Things Fall Apart Question 12

Achebe once famously said, "If you only hear one side of the story, you have no understanding at all."

How do you think this quote connects to Achebe's decision to present these two drastically different missionaries?

I think it connects to the fact that Mr. Brown was nicer and he cared more about the culture and "trod lightly". People liked him and he understood how to deal with the Ibo men. Mr. Smith on the other hand did not care about what happened to the people and thought that he could just charge head on and insult the Ibo men. He did not understand their traditions as well as Mr. Brown so then he got in trouble with the dead spirits and the 9 leaders of Umofia.

What purpose do they serve in the story?

They serve the purpose of showing what different white men do and how the Ibo men reacted differently to each. One was nice and "trod lightly" and the other was going headfirst into danger and the destruction of the church Mr. Brown had built.

What purpose do these two perspectives serve in the broader historical context of colonialism?

 I think they serve to show that the Christianity had spread so much that when the Ibo people noticed, they could do nothing to the actual people. I think they also served the purpose of being the missionaries who were despised by many but loved by many. We also saw the destructive side (Mr. Smith) and the diffusion side (Mr. Brown). Portrays one as less chaotic, diffusion always becomes destruction, stereotypical v.s gradual.