers of the land. However, when Okonkwo returned to Umuofia after his seven-year exile, he expected the people to welcome him back like a hero. Okonkwo experienced the exact opposite because nobody seemed to care about his return. The people in the homeland of Okonkwo were more fixated on the Europeans authorization because they were unaccustomed to a different group of people who ruled over them. The Africans were interested in the new changes that took place in their homeland. The quote Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig(Achebe 204) is another example of the Europeans Influence. The Europeans forced the change of lifestyle in the Ibo community. The authority of the white men made a significant impact to the Ibo society because they caused the unification of the African tribes to crumble. Some clansman, especially the younger generation, joined with the Europeans because they were tempted with the money, power, security, and answers brought in by the Europeans. Most of the older people were the ones who thought of the Europeans as an inconvenience, but as time passed on, they blamed the Europeans for the broken union that was valued greatly in the Ibo society.

The Western colonization of the Ibo people degraded the bonds of fellow African people and caused relationships to decline within the community. The association of the people in the Igbo society grew apart from each other and the strong bonds of the Ibo people were shattered with the arrival of the Europeans. The Westerners transformed the Ibo society life and caused the disintegration of the unity the Ibo people had, thus contributing to the name of the book Things Fall Apart.