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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page paper which examines how the conflict between tradition and change affected Okonkwo and the members of his Igbo society in the classic 1959 novel. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: TG15_TGtfatc.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
define man and his culture and the inevitable change that allows society to continue to evolve. According to critic Patrick C. Nnoromele, Things Fall Apart, is, first and foremost,
"a text rooted in the social customs, traditions, and cultural milieu of a people. The characters and their actions are better understood when they are examined in that light"
(146). The Igbo-speaking African community of Umuofia was deeply steeped in "masculine traditions" (Osei-Nyame 148). It was a patriarchal society where the male elders, proficient farmers, and warriors
reigned supreme, and subservient women did as they were told by their male masters. Life was simple and broken down into masculine and feminine characteristics. For the Igbo
man, there was nothing worse than being effeminate. The polytheistic religious practices had varied little for centuries. The ritualistic sacrifices demanded by the gods and goddesses were honored
and never questioned. In many ways, time had stood still in Umuofia and that suited protagonist Okonkwo just fine. He successfully distanced
himself from his sissy flute-playing father, Unoka, and achieved his goal of becoming "one of the lords of the clan" (Achebe 28). Okonkwo relished in the traditions which consolidated
his power within the village and reinforced his identity. The supreme test to his loyalty to tribal customs would when the Oracle of the Hills and Caves demanded Okonkwos
surrogate son, Ikemefuna, was to be killed. When the villagers complied, excusing Okonkwo because the boy "calls you his father" (Achebe 56), it was Okonkwos drawn machete that cut
the childs body down. It was a senseless tragedy, but as Okonkwo saw it, a necessary act to keep the all-important ancestral traditions alive.
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