Sydney Bowden
September 16, 2013
English 3140
Allen Webb
Let’s Talk, Shall We?
It is defined as an informal interchange of thoughts and information by spoken
word. Through daily routine we enact this using oral communication between persons. In
using this we have the ability to talk socially with others and with some we limit the
exchange of words through intimate acquaintance. This that I speak of is “conversation”.
Following the rules of etiquette, it is polite to give and take of subject’s thought of by
people talking with each other as a form of company during conversation. A conversation
can be about subjective ideas, objective facts, being about other people, or even about
oneself. In the novel, Things Fall Apart conversation took on a big role within the book.
The characters used what is called “functional conversation” which is designed to convey
information in order to help achieve an individual or group goal. Conversation is also
enacted through nonverbal cues as well as daily traditions. The question is how much
value does conversation truly hold? Does your word-choice matter? How do
conversations even begin? Why do the villagers in Things Fall Apart use proverbs and
stories at the beginning of their conversations?
The art of conversation holds a lot of value within the Igbo tribe. For example
according to the novel “proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten” (pg.7).
Proverbs were also used to teach lessons in life throughout the village. Typically when
someone seeks advice he who acts as the consultant traditionally will begin his or her
advice with a proverb later then lead into a story. Examples of proverbs used within the
novel are “When the moon is shinning, the cripple becomes hungry for a walk” (chapter
two), and “When someone calls another person name they always answer “is that me?”
they never answer yes for fear it might be an evil spirit calling them” (chapter 4).
Before many personal conversation began it was traditional for the welcoming
host to present their guest with a kola nut. The presentation of the kola nut was a way of
communicating respect for their guest. The kola nut is also a sign of peacefulness, which
is exhibited early in the book in chapter one.
“I have kola”, Unoka said.
“Thank you. He who brings kola brings life. But I think you ought to break it,” replied
Okoye.
“No, it is for you, I think”, and as the men argued for a few moments Unoka accepted the
honor of breaking the kola and as he broke the kola he prayed to their ancestors for good
health. That conversation later turned into one about a debt that Unoka owed back to
Okoye, and because of the peaceful offering of the kola nut instead of Okoye becoming
angry because Unoka did not have what he came for he instead remained peaceful. It is
possible to infer that even though Okoye may have been frustrated with the fact that he
would not be receiving his money any time soon the fact that the peace offering was the
kola nut it pretty much kept the peace between the two gentlemen.
The Igbo people hold a lot of faith within their religion, and when several
conversations came up referencing their customs and traditions conversations got really
deep. In chapter five, after Okonkwo has disturbed the peace of peace week by beating
his wife; Ezeani, who was the priest of the earth goddess Ani, calls on him. In an effort to
try and remain peaceful after he had already committed his wrong doing he presents a
kola nut, but it is rejected because Ezenai stated that “he refused to eat in a house of a
man who has no respect for their gods and ancestors” fearing that if he does then he will
then be looked down upon. As the conversation continued, Okonkwo made effort to
explain exactly what his wife had done, but because religion was so prominent and
following tradition was very important nothing that Okonkwo was saying mattered in the
conversation. Ezeani simply replied by saying
“Listen to me. You are not a stranger in Umuofia. You know as well as I do that
our forefathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth we should
observe a week in which a man does not say a harsh word to his neighbor. We
live in a peace with our fellows to honor our great goddess of the earth without
whose blessing our crops will not grow. You have committed a great evil.” He
brought down his staff heavily on the floor. “Your wife was at fault, but even if
you came into your obi and found her lover on top of her, you still have
committed a great evil to her. “ His staff came down again. “The evil you have
done can ruin the whole clan. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may
refuse to give us her increase, and we shall all perish. You will bring the shrine to
Ani tomorrow one she-goat, one hen, a length of cloth and a hundred cowries.”
He rose and left the hut.
It is very evident within that conversation that the anger from him going against the Gods
was building and instead of this conversation being a normal uplifting conversation it was
borderline a dishonoring conversation of Okonkwo.
Normal proverbs are used in conversations to teach life lessons and build
character, but instead this conversation was pointing out all of the negative aspects of one
mans character. With all of the nonverbal cues being communicated such as the stomping
of the stick on the floor and body language it was evident that Ezeani was speaking for
the village and how they all felt disrespected by his actions. Within the conversation his
tone changed from anger to demand of the few goods that he requested in the end, and
instead of him giving him the decency of respect to say “good-bye” he just leaves.
As a later result, during peace week the conversations held were all about
Okonkwo. The villagers talked of nothing else, but what is referred to as “nso-ani” which
he committed. Okonkwo was not the type to go out and speak about his wrong doings.
Due to the fact that it was the first time in many years that a man had broken the sacred
peace conversation was filled with the curiosity of what was next to come. Many people
commented by stating that he had no respect for the gods and allowed for his fortune to
get to his head, which resulted in him becoming big headed.
In connecting this to my everyday life, it is evident that conversation is reflected
upon everyday interactions. As a society we always feed on what happened next which
helps to build conversation with people that we interact with daily. Conversation is the
biggest when it is someone that we believe is prominent within the community. For
example, when the ex-major of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, lied under oath about
cheating on his wife by having an affair with a woman on his staff it was headlining news
within the city. I’m a strong believer in conversation being at its best when it reflects the
wrong doings of others. For months his situation was all that people could talk about, and
it was not just one of those simple conversations where you update everyone on the story
itself then you exchange either one or two opinions, instead it was a conversation that
could last forever. Just like the villagers feeling as if Okonkwo began to get a little big
headed because of his wealth, many people living in the city made similar comments
about Kilpatrick such as “he was too young to have become the major of such a large city
anyway”, “he allowed for his wealth to go to his head and figured that this would be a
situation swept under the rug”, etc. and just like every conversation a story is retold
several times and aspects are either forgot or newly brought in, but in reality never really
existed.
Another interesting form of conversation that tied into this novel is our recent
classroom interaction through the Things Fall Apart virtual world game. When the game
first began it started off really slow and that was partially because many of us were trying
to get a hang of how the system works. Conversation started off really slow because we
had to actually become these characters, but we were clueless as to what exactly we
should talk about. As the town crier began to deliver information the conversations
started rolling, which helps to prove that many conversations that are conducted begin
because of current events happening within the world that we live in. The more
information the town crier delivered, the more interesting the conversation became, and
the more everyone as a class got into the mindset of their character. In reading the
transcript for the game conversation started off very calm and slow, but as the intensity of
the things happening around the villagers progressed the conversation soon took a turn
for the worst. There was so much commotion and violence in the end when each
character came together as a group, which turned the conversation into an ugly one to
have. Due to the fact that we played that virtual game that was all text-based it gave an
understanding to how conversation is precisely developed and how much value that it
holds.
A big aspect to conversation is “word-choice”. The cliché of choosing your words
wisely because they could hurt you in the long run is true because people remember
conversation, but what they remember the most is what was actually said during the
conversation. In the novel, Things Fall Apart, I have a much better understanding as to
why proverbs were used within their conversations. When a person is seeking advice you
strive to start off that conversation with something that they will hold on to so using a
proverb or a generational story helps to convey that advice especially since we primarily
listen to the beginning an ending to a conversation, but we miss everything that was said
in the middle.
In conclusion, conversations hold more value then most think. Whether you’re
talking about someone, talking about yourself, or just seeking advice about what you, as a
person should do next, the words used within that conversation hold a lot of value as
well. In the novel, the art of conversation holds a lot of value because as a village they
communicate a lot with one another which helps the people of Igbo tribe to develop
understandings for why many practices are practiced the way they are. When someone is
giving advice they look to proverbs and traditional stories to help get their message
across. In reading this novel I learned a bit more then expected, and while studying the art
of conversation I found it to be a unique topic that teaches you as a person a few things
out of the ordinary, but later you will realize the value of words that you speak from
person to person are reflected on everyday life.