Things Fall Apart

“Things fall apart” is authored by a Nigerian-born acclaimed novelist, Chinua Achebe. The novel was among the first books written in English by an African to gain worldwide recognition. The story powerfully addresses the culture of the Igbo people of Nigeria, and from the interaction with missionaries, many lessons can be absorbed that impact our daily lives. Firstly, the power of initiative and personal effort. From the description of the Igbo culture, Achebe details the equal opportunity for every man to climb the ladder of success. Therefore the ascension is subject to the effort of each individual. This relates to the modern world where every person’s effort determines their lifestyle and achievement of their goals. It also motivates us to believe that there is always reward for hard work in whatever task or duty you are engaged.
Secondly, the virtue of unity among the people of a particular society, state of even the nation as a whole is instrumental in its development and advancement. From the novel illustrated, every person in a group has a role to play despite their personal mistakes or setbacks, the society should devise means to accommodate them within themselves. The impact of disunity is demonstrated by the degradation of the culture and the easy invasion by the missionaries to a supposedly strong cultural community. This was because they cast out those they did not want in the community, and these outcasts became their principal enemy in the invasion by the missionaries.

Thus every society should sustain all its members whatsoever the case.
Lastly, the world today should learn to accept change at all times, because changes are what makes the society advance regarding resources and amenities. Therefore, any insight or new ideas should be considered rather that criticizing and rejecting them at ago. In the case of “Things Fall Apart” the change that was brought by the missionaries was reasonable and Okonkwo’s unwavering rigidity to these changes, ultimately led to his downfall while Obierika’s open-mindedness saw his survival in the Igbo society that was experiencing changes. Hence, the impacts on the Igbo community can be related to the modern world that has proved consistently dynamic. The question one might as is; Is Okonkwo destined for tragedy or it’s his choices that lead them there?
My Brilliant Friend
The mysterious Elena Ferrante is an Italian author who was born in Naples, the same place her novel “My Brilliant Friend” is based. The book highlights the struggles of two friends of different characters who help each other overcome the many challenges after the second world war. This book impacts on the current world on our view of women in the society, their challenges, and hardships that sometimes do not seem significant. From the memories of Elena, she mentions the difficulties they were involved in their neighborhoods like raping and being beaten. They can be related to the modern day struggles for gender equality, the women have found their way either through education as Elena and Passion as Lila.
We also learn about the importance and the advantages of rivalry and friendship in a mix, which is a theme in the novel by Ferrante, the two friends through rivalry can improve each other through competitions. Their friendships also see them motivate each other for example when Lila pushes Elena to face Cerullo. They both struggle to thrive despite the difficult neighborhoods, and this relates to modern day world where in spite of the different nature of the challenges faced, they should not be majored on. But be positive and thrive taking motivation from both conflicts and positive comments from the people around. The question that might be asked is; will the story change if it was narrated from Lila’s point of view and why was Lila’s point of view preferred?
Lila wants to disappear and leave no trace of herself in the world because she was not satisfied with her life and did not want her person to be remembered by anyone. Because Cerullo was a wealthy man, he might have found the shoes that Lila and Dino designed be buying them from someone who might have stolen the shoes or he might have himself paid somebody to take the shoes.