Things Fall Apart

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Summary: Things Fall Apart details colonialism in relation to Nigeria
Review: Chinua Achebe writes this novel to inform the reader about the various struggles African culture had to endure in order to avoid total destruction. Not only did the culture survive but the people as well. They continued practicing their own beliefs until death. This was not the case with every person in the Ibo tribe though. Alot of people converted because of the harsh treatment they would be subjected to if they refused accept Christianity. They were taught that their culture and rituals were wrong and uncivilized. They were systematically stripped of any type pride and dignity. Then they were brainwashed with European teachings and ideologies. The novels main character is a man named Onkonkwo. Onkonwko experiences several inner and outer struggles which are symbolic in the novel. Reading this novel will help one understand the power struggle Africans experienced with the introduction of colonialism into Africa.

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Summary: Feminist Implications
Review: This novel could be analyzed and discussed from any of several vantages. I won't re-write the reasons for what everyone else has said - that this is a timeless classic - although that is true. I instead want to recommend this book for any student of women's issues, particularly any African-American student of women's issues, because I am surprised at the lack of discourse on this novel from a feminist point-of-view. As I am using the word, feminist merely means "from a female vantage." This novel is chock full of material which should stimulate discussion on this basis

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Summary: Complexity in simplicity
Review: The language is simple but the ideas and themes conveyed are complex. Achebe is indeed a master of imagery. The rich African culture is highlighted in this novel, the many rituals, festivals and customs compell readers. This book can be read on two levels, firstly for it's simple story, secondly for it's underlying depiction on the harms of European colonisation

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Summary: This book will broaden your horizons.
Review: Chinua Achebe's masterpiece transcends national boundaries, providing a poignant account of societal devastation and of the human condition. In eloquently understated prose, the book exposes many of the horrors that lie buried deep within European colonial and Christian missionary history. This book should be on the reading list for every high school in America.

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Summary: Beautiful imagery and exotic beliefs make this a must-read.
Review: Chinua Achebe, in "Things Fall Apart", shows the exotic lives and ways of the Ibo people of pre-colonial Nigeria. The ways of the people are so appealing and so well-explained to Western readers, that we feel as though we are gathering yams from the farm, and offering agricultural sacrifice to our long-dead ancestors. Achebe uses beautiful imagery to show how simplistic life before colonization was. The old-ways of the Ibo tribe are shown to be dogmatic to the main character, Okonkwo, who plays out to be more like a Greek tragic hero than an African farmer. Throughout the novel, are several Ibo words, adding to the strength of the imagery of the Ibo lifestyle. "Things Fall Apart" is a great read for anyone interested in African culture and/or the colonization effects of Western society.

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Summary: Things Fall Apart is a world classic about colonization
Review: Things Fall Apart is a look into the Ibo world before and after British colonial penetration. It exemplifies the steps of colonization and its devastating implications on native peoples throughout the world whether they are the Maoris of New Zealand or Chicanos in the Southwest

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Summary: Great Book that Documents the British in Africa
Review: Great book that shows that the Ibo Clan before, during, and after the British arrive. Very easy to read and hard to stop reading. The book totally immerses you in the different customs proacticed by the Ibo. Also shows the effect of British laws and religion on the way of life of the African clansmen. I would recommend as a must read

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Summary: A fantastic story of a man and his changing way of life
Review: This is a wonderful book. It starts off a little difficult to read but quickly it starts to flow smoothly with its own rhythmic style. The story is about a man, Okonkwo, who has dreams of being important and powerful in his clan. He seems stubborn and hard, void of emotion, but you begin to see the true depth of the man who is so set by what he has to do, what is expected of him by his clan's traditions and his own self-judgment. When the clan comes to take the young slave boy who has been in his home for three years, he does not object even though the plan is to kill the young boy. Okonkwo really likes the boy and even though he takes part in the boy's death, he is troubled by that act. His duty in following the ancestral traditions shows its' strength in the rules that guide their lives.
There is so much that happens in the book, so much insight into the lives of the clan you become absorbed and fascinated by the simple, yet very complex lives.
Because of an unfortunate incident in which Okonkwo accidentally kills one of his clansmen, he and his family are exiled to his mother's homeland for seven years. When they arrive, his uncle and family take him in and show him he is part of the family, even though he has been exiled from his own clan. No questions are asked and no judgments are made. At first Okonkwo is withdrawn and bitter about being there, but the explanation his uncle has as to why he should be sent to his mother's homeland it worth the whole book-it is written so nicely I couldn't even try to explain it.
When the seven years are up and Okonkwo returns to his clan, he is faced with a new hurdle, the changes that have taken place including the arrival of a white priest and the conversion of some of his clansman to the new religion. The clan and its ways are falling apart. This is such an excellent story about a man who is struggling to make a place in the world he knew and seeing its coming death. A fabulous book!


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Summary: Tearing Apart Things Fall Apart
Review: When I first picked up 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua
Achebe I was very skeptical on whether I would like
it, as well as why on earth my teacher would make me
read it. A story about an African village did not seem
to fit into our curriculum, or interest me.
Nevertheless, I began to read it. At first the book
seemed very boring to me. Now that I've read the book
I know that you have to read the entire book to
comprehend the lesson it was trying to teach. Reading
the first 8 chapters and then giving up is a waste of
your time. Reading the whole book is reading time well
spent.
The book focuses mainly on the character Okonkwo
and his struggles. He feels guilty for his father's
laziness and vowes not to be like him. This does not
make him the most personable of people however. The
plot really only starts in the end. The beginning
chapters really all have different things happening.
This is really the only fault I found of the book.
Some say that the difficult names are a fault but they
aren't. The names make the book more authentic.
The book ties in with my school curriculum due to
the Ibo people's dealings with imperialism. I believe
imerialism had a devastating effect on the Ibo's. When
the white missionaries came to the villages, they
disrupted their whole wway of life. They disrespected
the faith and customs of the Ibo's, callin their God's
fake. Through their preaching, the missionaries got
many Ibo's to convert which caused anger between
members of the Ibo clan. The imperialists even caused
the main character, Okonkwo, to do something that is
very 'evil spirited'. Okonkwo had been strong to his
faith throughout the book but they forced him into
doing the unthinkable.

'Things Fall Apart' while confusing at times is a
great read


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Summary: FO SHIZZLEEEEEEEE
Review:
In the book Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Archebe, imperialism greatly affects the Ibo people of southern Africa. Imperialism of southern Africa hurt the Ibo people because it changed their ways when they didn't need change.
Imperialism hurt the Ibo people for three main reasons. First, when the Ibo people had a strong religion of their own, Christians came and converted some of the tribe. This then, turned the converted people against the others causing outbreaks. Next, the white men slaughtered a neighboring village of the Ibo using "iron horses." This brought the Ibo people to fear that wasn't necessary. Finally, the main character, Okonkwo, was banned from his village after a gun accident. If the white people had not introduced guns to the Ibos, this wouldn't have happened.
Overall, when the European people imperialized Africa, the ruined the perfectly good lives of perfectly good people. They treated the Africans like they weren't people and ruined their lives for sport. This imperialism shouldn't have happened and many innocent people were hurt or killed because of it.