Things Fall Apart is a 1958 English-language novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first African novels written in English to receive global critical acclaim. The title of the novel comes from William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming".[1]
The novel concerns the life of Okonkwo, a leader and local wrestling champion throughout the nine fictional villages of the Igbo ethnic group of Umuofia in Nigeria, his three wives, his children (mainly concerning his oldest son Nwoye and his favorite daughter Ezinma), and the influences of British colonialism and Christian missionaries on his traditional Igbo (archaically spelled "Ibo") community during an unspecified time in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.
...
Themes throughout the novel include change, loneliness, abandonment, fear, and importance of social relationships. The latter is depicted by Okonkwo's uncle, Uchendu: "We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. An animal rubs its itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him."
The following are respected theme statements connected to Things Fall Apart.
1. Individuals derive strength from the societies they belong to, and societies derive strength from the individuals who belong to them. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo builds his fortune and strength with the help of his society's customs. Likewise, Okonkwo's society benefits from his hard work and determination.
2. In contacts between other cultures, beliefs about superiority or inferiority are invariably wrong-headed and destructive. When new cultures and religions meet, there is likely to be a struggle for dominance.
3. Each culture’s world view is limited and partial, and each can benefit from understanding the world views of other cultures. For example, the Christians and Okonkwo's people have a limited view of each other, and have a very difficult time understanding and accepting one another's customs and beliefs.
4. In spite of innumerable opportunities for understanding, people must strive to communicate. For example, Okonkwo and his son, Nwoye, speak the same language, but have a difficult time understanding one another because they are so different.
5. A social value—such as individual ambition—which is constructive when balanced by other values, can become destructive when overemphasized at the expense of other values. For example, Okonkwo values tradition so highly that he cannot accept change. He eventually commits suicide because of this.
6. There is no such thing as a static culture; change is continual, and flexibility is necessary for successful adaptation. Because Okonkwo cannot accept the change the Christians bring, he cannot adapt.
7. The struggle between change and tradition is constant.
8. A rigid individual, unable to change with the times or to criticize his or her own beliefs, is liable to be tragically swept aside by history.
9. Definitions of masculinity vary throughout different societies. In this case, Okonkwo views aggression and action as masculinity.
...
Things Fall Apart is a milestone in African literature. It has achieved the status of the archetypal modern African novel in English, and is read in Nigeria and throughout Africa. It is studied widely in Europe and North America, where it has spawned numerous tertiary analytical works. It has achieved similar repute in India and Australia. Considered Achebe's magnum opus, it has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. Time Magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.
Achebe’s writing about African society is intended to extinguish the misconception that African culture had been savage and primitive by telling the story of the colonization of the Igbo from an African point of view. In Things Fall Apart, western culture is portrayed as being “arrogant and ethnocentric," insisting that the African culture needed a leader. As it had no kings or chiefs, Umofian culture was vulnerable to invasion by western civilization. It is felt that the repression of the Igbo language at the end of the novel contributes greatly to the destruction of the culture. Although Achebe favors the African culture of the post-western society, the author attributes its destruction to the “weaknesses within the native structure.” Achebe portrays the culture as having “a religion, a government, a system of money, and an artistic tradition, as well as a judicial system.
Achebe named Things Fall Apart from a line in William Butler Yeats's "The Second Coming," thus tying in the meaning of the poem itself. When the missionaries start affecting the Igbo culture, the innocence of the Igbo tribe is effectively taken, which begins the downfall of the Igbo society. This downfall effectively destroys the Igbo way of life, eventually leading to the death of Okonkwo, who was once a hero of the tribe.
Things Fall Apart has been called a modern Greek tragedy. It has the same plot elements as a Greek tragedy, including the use of a tragic hero, the following of the string model, etc. Okonkwo is a classic tragic hero, even if the story is set in more modern times. He shows multiple hamartia, including hubris (pride) and ate (rashness), and these character traits do lead to his peripeteia, or reversal of fortune, and his downfall at the end of the novel. Okonkwo truly has good intentions, but his need to feel in control and his fear that other men will sense weakness in him drive him to make decisions, whether consciously or subconsciously, that he regrets as he progresses through his life.
This doesn't have anything to do with the fact that he makes really good picks, does it?
