Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart
In Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" there are many important issues to discuss. One important question to ask is, "Were the European colonists/missionaries wrong in the fact that they invaded a society that did not want to be changed?" The Europeans condemned the Ibo people as "barbarians" and "savages," which were justifiable by the European religious and social definitions of the words. The similar mentalities are present in the three quotes by F. Hegel, R. Burton, and S. Baker. Ultimately, the Europeans began a moral crusade to "save" the barbarians from what they saw as their own ultimate "demise." In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe presents to us the destruction of a traditional native culture, the weakening of Ibo spirituality, as well as the death of the tribe's livelihood. He reveals that the ever apparent cause can be found in a seemingly good intended mission, acting as a gateway for the intrusion of a foreign government. Throughout the failures and defeats of this society (in response to European colonialism) Achebe shows us the true vision of these African civilizations, and the African Mind, Spirit, and Presence is celebrated.The ideological system of colonization has been a violent destructive force
This was why Okonkwo had been chosen to carry a message of war to their enemies. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul - the question of the twins lying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. Whether or not the religion is Christian, which believes a ritual turns bread and wine into flesh and blood, or the Ibo religion, which believes that a stillborn child is an "ogbanje" which seeks to haunt the mother, is irrelevant. There is no gratitude, pity, love,or self-denial; no idea of duty, no religion. Many of the practices of the Ibo tribe were, by modern day constraints, "ridiculous," though each had its origins in a belief or necessity. They claimed that the Africans were "savages," yet used savage methods to get what they wanted. We discover in the end that the Ibo culture is perhaps not the best lifestyle for us, but perhaps better suited for the lifestyles of the Ibo. Baker, in reference to African achievements:"African savages. The Commissioner of the whites is not concerned really with learning about the different cultural distinctions, but rather with bettering himself and his own society while representing the natives the way he deems appropriate. What they did not produce in their own village, they could trade with neighboring villages, which believed in the same ideals as they did. For the overall success of the society before the Europeans arrived, it is to be celebrated.
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