Things Fall Apart by Achebe

A detailed Summary of Things Fall Apart by Achebe

Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" brings to mind a number of questions. Were the missionaries merely doing their moral duty as Christians by spreading the word of God to the Ibo? Or were they wrong in the fact that they invaded a society that never wanted to hear the word of God? The Europeans condemned the Ibo people as "barbarians" and "savages," which were justifiable by the European religious and social definition of the words. Ultimately, the Europeans began a moral crusade to "save" the barbarians from their ultimate demise: a Christian hell. This crusade was as unjustified at the turn of the century as it would be today.

Being an atheist makes it easy to look at each religion as equal. Though each believes in a different set of fables and tales, they each have a similar message. Religion gives a devout society a set of rules that are believed to be punishable by an omnipotent non-human entity. Whether or not the religion is Christian, which believes a ritual turns bread and wine into flesh and blood, or the Ibo religion, which believes that a stillborn child is an "ogbanje" which seeks to haunt the mother, is irrelevant. Both religions have tales that are completely unbelievable withou

All and all, the European Christians were by no means justified in their destruction of the Ibo culture. The Ibo religion was valid; it supported their culture and allowed for a happy village life. The Ibo's could (and should) be considered a sovereign nation, and therefore should never have been treated as they were. In today's world, the Europeans would have had economic sanctions placed against them in order to stop them from implementing their government over the Ibo. I believe that could be labeled as the most abominable act the Europeans did to the Ibo. Forcing them to abide by laws that did not conform to their religion would never be tolerated in today's world, which, by large, practices the ideal of freedom of religion. This would be much like Kosher Jews being forced to eat meat and cheese together, or telling a Christian he will be persecuted for following his religions standards.

The Europeans should have never colonized the world as they did. If they had not, the world would have expanded much slower, and possibly it would not be in the dire straights it is in right now. By interjecting Christianity into the Ibo culture in the fashion the Europeans used, it ruined all the things the Ibo could have given to the rest of the world.

t faith. Stories such as Adam and Eve's exit from Eden, Moses' part of the Red Sea and the Resurrection of Jesus are as unbelievable as the Ibo's Oracle or their Evil Forest (Achebe p18). One religion is just as valid as the next. This is the simplest way t

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Approximate Word count = 1023
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History