A Research on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Introduction

Chinua Achebe is an African writer, renowned not only in Africa but also internationally. He mainly gained acclaim due to his international success novel Things Fall Apart which it is a fictional novel that is taught at the High School level in English classes. The novel is perceived as a fictional account of the culture of the Igbo people through the life of the main character Okonkwo, who is perceived both as an influential and brutal clan leader. The narration of the events that take place around the main character as well as other character's paints a picture of significant human traits that exist in the Igbo culture as well as conventionally (Achebe, 2010). This paper comprehensively explores the novel, Things Fall Apart, with an interpretation of the themes from an international perspective, which is mirrored through the traditional context of the Igbo culture.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The novel provides a detailed account of the Igbo culture. The author achieves this feat by taking us through the life of the brutal clan leader Okonkwo. The most dominant aspect of Okonkwo, the main character, is that he considers his father to be a failure and as such does not wish to walk in his father's footsteps. He tries to create a legacy of his own by avoiding key traits of his father's behavior which he considered to be ladylike. Chinua Achebe points out Okonkwo's character to be one of independence, which makes him a very much respected and looked upon an individual in his society (Achebe, 2010). The author portrays the main character in light of his stern nature and the inward dread that haunts him every day. Okonkwo's main fear is that he becomes like his father, a man he did look up to in his younger years and did not look up to in his old age.

Okonkwo's relationship with his father seems to have been estranged from when he had a mind of his own and could make decisions of significance upon his life. The main focus of the character's thoughts is that in whatever he does, he should be sure not to emulate the behavior or life of his father. As such, the majority of the novel is spent comparing his actions to those of his father's in perspective of his resolve not to result in any form of similarity. In perspective of his father's ladylike traits, Okonkwo decides to be manly in handling the matters of his house in every conceivable way (Diamond, 2006). From his physical capabilities to his leadership capabilities and the ability to take care of and provide for his family, depicts the character to be well off in pursuit of a life that is greater than the one that was led by his father.

The novel Things Fall Apart takes into consideration many themes other than that of Okonkwo hate for his father character and his resolve to be dissimilar to his father. However, the majority of these themes are linked with significant societal happenings in the entire world. One such theme is that of male chauvinism. Male Chauvinism is the degradation of females in the view that they are completely different from men. In this specific view, Okonkwo is seen to address the traits of his father to ladylike behavior. In the perspective of a male chauvinist, the ladylike behavior is considered to be a distinct weakness of male character (Diamond, 2006). Okonkwo acknowledges that being a man entails demanding respect not only from the clan, as a leader, but also from the family, that includes the different spouses he had as well as his children. Male chauvinistic behavior in Okonkwo is well depicted through the manner in which he relates with his spouses. At various points in the novel, Chinua Achebe narrates Okonkwo's habit of beating his spouses.

The theme of male chauvinism is stretched further to the relationship he had with his children. As expected by the world, a father should be a helping hand showing the children through the ropes of life. However, to his children, Okonkwo was a man that was supposed to be feared and his demands respected. As such, the children did not respect him as a parent but as a leader due to the fear of him that he had instilled in them since they were young. In the novel, his oldest son Nwoye clearly shows his fear for his father, reasons being that he is a no-nonsense and highly demanding individual. The theme of male chauvinism is well depicted in the novel through the character that Chinua Achebe chose to provide a distinct narration of the fictional course of events that took place (Shouq & Zubair, 2015). This theme is also evident in the larger global context. It acts as a precursor to the theme of male domination in a society, which is also depicted in Things Fall Apart. The theme of male dominance is clearly shown through the culture of polygamy (Diamond, 2006). Through the identified male chauvinistic perspective which is clearly evident and strongly presented in the fictional novel, it translates to the behavior of men marrying more women and women not being in a position to reciprocate the same.

As such, male chauvinism has a direct impact on the structure of marriage and customs in the Igbo society. Through the established perspective of male chauvinism, male dominance takes over in the establishment of a culture and society that is male-dominated (Shouq & Zubair, 2015). The family structure in the Igbo culture considers men to be the head of the families. Their power is extended to their ability to be able to provide for multiple families due to their multiple numbers of wives which illustrates the well-established culture of polygamy.

The Igbo culture, community, and society are illustrated in the novel to have a well laid out establishment of male dominance. Male domination is not a new term in the world as western history shows the significant patriarchal societies that existed in the past. As such, the depiction of male dominance in Chinua Achebe's fictional novel is a depiction of themes of male dominance that have been the basis of many literature writings for centuries on end. Therefore, the novel has a traditional as well as a foreign outlook to the society by depicting certain conventional themes that are of significance not only to the Igbo culture alone but the entire world. This point of argument could be ascertained as the reason to why the fictional novel Things Fall Apart has been used for learning literature in Nigeria, the nation of origin of the author, Chinua Achebe, as well as internationally in western High school English classes and university literature courses.

Another significant thematic concern in the novel is that of religion. The novel perceives religion to be a significant aspect in a society that can lead to significant cultural changes. The novel shows the traditional religion that was being practiced by the people belonging to the Igbo culture. Their religion was based on the belief of many gods, which is referred to in the literature as polytheism. For that reason, religion was important in illustrating certain events that took place in the novel. Chinua Achebe narrates the coming of the white man to the nine villages, bringing along a religion that was significantly different from the traditional religion that was practiced by people of the Igbo culture (Achebe, 2010). In view of this, many of the Igbo people are shown to behave skeptically toward the new religion that was brought by the white man. They were not ready to leave their traditional religious practices which they had practice for so long and had become engrained to their personal lives.

The theme of religion creates another significant perspective as seen in the theme of change. The main character in the novel is perceived to be the best promoter of the theme of religion and change. In the novel, the reader gets to see that the white man brings a new religion known as Christianity which depicts the worship of one God. Okonkwo is portrayed as someone who is against the new ways that have been brought about by the white man. Okonkwo feels that the religious progression that is taking place is decimating the Igbo society (Searle, 2007). The changes that are bound to take place after accepting the new religion include settlement and bargain, which are two of the significant qualities that Okonkwo considers to be heinous in nature.

Okonkwo is also depicted as an embodiment of conservatism in the Igbo society. Okonkwo resistance to change, in perspective of the new religion, depicts him to be a character of unbendable nature and cannot be molded to the new tradition of Christianity that have been brought about by the white man (Achebe, 2010). The theme of religion and change is one of the significant conventional thematic concerns that are related to different literature writings from all over the world. History shows that colonialism was first brought by the Europeans, who wanted to be perceived as traders, missionaries and colonialists (Searle, 2007). In this line, many societies over the world have been faced with the eventuality of colonialism through the perspective of religion and change. The changes that are brought about to society are not always pleasant and end up creating significant conflicts. Okonkwo is definitely not the only leader of his time to be skeptical of the new religion and decide to stick to his customary convictions while grieving the loss of past where there were no new things and life was simple yet pleasing.

The significant theme of religion, change, colonialism is well known in the international circle. History shows that almost all countries in the world faced such significant issues in their societies. Colonialism which was a wave that spread from Europe to other continents saw the rise of Christianity as a cause for traveling the world. For instance, the Spanish Empire used Catholicism as a reason for conquering Europe and the rest of the world through the actualization of their mission for religious purification (Searle, 2007). The novel by Chinua Achebe illustrates a significant viewpoint of the society that aligns with the perspective of the world that is held by different people, societies and cultures. The views and perspectives of resistance to change, conservatism, colonialism, and spread of the Christian religion are explained by many more authors through the narration of real as well as fictional events that took place all over the world.

The arrival of the white man in the nine villages announced the arrival of a new religious culture that would soon take over the existing Igbo culture. This also resulted in the arrival of the western culture which represented aspects of self-improvement of the society as well as better government (Gosling, 2017). Okonkwo is perceived to be at the center of resistance to the actualizations of the focal objective of the illumination brought about to the Igbo society by the English culture of the British society (Achebe, 2010). The new culture thereby started to infringe upon the fundamental aspects of the Igbo culture, which included their traditional religion. The infringement brought about significant issues of concern that later led to the ultimate decay of the conventional Igbo society.

Things Fall Apart is indeed a literary piece that was well written with the excellent depiction of various thematic concerns that were both traditional as well as conventional bringing about an international perspective of the world we live in. From the depiction of a male-dominated society, the cause for the spread of religion which was a way through colonialism would be spread and the resistance to change are some of the significant themes that are covered in the novel that paint a picture of similar events that have taken place globally. In view of the themes above, it would be prudent to conclude that Chinua Achebe's novel did not engage a local or rather t...