Post-Colonial View on Things Fall Apart
A Post-colonial Analysis of a Changing Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958)
The desire to conquer land that was previously unexplored has existed throughout history. This desire forced many indigenous societies, who were usually dominated technologically, to adapt to the teachings and overall system of the ‘superior’ conqueror nation with destruction as the only alternative. This causes a major impact on how a certain society functions, even after seeking independence from the foreigners. The rise and fall of indigenous societies can be analyzed through various media. Chinua Achebe is a novelist specializing in African literature, and this essay deals with the themes regarding colonialism in one of his many novels. In particular, the Igbo people in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart have their beliefs undermined by the British. As such, their ideals are viewed as savage and uncivilized, which caused a divide among the Igbo people. A useful theory to analyze the theme of a changing society is the post-colonial theory, which deals with the abnormal alterations that a society experiences because of an outside source, also called a ‘colonial power’. Post-colonial literary criticism is a useful theoretical tool to analyze the fall of indigenous society as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. In particular, the theoretical concepts of the process of colonization from the perspective of the colonized, the psychological impact colonization has on the Igbo people, and the Indigenous resistance to colonization are relevant to the analysis of the fall of indigenous society in Achebe’s seminal novel.
To begin, colonization refers to the act of establishing colonies. This is mainly done to expand the territory of a certain nation, increase their own resource supply, and find new resources in the land being conquered. Colonization may have a positive effect on the colonizer, but the process of colonization typically affects the indigenous population
The desire to conquer land that was previously unexplored has existed throughout history. This desire forced many indigenous societies, who were usually dominated technologically, to adapt to the teachings and overall system of the ‘superior’ conqueror nation with destruction as the only alternative. This causes a major impact on how a certain society functions, even after seeking independence from the foreigners. The rise and fall of indigenous societies can be analyzed through various media. Chinua Achebe is a novelist specializing in African literature, and this essay deals with the themes regarding colonialism in one of his many novels. In particular, the Igbo people in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart have their beliefs undermined by the British. As such, their ideals are viewed as savage and uncivilized, which caused a divide among the Igbo people. A useful theory to analyze the theme of a changing society is the post-colonial theory, which deals with the abnormal alterations that a society experiences because of an outside source, also called a ‘colonial power’. Post-colonial literary criticism is a useful theoretical tool to analyze the fall of indigenous society as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. In particular, the theoretical concepts of the process of colonization from the perspective of the colonized, the psychological impact colonization has on the Igbo people, and the Indigenous resistance to colonization are relevant to the analysis of the fall of indigenous society in Achebe’s seminal novel.
To begin, colonization refers to the act of establishing colonies. This is mainly done to expand the territory of a certain nation, increase their own resource supply, and find new resources in the land being conquered. Colonization may have a positive effect on the colonizer, but the process of colonization typically affects the indigenous population
Cited: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. 1958. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Print. "Effects of European Colonialism in Africa." Yahoo! Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. Hayes, David. Class Lecture. Post Colonial Literary Theory. Westview Centennial Secondary School, Toronto, ON. 14 Feb 2013.