Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” AND Soyinka’s “Death AND The King’s Horseman” Essay Examples

Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka show the effects of the British rule on African culture during the colonial period. Apparently, the continent’s contact with the outside world changed the African societies and at the same time, disrupted the cultures in both novels through the introduction of new traditions. After all, Okonkwo in “Things Fall Apart” commits suicide after his people fail to repel the whites while Olunde in “Death and the King’s Horseman” does the same to protect the traditions. With that in mind, the central characters committed suicide to protect their cultures but those reasons differed because, unlike Okonkwo, the people celebrated Olunde’s suicide. Consequently, while the causes of death are different, the novels are similar because the white man is the cause of trouble in each, their lead character is very traditional, and they both concentrate on Nigeria.
First, Achebe and Soyinka's novel are similar because the white man is the cause of trouble in each. The colonial rule appears to be the central theme around which Achebe and Soyinka place their narrations, and the introduction of the white man to the indigenous people caused culture shocks. In “Things Fall Apart”, Achebe writes that Okonkwo knew “Umuofia would not go to war” against the antics of the white man and the people later discovered his lifeless body (147). Because Okonkwo was a traditional man, it is acceptable that anything outside the teachings of the Igbo people was intolerable for the man. From the insistence on men being wealthy in the community and brave on the battlegrounds, Okonkwo was the epitome of the ideal Umuofia male (Achebe 2). On that note, perhaps the protagonist found it impossible to embrace the white man because he worked hard to gain his respected position. Similarly, the white man in “Death and the King’s Horseman” interfered with a critical tradition among the Yoruba’s, who expected the king’s horseman to commit suicide upon the death of the king. According to Soyinka’s text, the next one to die was Elesin but he does not go through with the ritual because one Samuel Pilkings convinces him the ritual is barbaric. For that reason, Elesin's son, Olunde, commits suicide in his father’s place “because he could not bear to let honor fly out of doors” (Soyinka 61). Hence, in both novels the colonists ridiculed traditions and drove the protagonists to their deaths.
Additionally, the lead character in each novel is very traditional and refuses to adopt the ways of the white man. For Olunde, after traveling to England, he concludes that the whites have “no respect” for what they do not understand (Soyinka 41). In other words, his interactions with the whites only allowed him a view of the white man’s ideologies and instead of discouraging his cultural side, the opposite happened. Concurrently, Okonkwo outrightly refuses to interact with the whites and scorns anybody who associates with them. The fact that he disowns Nwoye, his son, for joining the white Christian missionaries is a perfect illustration of Okonkwo’s determination to repel the newcomers and their ways (Achebe 110). Therefore, the two novels are similar because they each portray a lead character with the determination to resist the white man. On that note, the protagonists in the novels are male, and as evidenced by plots and characters, male superiority reigned among the people of Umuofia and Yoruba. Consequently, it made more sense to have the governing gender refuse changes that would otherwise disrupt their superiority and power among the people.
Finally, the most important reason Achebe and Soyinka's novel are similar is that they concentrate on Nigeria during the colonial period. Achebe’s text revolves around the village of Umuofia with the Igbo people while Soyinka’s concentrates on the Yoruba people; still, the white man’s presence stimulates similar reactions. As mentioned before, the characters are traditional people, and they do all they could to limit or even prevent the foreigners’ influence over the inhabitants of the land. The British did colonize Nigeria, and culture shock is inevitable when people from diverse backgrounds and social makeup have to live in the same area. Hence, it is plausible that the novels depict what happened after the arrival of British missionaries in Nigeria. By extension, the repelling attitudes by the two men are also acceptable just because people do not quickly abandon their lifelong traditions for foreign practices.
Indeed, while the causes of suicide are different, the novels are similar because they share colonialism as a common and dominant theme. As per the stories, the whites sought to introduce a new religion and a different form of governance that held the people accountable to their rules. The culture Soyinka and Achebe describe insisted on the esteemed persons in the community earning any respect and admiration they wished to have and at the same time adhere to the rules of the ancestors. For that reason, with Nigeria as the setting for both novels, the authors reveal a common theme, which is the effects of colonialism, through protagonists who react similarly.

Work Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Double Day, 1994. Print.
Soyinka, Wole. Death and the King's Horseman. New York: Norton & Company, 1975. Print.