Suffering a lack of communication between the white man and the Ibo seemed to be the biggest reason for the problems between them.
2) THE LIFE OF THE TRIBE .
Throughout his novel Things Fall Apart, Achebe has attempted to describe the intricacies of the .
lifestyle of the Igbo, a thriving culture living in Nigeria. The novel produces impressive and .
beautiful artifacts in music, dance and above all, in conversation. "Proverbs are the palm-oil with .
which the words are eaten." Many interesting and meaningful proverbs have been injected into .
the narrative of the novel. For example. "The sun will shine on those who stand, before it shines .
on those who kneel under them", and "A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing", "Eneke .
the bird says that since men have learnt to fly without perching", and "The lizard that jumped .
from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did" and many .
more. .
A religion that is both mysterious and homely is revealed. Its vitality calls upon the sincerity of .
its followers who support it with a lot of conviction. At the same time, Achebe also informs the .
reader about life in the tribe, its customs and manners, its government and its administration of .
justice, its religious rites and beliefs, etc. A town crier always announces a meeting of the tribe .
where important decisions are made. Men and women with loathsome diseases are abandoned in .
the Evil Forest. Unoka, Okonkwo's own father, suffers this fate. Twins too are abandoned in the .
same way. The egwugwu, who are the masked representation of their ancestral spirits, are deeply .
respected and revered. It is they who administer justice in the land, and are portrayed as .
awesome and almost supernatural. Certain superstitious and religious beliefs like the importance .
of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves are also highlighted. .
The reader is also informed about the agricultural pattern - The Week of Peace, the planting of .
