The Struggle Between Tradition and Change

October 17, 2012 In Things F on the whole asunder by Chinua Achebe, the reader is taken on a literary journey to a Nigerian tribe, the Umuofia, to grow first gear-hand the struggles of a warrior named Okonkwo. At first glance, the fresh appears to be written for a very specific audience scholars acquainted(predicate) with Nigerian history, traditions, and subtlety. However, upon further examination the refreshful reveals itself to be a striking level of hu reality experiences, universal substructures, and timeless struggles that supplicant to every forgiving, regardless of familiarity with Nigerian culture.Taken as a whole, the novel appears to be more more than the sum of its parts syntax, diction, metonymical linguistic communication, imagery, repetition, and symbols. Things F tout ensemble away is definitely a novel with literary worth. As a story almost a culture on the verge of alteration, Things root by deals with how the viewpoint and realism of change si mulate a number of consultations. The tension about whether change should be privileged over tradition often contains questions of personal status.Okonkwo, for example, resists the parvenu political and religious orders beca office he feels that they argon not manly and that he himself will not be manly if his agreements to combine or counterbalance tolerate them. To whatever extent, Okonkwos resistance of heathen change is also due to his fear of cosmos equal his commence, or in separate words, loss his societal status. His sense of self-worth is open upon the traditional standards by which confederation adjudicate him. This system of evaluating the self inspires many of the kin groups outcasts to embrace Christianity.Long scorned, these outcasts find in the Christian value system a refuge from the Igbo cultural values that value them below everyone else. In their new community, these converts relish a more elevated status. The villagers in general argon caught bet ween resisting and encompass change and they face the dilemma of nerve-wracking to determine how best to adapt to the reality of change. Many of the villagers are excited about the new opportunities and techniques that the missionaries bring.This European influence, however, threatens to extinguish the ask for the mastery of traditional methods of farming, harvesting, building, and cooking. These traditional methods, erst crucial for survival, are now to a degree, dispensable. Throughout the novel, Achebe shows how dependent such traditions are upon storytelling and language and thus how quickly the giving up of the Igbo language for English could lead to the experimental extinction of these traditions. In addition to cultural clash, Achebe explores the theme of masculinity versus femininity, and reveals Okonkwos fatal char biteer flaw hyper-masculinity.Okonkwo is motivated by a desire to prove himself superior to his father, who was poor-spirited and careless and died a poor man with many unpaid debts. He viewed his father as overly pensive, slow to act and womanly. For this reason, he frequently worsts his wives, even threatening to kill them from time to time. Therefore, Okonkwo adopts resistance traits Okonkwo is rash, quick to act, and excessively violent. Okonkwo always associated force play with masculinity. Achebe roles figurative language like metaphors and similes to analyze Okonkwo to a sack up. during this time Okonkwos fame had gr give like a bush- brush off in the harmattan (1). Okonkwo gained power and vastness in Umuofian society by yearning lesser people as fuel. fairish like a brush-fire, Okonkwos fame, importance, and prestigiousness grew stronger the longer he burned. He proceed to burn strong into adulthood. The drums filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. He trembled with the desire to conquer and subdue (42). Okonkwos inner fire is what allowed him to conquer Umuofian society and rise above the disgr ace of his father.As his fame and popularity increased, Okonkwo move his ideal of masculinity. Okonkwo constantly distanced himself from anything even remotely feminine. He constantly reminded himself of his masculinity and strove to authorize sure all his clansmen knew of it as sound. Okonkwo was popularly called the Roaring Flame. As he looked into the log fire he recalled the name. He was a flaming fire (153). The metaphor of fire is perfect to describe Okonkwos character, and yields a deep analysis of human feelings and personality. uniform a fire, Okonkwo is violent, and burns whatever he touches.In many cases, he burns his own family. Throughout the novel, Okonkwo harasses on his wives and son, beats his family, and kills trio innocent people not including him. In many cases, he hurts his family for trivial reasons. For instance, Okonkwo chastised and beat his son, Nwoye, for merely listening to his mothers stories. He beat Nwoye again when he discovered him helping wom en with their household tasks. Okonkwo byword within Nwoye the same effeminate nub of his the father whom he hates so untold. Ultimately, the advantage of Things pegApart as a novel of literary merit is due to Achebes use of universal literary themes like self-exploration, change, tradition, cultural clash, and masculinity versus femininity. No matter what language is spoken by the reader or what time period they come from, Achebes writing about the human experience is relevant and significant. Mankind has many contrasting faces. Although fear and anger are reactions that all men have, if left unchecked, they will erase all one has worked for and eventually enter everything that one holds dear.Because of that, before actions are taken, much consideration should be taken to present sure that personal flaws as well as flaws in society do not interfere with ones judgment. Of course, not all scholars agree with the assertion that Things Fall Apart has literary worth. Achebes sk illful use of literary devices like metaphor, simile, imagery, and repetition examine the quality of writing. Achebes understanding of the human experience demonstrates the relevance of theme. And the number of copies of the novel sold, over two million worldwide, demonstrates the catholicity of the story. It is safe to say that Things Fall Apart has earned widespread acceptance as a quality piece of literature.Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York Anchor, 1994. Print. Things Fall Apart. Enotes. com. Enotes. com, n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http//www. enotes. com/things-fall-apart>. Things Fall Apart Summary. Study Guides & bear witness Editing. N. p. , n. d. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http//www. gradesaver. com/things-fall-apart/study-guide/short-summary/>.