Things Fall Apart - Essay Example

Literary Analysis of Things Fall Apart from a socio-political angle In Things Fall Apart and in his later novels, Achebe wanted to counter demeaning and incorrect stereotypes of his social and political surroundings and Eurocentric presentations of the confrontation between the Ibo of Nigeria and the British intruders. In his novels, Achebe admits, he strives for artistic excellence but also wants to give a message. Just as the oral tradition of the Ibo people served their society by sustaining its values, so the modern Ibo, writing in English, should serve Ibo society. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe combines the Ibo oral tradition’s narrative style with the Western world’s traditional novel form. In novel form Achebe narrates an African tale in African style. The novel’s narrative voice could be Achebe’s or it could be the voice of a village elder. In either case, the voice is connected to the world of the novel. Though the voice is objective, it is also a part of the scene depicted. (Gikandi, 22-28) To achieve an African voice, Achebe uses plain, short, declarative sentences. Also, throughout the novel, characters narrate or listen to traditional stories from the society’s past and stories that illustrate and teach the culture’s values. The novel opens with the retelling of Okonkwo’s exploits in a traditional wrestling match, the ritual by which young men proved themselves worthy of a high place in their clan. Achebe weaves Ibo proverbs into the novel’s dialogue, to clarify a point, to teach a lesson, and, usually, to provide humor. Also, many Ibo words are used in the text without translation. Some of these can be understood by the reader through context, but others remain mysterious and create a distance between the non-Ibo reader and the Ibo world of Things Fall Apart. Taken together, sentence structure, Umuofian stories, proverbs, and language create a memorable colloquial narrative voice. (Wren, 12-45) Behind the story of Okonkwo and the pictures of Ibo society, slightly disguised but clearly audible, echoes the voice of the author, a philosophical voice; in the measured tone Achebe adopts toward his character, his people’s history, and the new order there is humor and equanimity. His main character, Okonkwo, reflects the voice negatively by his failure to achieve philosophical detachment in his quest for personal fame, to evaluate personal desire within a wider frame of reference. Ibo proverbs, which record traditional wisdom, can guide the individual, but as in any society, the individual must be wise enough to apply them. The proverbs themselves are likely to be, not surprisingly, contradictory on controversial matters. On the one hand, for example, the Ibo of Things Fall Apart acknowledge the presence of fate in human character, designated by one’s personal god, or chi. On the other hand, the Ibo recognize individual ambition that makes success possible. After his return to Umuofia, his fortunes temporarily improve; Okonkwo seems more reliant on fate than on his own strong will: “His chi might now be making amends for the past disaster.” (Gikandi, 22-28) The seven-year exile has thus had a humbling effect, but it does not grant Okonkwo inner strength. His perception of manly dignity is still inseparable from public honor within a provincial order. (Gikandi, 22-28) While Okonkwo bases his very identity on the absoluteness and immutability of his culture’s values, other elders, more cosmopolitan in their outlook, recognize that what is true in one part of the world is not true in another. Obierika, the primary voice of reason in the novel, suggests a moderate response to the changing times.Uchendu asks the exiled Okonkwo not egotistically to consider himself a unique case but to observe the tragic suffering others endure. The new order with the white man must be seen within a larger tragic sense of life. The final authorial attitude would seem to be close to the philosophical stoicism of Obierika and the tragic awareness of Uchendu as they watch their world fall apart about them. (Wren, 12-45) Things Fall Apart is the first of four novels by Chinua Achebe tracing the recent history of the Ibo people as they become part of the Nigerian state. Arrow of God(1964) takes up the story twenty-five years later, in the confrontation of an Ibo priest and a firmly entrenched British colonial power. No Longer at Ease (1960) presents the experience of a Western-educated Nigerian during the 1950’s, and the satirical A Man of the People (1966) focuses on political instabilities in the postindependence period of the 1960’s. Such historically oriented novels about traditional life and the impact of colonialism are typical of African literature since World War II. They are, at the same time, Western in language, form, and preoccupation; generally suspicious, however, of Western civilization; and genuinely concerned about losing a way of life, a cultural heritage, and an ethnic identity. (Wren, 12-45) Of all these and other attempts to re-create Africa’s past, Things Fall Apart is probably the best known and most widely read. Though not intended specifically for young audiences, it not only is accessible to the adolescent reader but also provides an introduction to a non-Western culture through an entertaining medium.Achebe takes seriously Uchendu’s warning that all stories are true and proves that not only proverbs but also novels “are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.” (Gikandi, 22-28) He raises Ibo socio-political culture to life through a management of English prose and the novel form. The narrative abounds in Ibo proverbs and repeatedly uses turns of phrase and an indirect manner of speech to achieve an African vernacular. Further, Achebe employs a narrative technique characteristic of the Ibo — “skirting around the subject and then hitting it finally” — (Gikandi, 22-28)bthat not only reproduces the mentality of the people but also allows him to survey the culture while gradually narrowing the focus onto the fate of Okonkwo, an appropriately African strategy since the fate of the individual is intimately tied to the fate of the community. Equally important is the corollary message for a Western audience. Achebe manages to break the stereotype of so-called primitive, that is, nontechnological cultures. He gives a convincing, realistic portrayal of intelligent human beings living within a complex socio-political system. (Gikandi, 22-28) The plot line of Okonkwo’s struggle and fall reveals not only his complex character but also the strong social fabric of the Umuofian people. Like Okonkwo’s character, this society is complex, having both strengths and weaknesses. Its traditions create a stable community in which each individual finds meaning. The oral storytelling and rituals for planting, harvesting, and human passage sustain an orderly society. Some of the harsher customs, such as killing the innocent Ikemefuna, exiling Okonkwo for an accidental killing, and banishing some persons to live their entire lives as outcasts, raise doubts about the ultimate wisdom of Umuofian customs. Some, like Nwoye and Obereika, question what was always done and suggest that change is necessary. Others, like Okonkwo, stand fast in defense of the tradition. When the newcomers come with a new religion and laws, the fabric of Umuofian society weakens. The newcomers also have strengths and weaknesses. They offer a gentler religion and different laws. Their excessive zeal and righteousness, however, provoke the anger of the people the newcomers want to win over. Finally, the Umuofian people and the newcomers share a common weakness. Few attempt to learn each other’s language, customs, or beliefs. Conflict is inevitable. The situation and characters that Achebe draws in his novel are fraught with complexity. It is this complexity, as well as Achebe’s masterful writing style, that make Things Fall Apart a classic novel as far as the socio-political aspect is concerned. (Wren, 12-45)   Works Cited Gikandi, Simon. Reading Chinua Achebe: Language and Ideology in Fiction. Portsmouth, N.H.: J. Currey, 2001. 22-28 Wren, Robert M. Achebe’s World: the Historical and Cultural Context of the Novels of Chinua Achebe. Washington, D.C.: Three Continents Press, 2004. 12-45 Read More