Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart, which is a great piece of African literature that deals with the Ibo culture, society, and history. One place where the Ibo religion is practiced is in the village of Umuofia in Africa, where the story takes place. On the other hand, Christianity is a very common religion that is practiced all over the world. Although Christianity and Ibo are both types of religions, they have many differences. One way the religions are different is the Ibo practice polytheism and Christians practice monotheism. A second difference is the Ibo believe in animate Gods unlike Christians who believe in an inanimate God. Another contrast is the Ibo practice polygamy unlike the Christians who practice monogamy. A final contrast is the afterlives of the two religions.First of all, the Ibo practice polytheism and Christians practice monotheism. Polytheism is the belief in more than one God, and monotheism is the belief in one God. Christians believe in one supreme creator of the heavens and the earth, who is called God. In contrast, the Ibo have various gods who they worship. The conversation between Mr. Brown, a Christian missionary in the village of Umuofia, and Akun
Another contrast of the two religions is the practice of polygamy compared to monogamy. Monogamy is what Christians practice and it is being married to one wife at a time. Christians believe that when a man and a women become united in Christ they become one, and a man can only have one wife at a time. In contrast, the Ibo practice polygamy, which is having many wives at a time. In Umuofia, the more wives a man has, the better. Okonkwo, the main character in the book, has three wives. (13) It is a common practice in Umuofia for all the men to have more than one wife. Each wife and her children live in a different hut and the man lives by himself in his obi. A second difference in Ibo and Christianity is the belief in animate gods and an inanimate God. Christians have an inanimate God, which means that He cannot be seen. Christians also believe that God is eternal. Unlike Christianity, the Ibo believe in animate gods, which are alive and can be seen. An example of the Ibo believing in animate gods is they worship carved wood, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, and the sacred python. The consequences of treating the Ibo religion as culturally inferior led to the falling apart of Africa. Since Okonkwo was a symbol of Africa and he committed suicide at the end of the book, Africa also fell apart. The white people came to Africa to try to convert the Ibo to Christianity, and most of the white people did not respect the Ibo. The exception was the missionary Mr. Brown who listened to clan members about the Ibo religi
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1026
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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