American Culture Imperialism

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Change can have a substantial effect on the things that are affected by it. In some cases, changing something can have a positive outcome while on the other hand, change may dramatically affect something in a negative way. The most influential form of change are the changes that result from cultural Imperialism. Cultural Imperialism is, “the imposition of a foreign viewpoint of civilization on a group of people” (American Heritage Dictionary). When this happens people from one culture will try to form an existing civilization into what they believe is “right” or “civilized”. However, changing the form or structure of an established culture can cause the foundation of that establishment to deteriorate; making their traditional cultures fall …show more content…
The clan’s structure was established through many years of tradition, culture, and religion. When the tradition of the clan was interrupted by the foreign customs of the Europeans, the clan’s society started to fail; dividing the society which was once based on brotherhood. The cultural clash between the Europeans and Umuofia brought significant conflict to Okonkwo’s clan due to the differences in tradition, structure, and culture.
Tradition is “the passing down of customs from a particular culture from one generation to another generation” (American Heritage Dictionary). Many different cultures have specific customs that are passed down which later become important morals to their society that should not be broken. After years of following a particular tradition the culture’s traditional morals become the foundational state of their society. Okonkwo’s society was based off on the tradition of their ancestors. The order and structure of their society evolved from the trial and error method where the clan would learn from the mistakes and success of others. After many years, Oknokwo’s …show more content…
The morals of the different religions were also a major part of what established order in there societies. For example, Christian morals required the Europeans to encounter their problems peacefully while the religious morals of the Umuofians encourages their men to fight out their disputes. The morals that were accustomed to those specific religions were basically like laws which allowed the societies to operate in an orderly fashion. Before the Europeans arrived in Umuofia, the people of Okonkwo’s clan had no reason to believe that there way of life was uncivilized. The religion they practiced worked well in their society which helped develop a strong structure. However, when the Europeans introduced Christianity to the Umuofians structure it fell due to the unfamiliar customs that were taking over their village. The structure that Christianity set for the Europeans worked well in Europe because a large number of other people practiced that same morals. When the Europeans began to force their religion on other societies it often caused the other societies to fail. These societies would fail because they structure that was already established would significantly be impacted. When the Europeans brought Christianity to Umuofia the structure of their society fell apart due to the difference in the two
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