Things Fall Apart

By Chinua Achebe

An Introduction

“Although I did not set about it

consciously in that solemn way, I

now know that my first book,

Things Fall Apart, was an act of

atonement with my past, the

ritual return and homage of a

prodigal son.”

--Chinua Achebe

About the Writer…

Born Albert Chinualumogu Achebe in Nigeria November 16, 1930

Father was a converted evangelist and leader in Christian church in Ibo village of Ogidi

Father was raised by his uncle, Isaiah who believed in the Ibo religion

Chinua dropped the British portion of his name when he began college

Influenced by both cultures in his family British Christianity & Ibo Religion

Understood and participated in rituals and activities for both

…Writer, cont’d

Following WW2 political dissention began in Africa, Achebe felt that the British should fight racism in their own colonies in Africa as well as other places around the world

Felt that no outsider could tell the story of the people of Nigeria he felt compelled to write and found success

Wrote about Ibo in northern Nigeria and the struggles of the Ibo people

Became visiting professor for numerous universities and colleges

Writer, Cont’d

Pioneered literary style in which traditional idioms, folk tales, and proverbs gave Africans a unique identity as English language writers

Developed a vernacular style

Been nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Works translated into 45 languages

TFA sold over 3 million copies

Nigerian History

Became political entity in 1914; united

three colonial administrations into one

territory

Gained its independence 1960;

became member of British

Commonwealth

European Influence

Began before Columbus

Christianity became a major part of Nigerian life because of Anglican missionaries in mid-1800’s

1807 British Parliament outlaws slave trade

Once slave trade stopped British merchants began trading palm oil and other goods

European Influence. Cont’d

With increase trade and people, rise of Christianity grew; many trying to convert Africans

British claimed political control in 1861 with town of Lagos (Achebe hometown)

1886 Nigeria became British colony

TFA takes place during this early period of colonization

Ibo Culture

Ibo (Igbo) third largest ethnic group in

Nigeria

Located in the southeastern portion of

Nigeria

Tropical rain forest, with a rainy

season dominated by the dusty

harmattan wind

Ibo Culture, Cont’d

Primarily subsistence farmers

Raise crops for their own consumption

Yams, cassava, taro are main staple

Corn, pumpkins, okra, melon, and beans

Ibo Culture, Cont’d

Yams

Traditionally grown by men

Other foods grown by women

Staple of the diet

Potato variety, several variations

Important festival with yams the end of June

Celebrates a myth that the first yam grew

following a human sacrifice during a famine in

Iboland

Ibo Family Structure

Ibo live in villages based on lineage

Male as head of household; wife went to live with husband and paternal family

Man might have two or three wives, each would live in her own hut within the family compound

Villages were loosely organized into clans or groups

No single leader; decisions made by discussions and consensus of all adult males in clan

Ibo Religion

Believed that the will of the deities was

revealed through oracles and divine

ceremonies

Personal guardian spirit for every individual

called a chi

Chi affected person’s destiny; could be

influenced through actions and rituals

Enormous value of hospitality to keep

paternal and maternal sides of family close

Literary Context

Achebe integrated European and African

literary voices

Achebe “skillfully melds two diverse literary

perspectives- the formal novelistic structure

of European fiction and the storytelling

tradition of Ibo oral culture”

Two effects of this bridging

Unusual depth, simplicity and complexity

Humane tone representing strengths and flaws

Achebe’s Philosophy

Concerning writing fiction: “Literature, whether handed down by word of mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality, enabling us to encounter in the safe, manageable dimensions of make-believe the very threats to integrity that may assail the psyche in real life, and at the same time providing through the self-discovery which it imparts a veritable weapon for coping with these threats whether they are found within problematic and incoherent selves or in the world around us. What better preparation can a people desire as they begin their journey into the strange, revolutionary world of modernization?

Hopes that writing will help to improve the individual and collective lives of African people today.

Novel’s Title

Taken from poem by William Butler

Yeats “The Second Coming”

Achebe implies that social breakdown

is not limited to Ibo society, but is

universal

Breakdown of society and individual

Plot and Setting

Tragic Hero

Okonkwo, wealthy and respected

member of Umofia clan of the Ibo

Divided into three parts

One-focuses on Ibo culture

Two-focuses on exile and encroaching

cultures

Three-focuses on conflict between two

groups

Cont’d

Setting at the end of the nineteenth

century when British were just

beginning to colonize Nigeria

Story of tragic hero, Okonkwo, but

also about social issues such as

justice, social norms, and individual

conscience

Style and Point of View

Omniscient Narrator

Combines narrator with African tradition

of oral storytelling

Uses repetition and detailed literary

descriptions

Literary Forms

Fables and proverbs for symbolism

Flashbacks and foreshadowing for

character understanding and perspective

Major Characters

Okonkwo

Values strength and hard work

His fear & pride led to his destruction

Ekwefi

Okonkwo’s second and favorite wife

Ezinma

Okonkwo’s favorite child, his daughter

by Ekwefi

Cont’d

Nwoye

Okonkwo’s oldest son

Disappointment to Okonkwo because he

resembled Okonkwo’s father

Gentle and compassionate

Converts to Christianity

Ikemefuna

Comes to live in village as hostage

Very masculine in contrast to Nwoye

Favorite of Okonkwo; calls Okonkwo father

Themes

Balance of traditional masculine and feminine values

Okonkwo represents view of masculine power

Women play an important part but not primary or power role

Continual and inevitable change

Dynamic between individual and society

Irony

Tragic Hero

Okonkwo brought down by his own flaw

Resents his own past and roots

Allows pride to take over

Historical tragedy

Religious implications