Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe (1958) Title: - - The title is taken from a poem by the Irish poet WB Yeats’ ‘The Second Coming’. In the poem, Yeats laments the passing of order and innocence from the world and fears that the changes that are taking place may not be for the best. The title is therefore appropriate as it depicts the coming of the white man as signalling the breakdown of the solidarity of the clan and the replacement of its order by confusion or the ‘mere anarchy’, as mentioned in Yeats’ poem. Rewriting History: Historical Context of the Novel: - - - Published before Nigeria’s independence – anticipation of a new country – past and future of Nigeria. Divided into three parts. Part 1 – how people lived in a pre-colonial Igbo village – evident that the village has its own norms, rules of relation and governing system. Part 2 – Okonkwo’s exile to Mbanta and invasion of the missionaries – we see things start to fall apart. Part 3 – catastrophic consequences of the invasions – precolonial society falls apart. Novel is not writing to a white and Western audience but is rather writing a book for the people who were colonised. Depiction of pre-colonial Africa as Achebe believed it to be. Epigraph comes from the Second coming by William Butler Yates. Written as a response to the history of colonialism – wrote against the literary depictions of African people as savages and uncivilised – African people did not learn of culture after being colonised and had a history. Okonkwo: - Protagonist of the novel. - - - Novel moves through the events that happen during his life. Tragic hero – he is a victim of the defects of his virtues. Revered amongst his community. Umuofia – community that revers masculinity and people who are able to fight and overcome their obstacles. Okonkwo’s father symbolises failure. Despite the failures of his father, Okonkwo has overcome it and made something of his life. But, his children and his wife suffer from this due to his harshness. Patriarchal society. Novel moves between the present and the past constantly – deliberately done in order to show how the pre-colonial society has a history and its own traditions. Third-person narration. Okonkwo’s fear of becoming a failure has turned him into the person he has become – wants to undo his father’s legacy – expects this from his children too (Nwoye). He is not brutal by nature but rather by the compulsion not to repeat his father’s life. After Okonkwo’s return to Umuofia, he expects it to be the same as when he left – loyalty to tradition. Paradoxical – obsession with violence leads to both his downfall but also his successes. Okonkwo has rigid views on culture – undermined by the missionaries. Ironically – Okonkwo violates many of his cultural norms and expectations. Fall at the end of the novel – partially due to living in a patriarchal society – but this also led to his success. Structure of the Novel: - - - Third-person narration – omniscient narrator – more objective perspective. Repetitions of Okonkwo’s greatness and his father’s failures – Achebe uses this to mimic storytelling in precolonial societies – repetition is used to reinforce ideas and information. Periphrasis used by the narrator – roundabout way of speaking – builds up to the picture of Okonkwo and the culture he is situated in. Part two – plot becomes more linear – pace of narrative quickens. - - - - - Plot mirrors the rapid decline and destruction of the culture represented in the first section – change in the function of the society. Use of proverbs – mimics the way the people in the precolonial village speak – proverbs are used by the community to transfer knowledge from generation to generation through the oral form instead of through writing. Proverbs allow Achebe to communicate the culture, norms and themes of the novel. Use of indigenous Igbo language – intends to give the novel a realistic depiction of the time – some words translated, whilst others are not. Interplay between the narrator being a member of the community and knowing the culture whilst there’s also distance to provide the novel with a more objective structure. Narrator frequently interrupts the narrative to provide explanatory observations. Pre-colonial Igbo Society: - - - - Achebe wanted to write against the dominant beliefs about people of African descendent that were used to justify colonisation on the basis that these people were uncivilised. The novel subverts this justification through Achebe’s representation of the pre-colonial Igbo society – critical to colonisation. Igbo society is complex – has its own laws that govern how people live, religious beliefs and various practices. Pre-colonial societies were in fact as sophisticated/complex as any other culture – destruction of the society is therefore catastrophic. Agrarian society organised into districts made up of village groupings. Egalitarian and democratic society that had no rulers with autocratic powers. Encouraged healthy rivalries between individuals and groups. Emphasis on individual accomplishment. Patriarchal class system – free-born men/amadi at the top, slaves/ohu in the middle and the ostracised osu. - - - - - - - Multiple deities/alusi, ancestors and benevolent and malevolent spirits. Ontological tradition – personal choice of destiny – role of the chi/personal god. Belief that there are different forces and energies that are in constant communication with them and therefore, deities and nature must be respected due to their direct impact on the everyday activities of the community. Harmonic relation between Okonkwo and his chi – later subverted – novel ends without resolving the relationship between Okonkwo and his chi. Relations that communities have with one another – have rules to avoid wars. Men gather to speak – democratic ethos of the Igbo society. Okonkwo beats his wife – not tolerated by the deity – Okonkwo must atone for his actions to prevent consequences against the whole community. Although Okonkwo is revered and strong, no one is above the deities and he is still punished for his actions – brings order to their society. Egwugwu – ancestral spirits that help to settle disputes within the community. Democratic decision – disputes the colonial idea that African societies are not civilised and without order. Deeply patriarchal – men are a part of the Egwugwu and only the men present the case. Egwugwus as the administration of justice. Although Umuofia is a sophisticated and evolved culture, Achebe is still critical of some of the culture’s practices and prohibitions and therefore he does not portray Umuofia as some form of an idyllic pre-colonial utopia. Novel is a subversion of the colonial lie. Because of Umuofia’s laws, Okonkwo has to flee. Obierika reflects on the laws of Umuofia (Okonkwo being sent away and the killing of innocent twins, including his own). Conflict between right and wrong in comparison to the will of the deities. Class and gender stratifications – made it possible to colonise these societies. Race and Religion: - Okonkwo’s life begins to fall apart once the colonial process begins. - - - - - - - - Racial difference and religion used to justify the invasion of different countries. Pseudoscience and phrenology – race used as a way to differentiate people – pseudoscience concluded that the white race was superior – justification for Europe to colonise. Colonial process believed that the other could be brought to their level – ironic as this would get rid of the very differences that justified colonisation. Religion was also used to justify the colonial process. Irony – trying to bring others into Christianity through violence. Religion was used by colonisers to maintain some sanity against the barbarism of those being violated during colonisation. Religion used to cover and justify the violence. Colonial process was left out from part 1 and only starts in part 2 – part 1 shows how a pre-colonial society functions – encroachment of colonialism therefore only starts in part 2. Novel shows on a personal level the impact of colonialism on individuals, families, friendships and communities. The success of colonialism can only be understood after understanding the society described in part 1. Violence of the early days of colonialism – entire Abame community was killed. Behaviour used in the attempt to civilise the other, brutality is used. This brutality can only occur if the other are not regarded as human or as people – ironic. Okonkwo and Obierika are naïve when discussing the foolishness of the people of Abame. Religion used as a source to further divide the community by making use of the already existing divisions. Communities are constructed through the symbolic – this is what renders them precarious of facing the threat of violence and in turn transfigured. People react differently to the colonial encounter is based on their societal positions. Nwoye’s unsatisfaction with the Igbo tradition and some of its rules makes it possible for him to join the new religion. Those who enjoy a high social status, such as Okonkwo, would not want to change. Introduction of the new religion exposes and aggravates the existing divisions within the communities. Christianity made itself appealing as it attract people on the margins of the communities – attempt to join the church to rebuild their lives. - - - Ironic – although colonialism is critiqued, pre-colonial societies still had hierarchies that excluded people – this exclusion partially allowed for the success of colonialism. Bringing in a new religion took away the customs and obliterated the ways in which people lived and found meaning in their lives. Colonialism obliterated the religious beliefs that were already in existence. Christianity introduced an ethos of deep fears (hell) which therefore perpetuated strict conformity. Gender: - - - - - - Depiction of women and their roles in society in a precolonial society has implications to the understanding of gender constructions in a post-colonial society Women seen as symbols/totems of tradition – deities of Umuofia – mother symbols cement the national feeling. The gods and leaders in Umuofia are always men. Women/females – attachment to the soil/earth – they play an important, symbolic role of the attributes of the formation of a nation – Mother city/Mother nation – despite this attachment – women are still inferior. Women are expected to participate in the private sphere (family and home), rather than the public sphere, which is reserved for men. Okonkwo’s mother, wives and daughter’s recession into the background, enable male figures such as Okonkwo, his father and son to achieve their representational prominence. All the protagonists of the novel are male. Wives, daughters and women are present but recede into the background. Status of women in Umuofia are very low – mere objects circulated amongst the men folk – only escape from this is outliving the man – e.g. position of Chielo. Council of elders, Egwugwu and the ndichie are all made up of men. Narrator aligns himself with the sexist views of the male characters. Umuofia is a patriarchal society – this patriarchy thrives in Okonkwo’s household. Okonkwo does not question the division between the masculine and feminine – his eventual fall can be attributed to his belief in these rigid roles. Okonkwo has a hatred of the feminine – Nwoye. - - - Okonkwo takes out all of his aggression on the feminine – easy for him to do so as the feminine is other to him. Relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye – relation about culture and expectations and how this can be harmful to an individual – this relationship mirrors Okonkwo’s relationship with his father. The difference between Nwoye and his father leads to Nwoye joining the missionaries – cannot conform to the expectations put on him by his culture. Okonkwo wanting to be the same as him – similar to how colonialism functions. Society that valorises masculinity with the feminine as the other. Is Achebe’s portrayal of gender simply a faithfulness to what he knows about the past or are they Achebe’s views. Conclusion: - - - - - - Okonkwo no longer enjoys the privileged position he had before his exile to Mbanta. Violence of colonialism seen in Abame is replicated in Umuofia. Okonkwo believes that it is possible to rebel against the new order – but this is not possible – change can also be seen to be beneficial for some people. Role of the Egwugwu no longer attainable in this new society. Through the group of leaders/Egwugwu, the fall of the community is depicted. Shift in narrative frame to the District Commissioner – replicates how colonialism has intruded into the lives of the people in the community – the story of their lives will no longer be told by them but will rather reflect the views of those that colonised them. Okonkwo’s suicide is a consequence of the changes in his community and his awareness that people are not going to fight against this new order. Okonkwo’s life depends on the old order being in place – without this old order, he loses his significance in the community. Okonkwo as a great man. District commissioner – undignified details – he must appear as other to the community by not participating in their rituals such as cutting Okonkwo done. Reasonable paragraph – ironic – Achebe has shown through his novel that the community is interesting – shows the undermining of the colonial regime of African history.
