Things Fall Apart

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Things Fall Apart Major Essay In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe attempts to answer many questions, such as “Is fate real?” Achebe provides readers with a few options to this question, some of which are logical, and others that are superstitions adapted by the Igbo culture of Africa. Achebe clearly states the idea of an individual’s chi, yet characters have their own beliefs about that superstition. For example, Okonkwo, the main character of the novel, and other members of his clan believe in different specific details and proverbs about chi. Chi helped shape Okonkwo’s destiny. Okonkwo ends up fighting against his chi, and he eventually lost. The Igbo concept of chi is used in various forms. Ralph Madu, a Reverend and Director Directorate of Communications Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria Abuja, proposes two forms of chi: it means “day”, because “chi abola” translates as “daybreak”, or, from a more sacred origin, it means personal God – the spirit that animates human beings. (Okoro) In Things Fall Apart, chi refers to the “divine afflatus” that is considered the supreme God shared by each individual, but more specifically in that person’s aspect, a giver and creator of destiny. (Okoro) For Madu, destiny is the philosophy and belief of the traditional stage that every life is unique in a significant way and is subject to a series of unforeseen hazards and unexpected rewards, which are all made from the chi. (Okoro) According to the Igbo culture, no two people have the same chi. Each individual is inimitable and irreplaceable. Chi is regarded as the Igbo principal of individualism. Achebe speaks of chi often in Things Fall Apart and makes it clear that all clan members of the Umuofia tribe believed in chi in some way. Okonkwo feels that every man has control over his chi and his destiny. As Achebe writes, “At the

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