Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Specifically,

¶ … Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Specifically, it will evaluate how the arrival of the Europeans in Nigeria transformed everyday life for the Nigerian villagers. It will present an argument about whether, overall, these changes improved society as a whole. The arrival of the white man in Nigeria spelled the end of a way of life for the Ibo, and the other native tribes in the area. The white men required strict control over the natives, and wanted to make them "white" in almost every sense.

In doing so, they took away the natives natural and simple way of life, and "things fell apart." Things Fall Apart Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" is the story of the native Ibo people who live in what is now Nigeria, and the invasion of Europeans into their ordered and happy lives. Much of the tale involves the natives endeavoring to interact with the white colonial invaders while still keeping their own simple way of life.

The author skillfully weaves in local folklore to the story, especially as it relates to the natural world, to show the poignant predicament confronting the native Nigerians. Throughout the story, it is clear the Ibo live and love the natural world, and Achebe uses metaphors to show their closeness to the land: "Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break" (Achebe 21-22).

Later, another character, Uchendu, says, "The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others. We have albinos among us. Do you not think that they came by mistake, that they have strayed from their way to a land where everybody is like them?" (Achebe 130). Sadly, the natives know their way of life is at an end, and they must transform their lives to make way for the white men to survive.

Ultimately, their striking folklore and language will disappear, and their family life and customs will be far different. The natural world is primary in the Ibo's life, and the author subtly shows this repeatedly all through the story. He uses the elements of fiction, such as simile, to show how a corn cob is like the face of an old woman. "The name for a corn cob with only a few scattered grains was eze-agadi-nwayi, or the teeth of an old woman" (Achebe 36).

This not only shows again, the Ibo's closeness to the natural world around them, it illustrates what they will lose as the white man changes their way of life. They will lose the ability to see the beauty of nature around them, and the ability to see beauty in the missing teeth of an old woman. As the white men encroach on the Ibo's lands, they take away their ability to live off the land, and their entire way of life.

They want to Christianize the people, and make them as European as they possibly can. At one point, Okonkwo and his friend converse about the changes taking place around them. "Does the white man understand our custom about land?' 'How can he when he does not even speak our tongue?'" (Achebe 124). Sadly, the Ibo have their own form of religion and culture, but the white man cannot accept it or allow it to continue.

The Ibo's religious beliefs are a rich blend of folklore, gods, goddesses, and reverence of the old and their ancestors. However, the white men cannot understand the Ibo's beliefs, they certainly cannot accept them, and so they force them to change or perish. What a terrible choice! That colonists were so inflexible and insensitive is a sad testament to the "Christian" ideals they professed to adhere to. The story is quite clearly a drama not only of conquest, but also of misunderstanding and prejudice.

The white men must conquer everything around them, and once they do, they must make those conquered as much like themselves as they possibly can.

This shows how inflexible the colonists were, and how humankind continually plays the game of "right and wrong." They seem to say, "Our religion is right, yours is wrong, and so, if you want to be apart of our society, you must conform to our ways, and give up your own." Unfortunately, this is an arrogant and overbearing attitude, and it does not recognize the great gifts the natives have in their simplicity and harmony. Before the white men came, the tribes lived together happily.

After he came, things "fell apart" not only between the people of the villages, but also between the various tribes. As one character in the novel wryly notes, "The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart" (Achebe 125).

Not only have the whites transformed the lives of the Ibo people, they have transformed the individuals, too. Not all the Ibo can deal with.