Things Fall Apart - Exploration Of Characters

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How the Contrast Between Obierika and Okonkwo Reveals Facts About Igbo Culture After the invasion of the Christian missionaries in Nigeria, the local tribes found that their history was re-written. Today, there are very few reliable accounts of events from before the “pacification” of those tribes. However, in writing Things Fall Apart, the author Chinua Achebe gives Western readers an uncorrupted view of a Nigerian tribe. This investigation will examine the place of morality, tradition, and religious belief in the Igbo society as presented by Achebe. More specifically, this investigation will discuss how these cultural traits are revealed in the interactions between the novel's main protagonist, Okonkwo, and his alter ego, Obierika. Achebe uses the dissimilarity between Okonkwo and Obierika to give the reader a more complete picture of Igbo-African society. Of the two, Okonkwo represents the main character, and Obierika is his foil. By doing so, he gives the reader insight on the Igbo concept of masculinity. Okonkwo is absolutely dedicated to the tribe's concept of manliness and when he was asked to aid in Ikemefuna's murder, he killed the boy himself because he did not want to appear “weak”. Conversely, Obierika tells Okonkwo that he would neither question the Oracle's will, nor have a hand in the boy's death. In saying this, Obierika brings out certain logical flaws in Okonkwo's mindset. Because Okonkwo is symbolic of the tribe's mindset, Obierika also pointed out flaws in the tribe. By the same token, Obierika is symbolic of a modern African mindset, and consequently, he represents Achebe himself. In this case, neither man truly represents the quintessential Igbo man. They both represent opposite extremes, therefore the true concept of Igbo masculinity is a combination of their ideals. A true Igbo man is not afraid of battle, is dominant over his household,

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