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The French Revolution reminds me of Things Fall Apart due to the "take it or leave it" complex. The, "if you do not conform to my expectations and who I am as a person, I will murder you," complex. In Okonkwo's perspective, violence is the key to happiness. This idea goes really well with the values at the time of the French Revolution. They killed thousands upon thousands in the name of revolution, not religion, but it is very closely related.

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The reason why I believe the Cold War is similar to the conflict in Things Fall Apart is due to the constant war of ideas. In the Cold War, they argued over which government system worked more efficiently, and they even used the threat of violence to intimidate each other. In Things Fall Apart, they argued over which religion was better (in a sense). I especially recall the one scene where Mr. Brown and a clan member were discussing the differences in religion, and why they thought that was the "right" way. Obviously, the two battles in history do not have much in common, but I do believe they are both wars of ideas, and that whoever has the most followers wins. If propoganda existed back then, I am sure they would have used it.

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The ending of the novel emphasized the concept that the white man did not care for what others had to say. It says, "The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost write a whole chapter on him." (Achebe 179). The entire novel has been about Okonkwo's journey and how he got to the point of killing himself. In the end, the reader finds out the white man is writing a novel, and that Okonkwo is a really good paragrapgh. This refers back to the TedTalk (A Danger of a Single Story). This paragraph shows that the white man does not care what happened before that good paragraph due to their perception of other cultures being uncivilized.

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"One of the greatest crimes a man could commit was to unmask an egwugwu in public, or to say or do anything which might reduce its immortal prestige in the eyes of the uninitiated. And this was what Enoch did." (Achebe 160). In Chapter twenty-two, the church and the clan go face to face, and they are not unified due to the church trying to enforce their way of life on the other. The blatant disrespect the Church has for the clan causes much chaos. Enoch was already not respected in the clan due to him killing the sacred python, and he took himself to the Church so he could find some sort of placement in society. Therefore, his disrespect to his original home is due to him being outcasted, and it was not because of his total devotion to the new religion. His disrespectful actions lack tolerance, and therefore it breaks the unity between the two powerful organizations in this novel.

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"But there was a young lad who had been captivated. His name was Nwoye, Okonkwo's first son. It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him…It was the poetry of the new religion, something felt in the marrow. The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul – the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed." (Achebe 127). It is totally okay to enjoy another culture more than your own. After all, we are all individuals. But Nwoye's father, Okonkwo, despises the fact that his first son left him for another culture. The lack of tolerance Okonkwo has for new ideas that do not uphold the traditional values of his fatherland's clan tears his relationship with his son apart. He would rather his son be apart of a culture unwillingly than to be a happy Christian. Obviously, I despise colonization, but this reverse look on this relationship makes you realize that stuff happens on both sides.

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"Mr. Brown learned a good deal about the religion of the clan and came to the conclusion that a frontal attack on it would not succeed." (Achebe 155). Mr. Brown is infinitely better than Mr. Smith. Mr. Brown seeked peace, for the most part. His job was still to convert innocent people. Mr. Brown had some not-so-innocent motives. Instead of peacefully trying to spread the religion, he is planning an attack of ideas. In this way, it is very similar to the Cold War. Mr. Brown and the other Christians have no tolerance for the clan's religion, and the decision to try to convert them is very selfish and it does not truly create unity between two cultures.

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Obierika says, “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has a put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” (Achebe 152). This quote is very interesting due to the concept of slowly making your way to a goal. At first, the clans tolerated the church. The even allowed the foreigners to have religious freedom, which is rare to find in any corner of any corner of the world. But, these foreigners abuse their freedom, and their lack of tolerance leads to the cultural intrusion using the device known as religion. Henceforth, the clan falls apart, and the foreigners take over completely.

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In chapter eighteen, a man with a high title in Okonkwo's motherland says, "“But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship…And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. He can curse gods of his fathers and his ancestors, like a hunter's dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. I fear for you; I fear for the clan.” (Achebe 146). In this quote, it seems to have suggested that being all on the same side brings forth unity. And yes, that is true. However, that unity will only last so long. The further the world advances, the more cultures will melt together. If we cannot learn to come together and accept our differences, then we shall not have true unity.

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"They set fire to his houses, demolished his red walls, killed his animals and destroyed his barn. It was the justice of the eartg goddess, and they were merely her messengers. They had no hatred in their hearts against Okonkwo." (Achebe 110). The mob mentality is considered unified, but it is only unified in the name of violent religion. A true unified state wouldn't tear down Okonkwo's livelihood that easily. Especially considering the fact that was his pride and joy for not being lazy. Okonkwo's closest friends turned their back on him for the sake of the cultural tradition. Their emapthy has been thrown out the window, and they will tear down another man just to be the one who survives.

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Our perceptions convolute the unity we have between one another, and they turn it into hatred for one another. "49% of Americans believe that Muslims should have some sort of identification because they are Muslim." -Reza Aslan. This is incredibly disturbing due to the fact that this happened to the Jews in Germany in the early 1930's.

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TEDxConejo - Reza Aslan - Unity in Diversity

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The culture you surround yourself in makes you (typically) change your behaviors. Even if you have not lived there all your life, just a short time living there can change you. "Boards with more culture increases productivity by 35%" -Julien S. Bourrelle.

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How Culture Drives Behaviours | Julien S. Bourrelle | TEDxTrondheim

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The Scramble for Africa, a topic that our class discussed before the reading of Things Falls Apart, is a time period when different cultures were trying to colonize as much of the land as possible. With this, they forcefully introduced new concepts and values. There was no religious diversity within the Scramble for Africa. In fact, that was a big reason that countries colonized- the "white man's burden." This scenario is very similar to how this culture riuns. There are no new present ideas. Tradition is valued heavily, and anything outside of the status quo will be shunned. There is no unity within both of these cultures; they are both forceful ways of life.

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Other religions have made sacrifices in the name of their God. When Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna, and when Chielo took the child- the God created chaos and dysfunction. The culture's religious idenity lacks empathy, and it is willing to kill off anyone for the "good" of the village. The political cartoon is referring to the other sacrifices that are infamous. The crusades were full on wars in the name of religion. Religious wars are truly not worth fighting if the society has religious tolkerance. Unity is meant between the different types of people- not war.

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"Umuofia has decided to kill him. The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced it." (Achebe 49). And I know I have previously quoted the same sentence, but this quote talks about the different aspect of the society. Not the sexist side, but the toxic religious side.  There is only one religion in Umuofia. Everyone must follow this religion, or they are to be outcasted by society. Okonkwo must give Ikemefuna to death in the name of religion. The religion is higher than the actual council members. Later on in the novel, Okonkwo's wife must grudgingly hand over her child in the name of religion. There is no diversity in the religious aspect of this society, therefore there is no knowledge of another way to do things. That means that this religion holds all the power, and that that religion can make non empathetic choices for "God." The lack of diversity increases the lack of tolerance, and the unity is therefore destroyed.

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To add on to the idea that Oknonkwo's personal value of masculinity is destroying other values that surround that. Oknonkwo's ideas conquer those such as happiness, gentleness, and forgiveness. All three necessary, and well sought-out for, life attributes. Okonkwo refuses to have a weak son, which also is a part of the masculine culture, but the son obviously has characteristics from Oknonkwo's lazy father. Okonkwo resents this, and enforces Nwoye to become someone he is not. "Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell," (Achebe 46). Oknonkwo has no tolerance for refusal of his own beliefs. Therefore, that creates chaos in Nwoye's soul; it takes away unity between him and his father.

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"Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino." (Achebe 1). The idea of success in this village is definitely a cultural value. As I have said previously, actions speak louder than family history. Personal achievements mean more than anything else. That is why Oknonkwo made it his mission to have many of them. However, he has forced his values on the souls who surround him. Such as his wife and son. The author starts out the novel with this line to project the idea that Oknonkwo is a successful man, but he is also a very troubled one. Okonkwo loses all empathy and unity due to this cultural value of success.

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Okonkwo started to feel shame and embarassment when he was very young due to his father's laziness. The culture of Umuofia is to be a hard-working man. A man is not defined by his family, but by his personal actions. "Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit." (Achebe 13). Oknonkwo refuses to be the slightest bit of gentle due to that shame. This toxic masculinity makes Oknonkwo the fiercest warrior, but it also makes him the least empathetic in the village.

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"Tolerance can only exist when family members and communities allow diverse cultural and personal values to shape their identity and establish feelings of empathy and unity."

Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, created this story to convey the atrocious characteristics found in society. Such as: sexism and unwarranted murder. Which are two things heavily present in the first part of the book. The first unwarranted murder in the novel is the death of Ikemefuna. His death, caused by unecessary sacrifice, would be much less somber if Okonkwo played no part in it. "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death." (Achebe 49). The culture of this village is that the man must be this person who must not feel weakness. This includes, crying and feeling any type of stereotypically feminine emotion. By Oknonkwo feeding into this cuture, he loses a part of himself in the process. He loses the thing that makes me empathetic and sympathetic towards others.