things fall apart Flashcards
when Nwoye mourns the loss of Ikemefuna, Igbo customs and traditions are remembered, such as the custom of leaving twins in the forest to die.Nwoye experiences a similar feeling when he learns of Ikemefuna’s execution at the hands of the clan, indicating that his own moral compass may not align with that of his society.
When Nwoye learns Ikemefuna passed away he recalls the feeling that he experienced one day when he heard a baby crying in the forest.“Nwoye had heard that twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest, but he had never yet come across them. A vague chill had descended on him and his head had seemed to swell, like a solitary walker at night who passed an evil spirit on the way. Then something had given way inside him. It descended on him again, this feeling, when his father walked in, that night after killing Ikemefuna”.
Obierika questions the Igbo traditions and rituals, as well as their tribal law. He thinks that change may improve the Igbo society
The tradition demanding that Okonkwo be banished for seven years because of an accidental killing.When the British colonists arrived, many of the members of the Igbo Society wanted to use violence against them,however Obierika did not want to use any type of violence.He comments that the white man “has put a knife on the things that have held us together and we have fallen apart.”Obierika appreciates and comprehends the alternative values and foreign culture that is invading the traditions of the Igbo people. He is open-minded or a fair-minded person.
Achebe implies that clinging to old traditions and an unwillingness to change may contribute to their downfall. Achebe does not pass judgement on the point of view of indigenous tribes, but he illustrates the kinds of circumstances that could make things fall apart
Unoka, clinging on to his laziness and old habits left him to be left to be scrutinised and disgraced upon the community leading to him having a unorthodox burial within the evil forest and was look upon the earth’s goddess, However this influenced Okonkwo’s change in ideology and led to him being more successful (yams).
This can be seen through Okonkwo himself, who only rejects the new ideology and religion brought by the missionaries. He refuses to accept any of the new traditions and strongly clings on to the old beliefs and unwillingness to change. Because of this, it led to Okonkwo’s downfall, as the people around him began to accept the change but he was still stuck in the past. His pride and dignity could not handle this and so it eventually led to his own demise.unwillingness to change. Because of this, it led to Okonkwo’s downfall, as the people around him began to accept the change but he was still stuck in the past. His pride and dignity could not handle this and so it eventually led to his own demise.
As the Christians begin to gain power, the villagers see their traditional beliefs as outdated and powerless. For example, Mbanta’s Evil Forest proves to be less sinister than they have believed
The missionaries want a piece of land to build their shrine. The villagers decide to give a plot of land in the evil forest so the evil spirits and forces will kill the missionaries. However, nothing happens. Some villagers claim that the spirits will punish them 28 days later and they were all looking forward to that but to their dismay, nothing happened. Because of this the villagers begin to realise their traditions and gods may not have been true or ‘powerful’ all along.
suggesting both the white men’s condescension towards umuofians and how the language and culture will overtake.
When the district commissioner notes when speaking with the umuofians, “One of the most infuriating habits of these people was their superfluous words”
Instead of a set of oracles and society members who enact the will of gods, we see a change as Christianity holds only a single god, who separates evil from good. Because of this there is an ideological conflict between the two religions, with one asserting a single divine authority and the other asserting a social and polytheistic model embraced by Umuofia
Although Ikemefuna is a victim of fate, Okonkwo made the choice to strike him down. Nwoye begins to detach himself from the religion and tradition, repulsed by the violent customs of his people against those which are weak
Okonkwo calls himself a ‘women’ when he reacted to killing Ikemefuena, When Okonkwo walks in the house at night Nwoye ‘knows’ Ikemefuna has been killed suggesting the whole village has been informed as Nwoye is seen as not powerful or could suggest a bond between the pair, anyways he feels somethings give way inside of him, the same way he felt when he came across a ‘set of twins’ left to die in the forest
