Things Fall Apart Figurative Language

Chinua Achebe’s characters in Things Fall Apart tell traditional folk tales and intersperse their conversations with Igbo words, sayings, proverbs, and phrases. The author’s choices in terms of diction and structure contribute to this piece, with the use of language conveying a sense of the Igbo culture. Throughout the novel, figurative language such as proverbs and metaphors are greatly used when the characters tell stories to one another as a way to teach morals, entertain the audience, or pass down tales from previous generations. For example, personification was incorporated when Achebe mentioned, “[the sound of the drums] was like the pulsation of its heart.” (p. 44). The use of proverbs is essential in everyday conversations and highly
First of all, the author helped the readers get a deeper understanding of the Igbo culture from the terminology and the Igbo language. Achebe incorporated the culture’s concepts and vocabulary to let the reader relate to society. For instance, the author used context clues to hint the definitions of words such as “chi” or “ekwe”, which means personal god and a wooden drum used as an instrument for music. To add, the author stated, “the entire neighborhood wore a festive air because Okonkwo’s friend, Obierika, was celebrating his daughter’s uri. It was the day on which her suitor (having already paid the greater part of her bride-price) would bring palm-wine not only to her parents and immediate relatives but to the wide and extensive group of kinsmen called umunna.” (p. 110). Achebe’s context clues let the readers infer that “uri” means an Igbo ceremony, where a dowry is paid. Not to mention, the author clearly stated that “umunna” means a large group of kinsmen. Other than Achebe’s use of diction, personification, and proverbs, the writer also greatly used imagery and metaphors. For example, Achebe said, “sometimes it poured down in such thick sheets of water that earth and the sky seemed merged in one grey wetness,” (p. 35) to describe imagery for the readers to visualize the novel’s setting. Additionally, Achebe also incorporated metaphors such as “he knew that he was a fierce fighter, but that year had been enough to break the heart of a lion.” (p. 24), which was used to help the readers understand Okonkwo through dark times. To conclude, Achebe conveyed a sense of the society through language and helped contribute the use of word choice and structure to the