Achebe's personal history allows for an interpretation of his purpose in his novel. Things
Fall Apart is a novel that was written by Achebe in 1958. Achebe himself was
raised with both Christian and Igbo values. In his novel he can reconcile those
two parts of him. In the story, Okonkwo’s village is being colonized by the
British. Through Okonkwo’s behavior and its consequences, Achebe suggests that
in order to live successfully it requires balance and flexibility, like he
balanced his two cultures.
Okonkwo’s
character is very rigid in his ideals, this has negative consequences on his
relationships with his village and his family.
When
the British arrive, Okonkwo can’t adapt to the changes in his village, and his
violence and inflexibility creates tension within the village.
At
the end of the novel Okonkwo commits suicide, this is another way that Achebe
shows how stubbornness can be harmful.
The introduction paragraph links the ideas of the thesis well to both the meaning in the book of the Christian and Igbo cultures mixing, and the prompt of Achebe's real life culture mix.
ReplyDeleteAll the thesis statements focus on Okonkwo's character and decisions which is an important part of the book itself.
The first thesis statement could probably follow the prompt a little more because it doesn't really address Achebe's personal experiences.
The same for the second thesis statement is also somewhat true to the first as it doesn't really note the prompt as well as it could.
The third thesis statement say the suicide is 'another way' which maybe shouldn't be used because it makes the statement somewhat unclear.
3 1/2 out of 5
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