Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe underwent deep analysis on the part of the critics and readers. It should be mentioned that this book is considered to have two narrators representing different epochs and views on life traditions expressing ancient and modern features of the society. Events in Things Fall Apart takes place in a small village called Umuofia located in the southeastern part of Nigeria in the late 1880s, before missionaries and other outsiders had arrived. Igbo society is highly religious with regular customs that include magic, polytheism, offering sacrifices, magic and war. To be a leader one must have several titles to his name.
The basic idea of the story is to show the cultural values of the particular society. The author managed to demonstrate the brutality in the behavior of the main characters through their attitude to the culture. The basic notions and values of the society were presented through the customs and traditions.
“Every year… before I put any crop in the earth, I sacrifice a cock to Ani, the owner of all land. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku, the god of yams” (Achebe, 17)
Ibo culture is shown through the world look of the Western society that is why the aspect of behavioral brutality was presented in the images of the characters. Cruelty and the customs of sacrifice are used not in vain making the fair assessment of the cultural techniques in the story.
The story under analysis can be compared with The Second Coming written by William Yeats. Both works demonstrate the global changes in the cultural formation and conversion in the world. It should be stated that Things Fall Apart as well as The Second Coming is the reflection of the control loss of the high power over the low one. The fight between the superior power and the insignificant one is considered to be illustrated through the chaos creation because of the cultural interference or apocalypse. Both stories present the symbolic end of life; Achebe provided this aspect through the brutal treatment of cultural values. Gradual gradation and global change of the established standards are considered to be the principal elements of the compared works.
The central character of the novel Okonkwo is a person with rather a tragic life and unexpected life events.
“…his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (Achebe, 16)
Okonkwo is considered to be a respected man in Umuofia; every person is terrified by his immense power and huge physique. His own family is terrified by his excessive masculinity. Okonkwo is more often than not haunted by his father’s lazy and weak past—”agbala” is what the tribe calls Unoka. The tribe detests any feminine, lazy or weak characteristics in male members of the tribe. On the other hand, Okonkwo does not tolerate indolence, softness and sensitivity in men. This is the main reason why he does not is why he does not permit himself to express concern or love for others. He is a hard-working man but he does not allow himself to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
“ha[d] a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.” (Achebe, 201)
This character is the central one from the point of view of the author’s position. Achebe names him
“One of the greatest men in Umofia” (Achebe, 208)
The author strives to show Okonkwo’s individuality; he discloses the fact that even living in a community with fixed customs and traditions he remains backing his own position in the society. Nevertheless, the tribe views Okonkwo as an influential and powerful man. Because of his great achievements, he managed to gain true respect from fellow tribesmen. His accomplishments enable him to overcome his father’s weaknesses and clean his name from his father’s terrible past. In his late teens, he wrestled and threw down Amalinze the cat. To his plenty attainments, Okonkwo acquired three wives and two barns full of yams. His prowess as a wrestler has made him acquire a rare two titles in the land.
“But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error. And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. His enemies said that his good fortune had gone to his head.” (Achebe, 26)
Okonkwo’s fears and problems are related to his father’s Unoka. When he got to know that the word “woman” means the same as the man’s word without any title in Ibo, he realized that his father was a “woman” having no title in the community. In the eyes of Umuofian people, Unoka has all the characteristics that the Igbo people detest that as gentleness, lack of ambition, and sensitivity to people and nature. Although he is a talented musician who loves playing the flute he is lazy. Even though he is tall, his posture is bent from having to carry the weight of the tribe’s ridicule. The social status brought obsession to the inner state of Okonkwo; he made up his mind to do everything in order to protect his image being a strong and confident personality in the village. He used to hate weaknesses and frailness; according to his positions in the society and life views everything that was strong referred to the tribe description and peculiarities and everything being weak was closely connected with the female characteristics.
“Okonkwo’s fame rested on solid personal achievement” (Achebe, ch.3)
Okonkwo considered that strength can be presented only through violence and power. His culture is considered to be achievement-oriented which is why he always strives to prove something and stand out from the whole society.
“Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered. As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders.” (Achebe, ch.6)
His cruelty and violence can be observed throughout the whole novel. Thus, for example, when Okonkwo considered that his banana tree was killed by someone, he was suppressed by resentment and anger. When one of his wives decided to take the tree leaves Okonkwo beat her severely in order to release his anger and satisfy his temper. It should be mentioned that Okonkwo never was skilled in hunting or in gun usage, nevertheless, at the moment of rapid anger, he decides to do it. When his wife said that this gun refers to the
“guns that never shot”,
Okonkwo aimed the gun at her. Fortunately, the woman was not injured but just the opposite could have happened. Such moments described by the author show that Okonkwo was ready for violence due to insignificant provocations.
His feelings to his wife and daughter are strong but Okonkwo tries to put them away considering love as the greatest weakness betraying the feeling of courage and resistance. He tries to hide his love for the family and express everything through ignorance and violence.
He does not like tribal customs and is repelled by most of the traditional practices of his community.
“you have all seen the great abomination of your brother. Now he is no longer my son or your brother. I will only have a son who is a man, who will hold his head up among my people” (Achebe, 172)
His love for palm wine and music makes him hate war and even work on his farm. He, therefore, owns debts to most of his neighbors. To be able to feed his family Unoka continually borrows from his fellow tribesmen. Unoka dies a poor man because of his laziness. His death is a disappointment since he dies with no title.
In the eyes of Okonkwo Nwoye is weak and bears all the characteristics of his grandfather. In comparison to his grandfather, Nwoye is sensitive and lazy and Okonkwo fears that Nwoye will spoil his good reputation. He loves his mother’s company and loves listening to her feminine stories. This is not manly since he is required to be around his male counterparts. He is bothered by many of the tribe’s customs and traditions and questions them. Okonkwo’s violent behavior makes Nwoye unhappy to distance himself from his father and the ways of the clan. He is presented as a peace offering after killing Umuofian daughter by Ikemefuna’s tribe to the Igbo one, so as to avoid war events among both tribes. He comes to live with Okonkwo’s household. Ikemefuna is like a son to Okonkwo since he fills the empty space in Okonkwo’s life than his own son cannot.
Ikemefuna is welcome and feels comfortable in his new family and tribe. Nwoye adores him and follows his example. On living with Okonkwo’s family for about three years, Ikemefuna is offered as a sacrifice to the oracle of the caves and the hills. Consequently, his death contributes to Okonkwo’s tragedies and continues the row of unhappy events of his life.
Obierika is a wise man and friend to Okonkwo. For example, the questions Okonkwo’s exile to Mbanta while trying to console Okonkwo and organize Okonkwo’s departure. Being in exile Obierika visits Okonkwo. He gives him the news about the arrival of missionaries in Umuofia. As a gesture of friendship, Obierika builds him two huts and sends them for him.
Reverend James Smith is considered to be the head of the Umuofia Christian mission. He visits Umuofia regarding it to be the replacement for Mr. Brown. In comparison to Mr. Brown Smith is easily annoyed while Brown is calm. He detests the tribe’s customs and bans the rigid natives from his church since they do not want to embrace Christianity and are filled by evil spirits.
Things Fall Apart is fiction about Okonkwo’s tragic demise. Okonkwo turns from a humble farmer into a respected Umuofia leader and a great wrestler. Okonkwo gradually climbs to success; though, it appears to be clear that his strong sides are his weaknesses at the same time:
“his self-confidence degenerates into pride, his manliness develops into autocracy, and his physical strength eventually turns into uncontrollable fury and anger”.
Okonkwo reaches the powerful position very quickly in the first novel section. He is focused to become successful and overcome the unmanly character of his father Unoka. Among his peers, Okonkwo stands out as a strong and determined man. These attributes make him become a strong warrior, great wrestler, rich farmer, and a highly respected member of his clan. Umuofians observe these extraordinary talents; they reward him with significant honors and titles. He is made Ikemefuna’s guardian because of this.
Nwakibie loans Okonkwo 800 yams to start farming and Okonkwo succeeds even after a terrible drought. Undeterred by either his humble beginnings or the forces of nature, Okonkwo rises fast to become one of the most successful and highly respected men in his village.
Okonkwo’s many accomplishments, however, rapidly begin to lead towards his final ruin. His sharp and fast downfall happens because of his character; his little patience in his attitude to “unmanly” and unsuccessful people like his father. He even openly abuses Osugo by calling him a woman during a clan meeting. Okonkwo’s success does not only lead to conflicts with other members of his clan but also makes him lose control over his own family.
“When did you become a shivering old woman,’ Okonkwo asked himself, ‘you, who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.”
Just in the same way as Okonkwo rejects his own father, Nwoye disowns him. He disowns Okonkwo for being too manly, whereas Okonkwo rejected Unoka for being unmanly. Even more apparently, Okonkwo’s hasty temper leads him to strike his third wife, Ojiugo in the sacred Week which is considered a taboo among the Igbo.
“No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man.” (Achebe, 45)
However, Okonkwo commits one of the most terrible crimes, participating in the Ikemefuna sacrifice; Ikemefuna was like his son for several years. Ezeudu advises him not to participate in the sacrifice but he defies the advice. For fear of being considered weak Okonkwo disregards Ezeudu’s advice and participates in the ritual.
Okonkwo violates customs with his violent behavior and he eventually loses his position as a leader in Umuofia not because of his mistakes but because of an accident.
“Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action. He discerned fright in that tumult. He heard voices asking: ‘Why did he do it?’” (Achebe, 147)
Okonkwo accidentally triggers his gun and it kills Ezeudu’s son during his burial. This is an Irony because he is exiled for this accident rather than for his various other misdeeds. A great variety of anger oppressions suffered by Okonkwo shows his brutality and uncontrolled temper.
For seven years the protagonist seeks refuge in his mother’s homeland Mbanta, a neighbouring village. At that time, the British had started their invasion covering the surrounding areas; it initiated a vicious confrontation cycle between the African and the European cultures. The natives feared the white people therefore the first Whiteman to arrive were killed by the Abame people.
“‘We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true.’” (Achebe,122)
The British destroyed Abame as a punishment for this murder. The British converted a few natives to Christianity including Nwoye. Okonkwo became furious and took it as a sign of betrayal from his son Nwoye. Eventually, Okonkwo disowns Nwoye. When his exile was bout to end, the tensions between the missionaries and the village heightened in time when the Christian converts happened to kill a sacred python, it made the native inhabitants retaliate by the Christians’ shunning.
Being far away from Umforian society Okonkwo was considered to be related to the traditions of his native land despite the fact that he refused to support them. He can be viewed as limiting testing of social integrity.
At the end of the novel, Okonkwo comes back from exile with complete expectations of a power position reclaiming in Umuofia, even though Umuofia has appeared to change drastically since the Europeans’ arrival.
“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart”
Being the first missionary in Umuofia, Mr. Brown managed to win national admiration as he disclosed respect for their accepted customs and created strong personal relationships and mutual understanding with them. His health deteriorates and he is forced to leave whereby Reverend Smith takes charge. Mr. Smith perpetrates deep antagonism between the new Christian converts and the rest of the village. These tensions used to heighten in time of Enoch’s eating a sacred python and openly unmask their spirit. Enoch’s blasphemies are avenged by Umuofians by burning down the Christian church. The British responded in turn by arresting and charging the Umuofia leaders and fining them 200 bags of cowry. This unjust treatment from the district commissioner angers the leaders of Umuofia. As a result, they hold a meeting to decide how to react. The village is on the other hand split as to whether they should ignore this injustice or fight back. Okonkwo has however made up his mind that he will not embrace British colonization. While the meeting is in progress Okonkwo kills an official from the government who is coming to stop their meeting. This rapidly disrupts the meeting ending in complete chaos.
To reach the bottom of the matter, the District Commissioner wants to arrest Okonkwo; but suddenly he finds him already dead committing suicide.
Umuofia refuses to bury Okonkwo since it is against their customs. Achebe ends the novel in a bitterly ironic tone that brings out the District Commissioner’s insensitive response to Okonkwo’s tragedy.
Achebe provides language efficiently in the characteristics for instance he notes,
“Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala.” (Achebe, 13).
The writer goes ahead to define Agbala as a man who has taken no title in the community.
‘Beware Okonkwo!’ she warned. ‘Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!’
To draw the attention of the reader the writer uses African dialect, for example, egwugwu”, which refers to the colonialists. (Achebe 94). By using his language Achebe shows the reader an inside view. The events of the novel take place in Umuofia, which translates into “Bush Children,” in Igbo language. ‘Bush’ here refers to uneducated and primitive people. The novel employs the use of native sayings that reflect the strong religion, morals, and culture of the Igbo people. In order to characterize Okonkwo, the author in the first novel part writes,
“If a child washed his hands he could eat with kings,”
referring to Okonkwo, having “washed his hands” of his bad reputation which was as a result of his father’s laziness. (Achebe, 8). One can observe Achebe’s profound and perfect use of language which is rich in proverbs in the case when Okonkwo asks Nwakibie for yam seeds; he says,
“The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did.” (Achebe, 21)
Language has also been introduced to highlight the firm belief in spirits by members of the clan, this is especially evident when Achebe writes,
“Those whose palm kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble,” (Achebe, 26)
In the novel, Achebe shows the influence of personal God, for example,
“when a person says yes, his Chi also says yes to him,”
this means that Igbo people believed in humility and your God would not say no to you if you are humble. (Achebe, 27). Achebe provides the proverb
“A man that makes trouble for others also makes trouble for himself,”
“It seemed as if the very soul of the tribe wept for a great evil that was coming-its own death”,
to give evidence that Igbo society is really highly religious has a moral culture and is civilized. Characters in the novel tell traditional folk narratives, for instance, Ekwefi tells Ezinma a story about a selfish, greedy tortoise. This story goes on to explain why the shell of a tortoise is scarred.
Okonkwo is under pressure to live up to “traditional” standards of masculinity. He, therefore, fails to adapt to a changing world hence highlighting the importance of customs and traditions. Igbo people have several special occasions each with its own unique custom. Other customs are preserved for daily use. Breaking a kola nut by the head of a household For example is done when welcoming a male visitor. Palm wine is usually shared with visitors; the provider has to taste it first together with the oldest person who takes the first drink after the provider’s one. In the feast of the new yam, the tribesmen used to gather in order to thank the earth goddess of all fertility referred to as Ani. Preparations for this feast cover head shaving, cooking, cleaning the hut and body painting. Relatives travel from great distances to join in the feast and to drink palm wine. During the second day of festivities, the entire village gathers for the groundbreaking wrestling match at the village ilo. Before the match villagers are entertained with drums and dances. Winning a match earns the champion a title and respect from the community.
Inside Okonkwo feels being betrayed by his chi who has allowed him to have a son being weak. Nwoye’s preference as to his mother’s stories towards masculine pursuits used to disappoint Okonkwo. Later in life Nwoye embraces Christianity.
Okonkwo remains loyal to his tribe and does not understand why his fellow tribesmen refuse to oppose the white invasion and so he feels betrayed by his clan. The majority of the leadership of the tribe has joined the missionaries’ efforts; tribal beliefs and customs are kept aside. Okonkwo fears the death of the strong tribe he once knew and therefore he tries hard to fight single handily to oppose the intruders.
Change is a result of Christianity and European administration. The once strong Igbo people that Okonkwo identified with have undergone a complete metamorphosis. The tribe no longer makes sacrifices to gods nor solves conflicts through confrontation and war. Male members of the tribe have become feminine, discuss matters among themselves and worship a god they cannot see. Christianity has changed the Igbo people.
The wash down of Igbo culture is because of the European invasion. The tribe’s customs are not respected by the intruders who endeavor to convince tribesmen that the white man’s culture is far much better. The tribe is more divided than ever before. Members of the tribe have turned against each other because of the new religion which is Christianity. The European administration is wooing tribesmen to its side so as to govern the natives easily
Things Fall Apart has been commended for its classy character development, tragedy, and irony. The protagonist in this novel encounters misfortunes that lead to his final downfall. Psycho-analytically Okonkwo seems to be going through an oedipal struggle. This struggle is at two levels; with his father Unoka and his son Nwoye. Okonkwo despises his father’s character; similarly, Nwoye rejects Okonkwo’s masculinity. This forms a repetitious generational reactionary cycle that is ironic. Nwoye’s opposition to Okonkwo’s manliness is ironically revealed in Okonkwo’s character when he originally rejected his father’s femininity. Okonkwo’s tragedy is a result of the intergenerational struggle that occurs when each son rejects his father. To be considered manly, Okonkwo represses his feminine side and allows masculinity to dominate him. Okonkwo is a male chauvinist, he subjects his wives to repression and intimidation and he is on good terms with his daughter Ezinma because he thinks of her as a boy.
Feminist critics consider Things Fall Apart as a male bias fiction. They have criticized this novel for painting men as a representative of all Africans and focusing predominantly on male characters. These critics argue that Achebe’s male bias makes him ignore the experiences of African women.
Achebe’s fiction has an aspect of inter-textuality. The name of the novel has relation to Yeats’ poem called ‘Second Coming’. The novel depicts the sudden decay of African societies and the wash down of African culture as a result of colonialism. The novel is a response to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness that portrays Africans as primitive and heathen people. Readers relate and sympathize with Okonkwo’s predicament which can also be interpreted as the death of the African culture. This novel has been written to correct the view that African culture is primitive.