Say it like it is

After reading 19 chapters of Things Fall Apart, I've come to the conclusion that the people of Umuofia, or the Ibo people in general, are brutal people and servants to religion. But they are in no way stupid or uncivilized; they're extremely intelligent and skilled at what they do, and they have an unparalleled level of civilization and hierarchy that simply differs from the one that we are used to.

To be honest, and relating to the TED talk of how the people of Africa seem to have "one story," I really didn't think much of Africa before reading this. And of the little that I did know, I just knew about blood-diamonds, or the struggle to overcome anarchy, and just in general the dilapidated state of Africa that the media loves oh so much to cover.

And what I like about this book, is that it doesn't just shine light on the Ibo people and show them as a flawless, extremely civilized tribe. Chinua Achebe, the author of the book, really just tells it as it is. The world of the Ibo people is indeed civilized, but with it comes violence and an overwhelming amount of religion and superstition to back it up. Okonkwo himself is a perfect example for this violence; he beats his wife and children which is oddly accepted in his community, where in ours it would be an atrocity. Yet the violence is always justified; the man who beat his wife senselessly was brought before the egwugwu and put on some sort of trial to decide his punishment.

The author also doesn't portray the white men as people who go around killing others with darker skin. Although it was for religious purposes, Mr Kiaga, known as a harmless white man, even accepted the osu, or outcasts, telling the people that "We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers" (Achebe 156). Not every white man was a ruthless conquerer.

Achebe shedding an equal amount of light and darkness on both the Ibo and the white people has opened my eyes to the reality of the situation.