Change in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and in Cevat Fehmi Başkuts play Buzlar zlmeden
Boyacıoğlu
Zeynep BOYACIOĞLU
11F 10241
Dirayet ULUĞ
English A2
23.11.2010
Word count: 1,504
Change
Everything in our life changes constantly. John F. Kennedy said “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” This can be seen in the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe and in Cevat Fehmi Başkut’s play “Buzlar Çözülmeden”. Needing to adjust oneself to the change, one must never forget that there will be a tomorrow and notice he might pass over the future if he holds on the customary ideas. In the novel “Things Fall Apart” the protagonist, Okonkwo, is a man of war and he resists to the change in his clan. Moreover, in the play “Buzlar Çözülmeden” the gentry, who have been exploiting the community, don’t want the system to change.
In Achebe’s novel, the life of the clan changes completely after the arrival of the white men. Some members of the clan accept their presence and even join the church; some members don’t care about the Christians being there, whereas, rest of the clan, especially Okonkwo, don’t want them in Umofia. Okonkwo is a man of action; he wants the whole world to see his power and shows no sign of “weakness” “… He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood… (Achebe, 10, Heinemann Educational Publishers)” He sees showing any kind of feeling as weakness. He is so afraid to be assumed as a weak person that he kills Ikemafuna. “…Okonkwo drew his matchet and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak...( Achebe, 54, Heinemann Educational Publishers).” During a funeral, Okonkwo kills a boy by mistake, which is considered as a “female crime”, so flees from the clan to his motherland for seven years as a punishment for his crime. After seven years he turns back to his hometown. He predicts that he shall still be the strongest and the most respected man in the clan. However, things have changed a lot. “… Seven years was a long time to be away from one’s clan. A man’s place was not always there, waiting from him. As soon as he left, someone else rose and filled it. The clan was like a lizard; if it lost its tail it soon grew another… (Achebe, 151, Heinemann Educational Publishers)”. After his return, he sees his clan has changed; white men have arrived the village to spread Christianity. Okonkwo can’t get used to these changes and kills himself. Okonkwo resists to the change. He knows he has lost his place in the community, but he also knows that he can gain some of the power he has had before the exile. “…Okonkwo knew these things. He had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in clan. He had lost his chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion, which, he was told, had gained the ground… (Achebe, 151, Heinemann Educational Publishers).” He also knows that he can re-gain some of the power he has lost if he makes his return remarkable with feasts.