Category: Things Fall Apart

Introduction

Things fall apart is an English language novel published during 1958 by the celebrated Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. This book gained popularity among global English speaking readers and is deemed as the first African novel written in English, which received international applause for its treatment of African themes. The major themes in this novel are cultural erosion, gender domination, racism and colonial hegemony, besides the preponderance of ritualistic elements in the prevalent African societal fabric. It is proposed to take up the racist elements in this novel. Among other themes, Things fall apart considers the mental state of a fiercely loyal nationalist and local chieftain, Okonkwo, pitted against the powers of, first the oracles, and then, the Christian missionaries. The latter wish to preach their religion and convert local natives into Christian faith, thus seeking to destroy the rich African traditions and cultural values, of which the protagonist, Okonkwo is a living icon and vociferous supporter.

This novel vividly portrays the influence of colonialism in a traditionally bound Nigerian village at that moment of history. Its central character, Obi Okonkwo, exemplifies both the nobility and rigidity of the ancient cultural value systems prevailing in deep Africa, who is so much imbued in nationalistic fervor that he would rather die than submit to the progressive yet subversive religious overture of foreign elements.

At one level, the novel takes the reader on a voyage into the middle of Africa and the rituals and customs that differentiated this large continent from rest of the world. But, in a more significant metaphysical level, it delves into the yearnings of the anguished mind of Okonkwo, laid bare before the readers. This reaches its climax upon his return from exile to his beloved country and his disturbed reactions upon seeing its gradual transformation at the hands of colonial settlers. He rebels against these intrusions, but eventually has to meet his own tragic destiny along with ultimate erosion of his tribe.

Discussions about the theme

Okonkwos struggle to live up to what he perceives as traditional standards of masculinity, and his failure adapt to a changing world, help point out the importance of custom and tradition in the novel. (Achebe, 2006, Custom and tradition, para.1). In this novel, it is evidenced that through extraordinary fighting prowess, hard work and dedication to his tribe, Okonkwo is able to reach the high position of chieftain of his sect, and also earns their respect and obedience. However, his killing of the boy, who was to be sacrificed to appease the Gods, and subsequent murder of another person at the funeral, earns him exile for several years. Under African customs, Okonkwo himself was not empowered to kill a person who was needed to be sacrificed. Upon his return, he is not able to reconcile himself to the changed environment, brought about by colonial expansionism. Although he yearns to protect his land from foreign cultural invasion, he finds that now he has lost the support of his own tribesmen and now has only two options left before him  either to surrender to colonialist over lordship and face the consequences, or to seek redemption through death.

A proud leader of a ferocious tribe, he preferred death to ultimate dishonor, a process that would save him the ignominy of presiding over the complete and systematic destruction of the cultural values and traditions of his tribe, which he protected for so long and had held so dear. The main theme of the novel, in terms of cultural subjugation and introduction of western traditional values to replace contemporary African cultures are discussed during the course of this novel.

Discussions about the authors treatment of the theme

The authors treatment of the theme has been adequate. He has been able to convey the pathos and moral degeneration of the tribe, accompanying the changes in value systems, quite vividly and vibrantly. Achebes narrative style  succinct, simple yet strikingly elegant, also serves to heighten the readers total reading experience, especially towards the end of the novel. His mastery over the language and narrative text, choice and flow of words are indeed exceptionally remarkable, which has been the main reason for the raving success of this work, reinforced with its delicately rendered narration. Achebes treatment of his characters, his plot and its intricate interwoven elements do not have any controversial elements, and most readers would end up sympathizing with the protagonist, Okonkwo, and his fate.

Perhaps, an issue of slight controversy would be the heartlessness with which the Christian missionaries are depicted in this novel. Being a Nigerian himself, and considering the fact that this novel is dated during the middle of the 20^th century, with its age old taboos and value systems, it is much natural that Achebe would have felt strongly about the protection of African cultural moorings and its preservation against foreign elements.

There are strong indications of nationalistic fervor in this novel, which perhaps, Okonkwo glorifies with the ultimate death of his protagonist, a martyr. This way, the balancing act is also completed, in that while Okonkwo was successful throughout his lifetime in the many conflicts he undertook, ultimately, he failed to secure himself and his clan in the ultimate battle against colonial expansion on his soil. This perhaps is the mainstay of his story and its ultimate theme. The chieftain could not win the ultimate battle against himself, his own contradictions, and reconciliation to changing times and modern value systems, deftly depicted in the colonialism of Africa and its poor, albeit proud people.

Reference

Achebe, C. (2006). Things fall apart study guide: Themes: Custom and tradition. Book Rags. Web.

Things Fall Apart is one of the greatest novels in Africa and is widely read across the world. The author wrote this novel in order to help demystify the myths that the African culture was primitive and needed civilization. The novel is considered to be a classic tragic novel, as we see the main character that is Okonkwo raises high in the society but at the end of the novel he kills himself. This is because he was trying to fight against the invasion of his culture by the British. The Umuofian culture was complex and its invasion would bring its disintegration. In this society morality governed the lives of the people and the society at large. Every action that was taken was controlled by the moral values that helped to control the community. These moral values were quite complex, for example at the end of the novel when Okokwo kills himself, the people in the community cannot touch his body. In spite of the fact that he was one of the greatest men in Umuofia and a leader of his community he was hence not given the burial ceremony that he deserved as an Umuofian leader. The Umuofian culture therefore had a lot of moral complexities. This paper will discuss the moral complexities in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I will use the definition of morality as, ones ability to judge what is right or wrong, or good or right conduct.

Discussion

Things Fall Apart is a novel that has a lot of intrigue in the sense that the reader is left with so many questions about the Umuofian culture, Especially since the story is told by a third person narrator. The complexity of the Igbo community is highlighted in their moral values and the general way that they conduct their lives. Hence certain actions that were to be taken by the society were silently questioned by some of the community members. Obierika, For instance questioned the killing of the twins. But he could not complain about this tradition to anyone. This is because ancestral spirits, gods and goddess, governed the society and as such they could not be consulted with such issues. Obierika wondered whether it was good to throw away the twins or not, on one hand it was seen as a way of protecting the community but the individuals who were forced to throw away the twins, like obierika suffered from this action. These are some of the moral complexities highlighted in Things Fall Apart.

Morality in the Igbo community is governed by the will to do good in the society. Moreover, there are certain traits that one should possess in order to be recognized by the community. For example, Okonkwo who is the main character hated his father since he was considered to be lazy. He hated everything about his father, but this does not mean he did not have good qualities because he did. Okonkwo should have at least admired some of the positive traits that his father had but his desire not to be like him clouded his judgment. Some of the positive qualities that Okonkwos father possessed include and his happiest moments were&when the village musicians brought down their instruments&Unoka would play with them, his face beaming with blessedness and peace. He also loved nature: He loved this season of the year, when the rains had stopped and the sun rose every morning with dazzling beauty (pg. 4). The society through its moral traditions had forced Okonkwo to hate everything about his father, for example, his father was gentle and caring but these were seen as feminine qualities. Okonkwo did not show any affection as this was taken as a sign of weakness and therefore he kept any positive comments to himself. Okonkwo never showed any emotions except those of anger since showing affection was seen as a sign of weakness. It would have been reasonable for him to show emotions but according to his traditions this was not acceptable. Another instance where Okonkwo refused to show any emotion was when Ikemefuna died. Okonkwo even went ahead and participated in killing the boy later it is said that he was feeling distracted but his moral values would not allow him to show any emotions or signs of weakness. Okonkwo put off his feelings by asking, when did I become a shivering old woman? (pg. 59). Even during death of a loved one, a man was not allowed to openly show his emotions. Okonkwo believed that it was bad to show his soft side openly, and so he kept these feeling to himself. This further explains why Nwoye could not say anything about Ikemefunas death, he knew that what was happening was wrong but he could not dare raise his voice.

Moral complexities in the Igbo community are found in several other areas. For example while as killing was forbidden, those people who committed these offences even accidentally were severely punished. Hence Okonkwo had to be banished from his community after he accidentally killed Ezeudus son. The punishment is highly questioned by Obierika. The community aim is to preserve and protect life but what if certain actions are accidental, do they warrant such severe punishment? Hence a reader feels that Okonkwo did not deserve such punish since the action was witnessed by everyone that it was accidental. But due to the complexities of their moral values Okonkwo had to be punished.

Morality in the Igbo community was decided by tribal traditions and verbal sayings. These tribal traditions were also complex in that, in order to avoid war between two communities, the offending community had to sacrifice a boy. One mistake was followed by yet another. Even after Ikemefuna had stayed in Umuofia for so long and had already been integrated into the community, the tribal traditions still demanded that he should be killed. This action was meant to appease the earth goddess. Morality of the Igbo community demanded that the good of the community should be put first before the feelings of an individual. For example, Nwoye Okonkwos son was so much against the killing of Ikemefuna. This is because Ikemefuna had lived with them as a brother and he could not understand why he had to be killed. Such traditions were somewhat harmful to some people in the community but still they had to be done. The feeling or well-being of an individual were not considered since the Igbo community believed the wrath of the goddess would befall the whole community but not the individual. This is why the feelings of Okonkwo would not be considered, as he had loved Ikemefuna as a son.

In spite of this, the Umuofian culture valued life and the position that one acquired through hard work. These values were safeguarded by sayings such as Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break (pg. 17). These values were meant to discourage unfair treatment and unnecessary competition. This is why the Umuofian culture encouraged hard work regardless of his age. This saying emphasized this moral principal If a child washes his hands, he could eat with kings (pg. 8). Therefore the Umuofian culture did not judge people by their past but rather their present. Thats why Okonkwo was able to work his way up in his community. Hence the main reason why Okonkwo was able to work his way up in his community despite the misfortunes that he had, starting from a lazy father, being banished from his community and his son converting to Christianity. His community still gave him a chance to work his way up.

Family cohesion was highly regarded in the Igbo community and so it was governed by the laid down structures. Anyone who deviated from these structures was punished; this explains why Okokwo beat his wife during the peace of week. Though breaking the peace of week was not acceptable, punishing those who broke the cohesion of the family was acceptable. Polygamy was also accepted in this community, and the cohesion between the wives and their children had to be maintained. Hence the elder wife was allowed to send the children of the younger wives to run errands. It was also acceptable for any of the wives to look after the children if one wife was absent. For example, Nwoyes mother fed Ojiugos children when their mother went to plait her hair and did not make the afternoon meal (pg. 27). That was the acceptable conduct of the wives. It is also noted that younger wives would not receive anything brought by the visitors before the first wives, this is clearly illustrated when Nwakibie younger wives had to stand outside and wait for the first wife to come and drink the palm wine (pg. 18). The family cohesion was achieved by this strict adherence to etiquette. Another example of moral complexity in the novel Things Fall Apart is highlighted in the marital bond between a husband and the wife. This is given in the story of Ogbuefi Ndulue and his wife Ozoemena. This story shows that there is supposed to mutual dependence between a husband and a wife, Obierika mentions that It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind&I remember when I was a boy, there was a song about them. He could not do anything without telling her (pg. 62). The main character Okonkwo, who thought this was a sign of weakness, questioned this bond.

Morality is not easily understood or questioned; this is why certain actions had to be taken in the Igbo society regardless of them being good or bad. This kind of actions explains the moral complexities in Things Fall Apart.

References

Chinua, Achebe. Things Fall Apart, London: Anchor Books. 1994.

Introduction

Things fall apart is an English language novel published during 1958 by the celebrated Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. This book gained popularity among global English speaking readers and is deemed as the first African novel written in English, which received international applause for its treatment of African themes. The major themes in this novel are cultural erosion, gender domination, racism and colonial hegemony, besides the preponderance of ritualistic elements in the prevalent African societal fabric. It is proposed to take up the racist elements in this novel. Among other themes, Things fall apart considers the mental state of a fiercely loyal nationalist and local chieftain, Okonkwo, pitted against the powers of, first the oracles, and then, the Christian missionaries. The latter wish to preach their religion and convert local natives into Christian faith, thus seeking to destroy the rich African traditions and cultural values, of which the protagonist, Okonkwo is a living icon and vociferous supporter.

This novel vividly portrays the influence of colonialism in a traditionally bound Nigerian village at that moment of history. Its central character, Obi Okonkwo, exemplifies both the nobility and rigidity of the ancient cultural value systems prevailing in deep Africa, who is so much imbued in nationalistic fervor that he would rather die than submit to the progressive yet subversive religious overture of foreign elements.

At one level, the novel takes the reader on a voyage into the middle of Africa and the rituals and customs that differentiated this large continent from rest of the world. But, in a more significant metaphysical level, it delves into the yearnings of the anguished mind of Okonkwo, laid bare before the readers. This reaches its climax upon his return from exile to his beloved country and his disturbed reactions upon seeing its gradual transformation at the hands of colonial settlers. He rebels against these intrusions, but eventually has to meet his own tragic destiny along with ultimate erosion of his tribe.

Discussions about the theme

Okonkwos struggle to live up to what he perceives as traditional standards of masculinity, and his failure adapt to a changing world, help point out the importance of custom and tradition in the novel. (Achebe, 2006, Custom and tradition, para.1). In this novel, it is evidenced that through extraordinary fighting prowess, hard work and dedication to his tribe, Okonkwo is able to reach the high position of chieftain of his sect, and also earns their respect and obedience. However, his killing of the boy, who was to be sacrificed to appease the Gods, and subsequent murder of another person at the funeral, earns him exile for several years. Under African customs, Okonkwo himself was not empowered to kill a person who was needed to be sacrificed. Upon his return, he is not able to reconcile himself to the changed environment, brought about by colonial expansionism. Although he yearns to protect his land from foreign cultural invasion, he finds that now he has lost the support of his own tribesmen and now has only two options left before him  either to surrender to colonialist over lordship and face the consequences, or to seek redemption through death.

A proud leader of a ferocious tribe, he preferred death to ultimate dishonor, a process that would save him the ignominy of presiding over the complete and systematic destruction of the cultural values and traditions of his tribe, which he protected for so long and had held so dear. The main theme of the novel, in terms of cultural subjugation and introduction of western traditional values to replace contemporary African cultures are discussed during the course of this novel.

Discussions about the authors treatment of the theme

The authors treatment of the theme has been adequate. He has been able to convey the pathos and moral degeneration of the tribe, accompanying the changes in value systems, quite vividly and vibrantly. Achebes narrative style  succinct, simple yet strikingly elegant, also serves to heighten the readers total reading experience, especially towards the end of the novel. His mastery over the language and narrative text, choice and flow of words are indeed exceptionally remarkable, which has been the main reason for the raving success of this work, reinforced with its delicately rendered narration. Achebes treatment of his characters, his plot and its intricate interwoven elements do not have any controversial elements, and most readers would end up sympathizing with the protagonist, Okonkwo, and his fate.

Perhaps, an issue of slight controversy would be the heartlessness with which the Christian missionaries are depicted in this novel. Being a Nigerian himself, and considering the fact that this novel is dated during the middle of the 20^th century, with its age old taboos and value systems, it is much natural that Achebe would have felt strongly about the protection of African cultural moorings and its preservation against foreign elements.

There are strong indications of nationalistic fervor in this novel, which perhaps, Okonkwo glorifies with the ultimate death of his protagonist, a martyr. This way, the balancing act is also completed, in that while Okonkwo was successful throughout his lifetime in the many conflicts he undertook, ultimately, he failed to secure himself and his clan in the ultimate battle against colonial expansion on his soil. This perhaps is the mainstay of his story and its ultimate theme. The chieftain could not win the ultimate battle against himself, his own contradictions, and reconciliation to changing times and modern value systems, deftly depicted in the colonialism of Africa and its poor, albeit proud people.

Reference

Achebe, C. (2006). Things fall apart study guide: Themes: Custom and tradition. Book Rags. Web.

For many years, in a lot of societies, women were oppressed, discriminated against, and ill-treated and the Igbo society is no different. Women of the Igbo were either in a high position and worshiped like goddesses, or abused, insignificant, and demolished, and the last is more common. Things Fall Apart is about the culture, tradition, and believes of the Igbo community in Nigeria. The novel follows Okonkwo, a man who his whole existence is shaped by his fear, he is haunted by the memories of his father, and how his father lived his life in debts and died a shameful death. Okonkwo grew to be the perfect picture of a macho man, he is harsh and fiery-tempered, he usually resorts to violence when faced by any kind of conflict. In the novel we are interduce to many female characters, some are related to Okonkwo and some are not, and through these characters we are able to see women roles in the Igbo community as presented in the novel. This paper will discuss how women are presented in the novel.

Throughout the novel, the word woman is used as an insult mostly by the protagonist. Since he vowed to not be like his father, Okonkwo hated everything that makes him look weak, kindness, gentleness, and everything feminine which are women trades. The first mention of the word as insult is in one of Okonkwo’s early memories when a kid called his father an ‘agbala’, a woman. And since then it appears that it becomes Okonkwo’s favorite insult. In the ancestral feast meeting, Osugo a man who is less successful got screamed at by Okonkwo and called a woman because he had no titles. One of the disturbing images of how far masculinity can get, is after the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo could not sleep or eat for a couple of days, and when he remembered Ikemefuna and shivered he got offended by that, and said ‘When did you become a shivering old woman’, ‘How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? ‘. The fear of being called weak made him lose his sanity and humanity.

Another idea that is presented frequently, is that wives are their husbands’ property. Having more than one wife signifies wealth and success, the more the merrier. Having wives is another trophy on the man’s shelf next to being a farmer, and owning yam barns. Throughout the novel, we see that having more than one wife is a thing bragged about. The other side that this kind of mentality brings upon the wives is the justification of physical abuse. There are three different incidences where Okonkwo beats his wives, more incidences regarding his children, and numerous times where he threats to beat anyone and everyone.

Women around the world were, and in some places still are, oppressed and the women of the Igbo are no different. However that does not mean that they did not have any role in their community, there were priestesses that had a very high position in society even though they are few it is still better than none.

Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Chinua Achebe. The setting is during the late 19th, early 20th century in a village named Umuofia in Nigeria. When reading this novel the time period is important because it was a period in colonial history when the British were increasing their influence economically, culturally, and politically in Africa. The novel is about the rise and fall of Okonkwo, a man from the village of Umuofia. Throughout the novel Oknokwo is shown as a tragic hero. Okonkwo is a leader and hardworking member of his community, whose tragic flaw is his great fear of weakness and failure. Okonkwo’s fall from grace in the Igbo community lead to suicide, which makes Okonkwo a tragic hero by definition. Okonkwo rises to the honorable and successful leader of Umuofia. In the novel “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo is the tragic hero because he shows a tragic flaw of fear, of weakness, and failure that leads to his suicude.

Okonkwo struggles with fear and uses that fear to become stronger. He struggles with the fear of becoming like his father, the fear of looking weak, and the fear of his children not becoming like him through his words. Okonkwo says “I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan” (Achebe 33). This shows that Okonkwo really wants his son to understand the traditions of the clan that they are a part of. He wants Ikemefuma, his son, to go along with it. Okonkwo fears that he is becoming like his father and he can not stop thinking about it. “He fears for himself he will not become like his father” (Achebe 10). He is afraid of becoming a man who dies without owning anything of value. Okonkwo is terrified of becoming lazy and growing up to be the person his father was.

Okonkwo is a fighter, a hard-worker, and a highly motivated man. His weakness is that he is afraid of change, he has a short temper, and he is stubborn. The most important thing is that Okonkwo’s strengths are the guideline to his weaknesses. Okonkwo’s shame for his father motivates him to be everything his father was not. As a result, Okonkwo hides behind his strength and hides his emotions, hoping to escape from that weakness. Okonkwo makes rash decisions to maintain his reputation. Which affects his tribe and his family. An example of this is, “As each son rejects the example of his father, these three generations form a reactionary cycle that ironically repeats itself: when Nwoye rejects Okonkwo’s masculinity, he ironically returns to the more feminine disposition that Okonkwo originally rejected in his father” (Bennett, Robert ). This is showing that his weakness is from his sons not becoming like him. Since his sons rejected Okonkwo he goes back to becoming feminine, and that is his weakness.

Okonkwo is a man who comes into conflict against himself to prove himself worthy of his tribe, but his failure is becoming like his father. Okonkwo’s greatest fear is becoming like his father. “…his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness…(Achebe 13). Okonkwo was driven by the fear of failing because he did not want to end up like his father. In Okonkwo’s eyes his father was lazy and did not accomplish anything in life and Okonkwo does not want to end up like that. In my opinion Okonkwo is so afraid of becoming his father it makes him somewhat actually become his father. An example of this is, “When one of Okonkwo’s wives goes gossiping instead of preparing his evening meal, we understand why Okonkwo feels the need to beat her—not the reaction we might have to identical events in Carson McCullers. When Okonkwo’s son challenges his father’s opinions, or Okonkwo’s daughter falls dangerously ill, we understand Okonkwo’s irritation that chattels and possessions are making emotional claims with which he is not equipped to cope” (McLeish, Kenneth). His fear of failure makes him so crazy he does these things to himself and his family. Which ultimately makes him a failure. When he took his own life he was a failure because he had given up.

In conclusion, all of Okonkwo’s features make him a tragic hero. Everything he does makes him out to be a tragic hero. The definition of tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy in dramas. Everything Okonkwo did and lived through and leading up to his suicide was a tragedy. The main and worst tragedy was his death. Following the violence in which he kills a European messenger who tries to stop a meeting among clan elders, he realizes that he is no longer in sync with his society. No one applauds his actions, and he sees that he is the only one who wishes to go to war with the Europeans. This novel shows Okonkwo’s tragic flaw of fear, of weakness, and failure. All in all, Okonkwo was a tragic hero in the novel “Things Fall Apart”.

Works Cited

1. ACHEBE, CHINUA. THINGS FALL APART. PENGUIN Books, 2018.
2. Bennett, Robert. ‘An overview of Things Fall Apart.’ Literature Resource Center, Gale, 2020. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://libproxy.rcgc.edu:2200/apps/doc/H1420007930/LitRC?u=sewe78962&sid=LitRC&xid=2da1dc50 Accessed 12 Apr. 2020
3. McLeish, Kenneth. ‘Things Fall Apart: Overview.’ Reference Guide to English Literature, edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick, 2nd ed., St. James Press, 1991. Gale Literature Resource Center, https://libproxy.rcgc.edu:2200/apps/doc/H1420000017/LitRC?u=sewe78962&sid=LitRC&xid=27f2b440 Accessed 12 Apr. 2020.

Although the roles of Okonkwo’s wives in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart appear very different from women today, much of that is actually superficial. Certainly women in Igbo society were expected to cook, clean, and raise the family. They were also expected to help with the crops as needed. This is honestly not so different from early to mid-1900’s in the United States, and even in many farming and ranching families in our local community today. Women’s “values” were also significantly marginalized. In fact, men who were perceived as failures in the Igbo culture were referred to as agbala, which was that culture’s term for woman. The biggest difference between Ibo society and our culture, however, is that violence from husbands to their wives is not acceptable. Overall, despite being devalued, women of the Igbo culture and those of today’s world hold things together through the work they do, their own inner strength and the values they instill in their children.

Women in Umuofia were generally thought of as an indicator of a man’s wealth. For a man to have more wives, he had to have the means to have acquired, and later, to support them. Okonkwo had three wives, as allowed by the Umuofian culture. They were Nwoye’s mother, Ekwefi and Ojiugo. Additionally, for a man to rule over a women showed strength and power. Because of this, Okonkwo was happy when he would hear his son, Nwoye complaining about women.

“That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk. No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man” (53).

In Igbo society, according to Chinua Achebe, women had a few specialized jobs that they should do. These included cooking meals, raising the children, and cleaning the household. As a wife, the women were required to cook meals for the family. If a wife could not cook she should ask someone else to prepare the meal. In chapter four, Ojiugo, one of Okonkwo’s wives, goes to plait a friend’s hair and returned home too late to cook the afternoon meal. She neglected to ask either Nwoye’s mother or Ekwefi to cook, so when Okonkwo asked if “She ask you to feed them [the children] before she went?” Nwoye’s mother lied to him, trying to lessen Ojiugo’s punishment. Despite Nwoye’s mother’s attempt to help, when Ojiugo arrived home, she was met by Okonkwo where he then “beat her heavily.” While that would not be acceptable today, it was completely expected in their culture, and not unheard of in other cultures of the time period.

In spite of the culture’s expectations, Nwoye’s mother, Okonkwo’s oldest wife, Ekwefi and Ojiugo, all showed signs of inner strength and were sometimes outspoken and even defiant. For example, when Okonkwo accused his second wife, Ekwefi, of hilling a banana tree, she stood up to him denying his accusation. As a result, and something Ekwefi surely knew would happen, Okonkwo beat her and then threatened to kill her. Ekwefi is strong, however, having survived the deaths of nine children before having their daughter, Ezinma. So despite expectations for her to be submissive, Ekwefi internally knew her own strength and power. Ekwefi was true to herself and shared that understanding with her daughter, Ezinma, who grew up to be confident and unwilling to be completely submissive.

Although women were not allowed to hold any type of recognized governing or leadership power within the immediate Igbo culture, their value was recognized elsewhere. When Okonkwo was exiled to his motherland for seven years as the result of his actions, he was told by the Mbanta tribesmen that “the mother is supreme” (134). It was explained that children look to their mothers for comfort, hence the mother represents protection. This is its own form of strength.

Igbo women held an important place in their culture. Although women could not rule, they did lead through their actions and the behaviors they taught their children. Chinua Achebe best described how Okonkwo’s wives and the women of the Igbo society led through example with the statement “When mother-cow is chewing grass it’s young ones watch its mouth” (?). It would be easy to see the women of Umuofia as victims of their time and culture. This is not completely accurate, however, as it is important to note that the gender roles of Umuofia and of Western Cultures of the same time period were not dramatically different, with the exception of lawfully acceptable spousal beatings. Women of both cultures did lead their people and their advancements through their nurturing spirits, their unwavering fortitude and their sharing of ideas with their offspring.

Things Fall Apart was known in its time as an extremely original book. It is responsible for the boom in African-written stories that drastically changed perspectives of African colonization and life. Not only was it known for being a novel that inspired African authors to write their own stories, it was also a unique blend of African storytelling techniques and imitations of English poems and books. Despite this innovative style, many argue that it takes the form of a classical Shakespearean tragedy that is designed to show both sides of Nigeria’s colonization. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe used a tragic hero, African storytelling methods, inspiration from Irish poetry, and a classic Nigerian story to craft a novel that is an adaptation of a classical Shakespearean tragedy.

A classical Shakespearean tragedy has certain parameters that must be fulfilled in order for a story to qualify as one. The most important of these parameters is the incorporation of and focus on a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. A tragic hero is written to be rooted for by the reader. They have a commendable goal which they are aiming to achieve, but they’re definitely not perfect. The tragic hero also must possess a tragic flaw that ultimately leads to their downfall. It’s due to this tragic flaw that readers are able to relate to and connect with the hero. For the majority of the story, the reader is hoping the hero will succeed, but the hero makes a mistake that leads to his death. This is exemplified in the actions of Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart. His tragic flaw is a fear of weakness. His father was an extremely lazy man, and for his whole life, Okonkwo has worked to not be seen as weak like his father was. It’s this fear that motivates him to do things that make him seem strong. He kills his foster son, Ikemefuna, he dissociates himself from his son, and he attempts to go to war with the Christians. When his plan to fight for the village fails, he is scared of being weak and letting the Christians win so he commits suicide, eliminating any opportunity for him to be thought of as weak. It is his tragic flaw that ultimately leads to his death thereby qualifying him as a tragic hero.

Things Fall Apart also makes use of African storytelling which is known for being rather expressive. Often instruments, costumes, and masks are utilized to bring a story to life. From one generation to the next, stories are passed down and the art of storytelling is taught. Widely incorporated in African stories are riddles, proverbs, and myths make a point, extend the story, and entertain. Another strategy, repetition, is able to get an idea across and helps the listener remember key details. The goal of African storytelling is not only to entertain, but to educate the audience, effectively catching their attention and teaching a lesson. While he cannot use instruments, costumes, or masks to tell the story, Achebe does make sure to write in plenty of proverbs and share traditional myths that further develop the storyline and add depth to characters. He also sprinkles words of Nigerian dialects throughout the novel. These methods help accurately depict what African culture is like.

Throughout Achebe’s college years, he was captivated by poetry written by W. B. Yeats. The flow of the language that the Irish poet used greatly impacted Achebe’s writing style. As an English major, Achebe was required to read and analyze works written by English, American, and other authors. It was this introduction to literature that shaped Achebe’s writing so much. In the effort to show off his knowledge, he titled Things Fall Apart after Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” which describes a dramatic downfall, similar to what is seen in the book. The language he used was flowing and varied like Yeats’ work, but still used Nigerian vocabulary. It is, after all, an African story.

Books about yams and tribal relations are uncommonly come across. Certainly no English author before Achebe would write about the beauty of African culture. All books and writings about Africa were about colonizing the savages and doing the Africans a favor by making them civilized. Things Fall Apart even points that out in the ending when one of the missionaries writes a memoir about what it is like to try and save the African people. The character aims for entertainment rather than accuracy and he seems to have no regard for the intricacy or uniqueness of the lives of Africans. The story is so distinctly African, and it makes no move to hide that. It points out the atrocity of European colonizers and embraces African culture.

It is this fearless approach of Achebe’s that makes it stand out so much and appeal to the writing world. As a book with so much impact, it makes strides in new styles of storytelling by meshing African methods with English methods, African language with English language, and African stories with European stories. These factors create a story that is set apart on another level from other stories, but plot and use of a tragic hero still make it qualify as a classical Shakespearean tragedy.

The expectations and qualities of an Ibo hero

There were some outstanding attributes for which the Igbo people expected their hero to have. One of them being, a strong leader. Okonkwo however in the beginning of the novel seems like a weak individual. Reason being he seemed to battle with the fear of failure (Achebe 16).

As a child growing up, he did not quite have a father who to say the least he could look up to. However, this was no excuse for him not to move forward. Instead, he should have sought for help from the village counselor so he could be able to let the past be the past. In addition to this, towards the end of the novel, he commits suicide due to the fact that he has no followers when it comes to dealing with the missionaries.

To the Ibos, a hero’s prominence was highly up held in accordance to what he had achieved as an individual (Achebe 3). This therefore multiplied Okwonkwo’s thirst of getting more and more involved in the activities within the community. It did not matter whether what he did was good or bad. For instance, he got involved in the killing of Ikemefuna even after being warned not to. On the other hand, most of the clan elders were proud of him for doing so. This was basically because he was upholding the ancestral traditions.

The community expected their leader to always live up to what he says. This is probably the reason why Okwonkwo, never changed his mind over certain issues even when it was clear that he was going to lose the battle. A good example being, to fight against the missionaries.

Comparison of an Igbo hero and Okwonkwo’s imagination of one

Okwonkwo’s perception of a hero was a selfish one. This is evident when he went out of his way to grab as many titles as he possibly could no matter whom he had to hurt along the way. Just like Achebe puts it, “Okwonkwo’s fame rested on solid personal achievement” (3).

Ever since his father brought dishonor to the family, his most important desire was to prove to the whole community that he was much better than his father. He would moderate his drinking habits more so; he would do his best to bring up his son in a much better family setting than his father did.

Furthermore, the idea of a hero to him was one who was one who was sexist. He believed that the woman has very little placed in not only the family but in the community as well. More often than not, he would equate anything weak or frail to a woman and anything strong and energetic to the man. He hated the weak people in his community and especially those who were afraid of taking on a task. At some point, he suggested that his own son, Nwoye was a woman like (Achebe 4). Masculinity was meant to be expressed through violence according to Okwonkwo.

It is good to note that a hero was meant to abide by the community laws. Okwonkwo did this by allowing the clan elders to exile him to another village as a punishment. Reason being that he had beaten his wife during the week of peace. By agreeing to leave the community while being a leader was a way of being a good role model.

People are separated by successes and failures to a large extent

Clearly, Okwonkwo had to be exiled for his failure to practice self-control. Having beaten his wife during the week of peace, he had to leave his family and his followers in the community to another village.

In real life situations, the people who go against the law commonly referred to as criminals are normally locked up in cell. Some have had to be transferred to cells outside their own country depending on the level of crime they committed. For instance the Guantanamo bay in Latin America, which has been used to correct criminals from across the world.

In another instance, Okwonkwo decided to commit suicide reason being he could not fight the missionaries alone and his son had already converted to Christianity. This especially broke his heart because he could not understand how his son could disobey him and dutifully obey what the missionaries taught him.

Therefore in the form of death he got separated from his family and the community as a whole for neglecting change. In modern society there is a common saying that “change, before change changes you.” This means that there are things we simply cannot run away from and we just have to adapt.

Nwoye, Okwonkwo’s son on the other hand understood exactly what he wanted from life. He would make crucial decisions despite is father’s critics and lived up to them. He converted to Christianity and later on attended the school that was set up by the missionaries. This way, he became enlightened on the various aspects of life including gender equality. Due to his conversion his father began disowning him but he did not give up.

But we have a little of each

As humans, we all have our own flaws, no one is perfect. Okwonkwo, might have treated the women in his disrespectfully by beating them up and so on. However, he loved his daughter Ezinma and at some point wished he was a boy (Achebe 61).

Maybe she could have inherited her father’s leadership and property as well. Okwonkwo also loved strong men who stood their position in whatever decisions they made. This is basically why he was angry at the clan elders when he came from exile and found that almost the whole community had converted to Christianity.

Given the advancement in technology and the very fast rate of globalization, many people live carelessly to say the least. This is due to the rate at which people are getting infected with certain diseases and taking part in gruesome immoral acts. However, at the end of the day most people believe in a higher power or belong to some sort of religion.

This signifies the two sided life of humans. In reference to the novel, Okwonkwo knew that the culture of killing people was wrong but he went ahead and took part in it despite being warned. In addition to this he was took part in the clan’s religious and spiritual events.

The Igbo community despite allowing wife battering had very few instances where the women would be assigned some important duties. Some of them being educating the young ones, telling them stories as well as painting the houses of the egwugwu (Achebe 84). Undoubtedly, the Igbo community valued the women in some aspects of community building hence they would not only gain respect from the egwugwu.

Work Cited

Achebe,Chinua. Things fall apart. United Kingdom: William Heinemann Ltd. 1958.

“A proud heart can survive general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone” (Achebe 18).

“If one finger brought oil it soiled the others” (Achebe 88).

“Even as a little boy he [Okonkwo] had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even no he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title” (Achebe 10).

“But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbours that he was in error. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. His enemies said that his good fortune had gone to his head. They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi” (Achebe 22).

“Afraid? I do not care what he does to you. I despite him and those who listen to him. I shall fight alone if I choose” (Achebe 142).

“But I fear for you young people because you do not understand how strong is the bond of kinship. You do not know what it is to speak with one voice. And what is the result? An abominable religion has settled among you. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. He can curse gods of his fathers and his ancestors, like a hunter’s dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master. I fear for you; I fear for you the clan” (Achebe 118).

“He [Okonkwo] was a very strong man and rarely felt fatigue. But his wives and young children were not as strong, and so they suffered. But they dared not to complain openly” (Achebe 10).

“No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man” (Achebe 37).

“What is good in one place is bad in another place…the world is large” (Achebe 51).

“Every clan and village had its ‘evil forest’. In it were buried all those who died of the really evil diseases, like leprosy and smallpox. It was also the dumping ground for the potent fetishes of great medicine men when they died. An “evil forest” was, therefore, alive with sinister forces and powers of darkness” (Achebe 105).

“Ikemefuna had begun to feel like a member of Okonkwo’s family. He still thought about his mother and his three-year-old sister, and he had moments of sadness and depression. But he and Nwoye had become so deeply attached to each other that such moments became less frequent and less poignant” (Achebe 25)

“That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death” (Achebe 40).

“Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from morning till night, and his eyes were read and fierce like the eyes of a rat when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor” (Achebe 44).

“An Umuofia man does not refuse a call,” he said. “He may refuse to do what he is asked; he does not refuse to be asked” (Achebe 136).

Explanation of the Collage

Chinua Achebe made a wonderful attempt to describe the traditions of the tribe, people’s beliefs, and interests in her Things Fall Apart. The whole story is concentrated on the life of Okonkwo. This man is a leader of Umofia, and this is why he depicts all significant male qualities and the impact of these qualities on the life within the clan.

With the help of the citations, presented above, it is possible to observe how the life of a young boy depends on traditions and requirements, set by a community. From the very beginning of the story, it becomes clear that the role of a man is great in society. He is not only responsible for his family and each member but he should also care about his clan and the reputation of this clan.

Though a man is the person, who should not be afraid of anything, the men, described in Achebe’s story, cannot avoid this feeling. Of course, they try to hide their fears somewhere behind, but still certain fears for family traditions and relations continue bothering men.

It becomes very difficult to pass on traditions and knowledge from one generation to another; this is why old people care about their sons and grandsons because they are under a threat to be plunged by modern traditions and personal ambitions. The recognition of gods becomes more illusive, and people forget to demonstrate their respect to supreme powers, being aware of personal abilities.

However, there is one important point that remains to be immutable from generations to generation; it is male power over women. In order to be respected by the other representatives of the clan, it is crucially important to demonstrate how a man behaves with his own family. Women and children have no rights to argue or demonstrate their personal demands.

Any man, who gains recognition in his society, gets the right to be a tyrant and rule his family. Such kind of government within a family allows a man to teach his relatives to work hard and respect their roots. Though Okonkwo has a poor father, who was not able to complete his functions to their full extent, Okonkwo himself tries to become a good father, who knows how to treat his children and his wives, and, at the same time, be a good example for the others.

There is one more theme in the story that is worth attention; it is a diversity of cultures that makes the characters believe that somewhere, there is another world with different traditions and different priorities. Things Fall Apart demonstrates that in spite of human devotion to their traditions and customs, they do not forget to consider the interests of other people.

The respect to different traditions shows that people are not only able to respect and improve personal lives but also study on other examples and make necessary conclusions. The world has many faces and many cultures, and the author explains that even if you cannot accept the morals of other people, you have, at least, to recognize them.

At the end, the theme of family is also worthy of consideration. Very often, it becomes hard to build a powerful family, respect each other, and stick to certain traditions. The role of the father is huge indeed: he is not only a defender and an example for his sons; he is also a provider, who should be responsible for well-being of his family.

There are certain traditions any father should follow. And even if it is painful to follow all rules, a respectable father, like Okonkwo, should put aside personal ambitions and desires but complete his duty and prove that he never goes against traditions.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996.

Ekwefi, Okonkwo’s wife, had given birth to a total of ten children but nine had died under mysterious circumstances. Enzima was the only child who survived. When Ekwefi was pregnant with Eznima, she had a complication because the medicine man had said that Ekwefi would deliver a wicked child. A wicked child was referred to as an Ogbanje. An Ogbanje was a child who was said to return to the womb of the mother after dying so that the child could be born again and then die again.

Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, was widowed and had two children. The people of Igbo respected the spirits and that was why they feared Chielo and treated him with great respect (Chinua 1652). Even though the women were subject to men in Umuofia, we find that Chielo had a significant role in making major decisions concerning the village of Umuofia. To show how powerful Chielo was Chinua Achebe says, ‘As soon as the priestess stepped into this ring of hills, her voice was not only doubled in strength but was thrown back on all sides.’

There was the offering of human sacrifice in Umuofia and that was why Ikemefuna’s death was viewed as a sacrifice on behalf of the society. However, Okonkwo’s participation in the killing of Ikemefuna was wrong to the gods and it was punishable because Ikemefuna referred to him as a father. Okonkwo’s attitudes had been shaped by the culture of the Igbo people although he was an extremist. When twins were born in Igbo they were taken to the forest and they were abandoned to die there because they were seen as an indicator of evil in the village. They used religion to find meaning in things that happened in society (Chödrön 182).

Egwugwu was a cult in Umuofia which had men as its only members. The ceremony of the Egwugwu was carried out so that justice could be administered in Umuofia about societal and domestic issues. Basically, men had the final say in the decision-making process during that ceremony. The families who had issues that needed to be looked at came forward and presented their cases before the Egwugwu.

The Egwugwu in charge of listening to the cases was called the Evil forest. In saying that, “Okonkwos wives and perhaps other women as well, might have noticed that the second Egwugwu had a springy walk of Okonkwo” (Chinua 1644) meant to show that Okonkwo was a great man in the village. Even though they recognised this fact, they kept it to themselves. The ceremony was accompanied by the beating of drums and dancing thus bringing people together through entertainment (Chinua 1644).

When conducting the ceremony, the Egwugwu consulted with each other to come up with sentences for those found on the wrong. There was a case presented by Uzowulu who said that his in-laws had taken his wife away after having beaten her and they had not returned his bride price. We find that when a bride ran away her family was supposed to return the traditional bride price to the woman’s husband.

The beating was bad that she was said to have had a miscarriage at one time. The neighbors to Uzowulu also came out to testify against him. We find that there were values in Umuofia which did not allow men to beat their wives. The rights of women in the village of Umuofia were respected and that was why Chielo was surprised that Okonkwo almost murdered his wife Ekwefi using a gun.

Works cited

Chinua, Achebe. Things Fall Apart.Germany: Heinemann,1996.Pg 1632-1670.

Chödrön, Pema. When things fall apart. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2005. Pg 178-187.