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Thinrgs Fall Apart Essay
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Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Tragedy Thesis
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Things Fall Apart: a summary of notes
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Things fall apartA closer look at the author
Albert Chinualumogu Achebe was born in Ogidi, Nigeria on 16 November 1930, amid a religious
upheaval. He had a multicultural upbringing, as he was exposed to both the traditional Igbo culture
of many in his village and the Christian missionary influences, as his parents were Christian converts.
He was fascinated by tribal traditions and practices, but from a young age, he was taught English and
exposed to the Eurocentric view of African people as “backwards” - something he disagreed with
and refuted in all his writings. He decided to reject his Christian name of Albert and used his
indigenous African name instead.
Influences on the novel
Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart, his first novel in 1958, at the age of 27 years old. This novel became
one of the most important novels in African literature and has sold more than 20 million copies and
been translated into 57 languages, making Achebe the most translated African writer to date.
Achebe grew up in Ogidi, Nigeria. He was born into the Igbo (Ibo) tribe, one of the three major tribal
groups in Nigeria. His hometown of Ogidi was a focal point of Anglican missionary outreach, and the
town’s role in this process influenced Achebe’s views on the Westernisation and Christianisation of
pre-colonial Nigerian cultures.
As a titled Igbo chief, Achebe’s stories focus on the traditions of the Igbo society, the influences of
Christian missionaries, and the clash of traditional African values with these Western influences after
the colonial era. The style of his writing is influenced by the Igbo oral traditions, so he combines
‘normal’ narration with folklore, proverbs, and oratory storytelling.
In his writing, Achebe grapples with the reality of British imperialism’s effect on Nigerian traditions
and culture. He discusses the destructive (and violent) effects of the West on indigenous people,
challenging the narrative of his time that Westernisation was a good and necessary process.
Things Fall Apart is influenced by this, and looks at traditional Igbo life during the time of Christian
missionaries and the colonial government in his homeland, and the clash between these different
cultures. The story is focused on the main character, Okonkwo, who cannot accept and adapt to the
new way of things, even though the previous order has already fallen apart.
Another thing to note is that Things Fall Apart is written as Achebe's response to another novel;
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. This is a very famous novel that dehumanises Africans and
portrays them as 'culture-less' in comparison to the West.
Conrad's novel (and a lot of other Western writing) depicts Africans as socially backwards and
primitive people who don't know how to communicate purely because they did not speak English.
Achebe sought to convey a fuller understanding of one African culture and, in so doing, give voice to
an underrepresented and exploited colonial subject.
Setting
The setting of a novel look at the period in which the novel takes place, and the location of the story.
The story of Things Fall Apart takes place in the 1890s, although no exact date is given. It is set in
Nigeria, more specifically, Igboland, which occupies the southeastern portion of Nigeria. The novel
focuses on the village of Umuofia, a fictional village that is part of the nine villages of Igboland, that
work together and protect each other.
,The end of the nineteenth century, when our novel is set, was also the beginning of the British
colonial incursion into Igboland. The story looks at how the old ways of the precolonial period come
under threat from pressure from Europeans: the start of British imperialism in Nigeria.
In Igboland, the place where a person’s parents were born is of great importance. Umuofia is
Okonkwo's fatherland as it is his father’s home village. And another of the nine villages, Mbanta is
Okonkwo's motherland as that is where his mother was born. The gendering of geography is
important, as Okonkwo sees his exile in his motherland as an emasculating threat to his reputation.
Colonisation of Nigeria
To have a better understanding of this novel, you need to know more about Nigerian history and
British colonisation.
British colonisers gained a foothold in Nigeria during the 1850s by establishing a presence on
Nigeria's eastern coast around Lagos, and over the years they strengthened their hold on the
country, governing indirectly through local leaders. In the 1870s, various European countries started
land-grabbing colonies in Africa. The news of Africa's incredibly valuable resources, such as gold,
ivory, diamonds, and salt, meant that European powers did not hesitate in conquering the land. They
wanted these valuable resources for themselves.
In 1885 the Berlin Conference was hosted to formalise the borders of European colonies in Africa.
Various European countries attended, but there were no African representatives. The borders the
Europeans created in Africa ignored the differences among groups and their beliefs, languages, and
cultures. The European countries' goal was to create lucrative trade routes and spread Christianity
through Africa.
From 1880 to 1900 the British powers gained control over or occupied, the territories that are now
known as Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Northwestern Somalia,
Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Nigeria, Ghana, and Malawi. At its height, Britain was the largest
empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power.
Britain agreed to Nigeria's independence in 1958 and it was made official in 1960. By 1963, Nigeria
was declared a federal republic, however, the years that followed were a turbulent time for Nigeria.
There was civil conflict and instability throughout the country due to the divisions between the
different groups.
These groups were the monarchist Yoruba of the southwest, the semi-feudal and Muslim Hausa-
Fulani people of the southeast, and the predominantly Christian and democratic communities of the
Igbo in the north. By the time Achebe was writing Things Fall Apart, these various groups had spread
throughout the country but had not integrated, as the groups and their interests were so different.
anarchy - a state of disorder and chaos due to the absence or the non-recognition of authority or
any other controlling systems.
falconer - a person who keeps, trains, or hunts with falcons, hawks, or other birds of prey.
gyre - a spiral or vortex; it is a circular ocean current formed by the Earth's wind patterns and the
forces created by the rotation of the planet.
The four lines that Achebe has referenced look at the notion that things in the world are 'falling
apart' and descending into complete chaos. In this line, Yeats' claims that 'the centre cannot hold'
which is a comment on the collapse of order and political systems.
,In Things Fall Apart, the European missionaries' invasion challenges the Igbo people's traditional
social structure, and it results in them no longer having one set of social or moral rules to live by,
destroying the unity of their clan. Yeats's poem predicts anarchy and fear as the second coming, and
the end of Western civilisation as the world is corrupted by its greed and immorality.
The line, 'mere anarchy is loosed upon the world' is echoed in Things Fall Apart as Achebe depicts
the horrors of imperialism; he shows how the white European men brutalise and force the civilised
Igbo people into destroying themselves because the Europeans do not understand their culture.
cowry - a shell used as a form of currency in West Africa.
debtor - a person who owes money.
egwugwu (Igbo) - a masked man representing one of the nine ancestors of the clan.
ekwe (Igbo) - a musical instrument like a type of drum made from wood.
fellowship - friendly association.
folly - foolishness; lack of sense.
gourd - a container for liquids made from the hard dry skin of a gourd fruit.
haggard - looking exhausted and unwell; especially due to fatigue, worry or suffering.
harmattan - a very dry, dusty easterly wind on the West African coast, usually occurring from
December to February.
Idemili title - name after the river god Idemili, this title is the third-level title of honour in Umuofia.
improvident - not having any foresight; not thinking about the future.
inter-tribal - between tribes.
kola nut - indigenous nut used in the ceremony of greeting guests.
loafer - someone who is lazy and avoids work.
ogene (Igbo) - a musical instrument like a kind of gong.
plaintive - sad sounding and mournful.
prowess - superior strength, skill, or expertise in a particular field.
revered - profoundly honoured; deep respect and admiration.
snuff - tobacco that is sniffed into the nose.
udu (Igbo) - a musical instrument like a type of drum made from pottery.
wily - tricky; skilled at gaining an advantage, usually in a deceitful way.
yam - edible, starchy tuber like sweet potato; a staple food in West Africa.
agadi-nwayi (Igbo) - an old woman.
agbala (Igbo) - a woman, or a man without a title (not to be confused with Oracle).
compound - an enclosed space with a building or group of buildings within it.
emissary - a person or agent sent on a specific mission.
ezeugo (Igbo) - the name for a person of high religious significance, such as an Igbo priest.
ndichie (Igbo)- elders.
oracle - a sacred shrine where a god prophesies to a priestess, who then communicates with the
clan. the place where, or medium by which, the deities are consulted; here, the Oracle of the Hills
and the Caves
obi (Igbo) - the hut of the man within his compound (the family group of huts) or the large living
quarters for the head of the family.
, ogbuefi (Igbo) - a person with a high title, as in Ogbuefi Ezeugo (the orator) and Ogbuefi Udo (the
man whose wife was killed in Mbaino).
udo (Igbo) - peace.
umuofia kwenu (Igbo) - a shout of approval and greeting that means "United Umuofia"
Agbala, the Oracle - the prophet of the Igbo. Achebe bases the Agbala Oracle (the Oracle of the Hills
and the Caves) on the Awka Oracle which was destroyed by the British. Chielo was the priestess who
spoke to Unoka on behalf of the god Agbala.
ani (Igbo) - the earth goddess who owns all land.
cassava - any of several plants of the spurge family grown in the tropics for their fleshy, edible root
sticks that produce a nutritious starch. Here, the plant also provides valuable leaves for livestock
feed as well as tubers, which are prepared like coco-yams.
coco-yam - the edible, spherical-shaped tuber of the taro plant grown in the tropics and eaten like
potatoes or ground into flour, cooked to a paste, or fermented for beer. Here, the round coco-yam
(a woman's crop) is a different tuber than the elongated-shaped yam (a man's crop).
chi (Igbo) - personal god; a significant cultural concept and belief meaning one's deity; also one's
destiny or fate.
dregs - sediment at the bottom of a jar of liquid.
iroko (Igbo) - large, hardwood tree in West Africa.
market week - period of four days between markets.
nna-ayi (Igbo) - translated as our father; it is a greeting of respect.
sharecropping - farming another man’s land in return for a share of the harvest; working the land for
a share of the crop, especially as a tenant farmer. Here, Okonkwo works as a sharecropper to obtain
seed yams and start his farm.
Things fall apart chapter summaries :
Summary of Chapter 1
As the story starts we are introduced to our main character; Okonkwo. This is a flashback to the
moment when Okonkwo became famous throughout the local villages. At the age of just 18, he
wrestled against the mighty Amalinze the Cat; a wrestler who had never been defeated until this
day. In the 20 years since Okonkwo beat Amalinze the Cat, his reputation has grown immensely and
all of Umuofia admire and respect him as a powerful warrior.
There is another flashback to an interaction between Unoka, who we learn is Okonkwo's father, and
his neighbour Okoye. In this passage, we get an idea of what Unoka is like as we see how indebted
he is to all his friends, with no intention of paying them back, much to Okoye’s disappointment as he
asks for the 200 cowries he loaned him. Okonkwo feels ashamed of his father and is determined to
prove himself as a man to get away from his father’s reputation.
When Chapter 1 ends, we see that by this point in his life, Okonkwo has achieved this goal and he is
well respected by his fellow tribespeople. Because he is so greatly admired and respected by the
tribe, they choose to give him the responsibility of looking after Ikemefuna. He is a young boy who
has been sent to the clan as a peace offering from another village.
Setting
The story of Things Fall Apart is set in and around the fictional village of Umuofia, Nigeria, during the
late 1890s. The Igbo tribe is one of the ethnic groups that resides in nine villages by the lower Niger
River in Southern Nigeria.
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