TFA 1-7 Blog

     Achebe tries to provide the other story, the story that remains untold about the Africans and their culture before European influence. This side of the story is often unknown, but Achebe makes it hard to overlook the vastly different viewpoint that this story provides. In a passage, he describes how conversation was such an art in the village of Umuofia. They preach about proverbs, and how the ones who excelled in conversation were held in a higher regard (Achebe 7). The typical "one story" that is told is that these Africans are illiterate and uncivilized. However, if something such as speech is held in such a high regard it indicates the importance of intelligence and wisdom in the village. This shows that these villagers are not uncivilized as most people assume them to be. They value similar things, and Achebe makes that point when he draws these important similarities between the two cultures.