Analyzing Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Symbolism

Things Fall Apart is a story that depicts a tribal society; which generally are founded upon principles such as symbolism and objects having power, so naturally it would make sense for his novel to contain symbolism. One such example would be the yam. The novel expresses the view that yams are the crop of masculinity. The yam is meant to represent the means, wealth and power, women are not allowed to sew yams, for crops but are given different foods to grow. The yam is simple, but requires plenty of tending if it ti yield a successful profit. The first thing that okonkwo did when he left his own to try and become a man was to buy yam seeds in order to make a name for himself. When Okonkwo is banished from the tribe he is stripped of his compound as well as hisyam storage, or in other words his masculinity.
Another such examples would be the locusts, the locusts descent upon the crops of the Igbo people every few decades, and prey of the many tribes resources; much the same as the colonists. Normally the locusts would be seen as a pest, but the Igbo see them as food and gobble them up with zeal, similar to the way many young tribesman of Umuofia take up the colonists cause, This point is further reinforced with the words like “settle”, and “hungry swarm” that Achebe uses to further the point.
One of the more important Symbols is Fire. Okonkwo is frequently called fire. This fire represents Okonkwo life. He started from nothing just a glowing ember with the hope of becoming a fire. Then finally he gains enough fuel to grow into the roaring blaze that was capable of becoming the wrestling champion of the Igbo. Then later his blaze settles down, to the hard working family man. Yet finally it all sputters out and his reputation results to nothing in his disgraceful suicide. All the while his fiery temper is what fuels him throughout his life.
A similar symbol would be Okonkwo’s gun. Okonkwo is proud of his gun and it represents his own personal masculinity, and he only takes it out occasionally to use in important festivals, or when he wants to assert his dominance over his wives. Yet In the end he is incapable of actually firing the weapon much the same as the way that his his own death was based upon his own pride in his masculinity Journal Entry 2 Irony

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, is the story of Okonkwo as he falls from the highest boughs of the hierarchical tree of his society, that process is riddled with many ironies. One notable example would be Okonkwo's decision to terminate his life by his own doing. At the time, this was one of the most heinous crimes within his tribe. In so doing he disgraces himself. The irony resides in the fact that Okonkwo has spent much of his life trying to uphold the rules and customs of his people. He tries not only to protect his integrity to the enth degree but surpass it. The novel goes so far as to explain that Okonkwo beats his wives far from often, to assert his dominance. Yet in the end the way he ultimately perishes is contradictory from his own morals. However there are also many other ironies, revolving around Okonkwo’s life. Another similar example would be the death of his neighbors son, which was accidentally committed by his own doing, which is exactly the kind of crime that Okonkwo would never have tried to do because because of the aforementioned reasons. Yet one of the most important ironies in the novel is the one revolving around the main characters own son. Okonkwo has spent years of his life trying to mold his son Nwoye into the what he perceives as the perfect man, yet ultimately Nwoye, defies his father one last time by joining the missionaries sent by the colonists, and converting himself over to christianity, the last things his father would have wanted him to have done.
However, there are also ironies that extend farther out than just okonkwo’s failings. One such example would be the fact that one of the most powerful people to hold authority in the village is in fact a woman. The irony in this point stems from the fact that women are shunted down to the lowest levels of their society’s pyramid; yet, the men of this tribe hold no argument against having Chielo, the venerated priestess, holding a position of power. Or even the the fact that the undoing of all of the tribes of lower Nigeria stems from the fact that they themselves were the ones who let the MIssionaries, own land, and acquire converts.

Journal entry 3 Characterization

One of the ways that Achebe tries to convey his message is through his characterization. Ultimately the book is biased; it is the story of how a functioning tribal group is eventually destroyed by the white man’s plans to colonize Africa. Yet it is his characterization that fuels his point. He describes the white man as this ignorant bunch, who have no respect for traditional customs. He represents their stupidity through their translator, who frequently makes a fool of himself by being practically incapable of speaking the language of the igbo correctly. He shows them as cruel and unable to understand the tribes point of view, they frequently shut down any counterarguments to their religion, and create meaningless arguments aimed at trying to reinforce their superiority. He then goes on to describe a content tribe that is happy with its sometimes cruel customs. He characterizes the people of Umuofia, as perfectly unfazed with the notion of killing one's own children, if they are twins, or beating ones wives. There is almost a surreal utopian society created through the description of the contentedness of the characters. Describing a tribe with no discontent with its own customs, a feat that is almost impossible in any culture, or government. Okonkwo, is portrayed as a hero who falls from grace due to poor luck. In reality the reader has to admit at some point that Okonkwo, is a rather an abusive husband and father with very little empathy for the hardships of others. An example would be the way kills his own adoptive son, out of his own ego. Or even how he tried to kill one of his own wives, in a fit of rage. Relating to Okonkwo’s wives, Achebe, while he may not share this view, portrays women as subordinate to men. He characterizes them as weak, and otherwise incapable of taking care of themselves. He depicts them for the most part as completely content with the abuse they face, and unfazed as their twin children are taken away time and again to the “evil forest” so that their demons will never harm the tribe.

Journal entry 4 Themes

While Things Fall Apart is riddled with symbolism, it also contains many themes that complete the story. It contains broad themes such as the way that change is accepted in a culture, and the way that masculinity is perceived from person to person within the tribe, or even the way that greed destroys all things.
Near the end of Achebe's Novel, the Igbo are face with tremendous amounts of change, and the way that its people interpret and act upon this recurring theme is fascinating. Okonkwo throughout the novel, has always faced changed with a closed heart, and often with a fiery temper. WHen it is revealed to him that his son has left a tribal life to live amongst the white men he is filled with rage, and expresses his disdain for the colonists, much in accordance to the views of many of the other tribesmen regarding the english colonists. Yet, there are those within the novel that embrace the change, such as many of the younger generation, who go off, to become fellow christians with the colonists.
As previously mentioned Masculinity and the way it is perceived is a recurring theme throughout the novel. Okonkwo, has a very dramatic sense of what masculinity means and its importance, Okonkwo believes that masculinity, and a true man is represented by wealth and the amount of men he has killed, or the way he asserts his supposed superiority over his wives, this is accompanied with his goal to always fight an offender, and defend his “honor” to the enth degree. However others within the tribe see his actions as overkill, while others completely disregard his notions of masculinity and what defines man altogether.
Another very important theme is the destruction greed causes. This theme extends to the relationship that the people of Umuofia have with the locusts, the destructive greed of the locusts as the destroy the crops and trees of the towns, the ways that the Igbo greedily harvest the locust for food, and in their stupor allow this destruction to occur. Or even the way that the newly arrived colonists greedily take more land away from the Igbo, as well as their rights.

Journal Entry 5 Narrative Structure

Achebe's use of narration, is altogether very interesting. While it is still a fairly straightforward narration with fairly lenient use of the third person in that he primarily focuses on just Okonkwo’s story, it is told almost as if this story is being retold, as if it were being spoken aloud. This tactic is very similar to the epic poems of Homer, which were traditionally told aloud. While the narrator is all knowing, it tends to focus primarily on the action of the igbo, more specifically Okonkwo, which would suggest that the fictional narrator had been told the story from someone close to Okonkwo, or at least in the tribe. the way it is narrated however is very similar to Lord of the Rings, in that the narrator explains very of the specific cultural instances, almost expecting that the reader would already know what the actions meant, with explanations that hint almost of one reminding someone of something they already knew. This would support the claim that Things Fall Apart is told in the form of an oral narration.
Another important factor Within Achebe’s narration is the use of the most likely fictional Umuofian words. Not only does this strengthen the the narrator's claims about the tribe, by revealing traditional words and phrases, as well as the accompanying traditional folk story, told by Ekwefi, okonkwo’s second wife. It adds a second level to the story, by creating a sense that that were possibly real customs, with real ters, which gives the narrator's story much more credibility. Another interesting factor about the narration is that the story is narrated almost entirely in english, which is interesting because achebe was born in Nigeria, and could have written the book in Nigeria, since the story in involves the people of his nation. This choice is important because it lets the reader know that the book was intended for western and european countries. This would mean that Achebe wanted the book to be read in countries that contain the ancestors of colonists.