Things Fall Apart
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either the symbol of salvation or the root of all evil. From the perspective of much of the younger generation as well as many of the leaders of the tribes, the Christian missionaries coming from Europe were highly respected, especially after the incident where the Church was built in the Evil Forrest. Because of incidents such as this, more and more people began to convert to Christianity, tearing many families apart. People such as Okonkwo saw the White Man as an example of evil because the White Man came into his land and began to take people away from their own heritage and tradition. Even his own son was converted into this new religion. Okonkwo was also very wary of these intruders because he knew about the incident where the Abame tribe was wiped out by these invaders. Okonkwo didnt trust them.
One of these invaders was the District Commissioner, who had a position of power among the White Man. It is revealed to the reader in the end of the book that the Commissioner had already decided upon the title of his book before attempting to understand the culture. The title, The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger, showed that he had no respect for the local tribes and assumed that they were inferior and “primitive” simply because he didnt understand their way of life. He seemed to be the typical racist, knowing that he was better than these “primitive Tribes” because he was from civilized Europe. This attitude leads him to the faulty conclusion that he has the right to control the local tribes, which in turn led to the dehumanization and horrid treatment of the locals.
It seems as though only a very small percentage of the local population, such as Okonkwo, understood the threat that the White Man, posed. Because of the attitude of the District Commissioner and people like him, atrocities such as the slaughter of the Abame tribe could occur. Though the book is fictional, there