Things Fall Apart, a much-acclaimed novel by Chinua Achebe tells a story which revolves around the disastrous chapter that occurred in the African history. This is a seminal work set in the period of late 19th century where Achebe became the very first author to demonstrate the ways by which the European colonization has considerably impacted the natives.
The story of the Things Fall Apart book very substantially depicts how the Iguedo people believed in gods and at the same time feared the wraths of these same gods. The Things Fall Apart novel also talks about the patriarchal society that prevailed in those times where men used to rule the household and women of the home were engaged in their bidding. When it comes to the Things Fall Apart book review, I feel that although Okonkwo was daring and brave, but I did not like his character as he gets angry very quickly and abuses his family very often. He used to rule his household and family members with a very heavy hand and thus his family members were fearful of him perpetually. I strongly appreciate the spirit of his second wife whose name was Ekwefi and she had a mind of her own. She used to suffer for it as well very often.
In order to thoroughly understand and appreciate Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, we certainly cannot determine it from today’s perspective as because there are several things that the villagers used to do which would be considered as illegal in today’s world. The villagers that the author depicted in Things Fall Apart novel are highly superstitious and offered a lot of sacrifices to their gods. There are instances which are mentioned in the book like when a lady used to give birth to twins, the newborns were mercilessly thrown inside the Evil Forest. Also, there are mentions of men beating and torturing their wives and children were acceptable.
The Things Fall Apart book is clearly divided into three major parts. The first two sections depict the Ibo people’s lives which persisted in the era that was prevailing at the end of the 1800s before the occurrence of colonization and the invasion by the missionaries. The missionaries who came from the West strongly disrupted the beliefs, ways and the lifestyle of the villagers. The villagers were clueless about how to adapt to the change. Although the villagers were depicted as primitive in the Things Fall Apart novel, the author has very skillfully demonstrated the weaknesses that prevailed in both the systems. However, there were no true dialogues between both these parties – the primitive villagers and the invading missionaries.
When we tend to talk about Things Fall Apart summary, we can safely conclude that societies disintegrate and the people also disintegrate when people do not communicate and compromise with people around them. I would strongly recommend Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart as it very clearly provides us with the insights regarding how a particular society can be impacted due to colonization and also the significance of open dialogue with those people who are perceivably different. You can share your feedback and thoughts after reading the book in the comments section below.
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