Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - Book Report/Review Example

Things Fall Apart Europeans are indeed the greatest colonizers since the beginning of the world. People from this part of the world traversed different parts of the world spreading their perceived ideologies of civilization and industrialization. The imperialists as otherwise their name, approached countries with superior technologies and cultures that perplexed many locals. Some even tried to resist the penetration of the Europeans but overwhelmed with superior weapons and deals. Chinua Achebe through his book Things Fall Apart puts the situation and the tactics of the Europeans in entering West Africa into clearer perspectives. The description by Achebe about the process covers every technique ranging from cultural, social, economic, political, policies, religious, and civilization to subjugate the Nigerian communities. This paper will review and analyze the use of violence, economy, education, religion, government institutions, and language by the European imperialists in conquering the Ibo tribe of Umuofia as narrated by Chinua Achebe in his book, “Things Fall Apart.” The Europeans arrived in the Western African region as missionaries similar to the way they arrived in other colonies. 1The missionary ideology was to spread Christianity and end the African traditional religion, Igbo practiced by the people of Umuofia. The missionaries carried the Bible and strong religious words and message that were irresistible. To inoculate into the system of the Obi people and Umuofia village as whole, the missionaries preached and coveted some locals to their side. The converted locals denounced their traditional religion and gods in favor of the newly introduced and powerful God. In his visit to second visit to Okonkwo in Mbanta, Obierika discloses to his host how the Amada (White men) targeted the perceived weak and rejects of the society such as Nwoye to help spread the message. In fact, Obierika cited seeing Nwoye with the whites as the main reason of paying the visit. In the book, it became clear that Nwoye received his conversion while in Mbanta through the visitation of the village by a white man leading six converts. 2In Umuofia, the European missionaries managed to convince the people through their gospel. The people agreed without violence and even offered lands for building of churches. Despite being superior over the locals, the missionaries exercised care and avoided demeaning the local religion directly. This practice was evident in the case of Mr. Brown who restrained the converts from antagonizing the culture of the clan. Instead, Mr. Brown contacted with Akuna, a clan elder to discuss the fate of the two religions. In the debates, Mr. Brown dismissed the many other gods besides Chukwu as believed by the community. However, Mr. Brown was careful to avoid insults that could anger Akuna and his people. The discussion leads to the view of how the imperialists used local leaders to mount over the Obi people. The introduction of Christianity by the white people was going to compromise the initially valuable culture of the Umuofia people. The arrival of the Europeans and the religion threatened to weaken the kinship bond that was core of the Igbo culture. The ancestral worship as practiced by the traditional Ibo community worked to strengthen the bond among the people and clans. Conversion of the people to Christianity meant partial rejections of the kinship of the community. The missionary won increasingly won the hearts of many locals by simply pointing at the inhumane fallacies associated with the religion of the Ibo. For instance, the Ibo tradition restricted outcasts from cutting their hair but Christianity convinced otherwise and there were no negative consequences. The locals witnessed how the wood gods could not act and started to believe the Christian God introduced by the European missionaries. The Europeans also introduced their judicial system over the Obi people and established a government that ruled over the village of Umuofia. 3In his return from Mbanta where he considered people womanish, Okonkwo disbelieved the advancement that the White men made in his ancestral village. He thought and wondered over the reasons that the community did not fight and reject the people who would kill the local culture. Upon his arrival in Umuofia after seven years of exile, Okonkwo realized that the white (Amada) were violent and harsh. In consultation with Obierika, Okonkwo realizes that white men had influenced greatly over the locals. Many clansmen had agreed to the new system of rule and sided with the white men. This fact made it hard for Okonkwo to continue imagining about the reason that the Obi people could not drive away the Amada. The Europeans used the organized government to instill order into the Umuofia community. The judicial system brought about by the Europeans settled cases and disputes in courts. The rulings of the courts did not take into consideration the local traditions. This practice led to passage of judgments that sometimes unsatisfied the locals. During address and update of Okonkwo about developments in the village since the arrival of the Amada, Obierika narrates how the government hanged Aneto for killing a person. The victim of Aneto had dispute with the aggressor but court ruled over the matter by overlooking the local customs, which would not favor Aneto. It was due to ignorance of the local customs in the ruling that angered Aneto into killing the man, and himself being subject to hanging. The white judicial system terminated the Igbo courts headed by elders who received wisdom from the ancestors to make unbiased and fair judgments. The tradition by the Obi people of abandoning twin babies became a criminal offense punished by the judiciary of the white people. The Europeans also used formal economic processes to conquer the Obi people of Umuofia. According to Achebe, the British opened and organized trading posts with shops and introduced money. 4The community found the use of money interesting, efficient and convenient in determining value of goods and other economic exchanges. Money was flowing in the village and many people were happy. Mr. Brown also built hospital in the neighborhood where people received advanced treatment through the Western medicines. Education is another strategy used by the Europeans stamp their conquest over the Obi people. Initial converts were the first beneficiaries of the formal education system. Nwoye flee from his aggressive father Okonkwo in Mbanta to join the missionary school in Umuofia, so that he could learn to read and write. 5Mr. Brown, who is one of missionaries leading converts in Umuofia built schools in the village and encouraged people to join so that learned outsider would not come to rule over them. Brown warned that failure by the people to accept education and learn English would dispose to the rule of the white man forever. This warning could frighten the community and a significant people made efforts to join schools and learn the English traditions. In the process of encouraging villages, Mr. Brown reported to Okonkwo that Nwoye was in a training school to become a teacher but the father turned violent and chased way the visitor. Some of locals travelled overseas to England to learn, and return later to help develop the villages. Through introduction of English, the relations among the Umuofia people weakened as the Igbo language defined the way to identify locals, and enhance peace and coherence. The other reason that made the European imperialists to conquer the Obi people of the Umuofia society was the use of threats and existing knowledge of fierceness of the whites. The neighborhoods of Obi people including the Ahiara of the Abame village other tribes in Igbo suffered killings for resisting the arrival of the whites6. In Abame, the Ahiara community killed a white British on a bicycle during an expedition of the region. Even though the white did not say anything or said things that the locals did not understand as claimed by Obierika in his visit to Okonkwo in Mbanta, the locals moved swift and killed the man. The killers then tied the bicycle against a tree. The act agitated the colonial administration that mobilized soldiers to surround the village and killed Ahiara people indiscriminately. This move worked to spread fear among the Umuofia people never to resist or oppose the white rule. The Igbo community also faced massacre from the British during the expedition called Bende-Onitsha Hinterland intended for eliminating the opposition of the Igbo. Resultantly, the British rulers introduced a collective punishment law that advocated punishment over an entire community or village for crimes against the whites. The expedition also saw the destruction of Awka Oracle that the locals consulted when faced with hard times7. Generally, these violent treatment of the Umuofia society terrified the Ibo who though powerful, feared rising against the harsh colonialists. 8The colonialists used hard fist strategy extended through use of government institutions to subjugate the Ibo community. A point in case was the departure of Mr. Brown and replaced by Rev. James Smith. Unlike Brown, Smith used force to make the locals understand the inferiority of their practices. Rev. Smith demanded utmost obedience of the commands of the Bible was unready to tolerate the local religious practices. One of the converts who felt relief from the admonition and retrain of Mr. Brown, and called Enoch moved to kill the earth deity appeased during planting. This conduct infuriated the traditionalists who forcefully burnt the church despite the objection by Rev. Smith. The use of force became apparent when the District Commissioner tricked the leaders of Umuofia attend a peaceful resolution of the discord that existed. The leaders attend the meeting with machetes and leaving their guns home. On putting down their machetes and ready for friendly conversation, a group of soldiers came, handcuffed and jailed the leaders. In jail, the subjects suffered insults and physical abuse. Freedom would only be possible upon production of a fine amounting to two hundred bags of cowries imposed by the court. The villagers contributed towards the fine and the prisoners including Okonkwo were free though with stripes and whip marks on their bodies. In response to the treatment of the prisoners, the village crier arranged for a meeting of all people from the nine villages to discuss headway9. The imprisonment incident seemed a reunifying factor of the initially divided Umuofia. Prepared for war, Okonkwo used his machete to kill one of the court messengers who came to warn the meeting to disperse. The meeting end and villagers seemed to question the reason for Okonkwo to kill the messenger. When to look for Okonkwo to face charges of murder, the District Commissioner realized that, the target committed suicide at a bush behind his home by hanging on a tree. It was at the incident that Obierika explained to the District Commissioner that people who commit suicide were unclean and locals did not touch such bodies. Only strangers from distant villages could handle and bury the body of Okonkwo. However, the District Commissioner used the messengers who were also locals to handle Okonkwo’s body. This practice saw the locals move against the traditional believes and emerged unharmed. In conclusion, West Africa and Nigeria in particular is among the world’s countries colonized by the British. Just like in other places, the arrival of the British in Umuofia caused much instability in the social systems. The locals fearing for eradication of their valued culture resisted the arrival of the whites and determined to oppose every move. However, the wish of the people of Umuofia could not succeed as the whites used economic enticements that were in the form of formal trade achieved using money. The whites also used governmental institutions such as the courts and police to punish any anti-English practices. Missionaries also spread Christianity and convinced many to convert from useless local beliefs. Education of the people was a promise that one day the locals will rule by selves and secure good jobs. Bibliography Achebe, Chinua. 2008. Things fall apart. New Delhi [u.a.]: Allied Publishers. Read More