Imperialism Is the Reigning of Power over Another Country Through Diplomacy and Force

Intro Paragraph

Imperialism is the reigning of power over another country through diplomacy and force.

The poem talks about “The Second Coming”, meaning the coming of Europeans to Africa. It and other moments in the novel portray a hidden message of inevitability about the effects of imperialism through foreshadowing and diction.

2. In chapter 7, the locusts are an extremely recognizable symbol on the arrival of the colonists who come later in the book.

The reading of when the locusts come, plays out exactly what the Europeans do later in the novel.

“And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast, hungry swarm.”

The locusts settling on every blade of grass exemplifies the priest obtaining land to build his church, and the mighty tree branches braking foreshadows Umuofia and it’s culture being broken by the white Europeans arrival and dictatorship. Achebe’s repeated use of the terms “They settled” and “Every” shows the omnipresent and swift coming of the locusts

This passage is one of the most obvious and helpful readings Achebe gives to foreshadow not only the Europeans arrival to Umuofia but also, the fate of its’ people.

3. Okonkwo sits with Obierika and his daughter’s family of her suitor in chapter 8.

As usual, they are speaking about their tribe and the customs that follow.

“The men with skin of chalk”

This is placed early in the book to show the Ibo people’s perspective on white flesh and how it pulls