The idea of postcolonialism is that one group of people are more important of more inclined then another. In the beginning, the White Europeans were seen as the dominant group of people. They were able to use their power and exert in on others at any time they wanted to. They often used this on people in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world. The White Europeans believed that they were ones with all the answers. They believed that everyone else in the rest of the world wanted to be exactly like them and that they were doing the world a favor by bring in their culture and religion either into Africa or Asia. They especially looked at the people in Africa as the "other". They believed that they were "savages" who knew nothing about culture and ways of living.
Whether the colonizers of Europe came into Africa or Asia or the people came to them, they were all given a new culture that they were"consciously or unconsciously asked to conform to the prescribed hegemony" (Postcolonialism 234). Whether the people had there own culture or not whenever colonizers came in they were asked to completely change it. This came along with changing they way they ran their villages or homes, the way they conducted their families, and especially what they believed in. The colonizers came in and completely took away the people's religion and told them that what they were believing was completely wrong and that they should except the European's ways and beliefs. This idea plays a major part in Things Fall Apart because as soon as the colonizers came in things throughout all the villages either were destroyed or completely fell apart.
According to the ideas of postcolonialism "the message sent to these "Others" by the dominant culture has been clear and consistent- conform and be quiet; deny yourself, and all will be well" (Postcolonialism 234). In other words the colonizers wanted the people in whatever land they took over to deny everything they had grown up with since they were children and believe everything that the colonizers told them no matter if it made sense or not and then all would be well. The trouble began when the people did not want to go along with the colonizers said. That is when the trouble broke out because the colonizers were a more powerful people and they could force the people of that "other" nation to conform with what they say. However, the colonizers didn't always worry so much if the other people excepted their ways of religion they more just wanted to excerpt their power and take over another land. However, they justified what they were doing by saying God wanted them to come into to other lands, take over, and then give their culture to others who they believed were less of a people.
In Things Fall Apart the trouble happens when the colonizers come in to the small village in the eastern parts of Nigeria and begin to set up there ways of living. They set up the church and some of the people in the Ibo tribe are drawn to the church because they are excepting of all types of people where as the Ibo culture tossed them out and saw them as outcasts. They felt like they had a home with the church. However, other members of the tribe that had a more powerful positions looked at the church as something that made absolutely no sense and that it caused corruption with in the tribes. Reverend Smith was one of the leaders who came in and took over the Christian Church. However, he condemned the policies of compromise and accommodation set up by the previous leaders. He was a man who "saw things as black and white.And black was evil" (Achebe 151). Reverend Smith had a view that people that were white were automatically better and that people that were black were completely evil. He made himself and those of the church who followed him the "dominant hegemony". The people in the Ibo tribe would follow what they wanted or he would do what was necessary to make them submit to him as the dominant leader. Reverend Smith didn't want to spread Christianity in the right way he just want to show how powerful he was and made the Ibo people give up all that they were. He started using extreme violence on the people. Reverend Smith is an example of a colonizer who "justified their cruel treatment of the colonized by invoking European religious beliefs. From the perspective of many white Westerners, the peoples of Africa, the Americas, and Asia were "heathens", possessing ways that must be Christianized" (Postcolonialism 236). In Reverend Smith's eyes the people of the Ibo culture were "heathens" and they needed to be educated on the right ways to life and that he was the one that needed to bring it to them.
Reverend Smith also captures the six important leaders of the Ibo tribes and the District Commissioner comes in and begins to tell the men '" We shall not do you any harm, if you only agree to cooperate with us. We have brought a peaceful administration to you and your people so that you may be happy. if any man ill-treats you we shall come to your rescue. But we will not allow you to ill-treat others. We have a court of law where we judge cases and administer justice must as it is done in my own country under a great queen...I have decided that you will a fine of two hundred cowries" (Achebe 159-160). In essence this is what the White Europeans did. They came in to other parts of the world and classified the people as the "other". They were the ones that needed to be taken over and changed so that they were part of a more "functional" culture. The District Commissioner came in and told the leaders that he and his people had brought in peaceful administrations and ways of life that would make them happy. He assumed that the Ibo culture was dysfunctional and that he need to come in a rectify it. It is the same with the Europeans that came in and used their religion as a shield to say that they were just helping the people in Africa or Asia because they needed to be brought out of their savage ways and shown the right ways. However, when the colonizers actually came in they didn't really care about the people at all. They became more worried about he resources they could steal from them. The example in Things Fall Apart is when the District Commissioner starting demanding ransom for the six leaders that he invited to come and meet with him. He is just concerned that they cooperate with what he says and then give him the resources that he has asked. He and Reverend Smith have not only come in a tribe and decided they knew best for what culture they should follow, but now they are taking advantage of the resources they have to offer.
Postcolonialism is something that really applies to Things Fall Apart because in the novel it shows the effects of when a more dominant country or group of people come in to other parts of the world and start forcing their ways on them. Some of the people will listen to what they have to say, but others will be greatly offended that the colonizers would come in and take over when they know absolutely nothing about the culture. In the novel the Ibo tribes felt as if they got along just fine with life. They had a religion that they believed strongly in and they believed that the way they conducted things functioned very well. However, when others come in and believe they know what is best it causes a lot of problems and violence and those that are what the dominant will do whatever it takes to take over the land that they have entered. It won't matter if it through violence or any other tactic. The dominant hegemony believes that they are the better people and that those who are considered the "other" are lucky that they would even consider coming in and showing them the right way, however instead of making positive impact they often caught doing the wrong things and resented for it.
