Essay on Beliefs and Conflict in Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart is a story about personal beliefs and customs and also a story about conflict. There is struggle between family, culture, and religion of the Ibo people which is all brought on by a difference in personal beliefs and customs. There are the strong opinions of the main character, Okonkwo. We are also introduced to the views of his village, Umuofia. Finally, we see how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are confronted by those of the white missionaries. Chinua Achebe is a product of both native and European cultures. This has a great effect on the telling of the story. When he tells the story with an understanding and personal experiences in both cultures. He does not portray the African culture and their†¦show more content†¦This is an example of the difference in personal beliefs among family. Some may say that the book is about the differences in beliefs between the Africans and the colonizers, but it is more than that. It is clear that it was Okonkwos personal beliefs and not necessarily the views of the people of Umuofia which guided him in what he did. One of these is his reliance in the strength of anger. Although he felt strongly in the beliefs and customs of the Ibo people, there are several occasions in which Okonkwo made a decision to disobey the customs in order to live out his own personal beliefs. For example, in chapter four, Okonkwo is yelled at by Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess, for beating his wife during the sacred week of peace. Okonkwo did not feel remorse for his actions and probably thought of it as a sign of strength and manhood. Okonkwo was always worried about being seen as weak. One good 3 example of this is when he kills Ikemefuna. Okonkwo liked the boy because he saw several good qualities in him that he wished his own son possessed. He had to be killed because of one of their customs. When it came time to kill Ikemefuna, Okonkwo delivered the second and final blow from his machete and killed the boy so that people would not think that he was weak. After Ikemefuna was killed, Okonkwo was unable to eat or drink for days because he was upset. But, heShow MoreRelatedThings fall apart1057 Words   |  5 Pages Reflection on the novel Things Fall Apart The Idea of Culture in Things Fall Apart The novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs, customs and also about conflict. There is struggle between family and within culture and it also deals with the concept of culture and the notion of the values and traditions within a culture. The word culture is Latin and means to cultivate. To cultivate has several meanings; it can mean to plow, fertilize, raise and plantRead MoreCoculturalism And Cosmopolitanism1749 Words   |  7 Pagesharmony? 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