Achebe's Things Fall Apart
I began reading this book on a recommendation from a good friend of mine. Working at a bookstore, I'd always seen this book on the shelves and known for a long time that it was considered a modern classic. Yet I hadn't had occasion or reason to pick it up off the shelf until recently; and I'm quite thankful that I did, for it's truly a masterpiece.
Things Fall Apart is a very mythic story in many ways; it takes place in an unstated year (but most likely during the early days of European colonialism in Africa) in the African village of Umuofia, a world where the folk traditions of the Ibo tribe and its earthy, primal wisdom govern the way that people live their lives. Oracles come in the middle of the night and take sick children away for audiences with the gods, and parents can only stand aside and wait until morning. Hospitality is shown by the breaking of the kola nut, and men have multiple wives who each have their own hut and field where they tend to the "women's crops" within the family's farming compound. The village of Umuofia is primitive in some ways, but resonates strongly as a good place filled mostly with good people and proud, rich traditions. And one of the themes of the book is that traditions, even ones wildly alien to us, should be respected.
The book follows the life of a prominent Umuofia man, called Okonkwo. Desperate to prove himself as strong, hard-working and warlike, in order to rise above the laziness and immense debt that characterized his weak father, Okonkwo quickly becomes one of the most respected men in his village, famed for his skills in yam (the king of crops in Umuofia society) farming, wrestling, and war. He is tragically ostracized from his village when an accident occurs, and he must live in the village of his mother for seven years. During these years, the advent of European missionaries begins to change the way of life in Umuofia and the neighboring villages, and Okonkwo can do nothing but sit idly by until his time of exile is over. By the time this comes, things have fallen out of hand very quickly, and the story ascends slowly but inevitably to a terrible climax.
One of this book's greatest strengths is its ability to make the reader angry. It is a rare thing when books are able to do this, and Things Fall Apart succeeds admirably. But the story doesn't just make the reader angry; it makes him consider the events of the story, and ask himself what exactly led to the collapse of the Ibo way of life and the fate of Okonkwo.
Achebe's story is told objectively, showing us how the villagers of Umuofia live their lives, as well as showing things from the missionaries' and converts' perspective. There is even a fascinating religious debate between an Umuofia elder and the head of the missionaries. Achebe does not judge as to what caused traditions and the main character's life to collapse. He tells us what happens and then leaves us to judge that for ourselves.
In my opinion, it is not the presence of alien traditions that escalated violence and deteriorated Umuofia's traditional customs. Christianity in and of itself was not at fault. It is clear from the bemused but tolerant way that the Ibo at first leave alone the missionaries and their converts that it was always possible for the two groups to live in peace, if not to live together in peace. It was the superior attitude of the missionaries, the arrogant way in which they acted as if they were the law in a foreign land where they were in reality tolerated visitors at best, and their unwillingness to respect the Ibo tribe on any level, that led to the downfall of the villages. It is imperialism and unilateralism that Chinua Achebe is subtly denouncing here (without actually doing the denouncing), not Christianity. And this unilateral, underhanded and superior way of dealing with the Ibo tribe effectively foreshadows the ways in which Europeans would treat Africans for centuries to come.
As for Okonkwo, while his demise and that of the traditions of his people went hand in hand, they each occurred for separate reasons, and were inevitable for separate reasons. The main character's entire life was defined by his lazy, "womanish" father, and Okonwho's desire to become his complete and utter opposite. So Okonkwo, whose heavy-handedness at times mirrors the missionaries', while a sympathetic character is not representative of the Ibo, who while proud and warlike at times are also wise and careful, and value highly peace and prosperity and a simple life.
The book is written in a very strong, straightforward prose that is stark in its bare economy but beautiful and evocative, very appropriate for the culture that it is describing. One of the things that I enjoyed the most were the many folk proverbs given in the text. Proverbs and folktales are simple and eloquent ways of illustrating how a people thinks about things, and toward this goal Achebe's writing makes tremendous headway. One feels that he understands Okonkwo and his way of thinking, and even feels that he is justified in his actions, even though they are completely different from those of our modern society. Perhaps this is another of the book's greatest strengths. Achebe places the reader not only in the midst of the Ibo tribe's world, but also in the midst of their collective mindset, and without compromising his removed objectivity.
Things Fall Apart seems to be a recent favorite for summer reading projects in high schools, and this is not altogether inappropriate, as it is a veritable masterpiece and should be required reading. Like Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, another book often associated with high school class assignments, it is a classic of great literary and aesthetic value. And it is especially relevant today.
Things Fall Apart is a very mythic story in many ways; it takes place in an unstated year (but most likely during the early days of European colonialism in Africa) in the African village of Umuofia, a world where the folk traditions of the Ibo tribe and its earthy, primal wisdom govern the way that people live their lives. Oracles come in the middle of the night and take sick children away for audiences with the gods, and parents can only stand aside and wait until morning. Hospitality is shown by the breaking of the kola nut, and men have multiple wives who each have their own hut and field where they tend to the "women's crops" within the family's farming compound. The village of Umuofia is primitive in some ways, but resonates strongly as a good place filled mostly with good people and proud, rich traditions. And one of the themes of the book is that traditions, even ones wildly alien to us, should be respected.
The book follows the life of a prominent Umuofia man, called Okonkwo. Desperate to prove himself as strong, hard-working and warlike, in order to rise above the laziness and immense debt that characterized his weak father, Okonkwo quickly becomes one of the most respected men in his village, famed for his skills in yam (the king of crops in Umuofia society) farming, wrestling, and war. He is tragically ostracized from his village when an accident occurs, and he must live in the village of his mother for seven years. During these years, the advent of European missionaries begins to change the way of life in Umuofia and the neighboring villages, and Okonkwo can do nothing but sit idly by until his time of exile is over. By the time this comes, things have fallen out of hand very quickly, and the story ascends slowly but inevitably to a terrible climax.
One of this book's greatest strengths is its ability to make the reader angry. It is a rare thing when books are able to do this, and Things Fall Apart succeeds admirably. But the story doesn't just make the reader angry; it makes him consider the events of the story, and ask himself what exactly led to the collapse of the Ibo way of life and the fate of Okonkwo.
Achebe's story is told objectively, showing us how the villagers of Umuofia live their lives, as well as showing things from the missionaries' and converts' perspective. There is even a fascinating religious debate between an Umuofia elder and the head of the missionaries. Achebe does not judge as to what caused traditions and the main character's life to collapse. He tells us what happens and then leaves us to judge that for ourselves.
In my opinion, it is not the presence of alien traditions that escalated violence and deteriorated Umuofia's traditional customs. Christianity in and of itself was not at fault. It is clear from the bemused but tolerant way that the Ibo at first leave alone the missionaries and their converts that it was always possible for the two groups to live in peace, if not to live together in peace. It was the superior attitude of the missionaries, the arrogant way in which they acted as if they were the law in a foreign land where they were in reality tolerated visitors at best, and their unwillingness to respect the Ibo tribe on any level, that led to the downfall of the villages. It is imperialism and unilateralism that Chinua Achebe is subtly denouncing here (without actually doing the denouncing), not Christianity. And this unilateral, underhanded and superior way of dealing with the Ibo tribe effectively foreshadows the ways in which Europeans would treat Africans for centuries to come.
As for Okonkwo, while his demise and that of the traditions of his people went hand in hand, they each occurred for separate reasons, and were inevitable for separate reasons. The main character's entire life was defined by his lazy, "womanish" father, and Okonwho's desire to become his complete and utter opposite. So Okonkwo, whose heavy-handedness at times mirrors the missionaries', while a sympathetic character is not representative of the Ibo, who while proud and warlike at times are also wise and careful, and value highly peace and prosperity and a simple life.
The book is written in a very strong, straightforward prose that is stark in its bare economy but beautiful and evocative, very appropriate for the culture that it is describing. One of the things that I enjoyed the most were the many folk proverbs given in the text. Proverbs and folktales are simple and eloquent ways of illustrating how a people thinks about things, and toward this goal Achebe's writing makes tremendous headway. One feels that he understands Okonkwo and his way of thinking, and even feels that he is justified in his actions, even though they are completely different from those of our modern society. Perhaps this is another of the book's greatest strengths. Achebe places the reader not only in the midst of the Ibo tribe's world, but also in the midst of their collective mindset, and without compromising his removed objectivity.
Things Fall Apart seems to be a recent favorite for summer reading projects in high schools, and this is not altogether inappropriate, as it is a veritable masterpiece and should be required reading. Like Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, another book often associated with high school class assignments, it is a classic of great literary and aesthetic value. And it is especially relevant today.