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The Second Coming And Things Fall Apart

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The Second Coming And Things Fall Apart
Violence has been one of the main events of humanity's long history. Humanity has fought over food, territory, drought, politics and religion. Civilization across history have been torn apart because of conflict. The Ancient Roman civilization was destroyed because of conflict in the political world of Rome and the war they were facing against the Barbarians. Both Things Fall Apart and "The Second Coming" suggest that conflict can bring on an end of an era in a society.
"The Second Coming" and Things Fall Apart express how conflict from within can ruin a society. The first line of "The Second Coming" states, "The falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world," (Yeats). In …show more content…
In Things Fall Apart the village's short era of peace is disrupted when Okonkwo beats his wife because she tampers with his banana tree. It reads, ""Who killed this banana tree?" he asked. […] "Who killed this tree? Or are you all deaf and dumb?" As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. Okonkwo's second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food, and she said so. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping" (38). Okonkwo's outburst of violence had disrupted the ceremony's era of peace and celebration. When Okonkwo is involved in his conflict with his wife he disrupts the week of peace and ruins the peaceful state among the clan. The beating of his wife brought conflict to the purpose of the week of peace and the state of mind in the other tribesmen. The tribesmen state of mind would be conflicted because they would have to take time to process what had just happened and still try to enjoy the remainder of the week which was now tainted. In the Second Coming, the author describes a time of peace which is soon to be drowned out by conflict. "The ceremony of innocence is drowned; the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity"(TSC). In that stanza the author is trying to describe to the reader the abruptness of the conflict between peace and war. Both writings …show more content…
In Things Fall Apart the era of peace and stability ends when Nwoye joined the Christian missionaries. In "The Second Coming" the era of peace and order ends when the war started and things start to fall apart. Both of these stories illustrate that conflict in a society will always end an era. Both of these stories teach the reader that to maintain an era of peace or security within one's community they must rid the opportunity for conflict to happen because it will scar, ruin and destroy a
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