Essays on Achebe

Colonization is a process in which imperial power systems dominate a region and its components. It features, among other things, cultural domination, political subjugation, religious assimilation and economic exploitations. The colonists used these measures as tools of winning control of the helpless people. Colonization has a close link to massive exploitation and assimilations of new cultures and it further involves actual or threat of use of force. The colonizers were formidable icons and commanded loyalty through aggression. In light of colonialism, established cultures disintegrated. On the case of Britain emperialism,Tarique noted that, “as one of its legacieshas been ...

Africa has traditionally been a continent of mixed fortunes, where real-life stories of hope and despair abound. African traditions, values and customs have been slowly influenced by colonization and eventual globalization that has turned the world into a global village. The novel, Things fall apart, is a reflection of the extent to which Africans were tied to their beliefs and customs, as a violation of those customs was regarded as being disrespectful to the gods. Resistance to the new values and beliefs as brought by the missionaries are resisted since the communities regard them as inclined on disrupting the ...

“A man's life was a series of transition rites which brought him nearer to his ancestors” (Achebe 122). – One of the impacts of colonization is the disappearance of cultural or traditional practices. This quote shows how a life of an individual is related to his or her culture or origin. “Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under the shade” (Achebe 46). – This quote illustrates the richness of the culture of ...

Section 1

One of the cultural myths about the United States of America is that anyone can become filthy rich in the country and it is the land of opportunity. Popular culture and media does not leave any stone unturned in making people believe it is a fact, as several movies and television shows are made on the same theory that helps in solidifying the myth. The reality is far from this myth as there are many people to come to America dreaming of making it big, but fail and turn to ordinary life or return home. Though there are some ...

The body of works from Africa that comes from Africans themselves is very valuable and special phenomenon in the world that is still dominated by literature of white European male writers. China Achebe famously claimed that the image of Africa in literature is indecent and not accurate and Africans need to tell their own story with their own voice. Things Fall Apart does not tell beautiful or romanticized story about the peaceful people that were crudely colonized by Western civilization. He seems to claim to tell the truth about the culture and kind of people that lived in Nigeria ...

Chinua Achebe manages, in a highly entertaining and educative way, to present the theme of collectivism in the Nigeria before the merciless yet highly effective occupation of the British in Nigeria. The Ibo society that forms the setting of the book is a microcosm of not just Nigeria but also the rest of the Eastern countries. Chinua Achebe tells the story of the people of Igbo land of Eastern Nigeria before and immediately after their contact with the Western culture. The story revolves around the life of Okwonkwo, a tragic hero, depicting his birth, how he rises from a ...

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[Date Month Year] Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1898)

INTRODUCTION

Even his vilest critics cannot but respect the literary accomplishments of Joseph Conrad and his great work Heart of Darkness, which was published in 1898. Chinua Achebe, for instance, in her article “An Image of Africa” claimed that Heart of Darkness may as well be considered as one of those fortunate works of literature that must be considered as “permanent literature” (251). It has established a large collection of secondary literature revolving around the elements in the fictional narrative in the forms of essays and books, ...

17th of April 2016

Things Fall Apart is a novel about the Ibo tribe, their unhurried way of life, tied to the change of seasons and the harvest. The tribe with very close ties of kinship. The unity of the mind is the factor that connects all villagers saving from the conflict. Fear of the gods, worship of ancestors, superstition, sometimes cruel and ridiculous in our opinion, rites and rituals – all this has kept the integrity of the tribe for many centuries. This is a society where every individual had his own designated role: men were the hunters, warriors and the most important ...

Marriage customs, like many other customs regarding social institutions have evolved over centuries. Every society has its own intricacies when it comes to joining of man and woman in matrimony. There are cultures that scholars and observers consider civilized and others that appear sophisticated. Over many years, religious and civil law practices influence changes in marriage traditions but there are customs that have largely remained rigid. For instance, marriage customs within African tribes are clan affairs and involve shared responsibilities among families and clan members. In Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart, the Umuofia tribe within the Igbo community ...

06th of April 2016

Achebe in his novel Things Fall Apart reminds the readers of pictures of pre-colonial Africa. He claims that before the arrival of the colonists there they had their own rituals, their own religion, orders, and laws. Despite the seeming brutality of some customs, people were not so barbaric. Achebe is not trying to pander to the clichéd consciousness of Europeans, who were, and still are, convinced that Africa, lived as a primitive savage community, virtually without any organization. Achebe has written an honest, truthful humane novel about real people, their life. Of utmost interest to us are the ...

For a long time, Heart of Darkness was praised as one of the greatest English literary works. The novel by Joseph Conrad is about a journalist who sailed to Africa up to the Congo River; and who later becomes a station manager. The novel gives the accounts on how the sailor was made the indigenous Africans to worship him. In his book, he referred to the Africans as savages. In 1977, Chanua Achebe discredited the book terming it as a racist piece of literature (Pozar 6). From the moment the book was first released in 1899, they have been ...

Things Fall Apart is a book authored by Chinua Achebe whereas The Heart of Darkness is a novel written by Joseph Conrad. Chinua Achebe’s book is about the story of a man who was doing his best to prevent the white men from taking over his clan and traditions. On the other hand, Joseph Conrad’s book is about a white man’s trip to the Congo River or his journey to Africa. Even though the two books seem very different from each other, they are so parallel to each other from the setting, the characterization, the themes, ...

Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with a series of ‘circles’ that depict different layers of hell – each designed for a different sort of sinner. These circles are designed to hold and punish particular types of people for eternity. In this essay, I will choose three literary characters and discuss which circle of Dante’s hell is pertinent to them. The characters I have chosen are Okonkwo from Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, who I believe belongs in the first layer of Dante’s hell – ‘limbo’ – because he does not accept Christ as his personal saviour and, whilst he is ...