Story and History in Things Fall Apart.

Things Fall Apart, is a famous novel written by Chinua Achebe in 1958. This novel reflects different aspects of the African culture and traditions because the story is focused in how an African man called Okonkwo faces his everyday struggles in his clan and community. The literary era of this novel is the post-colonialism, where the most remarkable aspect is the dominance of the British over the indigenous people. Things Fall Apart is infused with this fact of the history, because this novel somehow addresses the problems and consequences of a territory, in this case, of Umuofia, after the arrival of the "white" race. 

Achebe exemplified through a tragic story, some of the cultural aspects and traditions of the African society before the British conquered the indigenous land. The story in Things Fall Apart relates the life of Okonkwo and his surroundings and how after the arrival of the first white men, his life completely changed. In Umuofia, the first man who tried to help the Africans was Mr Brown and his intentions towards them were beneficial for the clans because the education improved and the Christianity was spreading all over the village, in many cases, this religion helped the african people because it gave them hope in their future.

In addition, the second man who replaced Mr Brown was Mr Smith, the difference was that Mr Smith didn't like the African people and he was always rude to them. The attitude of this man towards the Africans is more related to the colonization of Africa. For example, when the British arrived to Africa, they were not interested in a social improvement in the african territories. Therefore, they were only interested in conquering those territories and the Africans were treated as a minority. 

In conclusion, story and history in Things Fall Apart have similarities and differences between both because one of the main purposes of Achebe was to create a story with many aspects from the African culture and traditions, but even though it may include things from what happened in reality, at the end it is just a novel that states Achebe's point of view about the influence of the white race towards the Africans. Nevertheless, the story is also influenced by the African history (colonization) that helped build the Africa that we know nowadays.