Achebe uses many of the folktales and proverbs that are common to the Ibo people along with some common mythology that exists in all cultures (such as the proverbs about the silence of night). The mythology/proverbs/folktales in which Achebe chooses to incorporate to the story is provided for the specific purpose of adding depth and reasoning to the decisions of all the characters that are part of the Ibo culture. Without having those insights into the Ibo people, all of their decisions and actions would be seen as a "barbaric" function of the culture, a view that follows what some westerners believe is true about the Sub-Sharan cultures of that time. Achebe included to prove that the view of the Ibo people and the African people as a whole is wrong, that they are not a barbaric people but only constrained to follow their beliefs.…
