Category: Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is one of the literary works that prompted many scholars to re-evaluate their assumptions about African people. This paper is aimed at discussing the significance of this book. In particular, it is important to apply the paradigm of cultural thought developed by Linda Myers because this framework can better demonstrate why this novel attracts so much attention. Apart from that, one should consider the so-called cardinal principles of Ma’at that throw light on the worldviews and moral values of African people.

Modern scholars argue that African culture has often been misunderstood or misinterpreted. For instance, Lynda Myers notes that the values of African people have been analyzed from the Western perspective (Myers 32). So, this author advocates the adoption of Afro-centric thought paradigm (Myers 32). In turn, the novel by Chinua Achebe can illustrate this point. For instance, it is possible to consider the following passage, “Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten” (Achebe 5). This quote demonstrates the way in which conversational traditions of Igbo people have certain patterns. More importantly, they can be misunderstood by outsiders, especially colonizers. This is one of the details that can be identified.

The author notes that people, who came to Africa from Europe, can criticize the behavior of lifestyles of the native people. The main problem is that they can often misjudge their behavior. He expresses this critique through one of the characters who says, “Does the white man understand our custom about land?” “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are bad” (Achebe 50). This phrase highlights the conflicts between the representatives of different cultures.

Additionally, it is possible to apply the cardinal principles incorporated in Ma’at which is one of the worldviews incorporated into African culture. It incorporates such values as justice, truth, balance, reciprocity, and so forth. However, the implementation of these principles may not coincide with the Western norms. Chinua Achebe illustrates this issue by exploring the life of the village in which Okonkwo lives. Overall, literary critics believe that this novel is supposed to challenge the readers’ notions about African countries (Bloom 35). To a great extent, this view can be supported.

It should be mentioned that this book can be analyzed by applying the methods of Western literary critique. For instance, one can use such a concept as the tragic hero. This notion is used to describe a person who is destined to suffering and downfall. As a rule, he/she has to struggle against overwhelming forces. In many cases, this person can evoke fear or sympathy. For instance, it is possible to mention Okonkwo. The readers can feel some compassion for the main character because they see that the protagonist cannot adjust to the changing conditions within the community in which he grew up. Moreover, one can see that Okonkwo has certain moral values, but at the same time, he can act cruelly. Furthermore, he is too afraid of looking weak. However, later, when the protagonist loses his status and power, the protagonist chooses to believe that his life is controlled by destiny or “chi” as the main character calls it (Achebe 19).

On the whole, the writer’s main message is that the worldviews and behavior of African people have often been assessed according to Western standards. However, this approach can lead to disastrous effects such as the marginalization of people. These are the main aspects that can be distinguished.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart, London: Penguin UK, 2013. Print.

Bloom, Harold. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, New York: Infobase Publishing.

Myers, Linda. “Transpersonal Psychology: The Role of the Afrocentric Paradigm.” Journal of Black Psychology 12.31 (1985): 31-42. Print.

Things Fall Apart is the first novel of the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958, the novel describes the life of a Nigerian village – Iguedo, at the advent of the white colonization in Nigeria. The novel’s main protagonist is Okonkwo, a warrior, and a consistent traditionalist, who fell victim to circumstances. Okonkwo was entrusted with raising Ikemefuna, a child from a hostile village who was taken as a hostage. Feeling personally attached to Ikemefuna, Okonkwo never showed his true emotions, and fearing appearing weak in front of his village, he killed the boy. After another incident, in which he killed a clansman by accident, Okonkwo was exiled from the village with his family for seven years, after which he returned to find white people with missionary work in his village. Okonkwo refused to reconcile with the new order and eventually killed himself.

Although Iguedo is a fictional village, the novel took a realistic approach toward depicting the life of the Nigerian tribes. In that regard, Iguedo can be seen as an example of a traditional Nigerian tribe with a distinctive social structure. The relations with Umuofia, the clan to which Iguedo belonged, might be seen as a representation of a simple political system within the Nigerian tribes at the time, which included wars, peaceful settlements, and mediations through an authoritative party (the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves) (Achebe, 1996, p. 9). A form of democracy was also present in such an establishment, where the main political and social aspects were determined through clan meetings.

The culture of the tribe that was depicted in the novel was of the Igbo culture. This culture still exists and many of its elements were realistically depicted in the novel. One element can be seen in the absence of a ruler in the tribe, where “decisions [were] made by including almost everyone in the village” (Froiland, 2010), an aspect that was truthfully reflected in the novel (Achebe, 1996, p. 19). Additionally, the religion was represented by showing that the highest level of divine beings is the supreme god, or “Chukwu”, a loving father who should be feared when doing against his will (Achebe, 1996; Froiland, 2010).

The main conclusion that can be drawn from reading about the culture in the novel is that despite considering the culture as non-static and adaptive to changes, the example of Okonkwo shows the opposition of tradition to such changes. In that regard, the colonization in the novel can be considered as one of the main driving forces of change to which Okonkwo was so resistant.

Accordingly, the questions that might be raised are concerned with the overall idea of cultural change. Does the author’s view support holding on to the culture and the tradition despite some of its negative aspects? Examples of negative aspects can be seen in the sacrifice process, the role of women, and others.

Analyzing the novel on a larger scale, it can be stated that the ideas of cultural diversity, multiculturalism, and globalism do not seem to fit into the idea of tradition opposing changes. The latter can be seen in that one of the consequences of diversity, multiculturalism, and globalism is gradually erasing the distinctive features of each culture and mixing them into one large melting pot of various cultures.

Finally, the ideas that can be used in class are mainly related to showing examples of early social structures, groups, and social roles. In that regard, gender in the novel can be used to show the way social roles are shaped in such a society. Additionally, colonization as an agent of change can be analyzed and paralleled to other agents in the context of modern society.

References

Achebe, C. (1996). Things Fall Apart (1st Anchor Books ed.): Heinemann.

Froiland, A. (2010). IBO (IGBO). The Africa Guide. Web.

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

“Okonkwo’s 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 author’s treatment of the theme

The author’s 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. Achebe’s narrative style – succinct, simple yet strikingly elegant, also serves to heighten the reader’s 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. Achebe’s 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.

The tremendously harmful effect that colonialism has caused indigenous people that have suffered oppression and the invasion of White colonists cannot possibly be embraced. In Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” the decomposition of the local community as a direct effect of the colonialist power is demonstrated uninhibitedly and powerfully. By imposing their beliefs, values, perceptions, and other elements of the white culture onto local residents, colonists have nearly annihilated the Ibo culture, causing its members to suffer significant cultural trauma.

In fact, the nature of the colonialists’ influence on the Ibo people and their culture is pinpointed in the very title of the book. By creating a mental image of the entire environment falling apart and eventually collapsing, the writer demonstrates the destructive nature of the colonialist power. Specifically, the societal split as a result of the “division of Africa into at least fifty nation-states” is rendered powerfully in Achebe’s work (“Things Fall Apart”). Moreover, being forced to teach their children the essential constructs of the foreign culture, the Ibo people develop a sense of cultural loss and, ultimately, massive community trauma (“Things Fall Apart: Plot Summary”). Thus, the despair that the Ibo people experience as they feel the devastating loss of their culture becomes particularly resonant in the book.

By viewing the White, western culture as the only reasonable and legitimate mind frame to possess, White colonists have almost destroyed the Ibo culture, as Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” illustrates. The book shows how the colonists foisted their culture on the Ibo people, forcing its members not only to accept the new values, philosophies, and even faith, but also to teach the specified cultural constructs to their children. Thus, being stripped of its culture and identity, the Ibo community started falling apart, as the book describes vividly.

Works Cited

Things Fall Apart. GALE, n.d., Web.

Things Fall Apart: Plot Summary. GALE, n.d., Web.

The Western conception of Africa has always been shaped largely by the novelists and travel writers who have journeyed there. Not until relatively recently have any novels been published by native peoples who understood the more intricate natures of the societies that have called the continent home for centuries and adapted to its cycles. Until Dr. David Livingstone and Sir Henry Morton Stanley in the mid-1800s, no white man had ever reached the interior of Africa, making it very apt for the adoption of its label as an unknown entity. Although these explorations did little to further Western understanding of the people or the land, they did instigate plenty of speculation and conjecture, which became the stuff upon which misunderstandings to last centuries were founded. As a result of this almost exclusively one-sided depiction, Africa has traditionally gained a reputation as being a land of possibility for Western enrichment through the exploitation of its resources – agriculture, gold, even people. The West’s understanding of African people holds that they are mostly child-like in their primitive understandings, only slightly more than bestial in their natural environment and as naturally benefiting from any attention more civilized societies might care to bestow upon them. The black woman is regarded, when she is considered at all, as barely above feral, weak and beaten by the life she must live. In these portrayals, it becomes clear which culture and people are considered the more advanced, the white men full of their Christian faith, the ones telling the story. It took several more years before native writers, such as Chinua Achebe were able to bring some light into the darkness of Africa’s story as can be illustrated through a close reading of Things Fall Apart (1959).

Africa as a land has long been considered a region open and available for every kind of exploitation white men might choose to inflict upon it. Its resources were rarely, if ever, considered of necessity to the native peoples as the white men who arrived there began adding up the vast wealth they would acquire through exportation. Achebe’s presentation of the land is quite different, first portraying it as a land with little to exploit as well as illustrating how the black men who live there do a fair amount of exploitation in their own right. In Achebe’s novel, the people spend a great deal of their time subsistence farming, surviving primarily on yams, which are considered a man’s crop, and the various types of vegetables and fruits that the women are able to grow out of their individual kitchen gardens. In the story about Unoka’s visit to the priestess Agbala about why his crops always fail, her answer provides the clue that even the native tribes people had a tendency to view the land as something to be exploited. “When your neighbors go out with their ax to cut down virgin forests, you sow your yams on exhausted farms that take no labor to clear” (Achebe 17). This statement reveals that the common practice of the tribes was to indiscriminately cut down the virgin forests, thus exploiting the resources of the land rather than learning more effective means of soil maintenance. In this regard, Achebe suggests that the Igbo were wanting in more sophisticated methods of farming and agriculture, but were disinclined to pursue the same kind of trial and error techniques required to accomplish greater crop yields. In making this illustration, the author suggests that the African people, with or without white men, were capable of both exploiting and appreciating their lands. At the same time, Agbala hints that the land is not greatly abundant for the people to begin with.

It requires an author such as Achebe to convey the deep sense of loss Africa experienced as a result of the imperialist process. While his story stops with the incursion of the missionaries, with only a beginning introduction to how white man’s laws interfere with and overtake the traditions and customs of the tribes, he is nevertheless able to illustrate how a rich and vibrant culture was devastated and lost as a result of white man’s insistence that their way was the only ‘right’ way. Describing why he sees the story as a tragedy, Moses says, “a traditional hierarchical society based on archaic heroic values is giving way to a more modern and egalitarian society” (cited in ten Kortenaar 85). From within the context of the land and the people of it, it is demonstrated that a great culture was already in the throes of change, again reclaiming the power for the people while still lamenting the passing of an age.

Within the impressions of Africa that had been conveyed to the Western world was an insistence on painting the black man as somehow less than the white man. It is perhaps most educative to look to the work of philosopher Edward Said for an explanation of the ‘other’ as he places it within the context of Orientalism, a term he used to define the way in which the English-speaking world sought to contain images of other nations within a single, non-threatening image (Said 1979). Within this viewpoint, everything regarding the ‘other’ nation, such as how they behaved, what they wore, etc., was made to seem backward, simple and non-threatening by placing it in the context of a passive action. Like the concept of the Orient illustrated by Said, the concept of the black man was purposefully established within the public discourse as a means of bringing this region under the control of the empire, virtually subduing it by subduing its voices and belittling its achievements.

It is nearly impossible to pass off the black men of Achebe’s story as mere beasts of labor, although it is possible to determine some elements of naiveté in their ways of life. An example of this may be found in the ceremonies of the ancestors in which the various clan leaders dress up in raffia and take on the form of the tribal gods. As the figure of Evil Forest is described, Achebe comments, “Okonkwo’s wives, and perhaps other women as well, might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo … But if they thought of these things, they kept them within themselves. The egwugwu with the springy walk was one of the dead fathers of the clan” (Achebe 89-90). Another example is the story of Ikemefuna, the child ransom charged by the Umuofia to Mbaino for the murder of one of their own daughters. Although the boy is easily supported by Okonkwo, has proven himself to be a willing and able member of the group, has assisted in bringing about positive change in Okonkwo’s household and has been a member of the family for three years, it is eventually determined that he must die. There is apparently no argument to be made as Ogbuefi Ezeudu simply advises Okonkwo to take no hand in the boy’s death because he calls Okonkwo father. “Yes, Umofia has decided to kill him. The Oracle of the hills and caves has pronounced it” (Achebe 57). While Okonkwo is surprised, he makes no attempt to argue on behalf of the boy and even takes part in the killing when the first blow is not successful. In both of these examples, the society is illustrated as being barbaric and unsophisticated because of their willingness to accept without question their traditional beliefs despite real and deeply emotional evidence to the contrary.

Achebe presents characters whose humanity simply cannot be denied. Okonkwo is a very complex individual with numerous strengths and faults. Okonkwo “did everything to avoid the path of his father. He understood the communal responsibilities and expectations and internalized the principles of acquiring titles, working hard, and being strong” (Ikuenobe 123). At the same time, these character traits of strength, discipline and adherence to tradition would prove to be his failings as he proves unable to accept the changes taking place in his world. While he was deeply aware of the social norms of his community, Okonkwo was not always able to constraint himself within acceptable bounds, such as when he almost shot his wife during the New Yam Festival. Because he cannot always control his emotions, he is eventually found hanging from a tree after having killed one of the white men’s messengers, no longer able to abide by the new laws being enacted.

Achebe provides a great deal of information about the traditional tribal life of the black woman. There are plenty of women included in the story, such as Agbada, who is the prophet of the caves and hills and one of the most respected and listened to members of the community. While Okonkwo’s first wife is never given a name, his second and third wives are both named and discussed with stories and histories of their own. The pain of Ekwefi as she suffered through pregnancy after pregnancy only to lose her children while still in early childhood is poignant and heartrending, causing the reader to fully sympathize with her when the beloved Ezinma falls ill. Although Okonkwo has three wives at once and seems to rule his compound like a tyrant, women are also seen to have a measure of their own space as well as the right to divorce an abusive husband. By including the scene with Uchendu following Okonkwo’s exile, Achebe makes the position of women clear within the social group. “A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland … And that is why we say that mother is supreme” (Achebe 134). Should she need to, an African woman seems perfectly capable of supporting herself and her children, yet can seemingly always fall back upon her birth family for support whenever it becomes necessary.

Achebe acknowledges the higher aspect of white men as he reveals the efforts of Mr. Brown, the white missionary, in attempting to both bring his religion to Africa and to understand the beliefs of the natives. Although Okonkwo has little understanding of the white man’s beliefs, Achebe includes a discussion held between Mr. Brown and Akunna in which the two religions and the role of the gods are compared by the men in peaceful debate. “In this way, Mr. Brown learned a good deal about the religion of the clan and he came to the conclusion that a frontal attack on it would not succeed” (Achebe 181). Instead, the minister concentrates on building hospitals and schools for the people as a means of teaching the children what they will need to know in the world that’s coming and to provide more advanced medicine to the tribes. However, this is almost immediately revealed to be an oblique approach to subjugating the African belief systems.

Achebe also emphasizes the level of greed and corruption the white men introduce into African society. Perhaps the most insidious form of colonization is represented by the relatively peaceful ways of Mr. Brown, who manages to subvert Okonkwo’s son Nwoye to the Christian religion as well as many other members of the villages by promising to accept them if they will revoke their traditional beliefs. However, Mr. Brown’s successor introduces a much more violent element as a means of gaining control over the population. “Mr. Brown’s successor was the Reverend James Smith … He saw things as black and white. And black was evil. He saw the world as a battlefield in which the children of light were locked in mortal conflict with the sons of darkness” (Achebe 184). Under his influence, tribal members were actively encouraged to turn against one another, members were brought in from other tribes and white men’s laws were enacted as a means of imposing white man’s civilization on black men through murder, coercion and fear.

Achebe’s insights can be seen to reach deeper than traditional ‘white’ accounts of Africa, illustrating the death of a rich and vibrant culture rather than the simple imposition of unfamiliar practices on an otherwise blank slate of African peoples. While Achebe’s portrayal suggests that the Africans might have benefited from improvements in agricultural technology as a means of more appropriately utilizing their land, he indicates that his society was equally capable of exploitation and abuse when given the opportunity. He provides indications that the black man can be reduced to little more than a beast, but this process is equally attributable to the white man as it occurs as a result of the twisting of the mind and the loss of self-control following the loss of an entire way of life as expressed by Achebe. The women, too, are highly misunderstood. Achebe reveals that the women of Africa are actually largely constrained in much the same way as those found in Europe, but retained a much higher level of honor and respect from their men as well as the strength to affect change in their lives. Achebe does not provide any greater criticism of the white man per se, but his illustration of the white man’s role in destroying the traditional society is much more insightful than ‘normal’ thanks to its internal viewpoint. Through this type of analysis, it can be seen that it takes an internal viewpoint such as Achebe’s to fully present the African case on more equal footing with the white man.

Works Cited

1. Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994.
2. Ikuenobe, Polycarp. “The Idea of Personhood in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.” Philosophia Africana. Vol. 9, N. 2, (2006): 117-131.
3. ten Kortenaar, Neil. “Chinua Achebe and the Question of Modern African Tragedy.” Philosophia Africana. Vol. 9, N. 2, (2006): 83-100.
4. Said, Edward. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979.