Things Fall Apart TOK Based Essay

To what extent should we accept knowledge and authority?

Chinua Achebe is one of the most well known contemporary African writers during the 20^th century. He was one of the pioneers of the development of the African literature in English, and many of his works give a new perspective to the African culture and literature. Achebe’s first and most critically acclaimed novel, Things Fall Apart, deals with the clash of cultures and the violent transitions in life and values brought about by the onset of British colonialism in Nigeria at the end of the 19^th century.  The novel begins by introducing the complexity and structure of the Igbo society, conveying the uniqueness of this culture through their traditions, religious beliefs, etc. Alike most societies globally, there are authoritarian roles corresponding to different aspects, including the political, cultural and religious. These authoritarian figures are in charge of conveying ideas to a society, of guiding them by demonstrating concrete leadership and of maintaining a superior and respected role in the community. An authority figure is defined as people that exercise control, for example being able to enforce laws, impose obedience, command and determine, over other people. Societies and cultures portrayed in the novel Things Fall Apart” each rely on religious authorities to guide them and transmit knowledge that help them socially improve. Knowledge is defined as a true and justified belief, and can certainly be affected by religious influences harshly implemented by the authorities. The two main cultures conveyed in this novel are the Igbo society and the British society that established in order to conquer new lands. The igbo society, as fully described in the book, is fully devoted to religion, and have a great respect for their religious leader, Chielo, which makes the important decisions in the community. Being the priestess, Chielo emanates respect and fear, as she is the direct messenger of the goddess of Agbala, the one in charge of making the drastic decisions in the culture. Reverend Smith, is the head of the Christian church installed. He is intolerant of the African culture and does not respect their beliefs, being narrow-minded toward the Christian views. This essay will analyze the impact of religious authorities on society and the clash of religions from different cultures, focusing on to what extent does Chielo, the priestess of Umuofia, portray a specific religious authority versus the religious authoritarian role portrayed by the British Reverend smith, and what is the purpose of these clash of religions occurring in a post-colonial African environment?

Firstly, Chielo is the representative of the Igbo culture, as she is the priestess, being in charge of taking the role of the messenger of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, or the goddess Agbala. Chielo is vital character in the novel, as she not only portrays a spiritual authoritarian role, but also being a woman, mostly rejected and discriminated in the community, is able to convey respect and fear. Her authoritarian role can be mostly seen in a scene during the introduction of the complexities Igbo society and the characters. During this scene, the Oracle commands Chielo to take Enzinma, Oknonkos daughter, to the cave as she needed to pass through a ritual and the goddess of Agbala had to communicate with the girl. Oknonkwo is described as a very strong and fearless man but when faced with the maximum religious authorities he succumbs to her high respect. This can be clearly seen in this quote, “Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter . . . The priestess screamed. 'Beware, Okonkwo!' she warned" (101). Chielo a an individual, is very generous and calm, but her strength as a religious authority fully develops as she is “possessed” by the Oracle, were the entity talks through her and transmits important information that decides the fate of the village. The fact that the whole Igbo community accepts this religious belief is shown how the priestess tackles disobedience by warning that the goddess of Agbala will punish the disobedient, and only these words causes a great fear in all this community, as they are fully devoted to the spiritual world ad have accepted the transmission of this specific knowledge. This ability to control society and impose fear and respect through religion is seen when Ekwefi, one the wives of Oknonkwo, starts to follow Chielo as she has taken Enzima to the sancturary of the Oracle of the Hills and caves; “And then the priestess screamed. “Somebody is walking behind me!” she said. “Whether you are spirit or man, may Agbala shave your head with a blunt razor! May he twist your neck until you see your heels! “Ekwefi stood rooted to the spot. One mind said to her: “Woman, go home before Agbala does you harm.” But she could not. “ (11.56-57). This quotes shows how the disobeying a religious authority causes a great sense of fear to be disloyal to the spiritual beliefs of the culture. Although Chielo can be a harsh religious authority, she is accepted by the culture, as this belief has been present since the beginning of this society, and the community has accepted the acquisition of this religious knowledge and uses it for their own development and the development of their society. Throughout the book, Chielo is also demonstrated as a very calm and generous person, and rarely intervenes when the British arrive and impose their own religion, showing her lack of necessity to expand and impose a religious belief in a place that is not her own community.

 Secondly, reverend Smith represents a very different religious authoritarian role as he establishes in the Igbo culture and tries to expand his believes. Reverend Smith is a stereotypical fire-and –brimstone preacher. His view is mostly in “black and white”, the black color, the skin color of the people in the African culture, represents pure evil. The Christian representative is intolerant and disrespectful towards the Igbo customs and beliefs, believing that their beliefs are the work of the devil. The man portrays the close-mind and necessity for strong cultural possession of the religious aspect of the British. Reverend Smith’s negative perception for the Igbo culture and strict personality imposes a very rough authoriathiarin religious pressure towards the Igbo society. This is different from Chielos imposition of religion, as the Igbo culture is already used to these beliefs and being forced to change to a different religion is difficult. As an authority, Reverend Smith wants to get rid of the polytheistic and make people become fully devoted to the Christian Religion. His negative connotation and necessity to evoke new beliefs in the Igbo culture can be seen through this quote, “All the gods you have named are not gods at all. They are gods of deceit who tell you to kill your fellows and destroy innocent children. There is only one true God and He has the earth, the sky, you and me and all of us." This shows the process of imposing acceptance of this religion in the Igbo culture. Reverend Smith transmits a different type of knowledge, a knowledge that conveys that their previous beliefs are blasphemy, and that believing in Christianity and in god is the right path to follow. The contrast between the religious authority of Chielo and Reverend Smith is clearly seen, as the Christian clergy tries to strictly and in an obligated manner impose a different religion, defaming their previous beliefs and making them leave the spiritual worlds they belonged to behind. The defaming of the previous beliefs the Igbo people believes in and the abrupt enforcing of a completely new belief is seen by the response of the reverend to an Igbo native, "If we leave our gods and follow your god," asked another man, "who will protect us from the anger of our neglected gods and ancestors?" "Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm," replied the white man. "They are pieces of wood and stone." Overall, Reverend Smith’s authoritarian role is one that forces acceptance through negative words and defamation of a knowledge that is extremely different from the one initially obtained throughout the ancestral development of the Nigerian African society.

Ultimately, the author, Chinua Achebe, had a purpose for portraying the clash of this religious beliefs and authorities in a post-colonial environment. The beginning of the conquest of Africa by the British was the start of the expansion of the Christian church. Chinua Achebe chooses to portray this clash of cultures in this time period because of the fact that during this time, the African societies were being initially forced to change religion and forget their previous spiritual beleifs. This caused a very strong social tension and conflicts, which can be seen throughout the novel. Also, Achebe intends to show the different religious authorities that can exist, each one having specific values and characteristics that affect the acceptance and perception of this religious knowledge conveyed. This is shown through Chielos transmission of respect and fear, but at the same time logic and generosity throughout the society, causing them to be fully devoted to their religion and through Reverend Smiths enforcement of an alien religion and imposition of traditions and customs that the people are forced to enforce, and are completely against their will.

In conclusion, there is a great contrast in the role of religious authority between the Igbo culture and the British culture. In my opinion, the forces enforcement of the Christian religion only to develop the British Empire and increase their power is completely wrong, as their authoritarian methods included punishments and oppression for not accepting and taking knowledge from a completely different belief one is accustomed to.