Things Fall Apart Term paper
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In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the idea of the religion or mythology according to the ancient Africans was a major theme in the book. In historical context I am going to look at what they really believed and why Achebe mentioned some of the customs that pertained to their gods.
Africans believed that "death does not end it" in other words when you die you are not finished yet. This is shown in their belief in spiritism, which is a view that unseen personal beings influence the lives of men and are mostly spirits of men who held titles or high esteem in the village(McVeigh 25).
There were also two other beliefs that they held to be true. One was a belief in dynamism, which was a conviction that a mysterious impersonal power was at work in the universe(McVeigh 25). The other dealt with monotheism, meaning, only one true God is supreme and the creator of all things. (Mc Veigh 25) This last thought left the Africans open to Christianity (or so it would seem) but in the book we see what they really meant by one true God. The Igbo called their one God Chukwu. To them Chukwu made the entire world and all the other gods. They make sacrifices to the little gods, but turn to him when all else fails. To them this is approaching a great man through his servants (Achebe 179-181).
The Africans hold many things to resemble or represent their religion. They believe in an Oracle, who cannot ever be seen and his priestess who consults the gods and spirits and tells the Africans what to do. Each individual has a chi or personal god, which can be inherently good or bad. "Near the barn was a small house, the `medicine house' or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god (chi) and of his ancestral spirits. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut, food, palm-wine, and also offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children (Achebe 14).
There are two types of crimes that a person can commit: a male and female type. Accidents were considered a female type because they were done inadvertently, as in the one Okonkwo commits. "It is a crime against the Earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land" (Achebe 124). Since Okonkwo s gun accidentally went off his crime was considered female. Because of this he must have seven years of absence from his village.
To be feminine in this culture is considered bad. Women are considered weak and are portrayed as possessions. The more wives you have the wealthier you are. They are there to cook, clean, have children and are easily bought when you want more. Wives rely on silly stories to teach their children while men show them how to work and fight.
Of the many beliefs that Africans hold about the beginning, one seems to explain their reasoning in the idea of evil spirits and a one true God that they should serve. It tells how in the beginning there were two couples, white and black. The black couple was Gods favorite and he often let them see the boxes he had. One day he decided to let each couple choose a box. Since the black was his favorite they were to choose first. They chose the one they thought held openness and prosperity, but instead it held clay, mud and iron. The white couple got the other box which held knowledge of the arts and sciences, and which held the real way to worship one true God. All because of this the black couple left. That race ended up being the Africans. They thought God would not want their improper worship and knew that since he was a good God, he would never judge or hurt them. Instead they decided to worship and make sacrifices to the evil spirits, whom they could not defend themselves against (Barrow 37).
According to Achebe, gods had to do with all the aspects of nature. There was the god of the sky, the goddess of the Earth, the god of the sea, along with many more. I have already mentioned the crime by Okonkwo that occurred against the Earth goddess, but I will discuss a couple more. At the festival the villages held for Mother Earth, clansmen would portray many of the dead ancestors. "One of the greatest crimes a man could commit was to unmask an egwugwu (the clansman impersonating the spirit) in public, or say or do anything which might reduce its immortal prestige in the eyes of the uninitiated" (Achebe 186). The most demeaning of oneself, however, was to take own s own life: "it is against our custom...it is an abomination ...and an offense against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansman. His body is evil and only strangers may touch it.... We shall make sacrifices to cleanse the desecrated land" (Achebe 207-208).
Although many tribes and villages believe differently in some aspects, they still all hold a single deep-rooted belief that the dead may lie in the ground. The dead will continue to be the true fathers that hold their fertility and authority of the village. The dead ancestors originate all customs, all traditions, and rules. This is why when we read the accounts of Achebe's book it is so hard for the missionaries to relay their messages and receive any response because of the belief and idea that the dead still watch over them.
Everything I have mentioned pertains to the myths and type of religion the Africans uphold in the book. All of which are instilled in them from the beginning. As read in the book, it is easy for them to turn their back on their religion, but hard to turn their back on their fathers.
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the idea of the religion or mythology according to the ancient Africans was a major theme in the book. In historical context I am going to look at what they really believed and why Achebe mentioned some of the customs that pertained to their gods.
Africans believed that "death does not end it" in other words when you die you are not finished yet. This is shown in their belief in spiritism, which is a view that unseen personal beings influence the lives of men and are mostly spirits of men who held titles or high esteem in the village(McVeigh 25).
There were also two other beliefs that they held to be true. One was a belief in dynamism, which was a conviction that a mysterious impersonal power was at work in the universe(McVeigh 25). The other dealt with monotheism, meaning, only one true God is supreme and the creator of all things. (Mc Veigh 25) This last thought left the Africans open to Christianity (or so it would seem) but in the book we see what they really meant by one true God. The Igbo called their one God Chukwu. To them Chukwu made the entire world and all the other gods. They make sacrifices to the little gods, but turn to him when all else fails. To them this is approaching a great man through his servants (Achebe 179-181).
The Africans hold many things to resemble or represent their religion. They believe in an Oracle, who cannot ever be seen and his priestess who consults the gods and spirits and tells the Africans what to do. Each individual has a chi or personal god, which can be inherently good or bad. "Near the barn was a small house, the `medicine house' or shrine where Okonkwo kept the wooden symbols of his personal god (chi) and of his ancestral spirits. He worshipped them with sacrifices of kola nut, food, palm-wine, and also offered prayers to them on behalf of himself, his three wives and eight children (Achebe 14).
There are two types of crimes that a person can commit: a male and female type. Accidents were considered a female type because they were done inadvertently, as in the one Okonkwo commits. "It is a crime against the Earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land" (Achebe 124). Since Okonkwo s gun accidentally went off his crime was considered female. Because of this he must have seven years of absence from his village.
To be feminine in this culture is considered bad. Women are considered weak and are portrayed as possessions. The more wives you have the wealthier you are. They are there to cook, clean, have children and are easily bought when you want more. Wives rely on silly stories to teach their children while men show them how to work and fight.
Of the many beliefs that Africans hold about the beginning, one seems to explain their reasoning in the idea of evil...
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