TFA Religion Thesis Statement and Outline

Prompt: The personal history of an author can have a significant influence on the way meaning is his/her writing. Comment on specific instances of such influence in Things Fall Apart.

Thesis: In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe’s personal and religious subjectivity towards the cultural conflict of Igbo society causes him to represent his critical reflection on Nigeria’s past through secondary foil characters which balance duality and selective representations of Igbo values such as religion and culture. This ultimately develops Achebe’s purpose of reconnecting with his clan in the absence of inherited identity.

Topic sentence 1:  Furthermore, Achebe’s use of secondary foil characters such as Mr. Brown and Rev. Smith allude to the dual mentality of the Igbo society, insinuating his personal connection with the cultural values of both societies.

Topic sentence 2: Furthermore, Achebe’s psychological dilemma stands parallel with his mission to construct his reconnection with the Igbo clan by isolating specific aspects of religion and culture in Igbo society.

Topic sentence 3: Henceforth, his psychological dilemma further illuminates his mission of his novel Things Fall Apart in which Achebe aims to project the dual story of African colonization to other Anglo-Africans.