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babs5005 's review for:
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
I took an African History class at Michigan State University and I remember the instructor was named, Dr. Nwando Achebe, and she was a really cute African lady who gave a very entertaining lecture. Dr. Achebe was adorable, and animated, and the content of her class was super interesting.
I always went to my African History class and took lots of notes. The trouble was that I had a lot of homework that semester, and Dr. Achebe wanted us to read ALL her dad’s books. Or at least a lot of them.
I remember thinking that it was an unreasonable number of books she expected us to read and that it wasn’t fair. I had too much homework to read all those books in one semester and so, to protest, I read none of the books. I guessed on all of the multiple-choice tests she gave us on the books instead, and somehow, I got a 4.0 in the class.
From my experience guessing on those multiple-choice tests in my African History class, for years after I thought myself a master guesser and a possible psychic.
Looking back, I probably got 100% on the multiple-choice tests because I went to all the lectures, and I took a lot of notes. That's probably more likely than just declaring myself "a psychic master guesser."
But either way, I have carried an intense feeling of guilt for never having read Dr. Achebe’s dad’s books, even though I loved her class and I thought she was great.
That is why now, many years later, I have decided to balance my karma and correct the wrongs I have committed in my past by reading all the books of Chinua Achebe.
I’m starting with, “Things Fall Apart,” because that is the first book in Chinua Achebe’s famous trilogy.
I see he’s written a total of 17 books–that’s a lot of books. I don’t think Dr. Achebe expected us to read all 17 books written by her dad, but I do think she wanted us to read the ones in the trilogy so I’m definitely going to start by reading those 3, and if I’m still digging it, I’ll keep reading all the other books by order of their publication.
Anyway, “Things Fall Apart,” was an enjoyable read. It felt like I was there in Africa, before white people came and messed everything up.
The book is written in an honest way. Okonkwo, the main character, is a flawed individual. He feels like a real person because he isn’t perfect. His flaws make him human. He is different from me because he is from another country, another culture, and another time.
Okonkwo is a member of the Igbo tribe, and he comes from a village in Umuofia, a place that is located in modern Nigeria.
Okonkwo is a macho man and is not an entirely sympathetic character. He beats his wives, and he bullies his kids. He murders a kid he sort of adopted. He’ s a hardcore fellow and if I actually went back to the 1890s and met him in his native realm, I’d probably be afraid of him, to be honest.
That’s why, “Things Fall Apart,” was so much fun to read though–it felt real. There wasn’t any sugar coating.
Reading this book you learn about the ways of the Igbo, what they believed and how they did things.
The climax of the book was when the European missionaries came to destroy the culture of the Igbo. The Europeans were obviously bad news the moment they were mentioned. The book grew sad and discouraging the more the white people came onto the scene.
I don’t dislike white people–in fact I am a white person–but I dislike hypocrisy and evil. Those missionaries might have been deluded into thinking they were doing good deeds, but the actual intentions of the colonialists were to exploit Africa and its people, and missionaries destroy native cultures.
I’m sure sometimes missionaries can be helpful–for example they can bring needed medicine to a place, and maybe assist with building things, or helping to resolve conflicts or to correct dysfunctional behaviors. However, stripping people of their religion, and their native language, and their customs and beliefs. . . basically destroying their culture. . . It's just evil, plain and simple.
What happened to the Igbo people was a disgrace. I’m with Okonkwo on this: they should have killed the white man when they had the chance.
I always went to my African History class and took lots of notes. The trouble was that I had a lot of homework that semester, and Dr. Achebe wanted us to read ALL her dad’s books. Or at least a lot of them.
I remember thinking that it was an unreasonable number of books she expected us to read and that it wasn’t fair. I had too much homework to read all those books in one semester and so, to protest, I read none of the books. I guessed on all of the multiple-choice tests she gave us on the books instead, and somehow, I got a 4.0 in the class.
From my experience guessing on those multiple-choice tests in my African History class, for years after I thought myself a master guesser and a possible psychic.
Looking back, I probably got 100% on the multiple-choice tests because I went to all the lectures, and I took a lot of notes. That's probably more likely than just declaring myself "a psychic master guesser."
But either way, I have carried an intense feeling of guilt for never having read Dr. Achebe’s dad’s books, even though I loved her class and I thought she was great.
That is why now, many years later, I have decided to balance my karma and correct the wrongs I have committed in my past by reading all the books of Chinua Achebe.
I’m starting with, “Things Fall Apart,” because that is the first book in Chinua Achebe’s famous trilogy.
I see he’s written a total of 17 books–that’s a lot of books. I don’t think Dr. Achebe expected us to read all 17 books written by her dad, but I do think she wanted us to read the ones in the trilogy so I’m definitely going to start by reading those 3, and if I’m still digging it, I’ll keep reading all the other books by order of their publication.
Anyway, “Things Fall Apart,” was an enjoyable read. It felt like I was there in Africa, before white people came and messed everything up.
The book is written in an honest way. Okonkwo, the main character, is a flawed individual. He feels like a real person because he isn’t perfect. His flaws make him human. He is different from me because he is from another country, another culture, and another time.
Okonkwo is a member of the Igbo tribe, and he comes from a village in Umuofia, a place that is located in modern Nigeria.
Okonkwo is a macho man and is not an entirely sympathetic character. He beats his wives, and he bullies his kids. He murders a kid he sort of adopted. He’ s a hardcore fellow and if I actually went back to the 1890s and met him in his native realm, I’d probably be afraid of him, to be honest.
That’s why, “Things Fall Apart,” was so much fun to read though–it felt real. There wasn’t any sugar coating.
Reading this book you learn about the ways of the Igbo, what they believed and how they did things.
The climax of the book was when the European missionaries came to destroy the culture of the Igbo. The Europeans were obviously bad news the moment they were mentioned. The book grew sad and discouraging the more the white people came onto the scene.
I don’t dislike white people–in fact I am a white person–but I dislike hypocrisy and evil. Those missionaries might have been deluded into thinking they were doing good deeds, but the actual intentions of the colonialists were to exploit Africa and its people, and missionaries destroy native cultures.
I’m sure sometimes missionaries can be helpful–for example they can bring needed medicine to a place, and maybe assist with building things, or helping to resolve conflicts or to correct dysfunctional behaviors. However, stripping people of their religion, and their native language, and their customs and beliefs. . . basically destroying their culture. . . It's just evil, plain and simple.
What happened to the Igbo people was a disgrace. I’m with Okonkwo on this: they should have killed the white man when they had the chance.