Things fall apart In Things Fall Apart there are many cultural collisions created by the introduction of Western ideas into Bio culture. One example of a cultural collision caused by the introduction of Western ideas into Bio culture is when Ginkgo’s first son, Annoy converts to Christianity. This causes a cultural collision between Awoken and Annoy because Annoy wants to become a Christian, but Awoken doesn’t like the white men or Christianity. This cultural collision is caused by the white men bringing in western ideas to Bio culture.
This collision is very important to the book because it leads to the destruction of Awoken and fuels his anger. This collision shapes the meaning of the novel as a whole by symbolizing many things and relating back to many important quotes in the book that help develop the plot. TO begin, Annoy converting to Christianity is a cultural collision caused by the introduction of Western ideas into Bio culture because Annoy wanted to convert but he knew his father did not like the white men’s faith western ideas brought into Bio culture were the white men’s faith called Christianity.
People in the clan like Awoken did not like the whit men’s faith because it went against their faith and claimed that everything they believe in is false. “Although Annoy had been attracted to the new faith from the very first day, he keep it secret. He dared not to go too near the missionaries for fear of his father (149). Awoken has been known for his bad temper and so Annoy wanting to convert created a huge conflict between him and his father. Envoys knew if his father knew about him being interested in the faith that his father would kill him. Answer me,” roared Awoken, “before I kill 51 ).
When Awoken found out about that Annoy was among the Christians he almost killed him and then kicked him out of the house. Ginkgo’s response to Annoy converting to Christianity was very harsh and he did not take it very easy. He felt like his son converting was a curse and he did not understand why this had happened for him. ‘Why, he cried in his heart, should he, Awoken, of all people, be cursed with such a son” (152). {“What are you doing here? ” Beriberi had asked when after many difficulties the missionaries ad allowed him to speak to the boy. “l am one of them,” replied Annoy. How is your father? ” Beriberi asked, not knowing what else to say. “l don’t know. He is not my father,” said Annoy, unhappily. And so Beriberi went to Ambulant to see his friend. And he found that Awoken did not wish to speak about Annoy”} (144). This shows how Ginkgo’s response to the cultural collision challenged his identity as a father and made him so mad that he disowned his son. You can also see by the quote that Annoy is unhappy that his father disowned him. It shapes the meaning as a whole by showing that because Awoken let his anger destroy him, it caused him to lose both Of his sons.
Secondly, the cultural collision challenged the characters sense of identity by challenging Awoken to rethink his faith and question why this happened to him. It also challenged Awoken by seeing how far he could be pushed. “And immediately Ginkgo’s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash” (153). This quote is showing how the cultural collision opened Ginkgo’s eyes, by symbolizing Ginkgo’s anger towards Annoy converting as a burning flame.
This quote also refers back to the novel when Awoken says fire can destroy everything that it consumes and Awoken realizes that his anger is like a fire and because of it he has destroyed everything in his path, like when he killed Snakeskin. It also symbolizes Ginkgo’s anger because a fire is fueled by itself and eventually will burn out and become nothing but ash and Ginkgo’s anger has ultimately destroyed him and left him with nothing. Ginkgo’s response to Annoy converting contributes to shaping the meaning of the novel of as whole by symbolizing many things and helping developing anger in Awoken.
This cultural collision helps develop anger in Awoken by making him very angry at Annoy for being with the white men. His anger is anger is symbolized as the fire and therefore it helped to destroy Awoken by fueling his fire. “Perhaps down in his heart Awoken was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of nature, eleventh, red in tooth and claw. Ginkgo’s fear was greater than these.
It was not external, but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father. Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was cabala. That was how Awoken first came to know that cabala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title. And so Awoken was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that is father Knock had loved.
One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness” (13). This quote describes Ginkgo’s fear and how his life was dominated by fear, Awoken feared change, failure and weakness. So when the white men showed up and tried to convert people Awoken feared for the failure of his clan to stay together and fight as one. He also feared change, so he did not like the new religion or the fact that it said that all of his religion was false gods and he feared his clansmen converting to Christianity. How dc oh think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has a put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). This quote showed that exactly what Awoken feared would happen has happened. The white men have come in and converted Annoy and others, which has led to weakness in the clan and now they can’t fight.
When Awoken realizes this he fights by himself and then hangs himself. This symbolizes the self-destruction caused by his anger towards the Western ideas brought to Bio culture. Also this shows how his response to the cultural collision shaped the meaning as a whole and how it contributed to conclusion of the novel. To conclude, In Things Fall Apart there were many cultural collisions caused by the introduction of western ideas into Bio culture. One very important collision was created when Annoy, Ginkgo’s oldest son converts to Christianity.
This rates a collision because Awoken fears change and doesn’t like the white men or there new faith, but his son Annoy is interested in the new faith and likes it. This collision leads to Awoken self-destructing and killing himself and it also shapes the meaning of the novel as a whole by symbolizing many things and relating back to important quotes in the novel, that develop a story. This cultural collision also shapes the novel as a whole by showing that because Awoken let his anger destroy him, it caused him to lose both of his sons and left him with nothing.
