Everything Falls Apart

Humans are set apart from animals and other organisms because they have the ability to think rationally and to question their existence here on earth. Humans are able to ponder the infinite beyond as well as what their lives strive for. Although there are no direct answers to the question of life, humans are able to get a sense of what this life is all about. In many of the works, the characters are unable to grasp what their purpose is- sometimes straying so far that their choices lead to their…

thing. Through failure we gain experience and knowledge that ultimately leads us to reaching our potential. In both novels, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Chebe and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the authors use Okonkwo and Kurtz’s personalities and their pressures of social and natural environments to cause their own personal failures. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chebe begins by saying how Okonkwo, who is the main character of the story, is well known throughout the nine villages due to…

Dearest friend, I am very glad that you had reached out to me about Things Fall Apart, it is quite the interesting read. As I started divulging deeper into the character of Okonkwo, I had noticed that the idea of respect shaped the outcome of this character. In addition, I found in my readings that the emergence of the “white man”, in a way, threatened Ibo fundamentals. Many instances in my readings I found that respect played an important part on the outcome of Okonkwo. The priestess of the…

A father-son relationship is an important part of a boy's development . In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a powerful clan leader in Umuofia and his father poor choices in his life has driven Okonkwo to achieve success. Okonkwo is a hardworking and violent man and more successful than his father, Unoka. Unoka was a failure and it was how it shaped Okonkwo as a person and Okonkwo expects his children to follow his footsteps and become successful as him. The conflict is based on…

In the novels, Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf and, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe both authors push their characters into committing horrendous actions that are shunned by the English people and the indigenous Umuofia people. The suicides represent Septimus and Okonkwo's desperate attempts to free themselves from the pressures of their believed failed societies. Woolf uses Septimus traumatic experience as a soldier in WWI as a means to show that at a societal level, the British failed…

Even at birth you can be dealt the wrong hand and expected to become nothing in this world. Some people will eventually succumb to these thoughts, but others will use this as motivation. In the novel, “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, the main character decides to use his father’s failure as a method to triumph over adversity. It takes the judgement of others and one bad example to drive someone to become successful. For Instance, Okonkwo -the protagonist- was raised in the tribe of…

Faced with her father’s tragic death she and her mother Carmen go off to live with her newly step father, Captain Vidal. Captain Vidal, a fascist, rules with an iron fist. He dictates everything, as well as the women around him. Left powerless and trapped by her reality, Ofelia turns to her imagination where she has power over her life. The director of the film gives Ofelia a gateway where she can cope with the reality she is faced. In…

In America’s society we compete against one another. America is an individualism society in that the individual’s interest comes before the greater good of the community. Throughout your lives I’m sure you were told you should be the best at everything you do. Throughout college when you are gaining work experience and volunteering you are competing against those who will apply to the same jobs after college. America’s culture is built on “rags to riches” idea that if you work hard enough you…

The way information is transmitted can completely change the way it is perceived. Chinua Achebe, the author of the African novel, Things Fall Apart, uses an interesting style to paint and image of detrimental change. He focuses on the Ibo culture and its quick transformation when western missionaries invade this concrete culture. Slowly, the intricate culture of the Ibo crumbles. Achebe has an interesting background because of family connections. His grandfather was an Ibo, who left with the…

“Turning and turning in the widening gyre the falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.” (The Second Coming) Chinua Achebe used his deep interest in Nigerian cultures to write an accurate depiction of African cultures in response to novels such as “Heart of Darkness” which wrongly portrays Africa as a primordial and cultureless addition to Europe. Furthermore, the novel follows a respected leader of Umuofia through his…