Thoughts On Things Fall Apart #1

                 Thing Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe that reflects on European colonialism in Africa. In this story, we are exposed to a group of people that we may or may not be familiar with: the Igbo. The Igbo is an ethnic group that resides in parts of modern-day Nigeria, and in Things Fall Apart, they are depicted as a people who live in rural villages and live in a, I guess, tribal society. I suppose that some things that are distinct about the Igbo is the fact that they give guests a kola nut as a piece offering of some sort. I mean, what do you do with a kola nut? But because kola nuts are always offered to guests in Igbo villages, they must be something of value or importance. Another distinct characteristic of the Igbo is that they are very spiritual people. They perform rituals and dances with religious meaning to them, depicting spirits and gods while wearing masks. The sacrifices are what interest me though. During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo nearly murders his second wife by shooting a gun at her, and a priest is highly offended by this. So, Okonkwo has to sacrifice a goat for forgiveness and cleansing of his sins.
                 Apparently, sacrificing animals is the way to go in Igbo society when you have done something terribly wrong, something that you could get arrested for in our society! I'm starting to wonder if Okonkwo ever apologized to his wife for nearly killing her, because that would be petty of he didn't. Igbo society sure likes to mistreat their women, am I right? I mean wives just keep getting beaten by their husbands for not making dinner or something. By now, you can sort of tell that I might be criticizing the Igbo way of life. However, this is due to cultural differences, since I live in a society where domestic abuse is not to the extent of what women may experience in Igbo culture. Overall, reading Things Fall Apart has opened my eyes to a culture that I never knew even existed. When we see something that we not really familiar with, we tend to make judgements about it. Yet by reading this novel, we are able to see life from the perspective of such a foreign culture, and we're able to gain a better understanding of how they live and perceive things. So, yes I have enjoyed reading this novel even though I probably criticized the culture, but I am eager to learn more things about the Igbo.