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VOL. 1, ISSUE 1 (2025)
Colonial protest, cultural assertion, and generational divide in Things Fall Apart
Authors
Amarjit Yadav
Abstract
Chinua Achebe's seminal novel Things Fall Apart presents a complex
narrative of cultural collision and resistance in pre-colonial and colonial
Igbo society. This paper examines how Achebe employs the protagonist Okonkwo
and the broader Umuofia community to illustrate three interconnected themes:
colonial protest as both violent and passive resistance, cultural assertion
through the preservation of traditional values and practices, and the
generational divide that emerges as younger Igbo people navigate between
indigenous customs and colonial influences. Through careful analysis of
character development, symbolic imagery, and narrative structure, this study
argues that Achebe's work functions not merely as a historical account of
colonialism's impact, but as a sophisticated exploration of how communities
respond to cultural domination through various forms of resistance, adaptation,
and internal conflict. The novel demonstrates that colonial encounter produces
not a simple binary of resistance versus submission, but rather a spectrum of
responses that reflect the complex negotiations between tradition and
modernity, individual agency and collective identity, and cultural preservation
and inevitable change.
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Pages:19-23
How to cite this article:
Amarjit Yadav "Colonial protest, cultural assertion, and generational divide in Things Fall Apart". World Journal of Social Science , Vol 1, Issue 1, 2025, Pages 19-23
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