There are incidents in life that cause us to change our way of life, for the better or worse. There are very different ways of dealing with these life changing events. Some people, those who are tied to the past and might even have been worshiped before the incident occurred are those most likely end up as 'the week ones' in the new situation. Unlike those who were never truly comfortable with the past society and lifestyle they were living in and always hoped for a new change; these people will be those who succeed. In things fall apart, Okonkwo is a character who is very linked to his people and way of life and is considered to be the perfect example of what the Igbo man should be. Therefore, we can understand why he could not truly adapt to his new surroundings and as hard as he tried he would always reminisce and this would certainly bring him pain.
Things fall apart has a very similar theme to the novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell; a story that illustrates a rich southern society in the midst of the American Civil War that has to cope with the consequences of the South's loss. Like Things Fall Apart, these are two similar societies that due to 'the man's' power crumble and entire lifestyles are lost.
The Igbos in Things Fall Apart lose their power and basically their freedom of speech due to the religion that takes over their society and manages to even convert some of the natives to Christianity. This causes the people of Umuofia to rebel and bring the Christian church to ashes. In Gone with the Wind, slavery and a society of rich culture and strict costumes are the way that people use to coexist; in Georgia, where the story is set, many of the characters can’t seem to find a way to commence a new life and become accustomed to the new American ways.
Things fall apart has a very similar theme to the novel Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell; a story that illustrates a rich southern society in the midst of the American Civil War that has to cope with the consequences of the South's loss. Like Things Fall Apart, these are two similar societies that due to 'the man's' power crumble and entire lifestyles are lost.
The Igbos in Things Fall Apart lose their power and basically their freedom of speech due to the religion that takes over their society and manages to even convert some of the natives to Christianity. This causes the people of Umuofia to rebel and bring the Christian church to ashes. In Gone with the Wind, slavery and a society of rich culture and strict costumes are the way that people use to coexist; in Georgia, where the story is set, many of the characters can’t seem to find a way to commence a new life and become accustomed to the new American ways.
On the other hand, we can see those like Nwoye, now Isaac, had a tragic loss in his previous years of childhood and he couldn’t truly grasp in to anything within his own society to help him through that period of time. Once ‘the white men’ settled into the villages, Nwoye, Isaac, was moved and found comfort and ‘someone to lean on’ in the Christian faith.
Okonkwo could not handle the situation and ended up hanging himself. Sometimes, there are life changing situation that are inevitable to begin with; one just has to learn to adapt to their surroundings and attempt to be open-minded in one way or another.
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