Things Fall Apart

Introduction :-

Introduction about the Writer :-

Albert Chinua lumogu Achebe born on 16, November 1930, and died on 21, March 2013. He was a Nigerian writer, Poet, Professor and pundit. His first novel 'Thing Fall Apart' was viewed as his perfect work of art, and is the most generally pursued book in present day African Literature. He increased overall consideration for Thing Fall Apart in the late 1950s. Achebe turned into a supporter of Biafra freedom and went about as envoy for the general population of the new country.

Introduction about the Book

Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s and portrays the clash between Nigeria’s white colonial government and the traditional culture of the indigenous Igbo people. Achebe’s novel shatters the stereotypical European portraits of native Africans. He is careful to portray the complex, advanced social institutions and artistic traditions of Igbo culture prior to its contact with Europeans. Yet he is just as careful not to stereotype the Europeans; he offers varying depictions of the white man, such as the mostly benevolent Mr. Brown, the zealous Reverend Smith, and the ruthlessly calculating District Commissioner.

Achebe’s novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and traditional African values during and after the colonial era. He also published a number of short stories, children’s books, and essay collections. He was awarded the man booker prize, peace prize of the German. Book trade , St. Louis literary Award. Chinua Achebe most contribution on African literature.

Chinua Achebe, through his novel Things Fall Apart, presents a tribe of Igbo individuals and their lifestyle amid the start of colonization in Africa. Through the portrayal of the Igbo people groups' lifestyle and their response to the colonizing strengths that enter their towns, Achebe presents subjects of way of life as a gathering of African individuals with a past and legacy to be respected. This recurring subject of personality in the feeling of an African people can be followed back to Achebe's experience as a local of the Igbo individuals in Africa.

Many novels, poems, articles, and such things were written before this novel, for example Heart of Darkness, it shows the huge face of African black people. Colonialists or especially European see them as they are born to treat African. African people are merely an object or the worst animal of the world according to colonialists. It indicates pre and post-colonial time. This is the first novel by African novelist to catch the eyes of the world.

The novel follows the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo man and local wrestling champion in the fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia. The work is split into three parts, with the first describing his family, personal history, and the customs and society of the Igbo, and the second and third sections introducing the influence of British colonialism and Christian missionaries on the Igbo community.

We have African philosophy, Western philosophy, Oriental philosophy, American philosophy, Latin American philosophy etc., each of which has a plethora of philosophical doctrines, schools and traditions. African philosophy is the rational comments on African way of living and experience of life. Because of its critical nature, African philosophy constitutes the highest form of African thinking and reflection; it is the motor and catalyst of Africa’s entire cultural endeavors and civilization. The picture of an Igbo society that was highly organized and deeply religious, a society which valued bravery, hard work, material wealth as well as eloquence and dignity–a society that possessed an enviable culture.

“Chi” symbolism

Fiction is fiction but ideas that are conveyed in that are far beyond one’s imagination. Chinua Achebe is the prominent novelist of Igbo culture and he tried to give “Narration of the Nation” through this novel. He deliberately used various symbols in the novel and ‘Chi’ is the most significant symbol in the novel.

When fiction becomes logically established and weighed on the balance of reality, they could stand for philosophy. Etymologically, hermeneutics suggests a sacred origin, being derived from the Greek word “hermeneia” which is related to the name of the god Hermes and the verb “hermeneuein”. These words have three directions of meaning:

To express/expression, to explain/explanation and to translate/ translation. All the three shades of meaning are rendered in English by to interpret/interpretation which in general, means “bring to understanding.” In Greek mythology, Hermes is the messenger of the gods, the go-between between gods and men. Hermes, the wing-footed messenger-god, functions significantly, to render what was beyond human understanding into a form that the human mind could grasp. In order to accomplish his tasks, Hermes had to be conversant with the idioms of both gods and men. He manifests the divine thought, translates the infinite to the finite, the divine spirit into sensory phenomenon and therefore he denotes analysis, measure and particularity.

On this issue,Ralph Madu says Hermes had to understand and interpret to himself what the gods wanted to convey before he could proceed to translate, articulate and explicate their intention to mortals. Paul Ricoeur sees the history of modern hermeneutics as dominated by two movements, one epistemological and the other ontological. The first is the act of understanding as a mode of knowing and the second as a way of being and a way of relating to being.

Throughout the book Achebe gives his characters names with hidden meanings; for example, Okonkwo's name implies male pride and stubbornness. When Achebe adds British characters, he gives two of them common and unremarkable British names, Brown and Smith. His third British character, the District Commissioner, is known only by his title.

The choice of names and lack thereof, is in itself a commentary by Achebe on the incoming faceless strangers.

After Okonkwo is freed from prison, he remembers better times, when Umuofia was more warrior- like and fierce - "when men were men." As in his younger days, he is eager to prepare for war (not unlike Enoch the convert in the preceding chapter). He is worried that the peacemakers among them may have a voice, but he assures himself that he will continue the resistance, even if he has to do it alone. He will be manly in his actions even to the end.

When Okonkwo kills the court messenger, his fellow clansmen almost back away from him in fear; in fact, his violent action is questioned. When he realizes that no one supports him, Okonkwo finally knows that he can't save his village and its traditions no matter how fiercely he tries. His beloved and honored Umuofia is on the verge of surrender, and Okonkwo himself feels utterly defeated. Everything has fallen apart for him. His action in the final chapter will not be a surprise.

The novel has a tragic end because Okonkwo committed suicide.

Themes in Things fall Apart:

Gender

Much of the traditional Igbo life presented in this novel revolves around structured gender roles. Essentially all of Igbo life is gendered, from the crops that men and women grow, to characterization of crimes. In Igbo culture, women are the weaker sex, but are also endowed with qualities that make them worthy of worship, like the ability to bear children. The dominant role for women is: first, to make a pure bride for an honorable man, second, to be a submissive wife, and third, to bear many children. The ideal man provides for his family materially and has prowess on the battlefield. The protagonist in the novel is extremely concerned with being hyper-masculine and devalues everything feminine, leaving him rather unbalanced. Much of the gender theme in the book centers around the idea of balance between masculine and feminine forces: body and mind/soul, emotionality and rationality, mother and father. If one is in imbalance, it makes the whole system haywire

Religion

The Igbo gods are mostly manifestations of nature and its elements, which makes sense because they are an agricultural society that depends on the regularity of seasons and natural phenomena to survive. They worship the goddess of the earth and are always careful to avoid committing sins against her for fear of vengeance that might wipe out an entire generation.

Religion also plays a huge role in this novel. The Igbo have many gods and goddesses and worship them in traditional ways. Okonkwo feels very tied to these old ways of worship. His second wife is even close friends with a priestess. The gods and goddesses are typically of nature and natural things because the Igbo culture is so dependent on agriculture. A family's ancestors are often consulted, and masks of their faces are even worn in judicial ceremonies by elders; see, there's family again! But where the interesting conflict comes in is after Okonkwo and his family return from exile.

Christian missionaries have moved into town, built a church, and attracted some converts. As you can imagine, Okonkwo, along with some of the other villagers, is not a fan of this setup, because they're so tied to the old religion and old ways.The Igbo ancestors also take on a divine nature to some extent. Family plays such a central role in Igbo life that the spirits of their ancestors are consulted for almost every decision and even serve as judges in legal trials (in the form of masked elders). The Igbo emphasis on numerous gods associated with nature and also on ancestors and somewhat divine contrasts sharply with the single God of Christianity which seems far less directly relevant to the Igbo lifestyle.

Man and nature

As an agricultural society, the survival of the Umuofia depends on the earth and its predictable cycle of seasons. Thus we see frequent worship of the earth and her bounty, especially at the new year and during harvest season. The Igbo also reap the earth’s wealth in rather economical and effective ways – tapping trees for palm-wine, capitalizing off of locust plagues, and making medicine with herbs. Human beings are implicitly viewed as the children of the earth, though the conduct of the white men throws doubt on that assumption. In addition to being generous, the earth can also be deadly and is ruthless and not provide food and resources if offended in some way by human actions.

Respect and reputation

Reputation is extremely important to the men in the novel. Personal reputation is publicly denoted by the ankle bracelets men wear, which signify the number of “titles” they have earned. Reputation is based on merit – men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist, is extremely concerned with reputation because he grew up with a father who was shameful and lazy. Okonkwo over compensates by working tirelessly on his farm and taking every opportunity available to prove his bravery and strength.

Family

For the Igbo, there are a few key ideas that form the basis of an ideal family: mutual respect for each other, a reverence for all past fathers, and unity. The father is not only the provider for the family, but defender of its honor and teacher of his sons. Family is huge in this novel, because the family unit was very important in Igbo culture during the 1800s, during which Things Fall Apart is set. The Igbo are an indigenous Nigerian people. Families are very large in the novel, not stature but in quantity. Polygamy, or having more than one spouse, is a very big part of Igbo culture for the characters.

The mother’s main duty is to add to the family line by bearing healthy children and also to please her husband. Children are the inheritors of the future and are raised to continue the values of the older generation. This family unit is the most fundamental unit of society and its structure can be expanded to fit a whole community or even a pantheon of gods.

Without

In things Fall Apart, sin is defined as a crime against the gods. Such transgressions occur when a member of society violates the most intimate bonds of family, especially with regards to one’s children or somehow insults an ancestral spirit. These sins call for quick and severe punishment, often including animal sacrifices, a heavy fine, various symbolic gestures of atonement, exile from one’s fatherland, or even death. Only when such payment is given can justice be served. If punishment is not doled out, not only is the sinner subject to divine wrath, but the entire community suffers.

Fear

Many of the characters suffer from fear of some sort. Okonkwo fears becoming like his lazy, shameful father, Ekwefi fears losing her daughter, and Nwoye fears his father’s wrath. While most characters fear events that are outside of their control, Okonkwo is consumed by a terrible internal worry about himself and his identity. Rather than mastering his fear, he allows it to dominate him and drive his actions. Fear leads him to lash out in some pretty nasty ways: beating his wives, abusing and alienating his oldest son, partaking in the murder of his adoptive son, etc. Overall, fear in this novel leads characters to behave in negative ways that can bring the wrath of the gods, guilt, and the community's disapproval upon them.

Society Complexity

From Achebe's own statements, we know that one of his themes is the complexity of Igbo society before the arrival of the Europeans. To support this theme, he includes detailed descriptions of the justice codes and the trial process, the social and family rituals, the marriage customs, food production and preparation processes, the process of shared leadership for the community, religious beliefs and practices, and the opportunities for virtually every man to climb the clan's ladder of success through his own efforts. The book may have been written more simply as a study of Okonkwo's deterioration in character in an increasingly unsympathetic and incompatible environment, but consider what would have been lost had Achebe not emphasized the theme of the complex and dynamic qualities of the Igbo in Umuofia.

So these are some important themes which reflect the life of Nigerian people and their conditions . They struggle or fight for freedom .

Conclusion:-

In this way the cultural conflict applied to Achebe’s Things Fall Apart unravels is the cultural politics of the white man Nigeria. It shows the true imperialist face behind it.It shows the disintegration suffered by the rich and varied culture of the Igbo and with the intrusion of the colonizers.

My thought begins and ends, as I have said many times, with Gandhi's statement that "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." Not approve of the change, advocate it, or vote for it. Be it. There is no greater or more beautiful confrontation of the second law.

Gandhi in Kanthapura is also seen as the presence of God for the village kanthapura where not only he is the replica of Moorthy but many other characters as well displayed through philosophy of life and political struggle. Gandhi is also seen as an embodiment of The Epic Ramayan’s characters of Ram, Sita and Ravanthat is, Lord Rama as the one who is sent for the protection of the nation India which is “sita” from the rule of British slavery which is regarded as Ravana. Moreover Gandhi in the whole novel, felt like an invisible presencewho poured his thought of ideologies throughout the entire book.

Sejal Solanki

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Assignment paper 14