ISL 12

Forum Things Fall Apart (Mary Anne Dison)

Apart from bringing in Christian and a new form of government

into the clan, the White men also build a trading store and for
the first time palm-oil and kernel become things of great price,
and much money flow into Umuofia. The people of Umuofia
begin to profit from selling local products.

Before the arrival of the White men, there were no trading

store and the people of Umuofia depends on their own crops.
This brought much money to Umuofia, and their religion
brought a growing feeling that there might be something good
in it after all. Beside that, the coming of the White men had
changed the culture and tradition in the society.

The villagers in general are caught up between resisting and

embracing change and they face the dilemma of trying to
determine how best to adapt to the reality of change. Many of
the villagers are excited about the new opportunities and
techniques that the missionaries bring.

This European influence, however, threatens to extinguish the

need for the mastery of traditional methods of farming,
harvesting, building, and cooking. These traditional methods,
once crucial for survival, are now, replaceable. We can see how
dependent such traditions are upon storytelling and language
and how quickly the abandonment of the Igbo language for
English could lead to the extinction of these traditions.