The Evolution of Intolerance in Mbanta

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, European missionaries visit the village of Mbanta, the motherland of Okonkwo, and they interact with the African villagers in simple, clearly divided stages that ultimately lead to violence between the different groups of people.

When the Europeans first arrive, they utilize an interpreter, address the villagers, and communicate their initial message, which explicitly denounces the villagers' spiritual beliefs and promotes Christianity. After hearing the message of the white men for the first time, the people of Mbanta “[break] into derisive laughter. These men must be mad, they [say] to themselves… And some of them [begin] to go away” (146). The villagers, grounded in decades of tradition and ritual, understandably become confused and scoff at the Europeans. The Europeans’ insensitive presentation of their message and the African villagers’ belittling reaction represent the first stage of intolerance, which is the recognition of differences between two peoples and the initial disrespect of both parties resulting from strongly held convictions.

Next, for a short period of time after the arrival of the Europeans, the Europeans and villagers coexist with a nonaggressive discomfort. In this time, the villagers “[are] worried, but not overmuch. If a gang of efulefu [decide] to live in the Evil Forest it [is] their own affair… Surely the earth goddess would not visit the sins of the missionaries on the innocent villagers” (154)? The villagers make concessions by ignoring the Europeans’ presence in order to avoid inflammatory behaviors. Both groups of people in this short-lived time nonviolently keep to themselves, representing the second stage.

Thirdly, marking the end of the period of contrived tolerance, three Christians publicly criticize the beliefs of the villagers and emphasize the accuracy of their own beliefs, and as a result, they “[are] seized and beaten until they [stream] with blood” (154-155). The hostile feelings of both groups accumulate during the time of uncomfortable peace until one side submits to its adversarial feelings and makes a controversial statement that leads to violence, mutual distrust, and assaults from both sides, representing the final stage of the path to the fighting and bloodshed of two opposed groups.

The stages of the evolution of intolerance between the European missionaries and African villagers are historically, in my opinion, the traditional steps to intolerance between many opposed groups. Much intolerance in the world begins with derision and confusion upon the recognition of differences, leads to a short-lived and contrived coexistence, and ends with a continual cycle of violence initiated by a single inflammatory act.