Proverbial Features of Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart - Essay Example

Proverbial Features of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Introduction The use of proverbs in oral and written stories reflects the universal lessons collected by the human race ever since the conception of communication. Proverbs, like other creative composition of words, offer a level of distinctness, which allow it to become very committed with every one's memory. They carry messages of value and wisdom as well as reiterate important reminders. The fame, firm, and inherent meaning of these proverbs have created a system of shortcuts. Thus, in indicating or conveying a message without offering further elaborations, the use of proverbs is widely recommended. In stories or tales, be it passed by tongue or ink, the addition of proverbs is a common practice. However, the use by which proverbs are significantly presented varies. The broad category of this variety includes function and style. Some writers or story-tellers use proverbs to represent styles of cultural, political, religious and other contextual aspects in the story. Others use them in various ways such that the story’s plot is interwoven and interlaced with the proverbs’ meaning. In relation to the aforementioned representations, this paper then looks at Chinua Achebe’s use of proverbs in his “Things Fall Apart” as a dominant functional feature rather than a stylistic one. The Argument At face value, Achebe’s use of proverbs in Things Fall Apart can be considered a stylistic marking of the distinct cultural and religious aspects of Igbo life. The proverbs significantly characterize the cultural background embodied of the Igbo, and are therefore, an effective tool to inject this background. In the story, Igbo culture is depicted through these proverbs as well as through superstitions, Igbo dialect, folk stories, tribal wars, local medicines, and personalities such as the Oracle and the priestess. It is noteworthy how most Igbo proverbs constituted of various animal and plant behaviors. This suggests the strong bond between the Igbo people and their environment. Some writers also use particular figures of speech or patterns to indicate the writer’s distinct style. Some use poetry, Bible passages, famous quotes, iconic figures or codes, while others include controversial events. Thus, it is safe to assume that Achebe’s use of Igbo proverbs is to establish himself and his style in the African literature. However, all of these deduce the functional abilities of proverbs into a wordy adornment and fail to recognize their dynamism. Achebe’s work illustrates the ability of proverbs to blend and direct the plot’s sub-events. This clearly shows that proverbs were dominantly used as a functional feature than a stylistic accessory to the story’s plot. Several functional uses of proverbs were present in Things Fall Apart. The most explicit of these is its use as a “kind of figurative, analogical element” (JanMohamed 37). The sequence starts with the proverb, which is signaled by phrases like “As the elders said,” then the narration prior to the mentioned proverb: “As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders” (Achebe 5). In these excerpts, the Igbo proverb introduces the implicative event or transition in Okonkwo’s life. The proverb indicates a status change (e.g., from poor to a titled noble), which Okonkwo had undergone. The narration that followed after the proverb meant to clarify to whose character it applies. This proverb-narration sequence is deemed simpler; adding the characters in the proverbs may alter or confuse the proverbs’ meaning. This particular use of the proverb does not just provide the writer the freedom to lessen elaboration but also creates a deep mark, highlights, and emphasizes the implication of a less-detailed event. Emenyonu indicated that this use of proverbs provides “weight, some force or sanctity and truth value;” it also influences the reader or listener’s judgment to render “the points as irrefutable because they are grounded in age-old practices” (232). Thus, another functional feature of proverbs in Achebe’s work is its influence over a reader’s judgment, its ability to convince and affirm the practical wisdom inherent of the proverbs. Moreover, the ensuing consequences of failure to heed these proverbs and the fate of the character further support the wisdom and applicability of the proverb. This and the reader’s capability to relate to the character help establish a reader’s personal bond with the learned proverb. Referring to the aforementioned excerpts, the use of proverbs in Things Fall Apart was evidently sequenced. This suggests proper timing in injecting proverbs -- “introduced at the right times, for the right occasions and purposes and for the right audiences” (Ogbaa 109). The placement of proverbs requires its appropriateness to the purpose and target audience to be recognized as indicative words of wisdom. This proper placement enabled Achebe to reap the full benefits, which may include the clear emphasis of themes, establishing of characters and effectively presenting the conflict and societal values (Lindfors, qtd. in Whittaker and Msiska 68). The most powerful use of these proverbs was its declining presence and concluding absence -- an indicator of the slow death of traditional Igbo culture, which is expected as they were conquered physically and religiously (Okpewho 30). The declining use of proverbs by the Igbo characters efficiently displayed the wiping of Igbo identity amongst the Igbo people only to be replaced by the conqueror’s identity -- the death of traditional culture and the birth of ‘modern’ culture. In Achebe’s work, the use of proverbs was not just contained at a sub-event level but impacted the whole story and proceeded to wrap the whole plot through its extinction. Conclusion Achebe’s Things Fall Apart had dynamically used the richness in function of the Igbo proverbs. Although proverbs are dominantly seen as wordy adornments in prose, its functional feature significantly marked its crucial role in the story’s plot, characters, conflict, and the evident setting. It functions as an ‘analogical element,’ a weight-incrementing substance and a determining influence over any reader’s judgment. Its usage also requires prompt timing and appropriateness to exploit opportunities of improving the theme, characters, conflict, and values embodied in the story. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Oxford, UK: Heinemann, 1996. Print. Emenyonu, Ernest N. Omenka the Master Artist: Critical Perspectives on Achebe's Fiction. Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press, 2004. Print. JanMohamed, Abdul. “Sophisticated Primitivism: The Syncretism of Oral and Literate Modes in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.” Ariel: A Review of International English Literature 15.4 (1984): 19-39. Print. Ogbaa, Kalu. Understanding Things Fall Apart: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources and Historical Documents. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Print. Okpewho, Isidore. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Casebook. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print. Whittaker, David, and Mpalive-Hangson Msiska. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Oxford, UK: Taylor & Francis, 2007. Print. Read More