Mendez 1

Alicia Mendez

Mrs. Lawrence

Comp. Lit 4

Period 2

10/11/16

Things Fall Apart Essay

In Patrick Brantlingers essay Victorians and Africans: The Genealogy of the Myth of

the Dark Continent he indicates how Europeans felt that they were obligated to take over the

African continent because of their savage customs. He stressed that the motives behind

colonizing Africa were because of the success of the antislavery movement, the impact of the

great Victorian explorers, and the merger of racist and evolutionary doctrines in the social

sciences(Brantlinger 167). However, Chinua Achebes novel, Things Fall Apart, includes details

about the interactions between white settlers and the Ibo tribes.The novels purpose is to shatter

the myth of the Dark Continent and the idea that their culture was full of savage beliefs. Achebe

shatters the myth by demonstrating they have a richly diverse culture, but he reinforces it by

included their unsavory customs.

The myth was reinforced by the abolition of slavery because it lead upper and middle

class Victorians to believe Africans needed to be saved. The imperialist created an idea that there

was a right and wrong in the way civilizations live, stating that the European way of living

was the right one and that everyone should be like them. Knowing Africans only through

slavery, they had a racist view that Africans were a natural laboring class, suited only for
 Mendez 2

performing the dirty work of civilization(Brantlinger 181). The Victorians believed Africans

were inferior, only seen for labor working, they did not see them as part of a civilization.

In Achebes novel the reader sees that imperialism is not morally correct because it is

biased and controlling. Europeans thought African culture as primitive and barbaric which was

not the case because they also are full of impressive traditions. In the novel, Things Fall Apart,

the Igbo culture celebrates Week of Peace which is a week in which man does not say harsh

word to his neighbor. [They] live in peace with [their] fellows (Achebe 30) this shows that

the people do not need Europeans to change their way of living. However, the fact that Okonkwo

beats his second wife during the Week of Peace does question the violence that the people are

accustomed to and their strength of overpowering the urge. Yet, Okonkwo is punished for

breaking peace during this yearly tradition, which brings back the integrity. Also, there are

impulsive acts of violence that occur in every society including the European missionaries, as

they mistreatment other cultures.

Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, describes the missionaries arrival as both positive

and negative towards the Igbo people. Brantlingers essay, Victorians and Africans: The

Genealogy of the Myth of the Dark Continent characterizes Africans as amusing or dangerous

obstacles or as object of curiosity, while missionaries usually portray Africans as weak, pitiable,

inferior mortals who need to be shown the light (Brantlinger 176/178). They both have a

negative aspect in describing Africans and both missionaries and explorers believe they are

superior to Africans. Brantlingers essay portrays the Europeans arrival in Africa as positive.

Things Fall Apart both supports and shatters the idea of imperialism. The purpose of imperialism

as described in Brantlingers essay was for it to be beneficial to Africans such as commerce and

Christianity (Brantlinger 178). The Christians were very cruel to the Igbo men and in this
 Mendez 2

situation do not seem to be saving them, but instead bullying them. The very reason to their

presence of the Christians is contradictory to the outcome of their influence. Although the

missionaries did set up a church and set a system of currency, the Igbo culture did not need

colonization because they operated their system of currency using yams. The purpose of

imperialism to the Africans was very different than the effects of imperialism. Achebe does

however explain that sometimes colonization can be helpful but not necessarily to everyone

because of different beliefs.

The Igbo culture is a major factor in deciding whether or not Africa is the Dark

Continent. An example where Achebes novel shatters this idea is when describing the

relationship between Okonkwo and Ikemefuna, the reader shows that they have a strong

relationship that also could be described as better than other cultures. Okonkwo treats Ikemefuna

as a son and even loves him as a son. The Igbo people, as surprisingly as it might seem to

Europeans, also have emotions and perform actions of compassion rather than just being

savage.

Many cultures share similar customs; for instance the Ibo and Europeans have a

comparable structure in punishment as they both have a system of justice. The Igbo culture

presents many customs showing the beauty of their culture values the importance of palmwine,

and the feast of new yams, but such like any other culture it also has some negative aspects like

violence, gender roles, and obsession to one strict tradition.