![]() Additionally, colonization as an agent of change can be analyzed and paralleled to other agents in the context of modern society. In that regard, gender in the novel can be used to show the way social roles are shaped in such a society. The latter can be seen in that one of the consequences of diversity, multiculturalism, and globalism is gradually erasing the distinctive features of each culture and mixing them into one large melting pot of various cultures.įinally, the ideas that can be used in class are mainly related to showing examples of early social structures, groups, and social roles. Does the author’s view support holding on to the culture and the tradition despite some of its negative aspects? Examples of negative aspects can be seen in the sacrifice process, the role of women, and others.Īnalyzing the novel on a larger scale, it can be stated that the ideas of cultural diversity, multiculturalism, and globalism do not seem to fit into the idea of tradition opposing changes. Chinua Achebe, the Nigerian author and towering man of letters whose internationally acclaimed fiction helped to revive African literature and to rewrite the story of a continent that had long. In that regard, the colonization in the novel can be considered as one of the main driving forces of change to which Okonkwo was so resistant.Īccordingly, the questions that might be raised are concerned with the overall idea of cultural change. The main conclusion that can be drawn from reading about the culture in the novel is that despite considering the culture as non-static and adaptive to changes, the example of Okonkwo shows the opposition of tradition to such changes. Additionally, the religion was represented by showing that the highest level of divine beings is the supreme god, or “Chukwu”, a loving father who should be feared when doing against his will (Achebe, 1996 Froiland, 2010). ![]() One element can be seen in the absence of a ruler in the tribe, where “decisions made by including almost everyone in the village” (Froiland, 2010), an aspect that was truthfully reflected in the novel (Achebe, 1996, p. This culture still exists and many of its elements were realistically depicted in the novel. The culture of the tribe that was depicted in the novel was of the Igbo culture. ![]() A form of democracy was also present in such an establishment, where the main political and social aspects were determined through clan meetings. The relations with Umuofia, the clan to which Iguedo belonged, might be seen as a representation of a simple political system within the Nigerian tribes at the time, which included wars, peaceful settlements, and mediations through an authoritative party (the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves) (Achebe, 1996, p. In that regard, Iguedo can be seen as an example of a traditional Nigerian tribe with a distinctive social structure. Achebe continued to publish and held a faculty position at Brown University from 2009 until his death in 2013.Although Iguedo is a fictional village, the novel took a realistic approach toward depicting the life of the Nigerian tribes. Over the next several decades, Achebe was involved in a mix of academia and Nigerian politics, publishing a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections and splitting his time between Nigeria and the United States until 1990, when he returned to the US after a car accident left him partially disabled. He published and gained worldwide attention for Things Fall Apart in 1958. Later, he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) in the metropolis of Lagos. After graduation, he worked first as an English teacher in the town of Oba. Achebe excelled in school and began writing stories as a university student. Although his parents were Protestant and practiced the Christian faith, Achebe and his siblings were also exposed to traditional Igbo culture, which included a heavy emphasis on storytelling. Achebe was raised by his parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria.
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