Impact with the european lifestyle in the african

Things Fall Apart, Western Tradition, Chinua Achebe, Imperialism

Excerpt from Term Paper:

European lifestyle in The african continent

Published in 1958, the book Items Fall Apart is usually an influential piece of content by Achebe that portrays, in most typical style, lifespan and traditions in a very classic village in Africa. This guide is about restoration of traditional values and identification of identity of African people in the wake of Western cultural prominence and approval. This report is about how the writer features projected upon the life and revived the African lifestyle as against the treat of European ethnic imperialism.

With this novel the writer tries to enlighten the other world as regards to the social traditions of Ibo and doing so the writer is also reminding the African persons of their own customs and ethnic values. The writer features the notion which the African people must not ignore their aged values, traditions and cultural norms from this changing verve of the minute and that they should certainly value their own culture more than the western (European) culture. This book came during the time when the majority of the eastern ethnical values had been under the influence of the western values, and by composing this novel, the writer intended to bring a series between the american culture and the African tradition by saying and asserting that that African nation should not neglect their roots and identification. The new projects that in individuals time the culture of Africa was considered to be more of any “primitive” type and the place was regarded as consisted of huge “darkness” rather than place where there was residence of many rich cultures (Achebe, 1994). Rather, the region was much stereotyped and thought worthless inside the eyes of its Euro invaders and soon this kind of image captured of many a mind of young Africans, and to defy this worthlessness of social values he takes upon to write the novel in order to “help [his] society regain belief by itself and put away the processes of years of denigration and self-abasement. ” (Achebe, 1994)

Achebe creates that what ever written about The african continent was through the pen of Europeans whom considered Africans to be funny, illiterate and backward persons. Instead, through this book, the writer pictured a very exclusive but genuine Africa, containing many ethnical roots and values, those are not only preset but are also important. In the initially chapter, for instance, the use of Umuofia, Mbaino, Okonkwo and Kola, that all features significance by themselves levels, just as the narration: “proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. ” Then in section two, the writer discusses many aspects of a village lifestyle, like the effect of evening in the lives of people of village, the religious beliefs of many persons in the town, and the position of women, etc . hence, in all of book, we have a complete book of the conversation and existence in a town in The african continent.

Nevertheless, the aims on this novel may not be accomplished by an uncomplicated revisit to the regarding pre-colonial Africa. Achebe features the view that the world and civilization in The african continent was beneath the colonist ethnic impression and thus to educate the exterior world this individual writes in English besides making his prose more like within a style familiar with the european style of producing. There were many African authors at that time as well who wrote against such cultural imperialism, but it was only Achebe who designed to British language for the greater and wider influence of his thoughts and beliefs, and fully claims his intentions by saying that in order to