Response To Things Fall Apart
Sunny Merchant
11/24/14
Things Fall Apart Response
Watkins
To write this essay well, we must first understand what imperialism is and what mentality the Europeans had about Africa at the time. Imperialism is when a country wants to extend its power and influence. In the case of this book, European imperialism drove them to engage in what is commonly referred to as “the scramble for Africa”. In the minds of the Europeans, the Africans were nothing more than savages. Many times, the Europeans equated the Africans to cattle or horses, as wild animals to be kept in a pen. Because of this dehumanization mentality towards Africans, the Europeans were able to so easily and with such a lack of guilt, divide and conquer Africa. At the time this was happening, Achebe decided that something should be done about this, and thus wrote Things fall apart in order to influence change in the world. In this response to the book, we will see how this was accomplished. …show more content…
For example, the practice of sharing palm-wine and kola nuts is repeated throughout the book to emphasize the peacefulness of the Igbo. When Unoka’s neighbor visits him to collect a debt, the neighbor doesn’t bring up the debt immedately. Instead, he and Unoka share a kola nut and pray to the ancestral spirits and then they converse about community affairs at great length. These customs emphasize the common interests and culture, diffusing possible tension. The neighbor further eases the situation by introducing the subject of debt through a series of Igbo proverbs, thus making use of a shared oral tradition, as Okonkwo does when he asks Nwakibie for some seed yams. Through his emphasis on the harmony and complexity of the Igbo, Achebe contradicts the stereotype set by the Europeans that Africans are
11/24/14
Things Fall Apart Response
Watkins
To write this essay well, we must first understand what imperialism is and what mentality the Europeans had about Africa at the time. Imperialism is when a country wants to extend its power and influence. In the case of this book, European imperialism drove them to engage in what is commonly referred to as “the scramble for Africa”. In the minds of the Europeans, the Africans were nothing more than savages. Many times, the Europeans equated the Africans to cattle or horses, as wild animals to be kept in a pen. Because of this dehumanization mentality towards Africans, the Europeans were able to so easily and with such a lack of guilt, divide and conquer Africa. At the time this was happening, Achebe decided that something should be done about this, and thus wrote Things fall apart in order to influence change in the world. In this response to the book, we will see how this was accomplished. …show more content…
For example, the practice of sharing palm-wine and kola nuts is repeated throughout the book to emphasize the peacefulness of the Igbo. When Unoka’s neighbor visits him to collect a debt, the neighbor doesn’t bring up the debt immedately. Instead, he and Unoka share a kola nut and pray to the ancestral spirits and then they converse about community affairs at great length. These customs emphasize the common interests and culture, diffusing possible tension. The neighbor further eases the situation by introducing the subject of debt through a series of Igbo proverbs, thus making use of a shared oral tradition, as Okonkwo does when he asks Nwakibie for some seed yams. Through his emphasis on the harmony and complexity of the Igbo, Achebe contradicts the stereotype set by the Europeans that Africans are