The novel Things Fall Apart is a novel based around the era before and during the “Scramble for Africa”, the occupational, divisional, and colonial era by Europe; which will be further explained in detail throughout this paper. This is a story of Okonkwo and the Umuofia clan in Nigeria during the imperialism of the Europeans. This essay will focus on the main events of the time period that shaped the way Africa is today and outline the main parts of Things Fall Apart.
First of all, the time period of Things Fall Apart was in Africa before and during the Partition of Africa. This is important to note because after Europe colonized Africa, Edem Kodjo, author of Africa Tomorrow, describes the Africa of today as “torn away from his past, propelled into a universe fashioned from outside that suppresses his values, and dumbfounded by a cultural invasion that marginalizes him. The African,… is today the deformed image of others.” This feeling is a result of the oppression the Europeans caused the Africans during this time period. Europeans took resources from Africa such as silver and they made Africans slaves and exported to the United States, the Bahamas, and Brazil. (“What impact did exploration have on the economies of Europe, West Africa, and North America?” Slide 5).
Additionally, the effects of the Europeans taking slaves was detrimental to Africa because as a result of that, war increased in West Africa. The author of The Atlantic Slave Trade: Effects on Africa, Karo Kant, states that “’10 to 12 million Africans were forced into slavery and sent to European colonies in North and South America from 1520 to 1860’(pg135).” As a result of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Africa’s economy was devastated. The idea of slaves was not what devastated Africa, because up until the 1400s, slavery existed and slaves worked as servants and farm workers however, slaves could earn their freedom. The issue lies in the European form of slavery which Africans were taken involuntarily and sold off to other Europeans. (Effect of the Slave Trade on West Africa). In addition, another debilitating side effect to Africa during European colonization was the cultural changes.
Some of the reasons for this European imperialism were economic, cultural and religious. Some of the economic reasons included Europe’s need for resources. (Imperialism and socialism in the context of Africa). The cultural reasons of Europes conquest into Africa was that the Europeans wanted to civilize others because the European beliefs were “superior” to anyone elses. (Motives for Imperialism). The religious motive comes from their “missionary impulse”, meaning that these European Christians felt like their religion was above everyone else and saw it as a duty to spread it into Africa (and Asia). Missionaries were in support of imperialism because of the opportunities it opened up for them to convert others. (Five Motives for Imperialism)
Europeans made Africans change their culture completely to blend in with the European culture. Any civilization that refused or revolted had their land burned down. However, in West Africa the French made the West Africans assimilate to their culture (What are the effects of colonization on Africa?). In Nigeria, their culture was referred to as Igbo culture. As a result of the colonization, the culture itself has adopted Christian traditions (Nigerian Igbo Culture, Religion, Origin and History). This is a large part of the book Things Fall Apart because it begins before the colonization so later in the book it becomes very evident they are not happy with this cultural change. In the book, the Umuofia have their specific views on marriage, burials, etc. When the “white men” come in and change all these traditions this society begins to decline and fall apart. In the book, the main character, Okonkwo symbolized change. Later in the book, Okonkwo begins to become at odds with the rest of the clan which creates tension between all of the clansmen.
In Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the book is centered around Okonkwo and the Umuofia clan in Nigeria before and during the Scramble for Africa. This book is based around the cultural changes that occurred to the Igbo culture by the Europeans during the 1900s. The Europeans were responsible for cultural and religious changes, among many others. Okonkwo blames these changes for the instability we see later in the novel. His feelings are very clear stated throughout the novel an example of this is when he states, “And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast, hungry swarm.”. In this quote the “locusts” he refers to are the Europeans and he is explaining how they have taken control of everything.
In the novel, Okonkwo is a strong, very masculine wrestler who fears to be seen as weak like Unoka, his father. Due to his belief of this, once his wealth grows, he treats his 3 wives and children very harshly only ever expressing anger. Ikemefuna, a 15-year old boy that was a supposed to be sacrificed, ended up staying with Okonkwo’s family. Ikemefuna ends up becoming very close to Unoka and Okonkwo likes the influence his father has on the young boy. Three years later, as their bond grew stronger, Ezeudu, the eldest tribesmen, comes to informs Okonkwo that Ikemefuna must be killed, and he was advised to not participate due to their closeness. However, due to his fear of being seen as weak, he lands the fatal blow that killed the young man. Not long after, Ezeudu dies and his funeral was attended by the whole clan. During the funeral, Okonkwo’s gun, which ends up with him being exiled to make amends with the earth goddess. During his time in exile, the “white men” begin to appear in near by villages. This symbolizes the start colonization, or the “Scramble for Africa”. After Okonkwo and his family return to the tribe, he returns to see his tribe changing as well. Mr. Brown, a patient, kind missionary, which has done great things such as build schools and hospitals, soon must leave due to health issues. While what Mr. Brown has done is great, this symbolized Europe trying to change Africa and bring it into a new, more modern world; which as we see later in the book, is not always such a good thing. Reverend Smith was the replacement to Mr. Brown and he was a vile man. He tried to have converted clansmen turn on the others. When Enoch, a convert, intervenes in a ceremony and rips off an egwugwu, the non-converts burn the church. By this point, Christianity is being pushed onto cultures either by missionaries, priests, or converts.This is causing a large spiral downwards of the community. The District Commissioner tricks the clan leaders, including Okonkwo to meet with him, and instead torture them and insult them like animals. They are only released once the village pays a fine. The morning of their release, clan leaders speak of war until they are interrupted by court messengers who say that the white men want their meeting to end. Okonkwo, enraged at this order, grabs his machete and kills the messenger. Seeing in how nobody supported this gruesome action, he walks away to hang himself. When the District Commissioner goes to get Okonkwo, the clansmen lead him to Okonkwo’s dead body noting that they cannot touch it, due to their Igbo culture which finds it an atrocity for a man to take his own life. In hearing this, the District Commissioner takes note of this for the book he plans to write on Nigeria. During this time, the Scramble for Africa is in full effect and the Europeans ended up changing so much of the Igbo culture that the Igbo culture evolved with parts of Christianity integrated into it, which is also called cultural diffusion.
In conclusion, the colonization of Africa played a large role in making them who they are today whether that is better or worse. This essay was focused around the pre-colonizational period, colonization, and a summary of the novel Things Fall Apart in relation to the colonization of Africa.
Reference Page:
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