Things Fall Apart

A detailed Summary of Things Fall Apart


In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, the author, presents to us a different perspective of life. Achebe accomplishes this by introducing to us an African tribe named Ibo. There are tremendous differences between these people and the Europeans at the time. That is precisely why Achebe wrote this novel. He wrote it so that people like us, who live in more developed countries, can learn about his beloved African culture. Another reason why he wrote it is to show how easily a way of life can be destroyed. Things Fall Apart is about the fall of the African tribes with the colonization of Europeans. Lastly, Achebe wrote this book to set a good example for his fellow Africans, so that they can follow his example and receive a good education. Achebe wants to promote modern African Literature. He wants to impress all of those who may misperceive his native African culture.

Most of the time when we remember African tribes, we picture them as primitive, unsophisticated, and bizarre human beings


Chinua Achebe not only writes positive things about the Ibo culture, but also criticizes them for their unwillingness to change. This is what led to their downfall. During those times European misperception of Africans was about as inaccurate as the African misperception of Europeans. This can be easily proven when the Ibo first criticize the Christian missionaries as "foolish". Later the Ibo come to realize that since the Christians can live in the "haunted woods", than they must possess special powers. In the other hand Africans have no comprehension of European warfare.

. Achebe wrote this book to prove this an incorrect representation of African tribes. He achieves this by demonstrating that the Ibo had developed a sophisticated society, religion, and justice system long before the Europeans arrived. This proves that a race with such complexity is not primitive. Achebe goes on to describe Ibo justice codes, the social and family rituals, the marriage customs, and food production and its preparation process.

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Approximate Word count = 687
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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