The Process of Colonialism: Narratives from Achebe and Boyden Anonymous 12th Grade

The process of colonialism is the ongoing eradication of old practices and the exploitation of new practices, and often entails settlement into a foreign land, the introduction of new cultural practices, and the enforcement of religious practices. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses the British colonization of Western Nigeria to demonstrate how one cannot win the power struggle between tradition and modernization. Likewise, Joseph Boyden’s The Orenda uses the French colonization of New France to demonstrate how those who reject and those who accept the reality of change are both condemned to death. Although the internal and external conflicts that colonialism causes differ between the characters of Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Boyden’s The Orenda, both works use the process of colonialism to orchestrate each person’s demise. Whether one chooses to advocate for, resist against, or submit to the imposition of new culture, death is inevitable during the processes of colonialism.

Things Fall Apart demonstrates the process of colonization through the British settlement in the foreign land that is Umofia, the establishment of the English language, and the enforcement of the Christian religion. This settlement creates...