Things Fall Apart' Is Not Term Paper

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The unpolluted picture of Ibo people comes to life with the helps of such things as the detailed description of New Yam Festival that opens Chapter 5. While some things may appear corny and affected such as sentences like this one: "Drums beat violently, and men leaped up and down in a frenzy" [86], most of the comments are meant to highlight the true meaning of these otherwise demeaning observations. The author explains what beating of drums meant for the people and how it resonated with the true spirit and pulse of the village:

The drums were still beating, persistent and unchanging. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. It was like the pulse of its heart. It throbbed in the air, in the sunshine, and even in the trees, and filled the village with excitement [31].

Achebe also carefully studies tribal myths to understand their meaning and origin. The author clarifies that every single ritual and myth had a story and meaning attached to it. They were not hollow rituals meant for some evil purpose, as most people would have us believe. Instead they served some deep, ethereal and spiritual purpose such as connecting with the ancestors' spirits. The author explains:

The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. There was coming and going between them, especially when an old man died, because an old man was very close to the ancestors.

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A man's life from birth to death was a series of transition rites, which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors [86].

Similarly when the main character Okonkwo accidentally kills a clansman, the author asserts that villagers wanted to avenge the death of a clansman primarily because it was important to cleanse the land after such a horrible crime had been committed. Achebe informs us that after the accidental killing: "The only course open to Okonkwo was to flee from the clan. It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land." [88]. The organized destruction of Okonkwo's house is also seen as something more than mere revenge: "They had no hatred in their hearts against Okonkwo. His greatest friend Obierika was among them. They were merely cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted with the blood of a clansman" [88].

When we said that Achebe's account is at least original, this is what we had meant. His account is devoid of sentimentalism or cliched explanations. The author may not fully grasp the culture and its traditions but he certainly knew how to give it more original flavor by offering sensible explanation for….....

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