Things Fall Apart

"Things Fall Apart"

Chinua Achebe’s first novel focuses on the early period of colonialism in Nigeria, beginning with the initial influence of the British. “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe, was published in 1958. Achebe extraordinarily portrays the impact of a Europeans on the way of life in an Eastern Nigerian village. “Chinua Achebe creates … a coherent picture of coherence being lost, of the tragic consequences of the African-European collision (Culross “Chinua”).” In “Things Fall Apart”, Chinua Achebe relays an indigenous perspective of European imperialism. Achebe uses his vivid imagery and symbolism as a guide to portray the post colonialism transitions of the African society. “Post Colonialism is the social, political, economic, and cultural practices which arise in response and resistance to colonialism (“post colonialism”).” In some cases of the postcolonial theory, resistance became a major concept. Resistance in many colonized countries leads to the new ideas of “human freedom (“Some Issues”, 1)”. This independeant ideology had never been an issue before. Many cultures became a hybrid, an “integration of cultural signs and practices from the colonizing and the colonized countries (“Some Issues, 4).” “Post colonial literature is often self-consciously a literature of otherness and resistance, and is written out of the specific local experience (“Some Issues, 7).” Nigerian literature before colonization was past along thru oral traditions. Oral literature required skilled artists to chant lengthy tales that were about their history and genealogy. In Bade Ajuwon’s article, “Oral and Written Literature in Nigeria,” he explains: Pre-literate Nigeria once enjoyed a verbal art civilization which, at its high point, was warmly patronized by traditional rulers and the general public. At a period when writing was unknown, the oral medium served the people as a bank for the preservation of their ancient experiences and beliefs. Much of the evidence that related to the past of Nigeria, therefore, could be found in oral traditions. During the Eighteenth Century, Western influences such as Arabic ideas and culture began disturbing Nigerian Literature. Throughout the nineteenth century, western missionaries brought the ideas of western education into Nigeria. Over the years, more and more authors wrote in English telling the tales of African history. Among these authors was Chinua Achebe, who in his novel, “Things Fall Apart”, wrote about how the arrival of European missionaries caused the decline and division of the Igbo clans in Africa. “Igbo folklore saturates the novel, preserving the African elements despite the English prose (Gardner, 3).” Nigerian Literature went from a focus on oral story telling of the history to written in other languages such as Arabic and English. In “Things Fall Apart,” Achebe uses the quote from William B. Yeat’s poem “The Second Coming”: Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; More anarchy is loosed upon the world. (Achebe, 1). to illustrate the chaos when the African system collapses due to the rise of the British Empire in Nigeria. Achebe opens his novel revealing the protagonist in the novel Okonkwo. He is a young, wealthy and respected warrior who is a prominent man of the Igbo society. His father, Unoka, was a poor man and a “failure” in the minds of Okonkwo and the fellow villagers. This substantial fact led to Okonkwo’s strive to never become like his father. To achieve this, he ruled his household with fear and saw feminity as weakness. These drastic traits distinguished him so differently from his father, that he believed he had achieved masculinity. At a meeting of clansman, it is decided that Okonkwo will travel to Mbano, to make an offer of peace to prevent the outbreak of war. He chooses to receive a fifteen-year-old boy named Ikemefuna, onto his household. As time passes, Ikemefuna builds relationships with family members and eventually comes to call Okonkwo, “father.” Later, Okonkwo is informed that the Oracle of the Hills has decreed the death of Ikemefuna. This sends Okonkwo in a deep depression, beginning his downward spiral of flaws. At the announcement of the death of an elder tribesman, whom was a great warrior, Okonkwo accidentally fires his gun resulting in the death of Ezedue’s sixteen-year-old son. By this abominable act, Okonkwo is forced to exile and is stripped of his titles he has worked so vigorously for. After his seven years in exile, he returns to Umuofia in hopes to salvage his superior status. Upon his arrival, he is surprised when he finds that strange, new people have inhabited the area and have began to express their ideas upon the villagers. The converts to this new way (Christianity) increase, and soon came to include Okonkwo’s own son, Nwoye. These events spark a further depression in Okonkwo as he realizes his society is falling apart and all the achievements he has worked for have diminished to nothing. This forces him to commit suicide by hanging himself on a tree. Achebe transforms the language throughout “Things Fall Apart,” to in turn distinguish between his writings, from other English novels. All through the novel, Achebe keeps a sense of Nigerian tradition by translating Ibo proverbs into English words and connects them throughout his writings. “Achebe deliberately introduces the rhythms, speech patterns, idioms and other verbal nuances of Ibo… (Culross “Use of Language”)” to give readers a sense of understanding behind African’s background and culture. He uses the language through the novel to in turn describe the relationship between the society, the individual and the destruction of their culture. In the novel Achebe provides an example of the differences between African languages. The villagers of Umuofia make fun of the translator for Mr. Brown, because the language in which he uses is slightly different from their native tongue. The struggle between change and tradition is very well shown through the novel. The reality of the change affects different characters in different ways. As seen throughout the novel, the main character Okonkwo, resists the new political and religious changes once returning from exile. In turn some of Okonkwo’s resistance to the changes are due to his social status among the clan. …Things Fall Apart is indeed a classic study of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the consequences to the rest of humanity, when a belligerent culture or civilization, out of sheer arrogance and ethnocentrism, takes it upon itself to invade another culture, another civilization (Emenyonu,84) The government of Umuofia is not made up of kings or chiefs but is a highly democratic and respected government. This in turn is something that the outsiders, in this case the British Empire, do not seem to see. The British culture calls for a leader among the people or an anarchy and they insist on influencing that upon the African culture. One of the main reasons for such a cultural clash is the lack of social interaction and understanding between the two cultures. In this case the British culture does not speak the same language as the Nigerian people in the novel. They have different religions and ideas. At the end of the novel, this misunderstanding between them did not in fact end, it continued on because we see that by the history itself it was the colonizers who wrote the history of that area. Achebe portrays the Nigerian society, especially the Ibo society before colonization by the white man. Achebe shows the role of women in the Ibo tradition, wife beating was allowed. There are several instances in which Okonkwo beats his second wife. The first time Okonkwo beat his wife was when she did not return home to cook his meal, and in return he beat her. The second time was when she referred to him as “guns that never shot.” However, it is not until Okonkwo’s exile that the importance of women’s roles comes forth. In his society anything strong was considered manly and anything weak was considered feminine. It is obvious that to the characters in Things Fall Apart, women are "things" to be exploited and to serve as second-class citizens to the rank of male privilege. "It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men. There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders" (Achebe 62). Achebe shows that women were seen as wives, mothers and were to tend to the household chores while the men took on the more important responsibilities. In conclusion, Achebe extraordinarily portrays the impact of a European society on the way of life in an Eastern Nigerian village thru his use of language, cultural perspectives and the role of the women seen within the novel. He successfully uses his vivid imagery and symbolism as a guide throughout the novel to portray the post colonialism transitions of the African Society.