13. Things Fall Apart ( 1958 )
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Chinua Achebe (born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe;
16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013)
Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in
1930. He used Igbo Language. He is one of the most important African
writers and often referred as ”Father of African
Literature”, "founding father of African literature", and the "'father of the African novel in English", but he
rejects it.
He was raised by Christian evangelical
parents in the large village of Ogidi, in Igboland, one of the first centers of
Anglican missionary work in Eastern Nigeria. He received an early education in
English, but grew up surrounded by a complex fusion of Igbo traditions and
colonial legacy. He studied literature and medicine at the University College,
Ibadan.
After graduating, he went to work for
the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos and later studied at the British
Broadcasting Corporation staff school in London. During this time, Achebe was
developing work as a writer. Starting in the 1950s, he was central to a new
Nigerian literary movement that drew on the oral traditions of Nigeria's
indigenous tribes. Although Achebe wrote in English, he attempted to incorporate
Igbo vocabulary and narratives. Things Fall Apart (1958) was his first novel,
and remains his best-known work. It has been translated into at least
forty-five languages, and has sold eight million copies worldwide.
Achebe left his career in radio in
1966, during the national unrest and violence that led to the Biafran War. He
narrowly escaped harm at the hands of soldiers who believed that his novel, A
Man of the People, implicated him in the country's first military coup. He
began an academic career the next year, taking a position as a Senior Research
Fellow at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. That same year, he co-founded a
publishing company with Nigerian poet Christopher Okigbo. In 1971, he became an
editor for Okike, a prestigious Nigerian literary magazine. In 1984, he
founded Iwa ndi Ibo, a bilingual publication dedicated to Igbo cultural
life.
Achebe became active in Nigerian
politics in the 1960s. Many of his novels dealt with the social and political
problems facing his country, including the difficulties of the post-colonial
legacy. When Biafra, an Eastern region in Nigeria, declared independence in
1967. Achebe put aside writing long fiction in order to spend thirty months
traveling Europe and the United States advocating for the new country. During
this period, he produced several short stories dealing with the complex
realities of the Nigerian Civil War; the best known of these stories is
"Civil Peace".
Achebe's university career was
extremely successful: he was made Emeritus Professor at the University of
Nigeria in 1985; he taught at the University of Massachusetts and the
University of Connecticut, Storrs.
Cited in the London Sunday Times as
one of the "1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century" for defining
"a modern African literature that was truly African" and thereby
making "a major contribution to world literature," has published
novels, short stories, essays, and children's books.
Mr. Achebe has received numerous
honors from around the world, including the Honorary Fellowship of the American
Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, as well as 24 honorary doctorates
from universities in England, Scotland, the United States, Canada, and Nigeria.
He is also the recipient of Nigeria's highest award for intellectual
achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award in 1987. He received Man Booker International Prize as
life time achievement in 2007.
Several decades later, in 1994, Achebe
was forced to flee Nigeria after the repressive regime threatened to imprison
him for his political stances and activism. He last lived in the United States,
where he held a teaching position at Bard College until 2009, when he joined
Brown University as a professor of Africana Studies. In his later years, he
also served as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund.
Mr. Achebe is married to Annandale,
and they had four children. Achebe died in 2013, of an undisclosed illness in
Boston.
Novels:
African Trilogy:
1.
Things Fall apart (1958)- first novel, magnum
opus, about pre-colonial life in Nigeria and arrival of Europeans in late 19th
century. The title is drawn from W B Yeats’s The Second Coming poem.
“Turning and turning in the
widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the
falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre
cannot hold;”
2.
No Longer at Ease
(1960) – story of an Igbo man Obi Okonkwo, grandson of
Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart
3.
Arrow of God
(1964) - shares similar settings and themes as above
two novels. The novel centres on Ezeulu, the chief priest of the god Ulu,
worshipped by the six villages of Umuaro. The book begins with Ezeulu and
Umuaro fighting against a nearby village, Okperi. It is the winner of the New
Statesman-Jock Campbell Award
(these 3 works
are known as African Trilogy)
4.
A Man of people
(1966)- Story of a teacher Odili Samalu enters into
politics and hos conflict with the minister Nanga
5.
Anthills of
Savannah (1987)- The plot centres
around the political intrigue in an imaginary West African country of Kangan,
where a Sandhurst-trained officer, identified only as Sam and known as
"His Excellency", has taken power following a military coup. Shortlisted
for the Booker.
Code: TNAMA-Things-No-Arrow-Man-Ant
Poetry:
1. Christmas in Biafra -his volume of poetry, written during the Biafran War, was the joint
winner of the first Commonwealth Poetry Prize.
Essays:
1.
Where angels fear
to tread 1962 -essay
2.
An image of
Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1975)- a famous lecture
1975, at the University of Massachusetts in 1975, He criticized Joseph Conrad
as “Bloody
Racist”¸ for depicting Africa as "the
other world".
3.
There Was a Country: A Personal History of
Biafra (2012)- is a
personal account by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe of the Nigerian Civil War,
also known as the Biafran War. It is the author's last published book.
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Background/Context:
Chinua Achebe's college work sharpened
his interest in indigenous Nigerian cultures. He had grown up in Ogidi, a large
village in Nigeria. His father taught at the missionary school, and Achebe
witnessed firsthand the complex mix of benefit and catastrophe that the
Christian religion had brought to the Igbo people. In the 1950s, an exciting
new literary movement grew in strength. Drawing on indigenous Nigerian oral
traditions, this movement enriched European literary forms. Things Fall
Apart (1958) is one of the masterpieces of 20th century African fiction.
Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s,
during the coming of the white man to Nigeria. In part, the novel is a response
and antidote to a large tradition of European literature in which Africans are
depicted as primitive and mindless savages. The attitudes present in colonial
literature are so ingrained into our perception of Africa that the District
Commissioner, who appears at the end of the novel, strikes a chord of
familiarity with most readers. He is arrogant, dismissive of African
"savages," and totally ignorant of the complexity and richness of
Igbo life. Yet his attitude echoes so much of the depiction of Africa; this
attitude, following Achebe's depiction of the Igbo, seems hollow and savage.
Digression is one of Achebe's most
important tools. Although the novel's central story is the tragedy of Okonkwo,
Achebe takes any opportunity he can to digress and relate anecdotes and
tertiary incidents. The novel is part documentary, but the liveliness of
Achebe's narrative protects the book from reading like an anthropology text. We
are allowed to see the Igbo through their own eyes, as they celebrate the
various rituals and holidays that mark important moments in the year and in the
people's live.
Achebe depicts the Igbo as a people
with great social institutions. Their culture is rich and impressively
civilized, with traditions and laws that place great emphasis on justice and
fairness. The people are ruled not by a king or chief but by a kind of simple
democracy, in which all males gather and make decisions by consensus.
Ironically, it is the Europeans, who often boast of bringing democratic
institutions to the rest of the world, who try to suppress these clan meetings
in Umuofia. The Igbo also boast a high degree of social mobility. Men are not
judged by the wealth of their fathers, and Achebe emphasizes that high rank is
attainable for all freeborn Igbo.
He does not shy from depicting the
injustices of Igbo society. No more or less than Victorian England of the same
era, the Igbo are deeply patriarchal. They also have a great fear of twins, who
are abandoned immediately after birth to a death by exposure. Violence is not
unknown to them, although warfare on a European scale is something of which
they have no comprehension.
The novel attempts to repair some of
the damage done by earlier European depictions of Africans. But this
recuperation must necessarily come in the form of memory; by the time Achebe
was born, the coming of the white man had already destroyed many aspects of
indigenous culture.
Plot/Narrative Structure:
There are 25 chapters in the novel, but
chapters are not titled.
|
Chapter |
Plot Summary |
|
1 |
Introduces
Okonkwo, his strength, fame, and contrast with his lazy father, Unoka. |
|
2 |
A
village boy is killed; as compensation, Ikemefuna is brought to Umuofia.
Okonkwo becomes his guardian. |
|
3 |
Okonkwo’s
struggle to overcome his father’s legacy; visits the Oracle for farming
guidance. |
|
4 |
Okonkwo
is punished for beating his wife during the sacred Week of Peace. |
|
5 |
New
Yam Festival preparations reveal Okonkwo’s temper and his strained family
relationships. |
|
6 |
Community
enjoys a wrestling match, highlighting Igbo customs and social bonds. |
|
7 |
Ikemefuna
is ordered to be killed; Okonkwo participates, traumatizing his son Nwoye. |
|
8 |
Okonkwo
feels guilt; reflects on masculinity and struggles to connect with Nwoye. |
|
9 |
Ekwefi’s
grief over past losses and her close bond with her daughter Ezinma are
explored. |
|
10 |
Igbo
traditional justice is portrayed through a tribal court scene involving the
egwugwu. |
|
11 |
Ekwefi
tells Ezinma a tale; later follows the priestess when Ezinma is taken to the
Oracle. |
|
12 |
Ezinma
returns; wedding preparations for Obierika’s daughter show community life. |
|
13 |
Okonkwo
accidentally kills a clansman at a funeral and is exiled for seven years. |
|
14 |
Okonkwo
is welcomed in Mbanta; receives wise counsel from his uncle Uchendu. |
|
15 |
Missionaries
arrive; a neighboring village, Abame, is wiped out after killing a white man. |
|
16 |
Missionaries
convert locals; Nwoye is drawn to Christianity, causing tension at home. |
|
17 |
Nwoye
joins the church; the Christians are given land in the Evil Forest and
thrive. |
|
18 |
Conflict
escalates between converts and villagers; sacred traditions are challenged. |
|
19 |
Okonkwo
hosts a farewell feast; elders fear cultural erosion. |
|
20 |
Okonkwo
returns, determined to regain his former status, but finds the village
changed. |
|
21 |
Some
villagers welcome colonial rule and its benefits, others are uneasy. |
|
22 |
The
church is destroyed; the colonial government retaliates and humiliates
village elders. |
|
23 |
Okonkwo
and others are arrested and mistreated; the village is forced to pay a fine. |
|
24 |
Okonkwo
kills a colonial messenger during a village meeting; the villagers do not
support him. |
|
25 |
Okonkwo
commits suicide. The District Commissioner treats it as a mere anecdote for
his book on Africa. |
Epigraph:
Turning and turning in the
widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the
falconer;
Things Fall Apart ; the center
cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the
world.
—W. B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"
Opening line:
“Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even
beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of
eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat.
Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia
to Mbaino.”
Closing line:
“He had already chosen the title
of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of
the Lower Niger.”
Things Fall Apart Summary
The bulk of the novel takes place in Umuofia,
a cluster of nine villages on the lower Niger. Umuofia is a powerful clan,
skilled in war and with a great population, with proud traditions and advanced
social institutions.
Okonkwo has risen from nothing to a high
position. Through hard work, he has become a great man among his people. He has
taken three wives and his barn is full of yams, the staple crop. He rules his
family with an iron fist.
One day, a neighboring clan commits an
offense against Umuofia. To avoid war, the offending clan gives Umuofia one
virgin and one young boy. The girl is to become the offended party's new wife.
The boy, whose name is Ikemefuna, is to be sacrificed, but not immediately. He
lives in Umuofia for three years, and during that time he lives under Okonkwo's
roof. He becomes like a part of Okonkwo's family. In particular, Nwoye,
Okonkwo's oldest son, loves Ikemefuna like a brother. But eventually the Oracle
calls for the boy's death, and a group of men take Ikemefuna away to kill him
in the forest. Okonkwo, fearful of being perceived as soft-hearted and weak,
participates in the boy's death. He does so despite the advice of the clan
elders. Nwoye is spiritually broken by the event.
Okonkwo is shaken as well, but he
continues with his drive to become a lord of his clan. He is constantly
disappointed by Nwoye, but he has great love for his daughter Ezinma, his child
by his second wife Ekwefi. Ekwefi has born ten children, but only Ezinma has
survived. She loves the girl fiercely. Ezinma is sickly, and sometimes Ekwefi
fears that Ezinma, too, will die. Late one night, the powerful Oracle of
Umuofia brings Ezinma with her for a spiritual encounter with the earth
goddess. Terrified, Ekwefi follows the Oracle at a distance, fearing harm might
come to her child. Okonkwo follows, too.
Later, during a funeral for one of the
great men of the clan, Okonkwo's gun explodes, killing a boy. In accordance
with Umuofia's law, Okonkwo and his family must be exiled for seven years.
Okonkwo bears the exile bitterly.
Central to his beliefs is faith that a man masters his own destiny. But the
accident and exile are proof that at times man cannot control his own fate, and
Okonkwo is forced to start over again without the strength and energy of his
youth. He flees with his family to Mbanto, his mother's homeland. There they
are received by his mother's family, who treat them generously. His mother's
family is headed by Uchendu, Okonkwo's uncle, a generous and wise old man.
During Okonkwo's exile, the white man
comes to both Umuofia and Mbanto. The missionaries arrive first, preaching a
religion that seems mad to the Igbo people. They win converts, but generally
the converts are men of low rank or outcasts. However, with time, the new
religion gains momentum. Nwoye becomes a convert. When Okonkwo learns of
Nwoye's conversion, he beats the boy. Nwoye leaves home.
Okonkwo returns to Umuofia to find the
clan sadly changed. The church has won some converts, some of whom are
fanatical and disrespectful of clan custom. Worse, the white man's government
has come to Umuofia. The clan is no longer free to judge its own; a District
Commissioner judges cases in ignorance. He is backed by armed power.
During a religious gathering, a
convert unmasks one of the clan spirits. The offense is grave, and in response
the clan decides that the church will no longer be allowed in Umuofia. They
tear the building down. Soon afterward, the District Commissioner asks the
leaders of the clan, Okonkwo among them, to come see him for a peaceful
meeting. The leaders arrive, and are quickly seized. In prison, they are
humiliated and beaten, and they are held until the clan pays a heavy fine.
After a release of the men, the clan
calls a meeting to decide whether they will fight or try to live peacefully
with the whites. Okonkwo wants war. During the meeting, court messengers come
to order the men to break up their gathering. The clan meetings are the heart
of Umuofia's government; all decisions are reached democratically, and an
interference with this institution means the end of the last vestiges of
Umuofia's independence. Enraged, Okonkwo kills the court messenger. The other
court messengers escape, and because the other people of his clan did not seize
them, Okonkwo knows that his people will not choose war. His act of resistance
will not be followed by others. Embittered and grieving for the destruction of
his people's independence, and fearing the humiliation of dying under white
law, Okonkwo returns home and hangs himself.
CHARACTERS LIST
Okonkwo- Proud,
ambitious, and ill-tempered, Okonkwo is the tragic hero of things pall apart.
An ambitious man who has risen from nothing to a man of importance in his
tribe, Okonkwo rules his family with an iron fist.He is deeply dedicated to the
traditions and social hierarchies of his people, and he is determined that his
sons and daughters follow his demanding example. The indignities forced on him
and his people by the British eventually prove to be too much for him. After an
act of defiance which goes unsupported by his people, Okonkwo gives in to
despair. He kills himself, partly so that he will not be executed under the
white man's laws and partly because he is grieving for the death of his people.
Unoka- Okonkwo's
father. He died when Okonkwo was very young, and he was a failure. Shame for
Unoka drives Okonkwo to work tirelessly. Unoka died in debt and humiliation;
the memory of him gives Okonkwo a terrible fear of failure.
Ikemefuna- A
young boy given to Umuofia by a neighboring village as tribute. Ikemefuna is
sacrificed to prevent a war. He lives in Umuofia for three years, under
Okonkwo's roof; Okonkwo looks at him as a son, and to Nwoye he becomes best
friend and brother. He is killed by the tribe; out of fear that otherwise
people will think him weak, Okonkwo participates in the boy's death.
Nwoye- Okonkwo's
son. Nwoye is sensitive and thoughtful, but he is also somewhat lazy and sulky.
Okonkwo is harsh with the boy, fearing that he will become like Unoka. After
the death of Ikemefuna, something breaks in Nwoye. Later, he converts to
Christianity, in part to escape his father. His betrayal embitters and outrages
Okonkwo.
OgbuefiEzeudu- One
of the oldest men in Umuofia. He warns Okonkwo not to participate in
Ikemefuna's death. Later, at Ezeudu's funeral, Okonkwo's gun explodes and kills
a boy, which leads to Okonkwo's exile.
Nwoye's mother- Never
named, Nwoye's mother is Okonkwo's first wife. She is a generous woman, and she
has been fortunate in the number of children she has had.
Ojiugo- Okonkwo's
third and youngest wife. Okonkwo beats her savagely during the Week of Peace,
and must pay a heavy fine to the earth goddess.
Ekwefi- Okonkwo's
second wife. In her youth, she was one of the great beauties of Umuofia. She
has had ten children, but only one has survived. She is a formidable and brave
woman, devoted to her surviving daughter, Ezinma.
Ezinma- Clever
and brave, Ezinma starts as a precocious but sickly child. She is Okonkwo's
favorite daughter, and seems to understand his moods. His attitude toward her
shows the more tender side of his character. She grows into a beautiful and
strong young woman.
Obierika- Okonkwo's
great friend, and another prosperous and powerful man in the tribe. Obierika is
also thoughtful. He is less misogynistic than Okonkwo, and he has no love for
unnecessary violence. He is a compassionate and just man.
Chielo/ Priestess of Agbala (Oracle of the
Hills and the Caves)- In normal life, Chielo is a widow and
an ordinary woman. But she is also the Priestess of Agbala, and when the power
of prophecy comes to her she is possessed by the godhead. She is one of the
most powerful figures of the clan; now important decision can be made without
her approval.
Okagbue, the Medicine Man- The
Medicine Man helps Ekwefi to try and make Ezinma "stay." They fear
that she will die like the earlier children, but the Medicine Man succeeds in
finding the supernatural cause of her sickliness.
Uchendu- Okonkwo's
uncle. Elderly and wise, Uchendu is an impressive but gentle patriarch. Even Okonkwo
submits to his authority.
Akwiku- Okonkwo's
cousin. He informs Okonkwo that Nwoye is among the Christians.
Mr. Kiaga- A
Christian African, Mr. Kiaga heads the congregation in Mbanto. He is a gentle
and wise man, full of unshakeable faith.
Mr. Brown- A
white man and missionary. He strives to compromise with the clan; though he is
determined to win converts, he restrains the excessive and violent zeal of some
of the converts. He eventually falls ill due to overwork.
Mr. Smith- Mr.
Brown's replacement. Mr. Smith is neither wise nor compromising. Under him, the
fanatics flourish. His foolishness brings the Christians of Umuofia into direct
conflict with the clan.
District Commisioner- The
head of British government in Umuofia. He dispenses justice in total ignorance
of local circumstances, and his attitude is arrogant and hypocritical.
Things Fall Apart Themes
Memory/Documentary
Digression is one of Achebe's main tools. The
novel is the story of Okonkwo's tragedy, but it is also a record of Igbo life
before the coming of the white man. The novel documents what the white man
destroyed. The reader learns much about Igbo customs and traditions; depicting
this world is a central part of the novel.
Social disintegration
Towards the end of the novel, we witness the
events by which Igbo society begins to fall apart. Religion is threatened,
Umuofia loses its self-determination, and the very centers of tribal life are
threatened. These events are all the more painful for the reader because so
much time has been spent in sympathetic description of Igbo life; the reader
realizes that he has been learning about a way of life that no longer exists.
Greatness and ambition
Okonkwo is determined to be a lord of his
clan. He rises from humble beginnings to a position of leadership, and he is a
wealthy man. He is driven and determined, but his greatness comes from the same
traits that are the source of his weaknesses. He is often too harsh with his
family, and he is haunted by a fear of failure.
Fate and free will
There is an Igbo saying that when a man says
yes, his chi, or spirit, says yes also. The belief that he controls his own
destiny is of central importance to Okonkwo. Later, several events occur to
undermine this belief, and Okonkwo is embittered by the experience. As often
happens with tragedy, the catastrophe comes through a complex mix of external
forces and the character's choices.
Masculinity
Masculinity is one of Okonkwo's obsessions,
and he defines masculinity quite narrowly. For him, any kind of tenderness is a
sign of weakness and effeminacy. Male power lies in authority and brute force.
But throughout the novel, we are shown men with more sophisticated
understanding of masculinity. Okonkwo's harshness drives Nwoye away from the
family and into the arms of the new religion.
Fear
For all of his desire to be strong, Okonkwo is
haunted by fear. He is profoundly afraid of failure, and he is afraid of being
considered weak. This fear drives him to rashness, and in the end contributes
to his death.
Tribal belief
Particularly since one of the threats to Igbo
life is the coming of the new religion, tribal belief is a theme of some
importance. Igbo religious beliefs explain and provide meaning to the world;
the religion is also inextricable from social and political institutions.
Achebe also shows that Igbo religious authorities, such as the Oracle, seem to
possess uncanny insights. He approaches the matter of Igbo religion with a
sense of wonder.
Justice
Justice is another powerful preoccupation of
the novel. For the Igbo, justice and fairness are matters of great importance.
They have complex social institutions that administer justice in fair and
rational ways. But the coming of the British upsets that balance. Although the
British claim that local laws are barbaric, and use this claim as an excuse to
impose their own laws, we soon see that British law is hypocritical and
inhumane. The final events leading up to Okonkwo's death concern the
miscarriage of Justice under the British District Commissioner.
Chapter wise Summary
Chapter 1
Okonkwo, a great man among the Igbo
tribe, is well known in the nine villages and beyond. In his youth, he became
famous when he defeated Amilinze the Cat, a great wrester. He is a
formidable man, stern and intimidating in appearance; when angry, he stammers.
The stammer makes him angrier, and he uses his fists. He has a hot temper. He
has no patience for unsuccessful men; his father had been such a man. His
father, a man by the name of Unoka, was a lazy do-nothing, who has died deep in
debt. The narrator digresses to tell us about Unoka. Unoka was a great flute
player in his youth, but he became a failure as an adult. He was constantly
borrowing from his friends and neighbors, and his children and wife did not
have enough to eat.
One day, a neighbor of Unoka, a man
named Okoye, came to discuss the money Unoka owed him. The rituals of
hospitality are described: the guest brings kola, a kind of food eaten
during visits, and the men often speak in proverbs. Unoka calmly interacted
with someone to whom he owed money, which alludes to the highly sophisticated
art of rhetoric practiced by the Igbo: ”Among
the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the
palm-oil with which words are eaten.” Okoye was about take the
third-highest title in the land, and he needed to collect resources. Unoka
laughed him off, telling him that he had many other debts he needed to pay
first.
Okonkwo is determined to be the
opposite of his father. Unoka dies deep in debt. But Okonkwo, though young, is
already a great man. He has two barns full of yams, and he has fought bravely
in two inter-tribal wars. He has taken two titles already. He has three wives.
He has worked his whole life to win the respect of his people. His work ethic
and his ambition also give rise to his faults: he is a harsh man, quick to
anger and without humility.
Chapter 2
One night as Okonkwo prepares for bed,
he hears the town crier, beating on his hollow instrument and calling all the
men of Umuofia to a meeting early tomorrow morning. The night is dark and
moonless, and the narrator explains that darkness was frightening even for the
bravest of the Igbo. The forest is a sinister place at night. Okonkwo suspects
that a war might be brewing: he's a distinguished warrior, and war gives him a
chance to win greater esteem.
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