The Influence of Christianity in Things Fall Apart Essay

The Umuofia clan was a fairly successful part of the tribes that existed in lower Nigeria. They had a working form of government greatly based on their religious beliefs, they had a way of life that focused on their gods and worship of them, and they had a social life that was greatly based off of their own and somewhat unique religion. Many would consider this successful by many standards because the people of the Umuofia tribe was able to carry out their lives happy and content with their customs. They didn't know anything else and as most people around the world may know, generations of people are brought up with a sole belief, a sole identity, it is very hard to change and completely revamp a society without lasting, usually negative, effects. The Umuofia clan was successful and stable. Christianity was the earthquake that shook the foundation of this clan. "The white man is very clever. He came peacefully with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has pu his knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart." Christianity cleverly worked it's way into the African tribes and became the underlying cause for the distruction of a once successful society.

The Christian missionaries start in the first start in exploiting the Umuofia clan. In chapter 16 of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, you finally see missionaries come in and preach Christianity. "We have been sent by this great God to ask you to leave your wicked ways and false gods and turn to Him so that you may be saved when you die," stated one of the six missionaries. This is the first step in a series of blows to the religious foundation of the clan. With these statements and the different dialects, many passed these missionaries off. They laughed and disregarded them because of how ubsurd they sounded. "'Your buttocks said he had a son,' said the joker. 'So he must have a wife and all of them must have buttocks.'," is a prime example of what was thought of the missionaries. Not only did they not completely understand some of the beliefs but they did not take the speakers serious because of their dialects and ways of communicating. Even with the mockery from the clan, the missionaries were allowed to stay and many were drawn just because of the music and aspects of the white men that amused the clan. This was a prime example of being exploited for attention. They were taken by hymns and other similar things instead of the ideas that were actually important to the belief system they were attempting to push upon the clan. This may have seemed like a failed attempt on the missionaries part but this was just the beginning of a clever religious take over.

Being allowed to stay was the first and possible most important step in the take over of the Umuofia tribe but the steps to follow were perhaps the most influencial. Now that the missionaries were allowed to stay, they begun picking apart the community. The missionaries also got a little lucky when they were given land in the evil forest to build their church. "Let us giv ethem a portion of the Evil Forest. They boasted about victory over death. Let us give them a real battlefield in which to show their victory." A battlefield they were given and a victory along with it. A church was built and nothing happen to it as expected by the clan. This was a bit of proof to the clan that they might have some truth behind them. People started to fall the the power of the missionaries and convert. Questions that the clan's religion couldn't answer were answered in ways that were not heard of. This was the major part of the transition between old traditions and new beliefs. At this point, the conversion is unavoidable. The roots of Christianity have grown too deep in this little time. This is because not only do the Christians now have control over part of the clan, but they are attracting more spliting up the clan to a point were they could not retake control. On top of that, the missionaries are protected by the government. This means that as a last resort, violence can help, as it does, and sets the Umuofia on an eminent path to a religious disaster and the end of a successful society. The reason for the change between successful and unsuccessful is because before, they were completely content and happy with how things were going. Now, they are emotionally broken from the events that took place from the missionaries and their tacticts.

The Christianity cleverly worked it's way into the African tribes and became the underlying cause for the distruction of a once successful society. They started with a sutle entry into the clan through amusement and curiosity and ended with complete take over including violence and religious tenets being forced upon the Umuofia clan. This shows that the "white men" were cleverly planning this conversion. Also, the transition from successful to not so much is also shown through the time frame of the conversion. At the beginning, the tribe was able to exist in content, after the missionaries came, they were not. Religious ideas were new, the government that was always known now doesnt function because of Christianity, and the emotional issues that were thrown at the clans members have ruined the once successful clan.