Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe is a very dramatic book which shows direct examples of how the white man did not necessarily benefit native lands as much as they believed. This book shows the struggles of the Nigerian people that were brought on by the British colonization. When the British entered the Nigerian’s land, they were not open to the beliefs of the native people. Instead of being a guest in this new country they filled the land with their beliefs and persecuted those who opposed them.
The main tribe that this book describes was a very dominant tribe. It had a reputation of winning battles and not being weak. When the British came in they realized that there would be severe opposition if they rushed right in and decided to push their beliefs on a whole tribe. Instead of doing this, they decided to appeal to the people by offering things they needed. The British opened a trade post in the city and from here, they spread their beliefs and religion. The British slowly moved into the forest to spread their religion further and further into Africa. A once strong and very independent tribe now came under the hand of the white man. As the British gained power in the tribe, they began spreading their form of go
Okonkwo was the main character of this book. He is a very strong individual who the young people of his tribe looked up to. As a prized wrestler, he had gained a lot of respect in the community. The success of his life can be directly related to the hatred that he held for his father, Unako. Unako was a very weak man. He never gained a title in the tribe, which was a man’s main goal in this tightly nit community. The disrespect that the tribe held for Okonkwo’s father gave him the burning desire to be the opposite of whatever Unako stood for (Achebe,8). In doing so, Okonkwo became a very successful leader. This character was a very brave man. When he saw the disrespect to the old laws that his tribe once lived on, he quickly tried to remedy the situation. He made many decisions to benefit the well being of his tribe. Okonkwo didn’t like to loose. He wanted to be the best and be apart of the best. When the British came in, the tribe that used to be the best slowly!
lost the respect of the land. Okonkwo did not handle opposition. At the end of the book, he allows his emotions to take control of his actions. Instead of using his leadership to benefit the tribe, he acted on a situation irrationally. When he took the messenger’s head off the tribe
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