The Culture of 'Things Fall Apart' vs. Western Culture

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The Culture of Things Fall Apart vs. Western Culture

Many societies have beliefs embedded deep in their early religion. Some beliefs include polygamy, polytheism and patriarchy. This culture is such of the ‘Ibo’ culture in ‘Things Fall Apart’. Polytheism and polygamy are custom in the tribe, and the role of each family member is very defined. The men are dominant. The women and children are treated poorly and often beaten. Life in Okonkwo’s tribe Umuofia would seem very different to someone living in modern day society.

One custom of Umuofia that is very different from Western culture is Polygamy, marring more than one person. This custom is practiced through-out the nine villages of Umuofia. Actually a man's wealth is partly measured by the number of wives he has. A wealthy man described in ‘Things Fall Apart’, had nine wives and thirty children. Okonkwo has three wives and eight children.

Polygamy is not something many people are accustomed to. Western culture teaches that monogamy, as opposed to polygamy, is the proper, accepted form of marriage. In Western culture, having more than one partner in a marriage is often cause for divorce; however, in Umoufia it is practiced and even encouraged by most of its people.

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Another common belief in Umoufia is Polytheism, the worship or belief in many gods. Included in their practice of polytheism is their chi, or personal god. "A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi". The book goes on to say, "Unoka was an ill-fated man. He had a bad chi, or personal god, and evil fortune followed him to the grave...". Achebe expresses that this is a god of great importance that foretells a person’s future. In the Ibo culture it is custom to make sacrifices to the gods, like Unoka in Achebe's novel tells, "Every ...

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