Other essays and articles in the Literature Archives related to this topic include : Women, Colonization& Cultural Change in “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe • Comparison of Tragic Characters in Things Fall Apart and Oedipus the King • Comparison Essay on Things Fall Apart and My Antonia
The
novel “Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, while often thought to
offer readers an accurate portrait of Igbo or African culture in
general, often does not effectively represent the culture it seeks to
portray. More generally, one of the challenges of the fiction genre, and
of the frequent criticisms lodged against it, is the manner in which
history, people, and place are integrated into the narrative. Writing a
fictive narrative that is based on real people, places, and events poses
some inherent dangers, not the least of which is the possibility of
inaccurate or partial representation of Igbo culture.
This is particularly true for novelists who are writing about
non-Western cultures for Western audiences. Such is the case in “Things
Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, in which the author writes about members
of a Nigerian tribe.
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