Misconceptions In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe discusses the rise of an Igbo chieftain who came from great poverty to power and the eventual loss of Igbo traditions, rites, and the influence of his clan through his eyes due to western imperialism and colonialism. The intended audience for this novel is very broad, but if we tried to define it would primarily be people who have not experienced the Igbo culture and westerners or people who speak English. In this essay I will be focusing on the last six chapters: chapters 20 to 25. These chapters highlight the loss of power and customs of the Igbo people who have succumb to colonial rule. I fell Achebe is rhetorically effective and

Chinua Achebe once said, "the world is like a mask dancing...if you want to see it well, you do not stand in one place," (Goodreads). Renowned for his novel Things Fall Apart, in which he responds to the stereotypes of the British who conquered the continent of Africa in the era of New Imperialism, Achebe explores Igbo culture through many aspects of daily village life. Contradicting the racism employed by whites in the 1890s in order to justify slavery in earlier history, Things Fall Apart offers a new fresh perspective into the lives of ordinary villagers of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria, before they are taken over by the British. Just as the whites in Europe, the tribe applies their own religion, customs, beliefs, and language to their lives. Through this lens the reader is able to extract a deeper meaning of the powerful message Achebe communicates by penning the famous novel.

Throughout “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, aspects of Igbo culture are presented to the reader in order for them to obtain a grasp on how people from a part of Africa live. For the majority of Part I, different sides of Igbo culture are relayed to the reader predominantly through the 3rd person, as well as through the perspective of Okonkwo, in order to gain the understanding that these people do indeed, have a rich, intricate, and sophisticated way of life. However, things turn for the worse and in Parts II and III, where Achebe recreates the conflict between European and Igbo cultures at the turn of the twentieth century by focusing on the cataclysmic changes introduced by the forces of Christianity and colonialism, and how they destroyed the strong foundation of the once proud Igbo people.

Change is a reoccurring theme throughout history. It destroys and creates. It displaces and introduces. It can cause death and life. The movement of imperialism in Africa brought great change to the native tribal life. Forcing the indigenous people to turn away from their century-old traditions caused violent rifts between the European settlers and the tribes, as well as internal problems between once amiable members of the Ibo culture. With the introduction of the foreign Western Society in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the tribe’s life and ideals are drastically altered as the new ethics and principles collide with the old traditions and laws, causing the members of the society to either adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. Achebe’s character, Okonkwo, was impacted immensely by the cultural collision, as his previous way of life was pulverized before his eyes, and he found no reason to live any longer.

Initially, “Things Fall Apart” contains no traces of colonization. Instead, Achebe describes many of the customs of the people

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It aims to portray a traditional village life, and custom before British colonization, which is presented obviously from the first chapters of the novel. These are some clear evidences that confirm the existence of traditions and customs in the Igbo society “the drums beat and the flute sang and the spectators held their breath.” (TFA, p.3). “Okonkwo on his bamboo bed” (TFA, p.10). “Ogbuefi Ezeugo stood up in the midst of them and bellowed four times Umuofia Kwenu and on each occasion he faced a different direction and seemed to push the air with a clench fist.” (TFA, p.10). “Before I put any crop in the earth, I sacrifice a cock to Ani, the owner of the land.”(TFA, p.17). “ you know as well as I do that our fathers ordained that before we plant any crops in the earth, we should observe a week in which a man doesn’t say a harsh word to his neighbor.”(TFA’ p.30). These details and more affirm that the Igbo life style is highly stylized, from its ritual speech to the actions performed for certain ceremonies. Achebe through this description shows the truth of their culture and origin, proving that they exist and are humans, however this ordered culture is destroyed by the coming of British

Achebe also illustrates the Ibo judiciary and political system throughout the entire story. Similar to those in other cultures, the Ibo people had a very structured social order. In the beginning of the story on page 18, Achebe describes Nwakibie’s status in the Ibo village by stating he, “…had taken the highest but

Achebe reacts to the negative perception of African societies lacking a legal system by showing in detail that African nations had a legal system, which was used to solve conflicts and disputes. In Umuofia, the legal system, known as the egwugwu, was composed of men who wore masks to hide their identity.

Many situations given do not directly affect the story itself, but serve a purpose in providing examples to enlighten the reader on the background of the heritage. An example pertaining to the development of Ibo culture comes from its system of laws and justice. Achebe dedicates a chapter of this novel to describing the rituals of the egwugwu (important clansmen who dress as village ancestors), as they determine the verdict in a wife-beating case during Peace Week (87). The villagers of Umuofia do not believe the costumed clansmen are the village ancestors, although, “Okonkwo’s wives...might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo. They noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat behind the row of egwugwu."

The depiction of Africa has been tarnished over time from the colonial reign over its people, and people like Achebe discuss how the cliche of its people are simply just that; their conventional image. Multiple views exist from a great vast number of people, from authors to speakers, who oppose the idea that African stereotypes are its

The Igbo people highly regarded the importance of language and conversation. Achebe was able to prove this through the language he uses in the novel. There was a lot of proverbs used that conveyed the wisdom of the people. Moreover, Achebe showed how the Igbo people believed in something greater than themselves. They worshiped the gods, their personal god, and honored their ancestral spirits.

Without the ability to rule themselves, the white men completely changed the structure of the Igbos government. The Igbos judicial system was thrown out and replaced with one ruled by the white men. In the Igbos old court system, when there was a dispute to be settled, you would take it to the egwugwu and it would be discussed publicly. Whereas in the European court system set up in Umuofia, is ruled by one man. The white man’s judicial system is also much less fair. When Okonkwo accidentally killed the young boy, he was only banished by the elders to a sister clan. When Aneto committed a similar crime under the European court system, “Aneto was taken to Umuru and hanged” (Achebe 177). Aneto may have murdered a man, but under Igbo customs if he flees to another land, then he is to be spared. Even though Aneto did these things the white men did not pay any attention to Igbo customs and took the matter into their own hands. The extent to which the political infrastructure of the Igbo was damaged, was so great that the tribe ended up having to conform to European ways in order to survive.

Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” chronicles the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural belief and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo’s carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapses. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, affecting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe’s novel are Okonkwo’s life – his ambition, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values.

Along with their new form of religion, the white man “…had also brought government. They had built a court where the district commissioner judged cases in ignorance.”(Achebe 174) The Ibo are completely unfamiliar with government such as this and it seems as if they are being forced to abide by the white mans rules. The grasp the Ibo have upon the government of their own land is beginning to loosen. Few of the prisoners the white man obtained in the name of this government had committed acts that are rather justifiable to the Ibo people. “Some of these prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians. They were beaten in the prison by the kotma and made to work…”(Achebe 175) The white man is now dominating the actions in which the Ibo are accustomed to. Piece by piece the Ibo’s culture is being sumbmerged within the shadow of Western