things fall apart

Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart sold more than twelve million copies and has been translated into more than fifty different languages. Born in Nigeria in 1930, Achebe plays a central role in the history of postcolonial African literature. This novel centers on a cultural clash between native African culture and the traditional white culture of missionaries (Achebe 60). Richard Begam is the author of “Achebe’s Sense of Ending: History and Tragedy in Things Fall Apart” and discusses the importance of how Okonkwo’s suicide leaves the reader with the belief that Okonkwo dies an honorable tribe member despite the crimes he committed. Dr. Mohamed Fawzy El-Dessouky, the author of “The Cultural Impact upon Human Struggle for Social Existence in novel Things Fall Apart” is describing how tradition in the Ibo tribe should not be forgotten using Okonkwo. This is the main argument throughout the novel and should not be overlooked. Eric Sipyinyu Njeng in “Achebe 's Work, Postcoloniality, and Human Rights” expresses how Achebe’s use of gender roles is significant to the Ibo’s culture and to say it’s not who you are, but how you act. All three of these authors stress the importance of the Ibo’s culture traditions and gender roles in Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart.
Richard Begam the author of “Achebe’s Sense of Ending: History and Tragedy in Things Fall Apart” argues that Okonkwo’s suicide leaves the reader to believe that Okonkwo dies an honorable death despite his wrong doings in the Ibo tribe. Begam says, “The larger effect of Achebe’s opening is to establish Okonkwo as a particular kind of tragic protagonist: the great warrior who carries with him the fate of his people” (399). I agree with Begam because throughout the novel Achebe stresses how noble and brave Okonkwo is. Okonkwo did commit crimes but the crimes were only committed to uphold his tradition. Begam notes that:
Like Achelles, Okonkwo is “a man of action, a man of war” (p.7). His “fame” among the Igbo rests “on solid personal achievements” (p.3) foremost of which are his exploits as the greatest wrestler and most accomplished warrior of the nine villages. He is a man renowned and respected for having brought home from battle five human heads; and on feast days and important public occasions, he drinks his palm wine from the skull of the first warrior he killed. (399)

Most people disagree with the Ibo norms but these particular traditions were excepted until the British missionaries arrived and began to spread their religion. Despite the wrong doings of Okonkwo he was a brave and strong warrior. Okonkwo, unlike his father, brought food to the table and protected his family. As Begam says, Okonkwo tries to uphold his cultural traditions even though his tribe was turning on him; “In a few deft strokes, Achebe illustrates how Okonkwo has come to personify the destiny of his community, extending from its earliest origins to its final destruction” (399).
Dr. Mohamed Fawzy El-Dessouky, the author of “The Cultural Impact upon Human Struggle for Social Existence in novel Things Fall Apart”, argues a similar point as Begam:
In the novel Things Fall Apart, Achebe presents to us a different perspective of life. He accomplishes this by introducing to us an African tribe named Ibo. There are tremendous differences between these people and the Europeans at the time. That is precisely why Achebe wrote this novel. He wrote it so that readers can learn about his beloved African culture. Another reason why he wrote? it is to show how easily a way of life can be destroyed (El-Dessouky 99).

According to El-Dessouky, Achebe writes his novel, in one way, to show how easily life can fall apart. As Achebe notes Okonkwo is unable to adapt to the changes when the white missionaries show up. He tries to live in his traditional way of life but fails because of the arrival of the missionaries. Things happen so fast, and because of his mistakes Okonkwo is unable to return to the Ibo way of life. Okonkwo’s suicide leaves the reader with El-Dessouky’s explanation of how quickly things can fall apart. El-Dessouky states, “By using a character such as Okonkwo, he showed how even the strong willed people of the Ibo society were unable to overcome the British influences” (El-Dessouky 100). I agree with El-Dessouky because Okonkwo failed in almost every attempt to keep the Ibo’s traditional culture even before the missionary showed up. Eric Sipyinyu Njeng in “Achebe 's Work, Postcoloniality, and Human Rights” concludes that “In Things Fall Apart Achebe exposes the problem of the rights of woman. Women are presented as property which a man can dispense of on the one hand and powerful spiritual forces maintaining a balance between the conflicting forces, on the other. Achebe pits an aggressive masculine world against its feminine counterpart, but plots his narrative such that the feminine prevails” (Njeng). In Things Fall Apart Achebe clearly demonstrates the roles of women. As Njeng says, women are treated as property throughout the Ibo tribes but Achebe does this on purpose. Nyeng also states that “Okonkwo 's father, Unoka, is a woman agbala because he takes no title. Okonkwo 's son Nwoye is far from masculine and for this he is disowned by his father and Okonkwo must be exiled because he commits "female murder” and must take refuge in his mother 's homeland. Thus, Achebe is suggesting that the masculine and the feminine must go hand in hand” (Nyeng). Nyeng is correct because Achebe is trying to communicate through these actions that it’s not about who you are, but how you act. Okonkwo is too stubborn to see what he is doing wrong because he doesn’t want to be like his father. As Nyeng notes Okonkwo doesn’t want to be seen as a pushover or a follower; he wants people to look up to him and enforce his cultural traditions. As Achebe writes, "Okonkwo was very lucky in his daughters. He never stopped regretting that Ezinma was a girl. Of all his children she alone understood his mood" (Achebe 124). This backs up Nyeng’s statement by looking at Okonkwo’s feelings towards Ezinma and taking gender out of the situation. Achebe reveals the damage colonialism inflicted on African’s social and cultural heritage. Begam and El-Dessouky show how easily this culture can be damaged. These articles are most important to the Ibo traditions because Begam and El-Dessouky reveal Achebe’ main message which is to inform the reader of how the traditions were expressed during that time period. Nyeng also relates to Achebe’s message, but illustrates how significant gender roles were in this time period as well. All three of these critics bring up very important discussions on Things Fall Apart and are able to use the evidence in the text to prove their argument. By stripping down the text Begam, El-Dessouky, and Nyeng made me think outside the text to better understand the meaning and history of the novel. I gain the importance of tradition and history in Achebe’s novel from the discussions and arguments made from these authors.

Works Cited

Author Profile: Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe World Literature Today , Vol. 79, No. 1 (Jan. - Apr., 2005), p. 60

Begam, Richard. Achebe’s Sense of An Ending: History and Tragedy in “Things Fall Apart.” "Studies in the Novel , Vol. 29, No. 3, POSTCOLONIALISM, HISTORY, AND THE NOVEL (fall 1997), pp. 396-411

El-Dessouky, Mohamed Fawzy. "The Cultural Impact Upon Human Struggle For Social Existence In Chinua Achebe 's "Things Fall Apart." English Language Teaching 3.3 (2010): 98-106. Education Research Complete. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.

Njeng, Eric Sipyinyu. "Achebe 's work, postcoloniality, and human rights." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.1 (2013). Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.

Cited: Author Profile: Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe World Literature Today , Vol. 79, No. 1 (Jan. - Apr., 2005), p. 60 Begam, Richard. Achebe’s Sense of An Ending: History and Tragedy in “Things Fall Apart.” "Studies in the Novel , Vol. 29, No. 3, POSTCOLONIALISM, HISTORY, AND THE NOVEL (fall 1997), pp. 396-411 El-Dessouky, Mohamed Fawzy. "The Cultural Impact Upon Human Struggle For Social Existence In Chinua Achebe 's "Things Fall Apart." English Language Teaching 3.3 (2010): 98-106. Education Research Complete. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. Njeng, Eric Sipyinyu. "Achebe 's work, postcoloniality, and human rights." CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.1 (2013). Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.