Things Fall Apart Paper - 1409 Words

Yiran Meng Things Fall Apart paper 12/1/2011 Umuofia is a primitive and polytheist clan in Nigeria. People in the tribe uphold their own system of tradition, taboo and justice. Several gods that influence all aspect of the members’ life are worshiped, and profane conducts are punished severely. People are not concerned about their personal interests, as they help each other altruistically. As a matter of fact, all the people in the tribe live harmoniously. However, as Achebe depicts in the second part of Things Fall Apart, everything in the clan falls apart due to the appearance of British missionaries. When Christianity is first spread in the tribes, the converts are mostly people who are not valued in the tribe, yet more and more†¦show more content†¦Also, during the funeral of an important old man, Okonkwo breaks the â€Å"law† by killing a young man inadvertently, which results in his exile to his motherland. Even though Okonkwo is an impetuous man, he doesnt show any resistance to the decision. The r everence to the tradition and deity in the tribe is explicitly illustrated in the two instances. People also have their own court to reconcile conflicts among the members and make juridical decisions. It is these traditions and religion that hold the whole tribe together, as they have the same laws and beliefs; and because of the isolation of the tribes, there are rarely elements added to or amending the traditions. Also due to the isolation of the clan, it is hard for members in the tribe to imagine the deliberate violation of the traditions. However, the missionaries then appear. At first, people give them the evil forest to build the church, for they think this damned place can restrain the dissemination of the new religion. However, nothing happens to the missionaries after twenty-eight days. Some of the clan men now believe the unique power of Christianity, so â€Å"that week they (the missionaries) won a handful more converts†(151), and it is clan men’s superstit ion that lead to this result. Also, the church leader uses appropriate methods to successfully win more converts. Mr. Brown builds a school and hospital in the clan, and encourages people to study in the schoolShow MoreRelatedThings Fall Apart Reaction Paper1420 Words   |  6 PagesThings Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe English II Submitted by: G11 David, Kim Patricia Y. II – Helium Submitted to: Mrs. Zenaida S. Garcia – Nicolas Submitted on: August 6, 2012 Things Fall Apart Take-Home Test 1.) a.) Ikemefuna is Umuofia’s hostage from Mbaino who was put under Okonkwo’s care for three straight years. He lived with Okonkwo’s family and became close to Nwoye, Okonkwo’s eldest son. He calls and treats Okonkwo as his real father. 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