Hegemony And Resistance And Culture Clash In Things Fall Apart 

The flexible nature of Igbo community manifests itself in several ways in the novel. It is reflected in Uchendu’s assertion that the old and new generation do not have much in common concerning the willingness to keep relationships secure. Uchendu represents the past generation who understands the meaning of social integrity. The unity that Achebe portrays among the younger seems to be less strong than the one Uchendu had once experienced in his life. Though, it is quite obvious that in every community no two generations are the same. The writer intensely shows that the community of Igbo gradually faces an ill-fated change with the arrival of colonialism. However, for Thiong’o (1993, p. 16), “Cultures that change to reflect the ever-changing dynamics of internal relations and which maintain a balanced give and take with external relations are the ones that are healthy” (ibid.). 

Through reading TFA, one might undoubtedly witness that as soon as the colonisers enter Nigeria, the whole population partake in an over perplexed web of change. Even though there is a distinct contrast in the people’s will against colonial rule, Achebe creates characters like Okonkwo, Uchendu, Obierika, and others that emblemize the true nature of his society. These characters are true representatives of their culture regarding preserving traditional values. They are entirely opposed to any hegemonic power that aims at the distortion of their culture, whereas, others easily give in to the influence of an alien society. Therefore, through the coming of white people, TFA presents the conscious and unconscious types of characters. The former are those who enthusiastically struggle to protect their country from any outsider, and they label the latter as worthless beings.

Central to this view is the instance when Obierika visits Okonkwo in Mbaino; he informs him that Abame is no longer the same because the white people have destroyed the majority of the clan. What distresses Uchendu and Okonkwo is the fact that Abame villagers were not able to defend themselves. It is fascinating to elaborate Uchendu’s perspective on such people by clarifying the story he tells to Obierika to emphasise the real reason behind their destruction by the British colonisers. As a knowledgeable elder, his purpose of bringing the story of Mother and Daughter Kite is to relate Abame’s downfall to the failure of its people to equip themselves with their weapon against enemy despite the warning they received from the Oracle. Since they were not able to defend themselves, they deserved to face such a fate. Obierika states that the Abame clan “have paid for their foolishness” (ibid., p. 140).