ENGL 332 English Literature

You will take the particular research question that you are developing as the thesis of your Portfolio Project and contextualize it in such a way as to convey an international or multicultural understanding of the novel. For example, if you are developing a cultural analysis of the novel, you will need to answer, as a part of your research thesis, how one culture develops in direct competition against the emergence of another foreign culture. Or, if you are developing a feminist analysis, you will need to answer, as a part of your research question, how one culture's treatment of women changes when confronted by another culture's differing attitude toward women. Or, if you are doing a direct compare/contrast analysis, you will need to directly compare specific aspects of one culture against another culture.

Culture plays significant roles in the society and more so to a person. It is the totality of people's beliefs, traditions, values, language, attitudes, and rituals. Notably, many cultures exist across the world and are central to the formation of an individual's sense of belonging or identity. The existence of numerous cultures across the world, however, does not render some superior or inferior to others although some tend to conflict. Chinua Achebe is one of the Nigeria authors who attempt to portray the culture of the Igbo people in his Things Fall Apart. One would argue that Achebe, to a greater extent, images the dominant culture in the African continent before the coming of the colonialists. He, therefore, creates a scenario where there emerge some opposing cultures which were a result of the Igbo people contact with the colonialists. The role of this paper is thus to discuss the cultural transformation of the Igbo community, and the role played by the white's foreign culture in influencing these cultural changes.

Achebe's Things Fall Apart provides a significant model that frames a different perception of the African continent (Abel, 2017). It is a remarkable text that sets a firm foundation on which African literary discourses and cultural nationalism are built. Moreover, it is a text that questions the rather negative perceptions of Africa as depicted in some books, news, and articles (Eze, 2014: Sen, 2013).   In his book, Achebe constructs arguments that negotiate for the African culture while in the same sense reconstruct the image and identity of Africa (Abel, 2017). He, therefore, brings to the light the cultural values that define Africa. Essentially, Chinua Achebe deconstructs the language of colonists mainly their definition of African history and culture (Alam, 2014). The book thus reimages Africa and dejects the negative conceptualization of Africa by the colonials.

The Igbo community had a sophisticated culture which was defined by various beliefs. They believed in the existence of many gods and the ancestral spirits. The goddess Ani who was the earth goddess and the goddess of all fertility was the most significant of all the Umuofia gods. Ani judged the morality and conduct of the Igbo people. The Igbo culture was also characterized by many beliefs including the belief in the Evil Forests and the bad omen of whistling in the night and calling snake by its name (Achebe, 2009). They had several festivals that preceded planting and harvesting seasons and one of them was the feast of the New Yam as well as the festivals of the Peace Week. Wrestling was also an important festival that brought people together. The Igbo community was patriarchal and polygamous. A man was supposed to express masculinity in all aspects and own titles and feed for his family. A man who failed to meet the standards was considered an Agbala or a woman (Achebe, 2009). Women, on the other hand, were passive objects whose roles were restricted to the domestic sphere.

Achebe from his first to the fifteenth chapter describes the Igbo community and its nine villages. Conversely, the disintegration of the Igbo culture assumes another face upon the arrival of the missionaries in the sixteenth chapter. The arrival of the missionaries and conversion of new believers was going to trigger numerous cultural changes. To some, the period marked the beginning of abandoning their culture and adopting the new one.  It was turbulent and cultural crisis period for the Igbo people. Okonkwo, the story's protagonist, suffers as a result of the colonizer's intrusion. He could not withstand their massive influence to the Igbo people and the consequent erosion of the once elaborate Igbo culture (Islam, 2014).

According to Uwah (2017), the coming of the colonizers led to the cultural incompetence and intolerance. The Umuofia people rendered those who joined the religion as worthless men who had no titles. They had become social misfits in the Igbo. The converts and the missionaries, on the other hand, saw the primitivism nature of those who failed to shun away from the cultural bindings.  The missionaries and converts condemned the Igbo's polytheism and compared the gods to stones and woods. The white man alluded that those people who bowed down to wood and stones would be thrown into eternal fire while those who worshipped God would inherit the heavenly kingdom. A new culture was introduced to the Igbo people, and some welcomed it. Okonkwo's son Nwoye was one of the zealous converts.

Achebe also frames a picture of the Igbo society and its prosperity which was founded on poetry, art, a concise justice system, democracy and music (Aihevba & Ojiebun, 2016). Despite its strong leadership, the largest percentage of the Igbo people were adamant about adapting to the changing times and culture. Both the missionaries and the internal conflict that pervaded Igbo were the main factors that led to the wearing out of the Igbo cultural fabric. Culture tends to disintegrate when its roots (who are the people that associate with it) cannot withstand the test of time (Achebe, 2017).

Further, Uwah (2017) maintain that Achebe is critical of the European's narratives, stereotypes, and myths directed towards Africa as a whole. It should be remembered that the Things Fall Apart s not a mere representation of the Igbo community but Africa as a whole. Achebe's approach is, therefore, a counter representation that attempts to illuminate the complexity and fullness of the African culture. For the longest time in history Africa, mainly referred to as a "dark continent" has been perceived as an impassable jungle. Nonetheless, the events that unfold in Umuofia portray a complex society characterized by traditional institutions, cultural ideals, and corporate structure that oversees the people's affairs. Okwonko kills a sixteen-year boy during the burial of Ezeudu who was a great and oldest man of Umuofia (. Killing a fellow clansman was a crime against the goddess of the earth and the ultimate punishment was an exile. Okonkwo, a man of title and a warrior and other accomplishments went into exile. Such an undertaking is a clear demonstration of a complex culture with its rules and regulations that govern the conduct of its people.

The colonists perceived that Africa lacked written laws that govern its people. The notion is proven by the District Commissioners address to the six arrested men. According to the commissioner, he and his people had a court of law where cases were heard and determined, and justice was served. Arguably, such a misinterpretation is a mere fallacy (Alam, 2014). Achebe depicts a whole administrative process of the Igbo community. The existence of various categories of groups including lineage, the oracles of the Caves and Hills, age-grade, and the council f elders (ndichie) is an indication that cultural, political and social administration. Additionally, Umuofia people were also guided by gods and deities including Ojuku, Ifejioku, and Ani. The gods and deities were highly respected and thus guided how people behaved towards each other.

Nevertheless, even as Achebe makes tremendous attempts in deconstructing the misinterpretations and misconceptions of the colonists towards Africa (Asika, 2016), he also points out some of the cultural practices which may have played a role in the construction of these misinterpretations and misconceptions. For instance, there were entirely different ways of defining femininity and masculinity. In the first place, women were men's objects and were considered as a weaker gender (Achebe & Akase 2015). There were also different crops grown by men and women. Other than fulfilling the household tasks, a woman's primary roles were to remain submissive and bear many children. Okonkwo devalued femininity and thus was opposed to anything or character that expresses femininity (Cobham, 2003). Masculinity, on the other hand, was defined by the titles owned, prowess on the battlefield, and ability to provide for the family. In fact, a lazy man such as Unoka was referred to as a woman (agbala). A man was not supposed to show compassion or affection, and these were signs of weaknesses (Shouqm & Zubair, 2015).

In addition, a daughter of Umuofia had been killed in Mbaino on her way to the market. In compensation, Umuofia received a young boy, Ikemefuna and a virgin girl (Achebe, 2009). Ikemefuna belonged to the community although he was put under the care of Okonkwo. He was different from Nwoye. Ikemefuna lived with the Okokwos for three years when fate later befell him. Okonkwo was growing fond of the boy though he could not openly show it. Another barbaric cultural practice expressed by Achebe include throwing away of twins, and ridicule of those who gave birth to twins or gave no birth at all.

In conclusion, it is evident that Achebe Things Fall Apart was a literary approach that was an awakening call. The book offers a rich content of the African culture. Achebe demystifies the social, cultural and religious misconceptions labeled on Africa mainly by the colonists. He successfully does this through the illumination of the Igbo community (comprising nine tribes) in Nigeria.  Throughout the novel, Achebe highlights the richness and complexity of the Igbo community culture. Achebe thus shows the interference and social disorder caused by the cultural and political disruption of the colonists. Thus, it is clear that the tensions and conflict that occur after the arrival of colonists were as a result of the colonist's politics.

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