Saturday, December 28, 2019

Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe - 1253 Words

Throughout the late 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, most of Africa faced a number of invasions from the British. Their culture and traditions were altered to meet the goals of Britain. Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, is set in a Nigerian town where the British government had taken over. The main character, Okonkwo, is followed as the story progresses and shows how the new leaders were constantly battling against the indigenous people of the village. The book maps out the change from colonialism to imperialism in Africa during this time period. Although not all of the transitioning was through brute force and exiling, the Africans still had little to no free will in what happened. Their entire way of life was†¦show more content†¦Others, however, helped the British take over and invade these places. The Europeans began to do whatever they wanted because they were stronger militarily and by the early 1900’s, most of Africa had been col onized . It was not long until the colonized areas began to show signs of imperialism. The British were in charge and oversaw everything that went on in the countries and although their main interests were for commercial and humanitarian reasons the outcomes did not reflect it. There were extreme diplomatic pressures and military force that turned aggressive in the late 1800’s when slavery was abolished. Britain took part in the slave trade in order to gain access to the country and its offerings so when slavery was now against the law, they did not have as much control. Village customs, stories, and traditions were lost because the British sought to put people where they wanted and combined numerous tribes into one. Wars broke out between African tribes because they were forced to work alongside each other as well as share their languages. In Things Fall Apart, the narrator says, â€Å"And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree on every blade of grass, they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth colour of the vast, hungry swarm† . Locusts are mentioned many times throughout the

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