The book Things Fall Apart tries to elaborate the events that took place following the colonization of Nigeria by the British. The author tries to state the impact that the colonization had on Nigeria and the communities that are found in Nigeria. Among the books main themes is ethnicity. This is due to the implications that were witnessed following the colonization that took place. The characters in this novel are within the same family structure and from the same cultural community. The book tries to develop a clear story regarding their community, cultural practices and ethnicity before the coming of the British as colonizers in Nigeria. There also exists an analysis of how the coming of the Europeans in Nigeria affected their customs and their cultural beliefs. In the book, the culture and the ethnicity of the characters were Igbo (Achebe 32). The book tries to state how the coming of the Europeans affected their norms and beliefs. This is due to the influence that the westerners tried to implicate on them. Then author tries to illustrate the changes that took place following the incorporation of the British system that was very different from what they had been previously accustomed to.
The main culture and ethnicity that is reviewed in the book is the Igbo’s people. Despite the critics that the book has regarding the influence that were associated with the coming of the British in Nigeria, there also exists a detailed account of the positive impacts that the coming of the British had in the Nigerian country. The author tries to state that the coming of the British to Nigeria made a drastic change in their cultures. The changes in their culture were inevitable due to the policies that had been established on which they had to abide by. The author further tries to elaborate the negative impacts that the British made on their ethnicity. The changes that were brought along were quite negative since they promoted injustices (Achebe 76). The adaptation of vices like bribery was made common in Nigeria. This is because the British people made it a habit to give bribes to ensure that they got what they wanted. The use of bribes was a vice that had not previously been common in Nigeria. Through the adaptation of such vices, it is evident that there exists a corruption of morals. Despite these negative impacts that the author tries to highlight that were made on their community which was comprised of the Igbo people, there were some significant impacts that the British made on their community. This is evident through the constructions of schools that were witnessed during this period. There was also experienced an increase in the construction of health care facilities which were of great relevance to members of the community. These factors are seen to be quite progressive through the way the author states them in his book. The changes that were brought about especially in medical care are highly praised since their previous beliefs and lifestyle had contributed to a lot of deaths that could have been saved if well attended to. Despite the acknowledgment of these positive impacts of the British colonization on their culture, there are no clear thanksgivings.
The book is seen to be quite influential due to the way the author portray the Igbo people before the coming of the British people. This is evident through the way the author describes the Igbo culture and the changes that took place following the coming of the British people. The changes that took place were inevitable since the British colonizers required that they fell in line to the policies that they wanted them to adapt. The book further narrates of how the Igbo people try to adapt to the new way of life that has been brought by the colonizers who in this instance are the immigrants. Despite the efforts that are put in trying to adapt, there are numerous differences. The differences are as a result of ethnicity, cultural beliefs, social system and religion. The British colonizers wanted to force the Igbo community to take up a lifestyle in which they were not comfortable with.
The existence of two different books needs to be understood and known by all people who may be interested in the book. This is because it is the first book that gives an account of the pure and uncorrupted Igbo culture. This is because; the accounts given are based on the Igbo’s community’s early life before the coming of the British colonizers. It is through reading both books that it is possible to give an analysis of the impact that the British people had on their culture. The book further states how the two cultures try to maintain good relations despite the constant fights that were being witnessed by Igbo society at a far.
The colonization of Nigeria by the British took place in the year 1900 where they established themselves and their soldiers in various strategic places in Nigeria. The coming of the British in Nigeria as colonizers was made clear by their large army in which they used to establish ground and start working with collaborators who were in favor of their rule and strategies. With the help of the collaborators, it was possible to establish the facilities that they required in different regions. Through the help of these collaborators, there was an easy way of ensuring that there are guidelines that have been associated with the problems in the shaft. Through acknowledging the efforts that people underwent through this period, it evident that there are a number of changes that took place. Following the coming of the British and their soldiers, there was the establishment of different channels that had been formed to help in managing any crisis that may arise.
The immigration that was brought about by the coming of the coming of the British was quite interesting. This is due to the mixed reactions that were evident following the introduction of a new religious belief that was different from their traditional ones. This is evident through the changes that were experienced in religion that caused as lot of division within the community. This is because a number of people were not convinced about this newly found religion that had come with the British. While some adapted and changed their belief to Christianity, there were also a number of individuals within a society who stayed by their traditional practices and beliefs and greatly opposed Christianity (Okpewho 75). Despite adapting to this newly found religion, there was a need to ensure that traditional beliefs are equally passed to the generations that were to come. In order to make this possible, storytelling was made a common practice where parents would try and give children a brief history of how their country and society was before the coming of the British. This was important in passing their culture and other ideas associated with their culture which in this instance is the Igbo. This is done to create a clear understanding of the encounters that were there during their traditions. It through this knowledge that different people were given the opportunity to chose the life that they want to live. This is in comparison to how they view the British culture and way of civilization compared to their own culture. It is through this that they can pick on what to do regarding how they choose to live their life.
Having reviewed the book, it is evident that there are a lot of changes that were made which were very different compared to the way the Igbo lifestyle had been before the coming of the British (Okpewho 72). This is due to the numerous changes that the British people advocated that may not have been within their previous culture. This is what led to the numerous clashes that were witnessed between the British people and the Igbo’s. The changes that they wanted were not in consideration of their religious beliefs since they called for the abandoning of their culture in order to pursue the civilization that the British colonizers had been accustomed to. This is what steered a lot of controversy since a fraction of the community was opting to maintain their beliefs since they highly valued culture. It is evident that the ethnicity theme is among one of the major themes. This is because the books are mainly focused on discussing the impact that the British colonizers had on the Nigerian community. The differences are made evident following the changes that took place following their coming.
Work cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New Delhi [u.a.: Allied Publishers, 2008. Print. Bottom of Form
Okpewho, Isidore. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Casebook. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
