Reading Report: Things Fall Apart

I. Historical Context of Chinua Achebe

      The novel “Things Fall Apart”, published in 1958, is Chinua Achebe’s (1930- ) the first work.¹ Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930.² When Achebe was five years old, he landed in the town of Ogidi. He was raised by his father who was a fervent Christian. His father had been spreading the Gospel around Nigeria for thirty years.³ Mission-work in Nigeria related with colonialism of England. At that time, the missionaries missed the important cultural richness in Nigeria.⁴ Therefore, the strategy of Churches for mission-work did not focus on cultural setting of Nigeria. Therefore, Achebe’s father, as a native missionary of Nigeria, was colonized. So, Achebe states that his family looked down on adherents of traditional Igbo religion, calling them “heathen” or “the people of nothing.”⁵

      Although Chinua Achebe had some difficulties adjusting Christian tradition into Nigeria (Igbo⁶) tradition, Achebe had a strong curiosity on beliefs and study. Through Achebe’s diligent work, he got an admission to a British-run boarding school with an excellent library.⁷ Achebe loved not only English literature, but also Igbo tales. So, he studied English, history and religion at the University of Ibadban. In 1953, he graduated and taught school for a while, then he worked as radio producer at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corp. At that time, he abandoned his European first name (Albert), and begun writing a novel about the collision of Europe and Africa.⁸ In 1956, when Achebe traveled to England, he showed his handwritten manuscript of his novel to a novelist and the man offered to publish it. In 1958, the novel, Things Fall Apart, was published.⁹

      Nigeria was colonized before the 20th century by England. Things Fall Apart was set at a time of the clash between Nigeria’s white colonial government and the Nigerian indigenous tradition in the 1890s, which was a struggle to re-illuminate colonialism. When Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart, other intellectual groups also contemplated the conflict between British colonialism and indigenous tradition.

      On the other hand, Christianity faced new theological requests from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Churches from Asia, Africa, and Latin America tried to re-illuminate western theology in terms of their own cultural settings.¹⁰ Chinua Achebe also contemplated reconstructing Christianity in terms of Nigerian’s cultural setting.

      II. Summary of the Things Fall Apart

      Chinua Achebe quotes Things Fall Apart from Yeasts’ Poem, “The Second Coming.” I think that Achebe wants to analyze the effects of British colonialism from a Nigerian perspective. Throughout Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe portrays the conflict between the white colonial government and the indigenous Igbo people. Achebe opens his story with a portrayal of Okonkwo, his family, and his clan, the Umuofia. The Umuofia clan is a part of a consortium of nine villages. Okonkwo’s village is Iguedo, and he is well known warrior. Okonkwo is wealthy and respected¹¹, whereas his father, Unoka, who fails to provide for his family and opposes violence.¹² One day, Okonkwo takes charge of the boy, Ikemefua, whose an necessary to avoid ribal war.¹³ Ikemefua is a perfect boy as Okonkwo’s son, and Okonkwo likes him because he fears his first son, Nwoye, is lazy and weak. However, he did not show his affection to Ikemefuna.¹⁴

      Ikemefuna lives with Okonkwo’s family for three years, and Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, respects him as an older brother. Okonkwo liked that because Nwoye learned a manly attitude.¹⁵ One clan member, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, who is a village elder, tells Okonkwo about an oracle that Ikemefuna must be killed. Alseo, he says that Okonkwo should not take part in Ikemefuna’s death because Ikemefuna calls Okonkwo “father.” Okonkwo lies that it is time to go back Ikemefuna’s home.¹⁶ On the way to Ikemefuna’s village, Ikemefuna is killed by Okonkwo’s machete. When he dies, he runs to Okonkwo for help. However, Okonkwo cuts him down because he does not want to show weakness to the men of Umuofia. When Okonkwo came back to home, his son, Nwoye guesses the death of Ikemefuna.¹⁷ Okonkwo falls into depression, and he visits his friend, Obierika, to get some comfort from him.¹⁸

      However, Okonkwo’s tragedy is not ended. When his friend, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, dies. Unfortunately, Okonkwo’s gun kills Ogbuefi Ezeude’s son. Since killing a clan’s man is a serious sin against the earth goddess, Okonkwo has to leave his village.¹⁹ He is exiled to his mother’s village, Mbanta, with his family and property. As Okonkwo is leaving, Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s men burn Okonkwo’s house and kill his livestock in order to cleanse the village of Okonkwo’s sin^.20

      When Okonkwo arrives at his mother’s village, his relatives accept him warmly.²¹ They help him to rise again. When Okonkwo restarts life in his mother’s village, he reconciles himself to life.²²

      Achebe portrays Okonkwo’s community as having their own laws and customs to keep harmony and peace. Also, there is strong kinship to maintain a harmonious and peaceful community. Okonkwo has pride as the man of the clan. All those elements are a part of the indigenous culture of the Igbo people. However, the collision between change and tradition arises, when those elements meet the British Colonialism.

      When Okonkwo lives in exile for two years, Obierika brings money from selling Okonkwo’s yams.²³ Also, he brings the bad news that white men destroyed a village called Abame.²⁴

      After three years of Okonkwo’s exile, Okonkwo learn of more bad news from Obierika.²⁵ Six missionaries visited Mbanta. The missionaries’ leader, Mr. Brown, started to say that villagers’ gods are wrong and that they have to worship only one God. Also, it is an odd concept for villagers to accept the Holy Trinity as one God.²⁶ Okonkwo thinks the missionaries are insane, but his son, Nwoye, is fascinated. Another odd thing is that even though the missionaries try to convert all the people of Umuofia to Christianity, Mr. Brown does not allow them to being hostile to the clan.²⁷

      Continuously, the things unexpectedly happened in between missionaries and villagers. The elder of a villager offered missionaries to build a church in the forest called the Evil Forest.²⁸ The elder suggested that some bad things would happen to the missionaries and they will leave the village. However, nothing happens to the church. Moreover, the church wins more converts. Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, also converts to Christianity.²⁹ And, he leaves his father, Okonkwo.³⁰ The church gets more converts. Also, their faith let them to abandon their traditional faith. Okonkwo thinks that Mbanta is a womanly clan because they did not agree with violence, in order to cast forth missionaries.³¹ At the close of Okonkwo’s exile, Okonkwo provides a big feast for his mother’s relative,³² but inwardly, he looks down on him for being part of such a womanly clan.³³

      When Okonkwo returns from exile to Umuofia, everything is changed. The church has grown in his village.³⁴ Moreover church plays governmental power.³⁵ Although Okonkwo and his fellows worried about the white men’s influence, some villagers liked their influence. The white men set up a hospital and a school. The people of the village can use the facilities. Finally, Okonkwo threatens Mr. Brown with violence. Mr. Brown’s health fails health and he leaves the flocks.³⁶ It was not the end.

      A replacement comes to the Igbo people, Reverend James Smith. He is strict and an intolerant man. The conflict between the missionaries and village people is getting serious.³⁷ Eventually, the people of the village burn the church in order to cleanse their village.³⁸ That event brings them into a catastrophic situation. The white men imprison the leaders of Umuofia and put them in jail, where they suffer insults and physical abuse.³⁹  

      When the prisoners come back from jail, the villagers are astonished at their appearance.⁴⁰ The leaders hold a meeting to deal with the issue about the white men. During a meeting, five court messengers come and tell the clansmen to stop. Okonkwo kills one of them, but the others are let go. Okonkwo realizes that his clan will not fight.⁴¹

      When the District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo’s village, he knows that Okonkwo committed suicide.⁴² The District Commissioner thinks that the story of Okonkwo’s death can be an interesting for reader. He had already chosen the tile of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.⁴³

      Achebe describes the process of the breaking down of Igbo people’s harmony, peace, and customs without private emotion. Ironically, He observes the process without any judgment. However, Chinua Achebe suggests that Okonkwo’s story is merely an interesting anecdote for Europeans, but for him and Nigerians, Okonkwo’s story has deeper meaning than one book. 

      Actually, Chinua Achebe does not deal with theological and religious matters. However, Chinua Achebe’s context is not systemizing theological issues in the Church. Chinua Achebe tries to set up the Nigerian perspective to see their world and Christianity. He keeps his position in between indigenous religion and Christianity. Also, we need to focus on the fact that Things Fall Apart was written in the English, colonized language. It implies that Chinua Achebe informs us to see colonial Nigeria from their perspective. Also, it argues that Nigerians are not people of nothing.⁴⁴

      III. Meaning of Text within Historical Context

      First of all, Chinua Achebe illustrates the colonial period from an African perspective, not the westernized and colonized perspective. If we see mission-work in Africa from the Western Perspective, we just think about the white missionaries who died in the forest of Africa. However, if we see mission-work in Africa from the African perspective, we would see what we missed by the shadow of colonialism. Also, Africans lost their own narrative by European hands. Achebe tried to take back that narrative.⁴⁵ 

      Also, Chinua Achebe’s work is the answering the calling for the independence of Nigeria. After World War II, many countries got independence from their colonizers. British Colonialism and other countries’ colonialism invaded not only politics and economics, but also culture and spirit. Things Fall Apart describes the processing of the invasion of British Colonialism. Although Things Fall Apart is not a theological book, it implies that the African Church struggled with indigenous theology.⁴⁶

      Finally, Nigeria obtained independence from England in 1960. I think that Chinua Achebe’s work took part in it. The influence of Things Fall Apart is not limited in the history of Nigeria. Since 1958, it has sold 11 million copies in about 45 languages.⁴⁷ Also, Things Fall Apart takes an important place in not only African literature, but also in world literature. As copies of Things Fall Apart spread, it keeps illuminating us to know that there is no such thing as “the People of Nothing.