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Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
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| African Alienation & Wester Literary Theory | 4 | 01/27/2008 01:51PM |
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Read in January, 1994
I read this many years ago as a teenager, before it was as well known as it is today. I did so on the recommendation of my father, who said it was a brilliant novel. I agreed. Readers often expect imperialism to be dealt with in black and white. Either the author desires to see native ways preserved and consequently views any imperial attempts as immoral and threatening, or he's a Kipling-style "white man's burden" devotee who believes non-European cultures ought to be improved by supe...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommended to Em by:
World Lit.recommends it for: those interested in Nigerian culture
Things Fall Apart is the chronicle of a great, but impulsive warrior, who life is controlled by the fear of weakness and anger at others who display this dreaded weakness. Buried amidst the misconceptions and outwardly primitive workings of the Igbo tribes, Things Fall Apart explores their traditional values and sophisticated lifestyle. The protagonist, Okonkwo is a respected and esteemed member of his village, Umuofia. He has worked his entire life to gain his position in his tribe. Things Fall...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Michelle by:
Mr. Macconnellrecommends it for: anyone who thinks native Africans are crazy
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was written in 1958 to refute the common Westernized view of African tribes. Okonkwo, the fearless warrior and hero of the story, experiences many changes as his tribe is invaded by white missionaries. As the whites recruit more of Umuofia’s people to their ranks, Okonkwo’s anger grows. He believes it is his responsibility to redirect his misled clan. But, as the title suggests, his efforts prove to be futile in the end. Achebe portrays the fear and confus...more
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Nigeria native Chinua Achebe writes the powerful novel about the changes created by colonization and spread of Christianity on rural Igbo tribes, titled Things Fall Apart. Born in 1930, Achebe grew up in a large village of Nigeria called Ogidi during the spread of Christianity across Africa. Achebe didn’t originally have the goal of becoming a novelist. He used to work in radio broadcasting, but when his career abruptly ended, he took up a career in Literature and has lectured worldwid...more
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Read in April, 2008
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
missionaries
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
those that enjoy reading about culture
Things Fall Apart is written by the extremely talented author Chinua Achebe. He was born on November 16, 1930 into a strict Christian family. His first book was Things Fall Apart, which was based off of the novel Heart of Darkness which had a very similar story line. Because he was born into a very close-minded family, his goal through out the book was to alter the perspective of western readers to be more open minded towards other cultures. The book is written in English, for the audience...more
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Achebe's acclaimed novel explores what happens when two cultures collide. In this case, western colonialism under the veil of Christianity confronting an animistic tribal system in a rural village in Nigeria. The result is a fascinating exploration of how one man, Okonkwo, who has invested his whole life into attaining a position of authority within the tribe, finds his whole world forever altered and his quest for achievement meaningless in this new Africa.
Okonkwo is not a man who embrac...more
Okonkwo is not a man who embrac...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
readers who enjoy learning about different cultures
“Things Fall Apart”, written by Chinua Achebe is the story of a remote tribe in present day Africa. Achebe, a native of Nigeria felt compelled to express his feelings about his experiences growing up in a British colony. Although he grew up in a Christian community, he eventually gravitated towards the traditional roots of the village, as does Okonkwo, the main character in “Things Fall Apart. His goal in writing is to eliminate the many common stereotypes made by Europeans and American...more
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Read in April, 2008
Things Fall Apart is the most revered literary work of Chinua Achebe. In writing this book,Achebe was responding to the harsh western world view of African natives. Many explorers wrote books describing the Africans as crude and primitive. Therefore, Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart to combat these stereotypes and show the world that these African people a complex culture and rich heritage, just like them. Things Fall Apart follows Okonkwo, the main character, who is a successful man of the Ib...more
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Read in April, 2008
"Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe is based on 9 villages in Nigeria. Achebe wrote "Things Fall Apart" because of what other authors had written about his homeland. Other authors percieved Nigerian villages as barbaric and uncivilized. To prove non-Nigerians wrong, Achebe wrote about Nigerian villages the way he saw them, and how they should be percieved. Other novels Achebe has written are "No Longer at Ease" and "Arrow of God". These novels are also a...more
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Read in June, 2000
This is another classic example of "what in the world are you thinking assigning this to high school kids?" It's a pretty durned fine book, and there is much therein upon which to reflect, but I'm guessing the adolescent and recently-postadolescent crowd is going to feel a book like this is being rammed down their throats. And they're probably right.
Thankfully, I'm a year or so too old to have been assigned this in school, and I picked up a copy vaguely remembering classmates below m...more
Thankfully, I'm a year or so too old to have been assigned this in school, and I picked up a copy vaguely remembering classmates below m...more
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Read in April, 2008
Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart explains African culture from the view of a follower of the culture, as a response to degrading European literature about African culture. Things Fall Apart centers around Okonkwo, a man with hard to control anger, which gets him into trouble. Okonkwo must deal with his village falling apart, due to the invasion of British missionaries. Chinua Achebe was born in 1930 in Nigeria. He was raised in a large village, which was one of the first to work with mis...more
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Read in March, 2008
The critically acclaimed "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe is a eloquent representation of Igbo and Nigerian culture. Achebe was born in Ogidi Nigeria in 1930. His parents attempted to immerse him in as much Igbo culture as possible, but at the same time they were strict Christians. He was an incredibly bright student, and he attended college in which he studied various subjects, he concentrated mainly on becoming an author though. His main inspiration for writing is best seller, &q...more
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Read in February, 2008
As i progress through this book, all the different lenses struck out from my head as each word railed deep into my brain. Connecting to much of the books, I've read so far, this connects to all the corruptions in our human history. The society of our protagonist is unique and strongly reminds me of all the barbaric tribes shown from the media of today. Okonkwo, a "Man" demonstrates his manliness through his village customs and violence. Ironic how the characteristics of men never chang...more
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Read in April, 2008
In retaliation against the western view of his homeland, Chinua Achebe creates the novel, Things Fall Apart. Being a citizen of Nigeria, he was born into a rich culture that was disappearing. The people of the wester






























