Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

1958

   

Last modified on 05/5/1998 

 

Basic Ideas in Achebe’s Novels

  Things Fall Apart- Published in 1958, Things Fall Apart is Chinua Achebe’s response to inaccurate portrayals of African civilization by British writers. The novel reiterates how colonization by

European missionaries changed Igbo society after Nigeria was claimed. Leslie Omoara wrote that in this novel we see "only the beginning of the subjection of a people to an alien will". Arrow of God- This novel picks up where Things Fall Apart leaves off, showing further impacts of imperialism. It also illustrates an important theme in Achebe’s novels, in that it reinstates the validity of life without white man’s interference. Achebe’s belief in the importance of dialogue is shown in this novel, as well as others. Almost all novels by Achebe contain proverbs in them. No Longer At Ease- Corruption is the underlying theme in this novel. The novel is a flashback answering one simple question: Why

does an educated man succumb to bribes? A Man of the People- This novel is a satire on political motivations in post-independence Nigeria.

Characteristics of Ibo (Igbo)

3rd Most populous ethnic group in Nigeria

Lived in villages based on male lineage

All male heads of household were related on father’s side

Villages shared a market and meeting place

Also believed in similar ancestral spirits

Villages arranged in clans of approx. 5,000 people

More characteristics

Staple crops: yams, cassava, taro, corn, pumpkins, beans

High value placed on individual achievements and eloquent speech

Palm trees for oil

Diala: free adult malesosu: religious outcasts; priests to the godsIbo treated osu with contemptohu: slaves captured in war Chukwu: common god of allChi: each person’s protective ancestral spirit; each person, clan, and village had one

Terms

Terms Continuedagbala: woman or man with no titlekotma: court messengerogbanje: child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother’s wombiwi-uwa: a stone which connects a changeling to the spirit worldcowry shells: moneyefulefu: worthless manfoo foo: pounded yamobi: male living quartersiba: a feverochu: murdernso-ani: abhorred religious offenseagadi-nwayi: old womanekwe: a wooden drumkola: a a stimulant similar to coffee

ThemesContinual and inevitable changeNo culture is static; refusal to change or to adjust will not stop the process.Balance of traditional masculine and feminine valuesOkonkwo represents a traditional view of masculine power: he is physically strong,courageous and hardworking but incapable of compassion and humilityThe dynamic between the individual and the societyIndividuals derive strength from the societies to which they belong; when that relationship fails Okonkwo, he commits suicide

Main God Is ChukwuCreator of the worldand of lesser deities

The will of the deities is revealed through the oracles.

Ani: earth goddesswho regulates life

Ugwugwu: Represent the ancestral spiritsChielo: Priestess of Agbala

Themes ContinuedIronyOkonkwo realizes that the hostage boy Ikemefuna is more manly than Nwoye, yet he feels he must kill him to appear manly.

Proud Okonkwo is banished to the clan of his mother.

Nwoye rejected Okonkwo just as Okonkwo rejected his own father

The novel’s conclusion reduces Okonkwo’s life to a paragraph.

Okonkwo’s death is shameful just as his father’s was.

The author

Achebe is a social novelist who believed in the social potency of literature

Ibo childhood but university educated

Taught at several universities in Nigeria, Massachusetts, and Connecticut

Paralyzed from auto accident

Significance of TFA

Shows rich, positive view of African culture

Gives Africans a vision of their past

Different from typical African novel told from European point of view

Precursor to pluralism Affirmation and

acceptance of diversity Title implies cultural

breakdown is not limited to Ibo society; it is universal

To refuse to accept change is to be destroyed by it

Style and Point of ViewOmniscient narrator with deceptively simple style of an African storyteller

Use of the fable and proverb to convey symbolic meanings

“Proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten.”

Use of foreshadowing and flashback to reveal character and plot

Nigerian Politics

1914 Nigeria is created as a political entity

1861: Official British control

1866: Nigeria becomes separate British colony

British traded in palm oil; missionaries converted

Colonialism was ending when TFA was published

Nigeria gained independence in 1960

Modern Nigeria

A Nigerian farm, possibly similar to that of Okonkwo.

Yoruban (southwestern Nigerian) beaded crowns.

Dancing to tribal Christian rhythms.