Destruction of the Ibo Tribe in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay

The Assisted Suicide of the Ibo Tribe Nothing on this planet is indestructible, everything must go at some point in being. However, if an object is left untouched, it will not disappear. Something has to assist its end. The same concept applies for the tribe of Umofia. The Umofian culture cannot prosper forever, something had to aid in its downfall and in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the British were to blame for the downward spiral the Umofian people saw. The novel Things Fall Apart is set in Africa and focuses on Okonkwo, the main character. Okonkwo leads an ambitious life until he mistakenly shoots a member of the tribe during a festival. His reprimand for this act was seven years in exile in which he served reluctantly. Upon his arrival to his home tribe, he observed that his clan’s folk had become â€Å"women-like.† He quickly noticed the reason of this sudden change and held the British responsible. At this point, the tribe runs down a dark tunnel, one that Okonkwo does not want to see so he performs suicide. Okonkwo’s death symbolizes the Ibo tribe’s downfall and the group that assisted both deaths was the British. The ways that the British aid in the falling apart of the Ibo tribe is by taking away the Ibo culture, belittling their gods, and converting Ibo clan’s folk. When a society gets its traditions taken away, they can assume they have taken the first step towards assimilation, for without their culture, they have nothing proving who they are. The same concept can be applied to the situation in Umofia. When the British came and started to change Umofian culture, things started to fall apart. The first action the British did was change the Umofian Judicial system. Instead of meeting in front of the Egwugwu, as cu... ...nsidered a being to fear, however, Mr. Brown implies that Chukwu is a â€Å"Loving father† and â€Å"Not feared by those who do his will† (Achebe 181). By saying this, Mr. Brown alters the way the Umofian people believe in God which may make them confused for never hearing of another religion before. In the novel, things started to fall apart because the British came and took away the Umofia people’s culture which includes their right of jurisdiction, belief in their own God and, converting the clans folk. This shows that nothing, however big, or small can flourish forever. Even if the British had not of come, something would have caused the Umofian downfall. Everything must come to an end, in this case it was the Umofian clan. However Okonkwo sums it all up the best â€Å"The [British] has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart† (Achebe 176).