Thesis Statement Part II

Prompt: The personal history of an author can have a significant influence on the way meaning is constructed in his/her writing. Comment on specific instances of such influence in Things Fall Apart.

Thesis Statement: Chinua Achebe’s personal history significantly influences the meaning of cultural duality as an underlying theme in his literary work “Things Fall Apart”. Specifically, Achebe’s cultural crossroad provides context for the interactions between the Igbo people and the missionaries in the narrative.

Topic Sentence 1: Through Ac1hebe’s implementation of Mr. Brown’s character into the plot as an idealistic symbol of the peaceful co-existence between the Igbo and the colonial forces. Thus, the character emphasizes the harmony that exists between of two undisputedly divergent yet juxtaposed cultures within Achebe’s own identity.

Topic Sentence 2: Conversely, Enoch’s unmasking of the egwugwu demonstrates the evangelistic and domineering attitude of the Christians towards the Igbo villagers that was exhibited during Achebe’s own upbringing.

Topic Sentence 3: Lastly, Achebe concludes the novel by the suicide of Okonkwo as a symbolic detachment between the Igbo and Christian cultures and values which cannot stand together as a contradictory piece to the duality that has been championed throughout the novel.