I have decided to analyze Things Fall Apart through a postcolonialism lens. I will use the theoretical text as a lens for my essay and back up my thesis with both quotes from the theoretical text and the novel.
I will discuss how because of the Europeans opinion of themselves, they viewed themselves as being more sophisticated and considered their ways better than the “savage” ways of the tribes in the novel. The theoretical text states “The assumption that Western Europeans and in particular the British people, were biologically superior to any other race remained relatively unquestioned” which supports this notion. This comes to play in the novel when the missionaries come in the second part of the novel, which I will discuss to prove my point. The missionaries (especially the one who replaced Mr. Brown) disagreed with the ways of the tribes and forced themselves upon them. I was thinking about giving the perspective of the theoretical text which tells why the missionaries treated the tribes such as they did and then relate it to the book with how their actions were received.
I will also talk about how in part three of the novel, the tribe’s government is pretty much destroyed and replaced with what the missionaries think a government should be run like. I will relate this back to the theoretical text once again such as when it states “These subhumans or “savages” quickly became the inferior and equally “evil” Others.” I will talk about the missionaries and how they thought they were better and the savages were seemingly evil. They then, accordingly, changed the government system and aligned the tribes’ justice system what they thought to be fair. They did this regardless of what the tribes had to say about it. I will use the example and then connect it with the novel. I was thinking about doing the same thing as I talked about doing with part 2, stating what the theoretical text said, and then relating it back to the tribes’ response.
I will wrap up my ideas in the conclusion by putting it all together, connecting once again to the novel and text.
