What Might Have Been: Naming and Its Significance in Things Fall Apart Anonymous 12th Grade

The colonists and the Ibo people depicted in Achebe's Things Fall Apart had differences of opinions on many topics – such as their ways of life, the Ibo’s multitude of gods and deep spiritual connection to their ancestors, their customs of their land, and eventually their refusal to move Okonkwo’s lifeless body – but the one that hurt them all the most was their differing opinions on language and names. The names in the Ibo culture are chosen with specific meanings in mind, as can be seen with the deaths of Ekwefi’s children and the way that “the naming ceremony after seven market weeks became an empty ritual. Her deepening despair found expression in the names she gave her children” (77). The white men did not name their children anything that meant “Dear, I implore you”, “May it not happen again”, or “Death may please himself” and could not understand a society where the names were so deeply personal. The Ibo tried to give the colonists nicknames to show their dislike, such as Ashy-Buttocks, but the outsiders did not understand how badly they had been insulted because they did not understand the importance of these nicknames. This misunderstanding of names would come up consistently, and would guide the meanings present...