Stereotypes

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unquestionable religious doctrine or practices. For example, the clans of the Igbo society worship their gods, which are made of stone and woods, different than other religions. They had a representative for each of their goddess such as the Oracle of the Hills, and the main god they worship is Chukwu, who was believed to have created Heaven and Earth. Achebe says, “The white man was also their brother because they were all sons of God. And he told them about this new God, the creator of all the world and all the men and women. He told them they worshipped false gods, gods of wood and stone” (145). Though many Europeans where considerate of the other culture, some of forced the Catholic beliefs on the new culture, because they did not recognize any benefit for allowing the Nigerians to retain elements of their heritage. The second way is to take the time to understand the primitive customs and see them as benevolent to their own growing ideas. They would also present their own customs to the primitive tribes and bring them into the modern era. Though some Europeans had diverse ways of presenting their culture to the Igbos, they were in complete agreement that their beliefs, customs, and ideas were the only way to withhold a successful society.

In the novel, the stereotypes between the Africans and Europeans create conflict. The Igbo people see the Europeans as a threat to their culture and way of life, whereas the Europeans see the Igbo people as savage and primitive. The two cultures develop set stereotypes that strongly influence the way they interact with each other. Stereotypes are easy to make, especially when from considerably different worlds must learn to live together.