Interpretative Essay – Things Fall Apart General Information · This essay is due on May 19 by noon. No late essays will be accepted. · You must sent your essay via email. · This essay is worth 20 points. · Be sure that you do not use previous essays or book reports available on the Internet. I now subscribe to Turnitin. This is a “recognized worldwide as the standard in online plagiarism prevention, Turnitin's products promote originality in student work, improve student writing and research skills, encourage collaborative learning, and save valuable instructor time.” · If your essay is a rehash of one now available on the Internet, you will earn minus 40 points. CourseCompass · A discussion is now posted in CourseCompass that deals with the events and themes of chapters 14 – 25. · Participation in the discussion can be helpful for the final essay, and it is also worth 10 points. · This topic will be active until May 14. Final Essay Topics: Select one of the following topics. Be sure that you provide specific examples from all sections of the book. Topic One: "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold." This line from William Butler Yeats poem, The Second Coming reveals Achebe’s central theme. Evaluate the ways that this line applies to the story of Okonkwo. Provide specific examples from both before and after British colonization. Topic Two: We learn that in the final chapter of Things Fall Apart that the District Commissioner plans to write a book, which he will title The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Niger (p. 209). Imagine that you are the District Commissioner. What might you write about Okonkwo and the people of Umuofia? What would you cite as evidence of pacification of the tribe? Provide specific examples from both the first section and final two sections of the book. Topic Three: Consider the colonization by the British from the perspective of one of Okonkwo’s wives or from either Ezinma or Nwoye. How might the missionary work of Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith impact this person? How might the laws established by the District Commissioner effect them? Would their lives be improved by their “pacification”? missionaries A postive aspect of the missionaries was the fact that they presented to the Ibo people, and perhaps for the first time, a differing way of looking at life within the context in which they were living theirs. "things fall apart" only for upper classes, up to interpretation cultural changes okonkwo represents pacification and independence significance of lower classes joining first should not be overlooked or underestimated nwoye - rebel, "immature" not understanding culture, pacifism, not killing twins or rivals, education district commissioner impersonal laws unfair, inferior legal representation and court standards to britain no voice of people dirty tactics outlaw certain practices like killing twins or members of a tribe that wronged them pacification reading/writing/education hospital? market To those of high status who had a large investment in traditional Ibo culture, "things fall apart." Okonkwo represents the independence, tradition, and aggression of the Ibo, so his hanging himself represents their "pacification." But he doesn't represent every Ibo. The significance of the fact that disenfranchised people converted first should not be underestimated. "None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in the assembly of the people. None of them was a man of title. They were mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu, worthless, empty men." Mr. Kiaga and Mr. Brown exposed the Ibo to a very different perspective that challenged existing class distinctions, so of course such people, at least in the short term, may have benefited from the imported culture. Nwoye was particularly receptive to the missionaries. Their hymns were compelling to his "callow mind." He was "immature" in the sense that he had not yet internalized the values of traditional culture. To adults, it was obvious that twins and Ikemefuna should be murdered. While these acts might be unpleasant, in their view they were necessary for the good of the people. Such rationalizations were impotent to Nwoye, and the ostensible pacifism preached by the missionaries was probably extremely attractive to him. Also, throughout his life, he had been belittled and beaten by Okonkwo for "laziness," or "being a woman." He put up a fake personality to please Okonkwo, muttering about women when asked to do chores (which supposedly showed that he could rule women) and pretending to prefer stories of violence over creative fables. Okonkwo even made threats of violence when he found flaws in Nwoye's farming techniques. The new religion accepted him, and even encouraged the tendencies that he had hidden before. Nwoye was described as happy to leave his father, and Mr. Kiaga accepted his rebellion. The government of the District Commissioner would outlaw the murders Nwoye found disturbing, and protect him from anti-Christian violence, but in general the colonial government subjugated Ibo as a whole, even the converts. They had little to no voice in the laws, and were not given the same protection of rights as native British. After the Umuofia church was burned, the District Commisioner lured 6 leaders to his headquarters and offered to "talk about it like friends," but used this ruse to capture them easily. He didn't give them legal counsel or listen to their side of the story. The 6 leaders were not necessarily even the ones who demolished the church. They were being held as hostages for money. The court messengers tortured them and increased the fine secretly from 200 to 250 bags of cowries for their own profit. Such corrupt behavior would probably not be limited to the government's treatment towards non-converts for long, so it's reasonable to assume that it would reach Nwoye too. Even if he wasn't persecuted himself, Nwoye certainly wouldn't approve of the District Commissioner's methods or the torture of Okonkwo. He would probably see that the new culture brought violence of its own, perhaps becoming disillusioned. Whether the subjugation would improve Nwoye's life is questionable. He would find acceptance and feel more comfortable with himself, but Samuel Rosales A postive aspect of the missionaries was the fact that they presented to the Ibo people, and perhaps for the first time, a differing way of looking at life within the context in which they were living theirs. Nwoye, for example recognizes the positive aspect of Christianity that is compassion and assimilates this previously believed notion of "femininity" into his own life. Christianity fills a void in the life of Nwoye, as well as others. ----- Jonathan LaZor Mr. Brown didn't really show respect for their beliefs. He had respect for the people themselves. The religious debate was rather dogmatic on both sides and Mr. Brown seemed to be using it to find ways to better convert them. ----- The government wanted power, and spreading British culture was icing. The missionaries, at least Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith, seemed to be primarily interested in converting natives. Mr. Brown definitely cared about the natives, and so did Mr. Smith in a somewhat twisted way. Things didn't "fall apart" for all the Ibo. The missionaries accepted those who were disenfranchised from traditional culture. The conservatives like Okonkwo mocked those who joined at first, saying that none of them had titles and that none among them were people of stature. A mother of twins joined, and so did "untouchables." Okonkwo's son, put off by the violence against children demanded by the Ibo religion, the murder of Ikemekune, and Okonkwo's negative version of masculinity, was probably much better off with the Anglicans. Mr. Brown not only assimilated, but educated the people. Women, while still not given equality by the new culture, were probably less marginalized than they were by previous traditions. The value of British influence was largely up to the interpretation of the individual. For those who had achieved status in the existing society, the uprooting of culture was undesirable, but the others might see it as simply leaving behind something obsolete. The Ibo in general were eventually subjugated by the District Commissioner, but the rejects of traditional society were already oppressed, so to them even the District Commissioner might have been an improvement. ----- As I said in the topic on subjugation, the missionaries were mostly good for disenfranchised or oppressed groups like women, twins, untouchables, the poor, and boys who didn't believe in the tyrannical gender roles reflected by Okonkwo, at least at first. They brought education and better marketplaces. Mr. Brown introduced a new viewpoint to people who had rarely been exposed to different cultures. The negatives were the ethnocentric and cruel behavior of the District Commissioner and the corrupt Court Messengers. Destruction of traditional culture was both positive and negative, IMO. The loss of diversity was unfortunate in that yet another way of looking at the world disappeared. Culture probably became less personal and environmentally friendly. A free exchange of ideas would have been better than subjugation. However, I don't see many other negatives. The traditional culture really had few advantages over the British culture, at least from what we see in the book. In general, people who aren't like Okonkwo gain little from it. Sexism, superstition, and violence were rampant. These problems certainly existed in the British culture too, and violence perhaps to a greater degree, but what I noticed was that they were so accepted, encouraged, or even demanded by the establishment. Few Ibo dared to question them openly. Mr. Brown was tolerant and actually achieved high status among the natives. He highlighted the acceptance of his religion and encouraged peace while proving oppressive Ibo traditions as superstitions through example. I don't really see any negatives to what he did except that his effectiveness helped to lead to subjugation by others. Maritza pointed out that there's no "right" culture; so his changing of culture might be considered neutral in value from that perspective. If all the imperialists were more like Mr. Brown, the world would be a better place today. Mr. Smith emphasized divisiveness instead. He was fairly incompetent as it was obvious his approach would lead to violence. His intolerance encouraged the extremist factions of his church to antagonize the people. Compared to traditional gender roles, the British ideas on gender, extreme by our standards, would have been almost a liberation movement. The division of labor might be relaxed, and domestic abuse against women might be condoned less. Polygamy would probably be discouraged. ----- Hoang Nguyen The British colonial government in the Ibo was very much different from the kind of government that existed in England.