Things+Fall+Apart

=**Title of the Work**= __Things Fall Apart__ =Author= Chinua Achebe =Nationality/Ethnic Background= Nigerian =Genre and Sub-genres= Novel (Modern Greek tragedy, critique of colonialism). =Pertinent Biographical Information= Achebe was raised in the Igbo village in Nigeria by traditional Christian parents. His parents had stopped practicing the religion of their ancestors, but still incorporated Igbo rituals into their Christian practice. Storytelling was an element of the Igbo culture that greatly affected Achebe, as his mother told him many stories that prompted him to pursue his education further. Achebe's English education and exposure to Igbo culture helped him to cultivate a unique outlook on the state of traditional African culture and European influence. His decision to write __Things Fall Apart__ in English was significant in that it signaled his efforts to merge the two cultures, rather than have them at odds with one dominant over the other. =Literary Historical Period/Movement and Pertinent Background= The novel is set in the 1890s, portraying the animosity between the colonial, white government and the traditional culture of the Igbo people. Achebe wanted to portray the Igbo culture as it truly is; intricate and valuable, and portray the arrival of white men as destroying traditional practices. He is, however, careful not to stereotype, but rather to accurately portray the downfall of indigenous Igbo culture. =Major Characters, Their Relationships, Their Conflicts= Okonkwo - His father is lazy, so it is Okonkwo's goal in life to not be like his father. He doesn't want to be seen as weak, and after defeating Amalinze the Cat, he earns the title as the strongest in the village. Okonkwo lives in a society where men are considered superior over women. He is a strong controlling force over his family, which causes tension between him and his family. Okonkwo is quick to anger and has three wives. Okonkwo hangs himself in his house.

Ekwefi - She is the second wife of Okonkwo. She has had trouble having children, but finally gives birth to a daughter named Ezinma. Ekwefi left her other husband because she was in love with Okonkwo.

Ezinma - She is a sickly child. She is considered by the village to be an ogbanje, a child who dies and is reborn to the mother many times. Although she is a girl, Ezinma is Okonkwo's favorite child. She eventually becomes healthy.

Ikemefuma - He is taken from another village to prevent war between two feuding cities. He lived with Okonkwo and his family for three years, learning to call Okonkwo "father". He was a role model to Nwoye. Okonkwo killed Ikemefuma because an oracle said for him to be killed, even though Okonkwo was warned against killing him because Ikemefuma called Okonkwo "father".

Nwoye - He is the oldest son of Okonkwo. Okonkwo treats Nwoye as he thinks a man should by being rough with him, worried that Nwoye will become like his grandfather, Unoka.

Unoka - Okonkwo’s father, a disgrace of the village and family. He is lazy and a known debtor. He fears the sight of blood, so never becomes a warrior. On the positive side, Unoka appears to have been a talented musician and a gentle spirit. The novel begins ten years after his death.

Mr. Brown - The first white missionary to travel to Umuofia. Mr. Brown is peaceful, understanding, and generally well-liked. He even becomes friends with some of the clansmen and builds a school and a hospital in Umuofia. Unlike Reverend Smith, he attempts to appeal respectfully to the Igbo value system rather than harshly impose his religion on it.

Reverend James Smith - The missionary who replaces Mr. Brown. Unlike Mr. Brown, Reverend Smith is uncompromising and strict. He demands that his converts reject all of their indigenous beliefs, and he shows no respect for indigenous customs or culture. He is the stereotypical white colonialist, and his behavior epitomizes the problems of colonialism.

The District Commissioner - An authority figure in the white colonial government in Nigeria. Racist and rude, he assumes he knows everything about tribal African culture and shows the clansmen no respect. He plans to work his experiences into a study on local African tribes, the idea of which embodies his dehumanizing and reductive attitude toward race relations.

**Brief Plot Summary** At the beginning of the novel we meet the main character, Okonkwo, who is a strong and respected man in his village. His father was lazy and irresponsible and it is Okonkwo's personal goal to be the complete opposite of his father. However, he fears that his son will become like him. In an agreement with a nearby tribe, Okonkwo's village of Umuofia wins a virgin and a fifteen-year old boy, Ikemefuna, who Okonkwo takes into his own family. Okonkwo's son, Nwoye forms an attachment to the boy, and he even begins to call Okonkwo "father", even though Okonkwo refuses to show him affection. During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo accuses one of his three wives of negligence and beats her, breaking the peace of the sacred week. He makes sacrifices to atone for his mistake, but his actions shock the village. Ikemefuna stays with Okonkwo's family for three years, becoming like a brother to Nwoye, who begins to take on a more masculine attitude to the great approval of his father. One day a respected village elder comes to Okonkwo to inform him that the Oracle has ordered for Ikemefuna to be killed and that since the boy consideres Okonkwo to be his father, he should not be the one to fulfill his death. Okonkwo tells Ikemefuna that he must return to his home village, and after several hours of walking, men of Umoufia come at Ikemefuna with machetes. Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo for help, but, not wanting to appear weak in front of the villagers, Okonkwo cuts the boy down, despite the Oracle's orders. Okonkwo sinks into depression and his daughter Ezinma falls ill, but recovers after her father gathers leaves for her. Then the village elder, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, who informed Okonkwo of the Oracle's orders to kill Ikemefuna, dies suddenly and Okonkwo feels guilty thinking about their last encounter. At Ezeudu's funeral, Okonkwo's gun explodes and kills the elder's sixteen-year old son. Because killing a clansmen is a crime against the earth goddess, Okonkwo and his family must be taken into exile for seven years into the village of Mbanta. Villagers burn Okonkwo's buildings and animals to rid the village of his sin. Okonkwo is disappointed at his misfortune, but his family receives him warmly and he begins to farm yams with his uncle. During the exile, six missionaries travel to Mbanta. Speaking through a translator, the missionaries' leader, Mr. Brown, tells them that their gods are false and worshipping multiple gods is idolatrous. Mr Brown is genuine in his attempts to convert the village to Christianity, but he does not wish to antagonize the villagers. Mr. Brown grows ill and is replaced with Reverend Smith, a strict and intolerant man. Some of the converts are relieved to be free of Mr. Brown's policy of restraint and one convert umasks an egwugwu during a sacred ceremony, the equivalent of killing an ancestral spirit. The next day, the egwugwu burn the convert's compound and Reverend Smith's church. The District Commissioner is upset at the burning of the church and requests a meeting with the leaders of Umoufia. Once they are gathered, the leaders are thrown into jail and abused and ridiculed there. After the prisoners are released, the clansmen hold a meeting during which five court messengers come to tell the clansmen to stop what they are doing. Okonkwo kills their leader with a machete, believing that his fellow clan members will join him. The crowd allows the other messengers to escape, which shows Okonkwo that his clan does not want to go to war. The District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo's compound to find that he has hanged himself. A friend of Okonkwo's explains that suicide is a grave sin and that none of Okonkwo's clansmen may touch his body. The commissioner is writing a book about Africa and believes that Okonkwo's story will make for an interesting paragraph or two. He has already chosen the title of the book to be //The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.// =Motifs (Recurring Images, Ideas, Figures of Speech, Symbols, Colors) & Their Thematic Significance= Animal Imagery-- The Igbo often use animal anecdotes to describe, categorize, and explain human behavior and thought. The presence of animals in their stories reflects the environment in which they live which has not yet been "modernized" by Europeans. The Igbo see these stories as logical explanations for certain phenomena, while the Europeans find them to be primitive. One specific animal image is the python, a greatly revered creature in the Igbo culture. One character's alleged killing and eating of a python serves to highlight the incompatibility of colonialist and traditional values.

Chi-- The traditional concept of chi is referenced throughout the novel. Chi is an individual's personal god whose merit is determined by the person's good fortune or lack therof. The concept of chi can be used to explain Okonkwo's fate in the novel. =Other Significant Thematic Elements (Significant Character's Names, Significant Quotations, Significant Actions/Events)= "Turning and turning in the widening gyre the falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world."

This quotation is from a William Butler Yeats poem entitled "The Second Coming" and is consequently the inspiration for the title of the novel. Achebe hints at the chaos that ensues when a system collapses by quoting these lines. "The center cannot hold" can be viewed as a refererence to the collapse of the African tribal system. Achebe's allusion can also be seen to refer to the advent of Christian missionaries, criticizing their supposed helpfulness for converting the Igbo. As a largely agrarian society, the Igbo would be familiar with the notion of return, as they rely on a series of cycles.

=Major Themes= Struggle between Traditional values and new thinking-- This novel deals with how change affects various characters. Okonkwo has a very archaic view on life, and thus on these intense changes occuring all around him. He resists change because he fears of losing societal status. His own sense of worth is dependent upon cultural standards by which his clansmen have been trained to judge him. This kind of thinking leads those eager to release themselves from this kind of scrutiny to new ideas such as Chrisitianity. Many villagers are excited about the the new opportunities the missionaries have presented, but European influence is threatening to destroy a traditional way of life. Achebe chooses to highlight in the novel how the abandonment of the Igbo language for English could lead to the eradication of these traditions.

Language as a marker of cultural differences-- There are many places in the book where language is show to be a barrier between the Europeans and the Igbo, such as when Mr. Brown has to minister to the village with the help of a translator. By placing Igbo phrases amongst the English of the novel, Achebe shows that the language is far too complicated to be able to be translated accurately into English. Similarly, the Igbo culture cannot be truly understood within the mindset of European colonialism.

Different interpretations of masculinity-- Okonkwo has a different view of masculinity than his village. He views it as anger, aggression, and physical strength. He also views it as having no room for emotion. Because he thinks this way he frequently beats his wives and is disappointed in his son for not being more passive and strong. It can be seen that Okonkwo's views of masculinity are not necessarily correct because Nwoye eventually converts to Christianity and becomes a strong leader.