Essay on themes in Things Fall Apart and Second Coming

Similar Themes in Things Fall Apart and The Second Coming nbsp; nbsp; The novel Things Fall Apart examines African culture before the colonial infiltration. Achebes novel forces us to examine the customs and traditions that make up an informal culture. At times we may find some their practices appalling, but Achebe makes us realize that the traditions and customs are what essentially hold the Ibo together. Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart with the intention of changing the common view of African culture. He wrote the novel from an insiders perspective, revealing that African culture was not solely based on barbaric and mindless rituals. Achebe reveals the affects of the colonial infiltration on African societies. Through his†¦show more content†¦nbsp; Achebe portrays the life of the Ibo tribe before the first touch of the white men.nbsp; Before the colonial infiltration thenbsp; Ibo had a very cyclic view of time.nbsp; Their beleifs and rituals werenbsp; practiced the same rit at the same time every year.nbsp; Where as the white mans traditions and view of time were much more linear.nbsp; Right from the Ibos first encounter with the whites, the reader can observe the cycle as being unchangeably altered.nbsp;nbsp; It is the coming of thei missionaries which brings the disruption.nbsp; After thousands of years of unviolated and untouched traditions, Okonkwo returns after just seven years of exile and finds his village turned upside down.nbsp; In addition, the Ibo people fail to recognize him as a leader.nbsp; Their new religon and government and trading stores were very much in the peoples eyes and minds, the talked and though about little else.. The whites swept away the Ibo tradition and heritage.nbsp; Here, Okonkwo can be seen as the falconer as depicted in Yeats poem.nbsp; He was once looked upon as a respected leader, but now the falcon the Ibo people do not hear the falconer, Okonkwo. nbsp; The disruption of the Ibo cycle isShow MoreRelatedImperialism In The 19Th Century Resulted In European Countries1726 Words   |  7 PagesWhen Chinua Achebe published Things fall apart in 1958, a novel criticizing the European aspects of imperialism, his aspiration was to teach readers that â€Å"their past-with all its imperfections-was not one long night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them†(Chinua Achebe on the Role of the African Writer, 1964). 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