Persuasive Essay On Things Fall Apart By Achebe

Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. It throbbed in the air, in the sunshine, and even in the trees, and filled the village with excitement” (44).Any time Achebe mentions the sound of the drums, Umuofian society is functioning properly.When Okonkwo returns from his seven year exile, he finds the Europeans dominating Umuofian culture—even controlling the Umuofian government. Family ties—once so important in Umuofian society—are now nearly meaningless.In this clash between tradition and change, change was the clear-cut winner. [The drums] filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth.As the Europeans gained influence and political clout in the Umuofian government, Okonkwo saw his own power and influence at risk.When the Europeans finally succeed in taking control of the government, then Okonkwo—like a fire without any fuel—dies, a victim of his own nature.But over time, the missionaries became increasingly aggressive—even hostile—to the native Umuofian beliefs and culture.Slowly, the Europeans erode the native beliefs and come to dominate the native society.

Indeed, the drums seemed to have Umuofia under a spell. After the Christian missionaries arrive in Umuofia, they immediately begin to evangelize the locals.

He viewed his father as overly pensive, slow to act, and effeminate (womanly). Okonkwo's fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan . Just like a brush-fire, Okonkwo’s fame, importance, and prestige grew stronger the longer he burned. As his fame and popularity increased, Okonkwo pursued his ideal of masculinity.

Therefore, Okonkwo adopts opposite traits; Okonkwo is rash, quick to act, and excessively violent (Okonkwo associates violence with masculinity). Okonkwo constantly distanced himself from anything even remotely feminine.

“Old men nodded to the beat of the drums and remembered . One method they used to captivate the tribesmen was to sing hymns. It was one of those gay and rollicking tunes of evangelism which had the power of plucking at silent and dusty chords in the heart of an Ibo man” (146). Achebe uses imagery of the “silent” and “dusty” Umuofian man’s heart being quenched by the Christian music to demonstrate the European point-of-view.

No doubt, the missionaries believed that they were bringing salvation (water) to a savage people (living in the desert).