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Here this blog is upon Things Fall Apart.This is African literature and genre is novel. This work is written by Salman Chinua Achebe. He is a great African write and he is famously for this And Things Fall apart.
The title Things Fall Apart was adopted from William Butler Yeats’ poem “‘The Second
Coming’” (1921). The poem foresees the end of the present age and the world’s approach to
another phase that is completely different:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed the tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Yeats 1921
Things Fall Apart is centered on the life of the protagonist of the novel, Okonkwo. As the
novel develops Okonkwo accidentally kills a man and he and his family are exiled from
Umuofia. During his exile white missionaries arrive in Umuofia and change the village.
When Okonkwo returns to his village he sees the major transformations that Umuofia has
undergone during his exile.
Unhappy with the change, Okonkwo and other villagers come together to drive the white
missionaries out of their land. Their efforts are in vain as the missionaries send their
messengers to abort the meeting. Okonkwo kills one of the messengers and in shock at his
actions the villagers let the other messengers escape. The messengers report back to the
missionaries and they take off to bring Okonkwo to justice only to find him dead.
Historical Context of Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart is set in 1890, during the early days of colonialism in Nigeria. Achebe depicts Igbo society in transition, from its first contact with the British colonialists to the growing dominance of British rule over the indigenous people. Literary works about this period often painted stereotypical portraits of native Africans as primitives—even works that were critical of the European colonizers, such as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad depicted Africans as savages who were both oppressed by and excited the savagery of white Christian Europeans “Joseph Conrad:‘A Bloody Racist'” below. Achebe's novel is a response to these colonialist works of literature,Things Fall Apart is a postcolonial novel that strives to revise previous stereotypes by portraying both cultures with a neutral eye, focusing on the complexity of Igbo traditions.
Things fall apart can be said when something we believed would last forever, comes to an end. The title Things Fall Apart refers to the fact that without proper balance, things do fall apart. The notion of balance in the novel is an important theme throughout the book. Beginning with the excerpt from Yeats' poem, the concept of balance is stressed as important; for without balance, order is lost.
In the novel, there is a system of balance, which the Igbo culture seems but at the end of the novel the society people can not listen the leader, so a chaotic situation is created.
Okonkwo’s Life Falls Apart:
At the beginning of the novel we see Okonkwo as a prosperous leader of the Igbo people. But the novel ends with his tragic end.
Thus, we can say that the novel Things Fall Apart depicts how Okonkwo’s life falls apart. Okonkwo is definitely a man of importance for his society. He is a well-known person throughout the nine villages and beyond. He is a warrior and wrestler who gains respect through his athletics. He is a fierce-free individual. He hasn’t lost one fight or any battles. And for this the people of the village love him. He is also respected because of his wealth.
Okonkwo's life first begins to fall apart when he kills Ikemefuna, a prisoner who stayed at Okonkwo's home. Okonkwo considers Ikemefuna as one of his own sons. It has been decided from the oracle that Ikemefuna will be killed. Okonkwo takes part in his murder, despite warning from his friend, “That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death.” But when he hears Ikemefuna’s crying, ““My father, they have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down.” Okonkwo’s fear of being weak, which is one of his tragic flaws, drives him to rashness, and in the end it contributes to his own tragedy that his own life falls apart.
Igbo Society Falls Apart:
Like Okonkwo his Igbo society also falls apart. In the first part of the book we see a socially, politically and religiously organic Igbo society. But this organic society becomes divided and virtually loses all energy at the end of the book. Thus, the novel documents the falling apart of the Igbo tribe due to its own brutal rules as well as the coming of the Christian missionaries and the rule of the English government.
The Society Itself Responsible For Falling Apart:
At the beginning of the book we see that the Igbo people have a strong faith in their traditional religion. The religion of the Igbos consisted in the belief that there is a suspense God, the creator of the universe and the lesser gods. The supreme God was called Chukwu. The other gods were made by Chukwu to act his messengers so that people could approach him through them. People made sacrifices to the smaller gods, but when the failed, the people turned to Chukwu. Ancestor worship was also an equally important feature of the religion of the Ibo people. There were man superstitious ideas related with their religious belief. They believed in evil spirits and oracle. One of such Oracles is responsible for Okonkwo’s sacrifice of Ikemefuna. This incident underlines the superstitious brutality of traditional Igbo society. We also find the brutality, injustice and the inhuman activities in some other rituals or rules such as – people who are affected by some severe diseases are carried on the Evil Forest to die and they do not get any burial and twain babies are thrown out in the Evil Forest just after their birth. The ultimate result of such brutality is when the people, who are dissatisfied with these rules such as- Nwoye, the mother of three twin babies, get the opportunity to change their religion they do it and the society ultimately falls apart.
