Yan Zhiqiang studies the relationship between the family members and a few clan elders。 Each of them has their own advantages。 Some of them can well understand humor; some people can do things smoothly。 They inherit the tradition and keep up with the development of the times and change themselves (Yan 25-29)。 Okonkwo is weak and stubborn and his tragic end is inevitable。 His actions also indicate that his clan will break up。
Huang Yonglin and Sang Jun think that ‘‘the work shows the conflict between foreign culture and native culture, the clash of traditional folk culture and colonial culture and the clash of traditional culture and modern civilization’’ (Huang and Sang 36)。 They have elaborated on native people’s worries, fear and anger。 It reflects the common mentality of the conservative when foreign cultural invasion sets in。 The work indicates Chinua Achebe as a post-colonial intellectual has ambivalence about the invasion of the foreign culture。
Western education and training have enabled him to understand things without using only the traditional thinking patterns。 All of the limitations and problems of the tradition expel him but he retains a soul of Africa。 It is impossible to give up his African identity and his sense of cultural belonging。 Chinua Achebe focuses on describing the changing process of traditional culture and traditional moral decay, instead of discussing the good and bad sides of culture and morality。 Whether it is good or not, those created characters are the residual factors of culture and become part of the African cultural experience in modern times。