International Journal of English and Literature

The aim of this paper is to describe the works of Chinua Achebe and his contributions
towards social changes within the British colonies. Achebe is one of the stalwart authors
of the modern African literature who has contributed to literature by reflecting upon the
society during the British colonial period in the African countries. He belonged to Nigeria
and he had depicted the social life or traditional Africa (Idowu 2014). His works also
portray the confusion of people’s psychology. His books describe the critical conditions
of Africa during its emerging times. The values had been changing in the world, which
Africans found it very difficult to cope up with (Mpofu 2014). Some of the major works
written by Chinua Achebe are “Arrow of God”, “Things Fall Apart”, “No Longer at
Ease” and others. The characters of the book had witnessed the social changes and are
considered to be moral reflections of that time.
“Things Fall Apart” is one of the finest literary pieces produced by Chinua
Achebe. This book has reflected several themes that are very interesting for the portrayal
of the contemporary society (Idowu 2014). The author has portrayed several instances
where the white missionaries from Europe had made huge impacts on the tribal groups of
Africa. The changes are seen throughout the course of the novel as Achebe’s description
moves on the timeline that includes the description of the lifestyle of the tribal
community before the arrival of white missionaries. Their life had been happy and
undisruptive in spite of the events that took place outside their society (Mpofu 2014). The
arrival of the whites were followed by the process of supreme colonial powers are the
tribal community. The colonization process followed slavery, immense torture, had been
imposed on them and forceful conversion to Christianity (Tobalase 2016). The arrival of
the white missionaries led to a complete change in the thought process of the tribal

community by a complete transformation of their thought process and belief system
(Ahmed 2014).
According to the critics, the changes in the indigenous community took place
after their introduction to Christian beliefs, ideas, and lifestyle (Ogude 2015). It is
significant to point out that the changes did not take place overnight; a lot of resistance
were witnessed from the community are being forced to denounce their age-old beliefs
and practices among whom Okonkwo, Nwoye, Ikemefuna, Ekwefi, Unoka, and Ezinma
are worth mentioning. Okonkwo is regarded as the central protagonist of this book and he
is also the leader of the African Igbo community named Umuofia. Chinua Achebe, the
author, has spoken about a girl named Nneka who gave birth to sets of twins many times.
After these events of births, she had left those children in the forest (Mpofu 2014).
Eventually it was found out that she eloped to join the Christians. It is also worthwhile to
point out that these tribal people had some stigmatic belief but they were able to get over
these practices after Christians had arrived (Tobalase 2016).
Through various characters of the book, the author also raises questions about the
tribal customs in African countries and the effect of the advent of Christian customs
(Ogude 2015). According to Achebe, the reason of conversion behind the tribe to convert
to Christianity was lack of belief in their traditional beliefs and customs (Ahmed 2014).
The author had also highlighted the fact that some of the tribal beliefs and customs were
very harmful for the society (Tobalase 2016). In some ways the conversion of the faith
became somewhat helpful for them indeed. One example can be given and it is the fact
that the Umofia people had the belief that twin babies were very detrimental for the
future welfare of the individual and society (Lakshmi 2016). This is why they had

dispersed the twins in the jungle to get rid of them. This was a superstition in their minds
and it was definitely very painful custom. Despite this common sense for all people, these
tribes believed that this kind of sacrifice would definitely bring the peace within the
society (Jweid 2016). According to the tribal beliefs, forests were also considered unholy
and unsafe that led to the belief that the trees were under threat.
Likewise, there were several beliefs in their customs and cultures that were believed to be
very natural for them but it seemed to be very uncommon for other people (Lakshmi
2016).
The hatred of tribal community were rooted in the fact that the colonizers were
invested in convincing the community and ensure their obedience in the process (Gilley
2016). On the contrary, it was very evident that benevolent behavior and assuring people
of good future helped them to earn the trust. People of the Umofia tribe were no
exception to this. The missionaries began to teach them about the truths (Gogoi 2014).
This marked the beginning of changes in the society. The Christian missionaries taught
them the fact that forests and woods were not at all harmful or evil (Jweid 2016). These
were the gifts of nature and treasures for human life. So they should be preserved at any
cost. Many people began to believe in the words of these Christian missionaries. So,
people remaining in these regions became very angry. They believed that their teachings
had been insulted and they were in fear of losing their positions within the society. In this
context, the cohesion of the Ibo culture and their community began to “fall apart” (Alam
2014).
Chinua Achebe’s portrayal of the text and the characters proved that he was a
master craftsman of conceiving perfectly, the contemporary culture of the African people