BOOK REVIEW (THINGS FALL APART)
AUTHOR: CHINUA ACHEBE
PUBLICATION DATE: JUNE 17, 1958
PAGES: 166
PUBLISHER: WILLIAM
HEINEMANN LTD 1958
PRICE: N400
REVIEWER: IGE
OLUWAPELUMI JOSHUA
The novel, “Things fall apart” was
Chinua Achebe’s and most influential novel. Things fall apart was written
partially in indignation over the distorted and dehumanized representations of
Africans in European fiction. It was written in response to British
colonization and its human consequences. The novel described how the Igbo
society began to fall apart after the arrival of European colonizers and missionaries
at the end of the ninetieth century.
The novel, “Things fall apart is
undoubtedly the most authentic narrative ever written about life in Nigeria at
the turn of the twentieth century.
PLOT
Things Fall Apart is set in Umuofia,
the hometown of Okonkwo, a strong, proud, hot-tempered and industrious man. As
a young man, Okonkwo becomes of the greatest wrestlers in the clan. Okonkwo
values strength and aggression, traits he believes are masculine, and his worst
fear is to be thought of feminine weak, like his father, Unoka, a coward and
spendthrift who died in disrepute leaving many village debts unsettled.
In settlement with a neighboring tribe,
Umuofia wins a virgin and fifteen-year-old boy. Okonkwo takes charge of the
boy, Ikemefuna who lived with Okonkwo’s family for the next three years.
Okonkwo finds an ideal son in him and Ikemefuna soon starts to call Okonkwo
father. Nwoye likewise forms a strong emotional bond with Ikemefuna. During the
week of peace in Umuofia, Okonkwo accusses his youngest wife, Ojiugo of
negligence. He severely beats her, breaking the peace of the sacred week. He
makes some sacrifices to show his repentance, but he has shocked his community
irreparably.
After three years, the oldest man of
the tribe, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, a respectful village elder informs Okonkwo in
private that the Oracle has said that Ikemefuna must be killed. He tells
Okonkwo that because Ikemefuna call him “father, okonkwo should not take part
in the boy’s death.
Ikemefuna is marched in a procession,
told that he is going back to his original village, and then deep in the woods,
one of the villagers hits him with a matchete. The blow is not fatal, and he
runs in fear to Okonkwo, calling him father and asking him to protect him.
Afraid of being though weak, Okonkwo strikes the boy down, despites the
oracle’s admonishment. When Okonkwo returns home, Nwoye deduces that his friend
is dead.
Okonkwo grieve deeply for three days
after the death of Ikemefuna. Other tell him that it was a very bad omen for
him to strike the killing blow. Slowly he forgets about it and participates in
the ceremonial and economic affairs of the village, although the event marks
his son Nwoye very deeply.
Soon, Ezeudu passes away, and his
funeral celebration draws the entire clan. During the burial, Okonkwo’s gun
explodes, killing Ezeudu’s 16-year-old son. Because killing a clansman is a
crime against the earth goddess, Okonkwo must take his family into exile for
seven years in order to atone. He gathers his most valuable belongings and
takes his family to his mother’s natal village, Mbata.
The men from Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s quarter
burn Okonkwo’s buildings and kill his animals to clean the village of his sin.
During their time in exile, Okonkwo and his family work hard to start a new
farm in Okonkwo’s motherland, Mbata. His mother’s kinsmen treat them kindly,
but Okonkwo is extremely discouraged by circumstances. He plans for the day he
can return to his rightful place in Umuofia.
During the second year of Okonkwo’s
exile, Obierika brings several bags of cowries that he has made by selling
Okonkwo’s yams. Obierika plans to continue to do so until Okonkwo’s returns to
the village. Obierika also brings the bad news that Abame, another village, has
been destroyed by the white-man.
While he works in Mbata, the white-men
begin to appear among neighbouring clans, causing stories to spread about their
power and destruction. When they finally arrived in Mbata though, the clan is
fascinated but finds their religion ridiculous. Nwoye however is captivated by
the hymn he hears on the first day.
When Okonkwo returns to Umuofia, he
sees that the white missionaries, who visited Mbata, his motherland, have
really taken root in Umuofia. They have established a school there and a
trading post. Thus far only weak men have converted, but the missionaries prove
their endurance, more wealthy and people up standing people join them. His eldest
son Nwoye converts, and leaves the household for good.
The first missionary, Mr. Brown a
white-man, who is popular for his patience and understanding approach. Though
an interpreter named Mr. Kiaga, the missionaries, leader Mr. Brown, speaks to
the villagers. He tells them that their gods are false and that worshipping
more them one God is idolatrous. Mr. Brown
does not allow his followers to antagonize the clan. Although his aim is
to convert the residents of Umuofia to Christianity. His health gives out, and
he is succeeded by the Reverend James Smith, a rigid man, who is
uncompromising, encouraging acts among the converted clan members that provoke
the rest of the clan.
When Enoch, a fanatic convert, rips the
mask off one of the clan’s masked Egwugwu during a ceremony. The clan
retaliates by burning down Enoch’s compound and the church. The district
commissioner is upset by the burning of the church and requests that the
leaders of Umuofia meet with him.
Once the gathered, however, the leaders are handcuffed
and thrown in jail, where they suffer insult and physical abuse before they are
released once the village pays the fine. When they are released, they meet to
plan their next move. Okonkwo is finally happy because they seem to be
considering war. However, the British administrators send some of his African
offices to spy on the meeting and break it up. Okonkwo loses his temper and
kill some of the messengers.
No one else follows his lead. In
despair, he returns to his compound and hangs himself – a final discretion of
the earth goddess. Suicide is such an unclean act that none of the villagers ca
cut his body down, they must ask the British administrator, who has come to
arrest Okonkwo to bury him.
The commissioner, who is writing a book
about Africa, believes that the story of Okonkwo’s rebellion and death will
make for an interesting paragraph or two. He has already chosen the book’s
title: THE PACIFICATION OF THE PRIMITIVE TRIBES OF THE LOWER NIGER
CHARACTERIZATION
Okonkwo
–
Nwoye
Nwoye
- Okonkwo’s oldest son, whom Okonkwo
believes is weak and lazy. Okonkwo continually beats Nwoye, hoping to correct
the faults that he perceives in him. Influenced by Ikemefuna, Nwoye begins to
exhibit more masculine behavior, which pleases Okonkwo. However, he maintains
doubts about some of the laws and rules of his tribe and eventually converts to
Christianity, an act that Okonkwo criticizes as “effeminate.” Okonkwo believes
that Nwoye is afflicted with the same weaknesses that his father, Unoka,
possessed in abundance. Nwoye.
Nwoye,
Okonkwo’s oldest son, struggles in the shadow of his powerful, successful, and
demanding father. His interests are different from Okonkwo’s and resemble more
closely those of Unoka, his grandfather.
He undergoes many beatings, at a loss
for how to please his father, until the arrival of Ikemefuna, who becomes like
an older brother and teaches him a gentler form of successful masculinity. As a
result, Okonkwo backs off, and Nwoye even starts to win his grudging approval.
Nwoye remains conflicted, however: though he makes a show of scorning feminine
things in order to please his father, he misses his mother’s stories.
With
the unconscionable murder of Ikemefuna, however, Nwoye retreats into himself
and finds himself forever changed. His reluctance to accept Okonkwo’s masculine
values turns into pure embitterment toward him and his ways. When missionaries
come to Mbanta, Nwoye’s hope and faith are reawakened, and he eventually joins
forces with them. Although Okonkwo curses his lot for having borne so
“effeminate” a son and disowns Nwoye, Nwoye appears to have found peace at last
in leaving the oppressive atmosphere of his father’s tyran
Ezinma :
The only child of Okonkwo’s second wife, Ekwefi. As the only one of Ekwefi’s
ten children to survive past infancy, Ezinma is the center of her mother’s
world. Their relationship is atypical—Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name and is
treated by her as an equal. Ezinma is also Okonkwo’s favorite child, for she
understands him better than any of his other children and reminds him of Ekwefi
when Ekwefi was the village beauty. Okonkwo rarely demonstrates his affection,
however, because he fears that doing so would make him look weak. Furthermore,
he wishes that Ezinma were a boy because she would have been the perfect son.
Ezinma,
Okonkwo’s favorite daughter and the only child of Ekwefi, is bold in the way
that she approaches—and even sometimes contradicts—her father. Okonkwo remarks
to himself multiple times that he wishes she had been born a boy, since he
considers her to have such a masculine spirit. Ezinma alone seems to win
Okonkwo’s full attention, affection, and, ironically, respect. She and he are
kindred spirits, which boosts her confidence and precociousness. She grows into
a beautiful young woman who sensibly agrees to put off marriage until her
family returns from exile so as to help her father leverage his sociopolitical
power most effectively. In doing so, she shows an approach similar to that of
Okonkwo: she puts strategy ahead of emotion.
Ikemefuna :
A boy given to Okonkwo by a neighboring village. Ikemefuna lives in the hut of
Okonkwo’s first wife and quickly becomes popular with Okonkwo’s children. He
develops an especially close relationship with Nwoye, Okonkwo’s oldest son, who
looks up to him. Okonkwo too becomes very fond of Ikemefuna, who calls him
“father” and is a perfect clansman, but Okonkwo does not demonstrate his
affection because he fears that doing so would make him look weak.
Mr. Brown: The first white missionary to travel to
Umuofia. Mr. Brown institutes a policy of compromise, understanding, and
non-aggression between his flock and the clan. He even becomes friends with
prominent clansmen and builds a school and a hospital in Umuofia. Unlike
Reverend Smith, he attempts to appeal respectfully to the tribe’s value system
rather than harshly impose his religion on it Mr. Brown.
Mr.
Brown represents Achebe’s attempt to craft a well-rounded portrait of the
colonial presence by tempering bad personalities with good ones. Mr. Brown’s
successor, Reverend Smith, is zealous, vengeful, small-minded, and
manipulative; he thus stands in contrast to Mr. Brown, who, on the other hand,
is benevolent if not always beneficent. Mr. Brown succeeds in winning a large
number of converts because he listens to the villagers’ stories, beliefs, and
opinions. He also accepts the converts unconditionally. His conversation with
Akunna represents this sympathetic stance. The derisive comments that Reverend
Smith makes about Mr. Brown after the latter’s departure illustrate the
colonial intolerance for any kind of sympathy for, and genuine interest in, the
native culture. The surname Brown hints at his ability to navigate successfully
the clear-cut racial division between the colonizers and the colonized.
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. He intentionally provokes his congregation, inciting
it to anger and even indirectly, through Enoch, encouraging some fairly serious
transgressions.
Uchendu
- The younger brother of Okonkwo’s mother. Uchendu receives Okonkwo and his
family warmly when they travel to Mbanta, and he advises Okonkwo to be grateful
for the comfort that his motherland offers him lest he anger the
dead—especially his mother, who is buried there. Uchendu himself has
suffered—all but one of his six wives are dead and he has buried twenty-two
children. He is a peaceful, compromising man and functions as a foil (a
character whose emotions or actions highlight, by means of contrast, the
emotions or actions of another character) to Okonkwo, who acts impetuously and
without thinking.
The
District Commissioner - An authority figure in the white colonial government in
Nigeria. The prototypical racist colonialist, the District Commissioner thinks
that he understands everything about native African customs and cultures and he
has no respect for them. He plans to work his experiences into an ethnographic
study on local African tribes, the idea of which embodies his dehumanizing and
reductive attitude toward race relations.
Unoka
- Okonkwo’s father, of whom Okonkwo has been ashamed since childhood. By the
standards of the clan, Unoka was a coward and a spendthrift. He never took a
title in his life, he borrowed money from his clansmen, and he rarely repaid
his debts. He never became a warrior because he feared the sight of blood.
Moreover, he died of an abominable illness. On the positive side, Unoka appears
to have been a talented musician and gentle, if idle. He may well have been a
dreamer, ill-suited to the chauvinistic culture into which he was born. The
novel opens ten years after his death.
Obierika
- Okonkwo’s close friend, whose
daughter’s wedding provides cause for festivity early in the novel. Obierika looks
out for his friend, selling Okonkwo’s yams to ensure that Okonkwo won’t suffer
financial ruin while in exile and comforting Okonkwo when he is depressed. Like
Nwoye, Obierika questions some of the tribe’s traditional strictures.
Ekwefi - Okonkwo’s second wife, once the village
beauty. Ekwefi ran away from her first husband to live with Okonkwo. Ezinma is
her only surviving child, her other nine having died in infancy, and Ekwefi
constantly fears that she will lose Ezinma as well. Ekwefi is good friends with
Chielo, the priestess of the goddess Agbala.
Enoch
- A fanatical convert to the Christian
church in Umuofia. Enoch’s disrespectful act of ripping the mask off an egwugwu
during an annual ceremony to honor the earth deity leads to the climactic clash
between the indigenous and colonial justice systems. While Mr. Brown, early on,
keeps Enoch in check in the interest of community harmony, Reverend Smith
approves of his zealotry.
Ogbuefi Ezeudu
- The oldest man in the village and one
of the most important clan elders and leaders. Ogbuefi Ezeudu was a great
warrior in his youth and now delivers messages from the Oracle.
Chielo
- A priestess in Umuofia who is dedicated to the Oracle of the goddess Agbala.
Chielo is a widow with two children. She is good friends with Ekwefi and is
fond of Ezinma, whom she calls “my daughter.” At one point, she carries Ezinma
on her back for miles in order to help purify her and appease the gods.
Akunna -
A clan leader of Umuofia. Akunna and Mr. Brown discuss their religious beliefs
peacefully, and Akunna’s influence on the missionary advances Mr. Brown’s
strategy for converting the largest number of clansmen by working with, rather
than against, their belief system. In so doing, however, Akunna formulates an
articulate and rational defense of his religious system and draws some striking
parallels between his style of worship and that of the Christian missionaries.
Nwakibie
- A wealthy clansmen who takes a chance
on Okonkwo by lending him 800 seed yams—twice the number for which Okonkwo
asks. Nwakibie thereby helps Okonkwo build up the beginnings of his personal
wealth, status, and independence.
Mr. Kiaga
- The native-turned-Christian missionary
who arrives in Mbanta and converts Nwoye and many others.
Okagbue Uyanwa - A famous medicine man whom Okonkwo summons
for help in dealing with Ezinma’s health problems.
Maduka
- Obierika’s son. Maduka wins a
wrestling contest in his mid-teens. Okonkwo wishes he had promising, manly sons
like Maduka.
Obiageli
- The daughter of Okonkwo’s first wife.
Although Obiageli is close to Ezinma in age, Ezinma has a great deal of
influence over her.
Ojiugo
- Okonkwo’s third and youngest wife, and
the mother of Nkechi. Okonkwo beats Ojiugo during the Week of Peace.
SETTING:
The story of Chinua Achebe’s novel
“Things fall apart takes place in the Nigerian village of Umuoia in the late
1880s, before missionaries and other outsiders have arrived. It was a period in
colonial history when the British were expanding their influence in Africa,
economically, culturally, and politically. Umuofia is an Igbo village with very
well defined traditions. The neighbouring clans fear Umuofia because its
warriors and medicine-men are powerful. Each person has a hut, which is refered
to as “Obi”, and is located in the center of a compound. Each gender harvests
different types of crops (the men harvest yam, and the women harvest coco-yam,
beans and cassava).
When Okonkwo is expelled from Umuofia,
he gathers his most valuable belongings an takes his family to is mother’s
natal village, Mbata, he was received warmly and is given two or three plots of
land to farm and a plot land to build a new compound of hurts. The next seven
years of Okonkwo’s life are spent in the village of Mbata. Okonkwo later returns
to Umuofia where the rest of the novel takes place.
LANGUAGE:
The author of Things fall Apart, Chinua
Achebe presents the complexities and depths of an African culture to readers of
other cultures as well as to readers of his own culture. By using English in
which he has been proficient since childhood – he reaches many more readers and
has a much greater literary impact than he would by writing a language such as
Igbo. Achebe incorporated elements of the Igbo language into his novel. By
incorporating Igbo words, rhythms, language and concepts into an English text
both his culture, Achebe goes a long way to bridge a cultural divide.
The Igbo vocabulary is emerged into the
text almost seamlessly so the reader understands the meaning of most Igbo word
by their context and by doing this he helps the non-Igbo reader identify with
and relate to this complex Igbo culture.
Achebe adds another twist in his
creature use of language by incorporating a few examples of Pidgin English (a
language that has developed from mixture of two languages) Achebe uses only a
few pidgin words or phrases – tie-tie (to tie); Kotma (a crude form of court
messenger), and Yes, sah.
Achebe’s use of Igbo language, speech
patterns proverbs, and richly drawn characters create an authentic African
story that effectively bridges the cultural and historical gap below the reader
and the Igbo.
NARRATIVE
TECHNIQUE:
Things fall apart is written in the
third-person and omniscient point of view. It can share the thought of many
characters, tough it often focuses on just the main characters, including
Okonkwo, Ikemefuna, Nwoye and Ekwefi even the District commissioner in the last
paragraph. The shifting viewpoint allows the reader to consider all sides of
the conflicts and reach his/her own conclusions about their outcomes.
Even though the third-person narrator
maintains an objective point of view, the interjection of vivid
imagery/figurative language and Ibo vocabulary suggests an underlying purpose.
This style of narration helps to provide more insight into the Igbo people’s
culture values and social customs. Thus, Achebe presents his novel in the form
of a traditional story, highlighting the richness of Ibo culture, and the
dangers of immutability.
THEME:
A novel’s theme is the main idea that
the writer expresses. It can also be defined as the underlying meaning of the
story. The theme of a novel is more than its subject matter, because an
author’s technique can play a strong role in developing a theme as the actions
of the characters do.
The foremost theme of the novel is that
European colonization and the conversion of Christianity of tribal people has
ruined a complex and traditional ancient way of life in Africa.
The imposition of western cultural
beliefs and the administrative apparatus were thought to be just as well as
civilizing although in reality they had the opposite effect of being cruel and
inhuman practices that suppress large native populations to the British.
Another noteworthy theme that is
explored in this book is the fallibility of a ma life Okonkwo he is determined
to be a lord of his clan. He rises from humble beginnings to a position of
leadership, and he is a wealthy man. He is driven and determined, but his
greatness comes from the same traits that are the source of his weaknesses. He
is often too harsh with his family, and he is haunted by a fear of failure.
Other themes in the novel include: Tribal belief, clash of culture of culture,
Destiny, social disintegration.
GENRE
OF THE NOVEL (TRAGEDY)
Judging from the title of the novel,
“Thing fall Apart” is a tragedy. It narrates the story of an African clan being invaded by outsiders and falling to pieces.
“Thing fall Apart” is a tragedy. It narrates the story of an African clan being invaded by outsiders and falling to pieces.
The novel also tells the story of
Okonkwo. He is also considered a tragic hero. A tragic hero holds a position of
power and prestige, choose his course of action, possess a tragic flaw, and
gains awareness of circumstances that leads to his fall. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw
is fear of weakness and failure.
TONE:
In the novel, Achebe was as objective
as possible without exaggeration and elaboration. He allows the reader to
impose emotion on the text and decide for themselves whether characters are
admirable, justified or vindicated in their behaviours. Nevertheless, towards
the end, Achebe begins to express sympathy towards the Umuofia by describing
the cruelty and inhumanness inflicted on the people by the white colonial
government.
THE
REVIEW
Things
Fall Apart is about the tragic fall of the protagonist, Okonkwo and the Igbo
culture. Okonkwo is a respected and influential leader within the Igbo
community of Umuofia in eastern Nigeria. He first earns personal fame and
distinction, and brings honor to his village, when he defeats Amalinze the Cat
in a wrestling contest. Okonkwo determines to gain titles for himself and
become a powerful and wealthy man in spite of his father's weaknesses.
Okonkwo's
father, Unoka, was a lazy and wasteful man. He often borrowed money and then
squandered it on palm-wine and merrymaking with friends. Consequently, his wife
and children often went hungry. Within the community, Unoka was considered a
failure and a laughingstock. He was referred to as agbala, one who resembles
the weakness of a woman and has no property. Unoka died a shameful death and
left numerous debts.
Okonkwo
despises and resents his father's gentle and idle ways. He resolves to overcome
the shame that he feels as a result of his father's weaknesses by being what he
considers to be "manly"; therefore, he dominates his wives and
children by being insensitive and controlling.
Because
Okonkwo is a leader of his community, he is asked to care for a young boy named
Ikemefuna, who is given to the village as a peace offering by neighboring
Mbaino to avoid war with Umuofia. Ikemefuna befriends Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, and
Okonkwo becomes inwardly fond of the boy.
Over
the years, Okonkwo becomes an extremely volatile man; he is apt to explode at
the slightest provocation. He violates the Week of Peace when he beats his
youngest wife, Ojiugo, because she went to braid her hair at a friend's house
and forgot to prepare the afternoon meal and feed her children. Later, he
severely beats and shoots a gun at his second wife, Ekwefi, because she took
leaves from his banana plant to wrap food for the Feast of the New Yam.
After
the coming of the locusts, Ogbuefi Ezeuder, the oldest man in the village,
relays to Okonkwo a message from the Oracle. The Oracle says that Ikemefuna
must be killed as part of the retribution for the Umuofian woman killed three
years earlier in Mbaino. He tells Okonkwo not to partake in the murder, but
Okonkwo doesn't listen. He feels that not participating would be a sign of
weakness. Consequently, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna with his machete. Nwoye
realizes that his father has murdered Ikemefuna and begins to distance himself
from his father and the clansmen.
so he visits his best friend, Obierika, who
disapproves of his role in Ikemefuna's killing. Obierika says that Okonkwo's
act will upset the Earth and the earth goddess will seek revenge. After
discussing Ikemefuna's death with Obierika, Okonkwo is finally able to sleep
restfully, but he is awakened by his wife Ekwefi. Their daughter Ezinma, whom
Okonkwo is fond of, is dying. Okonkwo gathers grasses, barks, and leaves to
prepare medicine for Ezinma.
A
public trial is held on the village commons. Nine clan leaders, including
Okonkwo, represent the spirits of their ancestors. The nine clan leaders, or
egwugwu, also represent the nine villages of Umuofia. Okonkwo does not sit
among the other eight leaders, or elders, while they listen to a dispute
between an estranged husband and wife. The wife, Mgbafo, had been severely
beaten by her husband. Her brother took her back to their family's village, but
her husband wanted her back home. The egwugwu tell the husband to take wine to
his in-laws and beg his wife to come home. One elder wonders why such a trivial
dispute would come before the egwugwu.
In
her role as priestess, Chielo tells Ekwefi (Okonkwo's second wife) that Agbala
(the Oracle of the Hills and Caves) needs to see Ezinma. Although Okonkwo and
Ekwefi protest, Chielo takes a terrified Ezinma on her back and forbids anyone
to follow. Chielo carries Ezinma to all nine villages and then enters the
Oracle's cave. Ekwefi follows secretly, in spite of Chielo's admonitions, and
waits at the entrance of the Oracle. Okonkwo surprises Ekwefi by arriving at
the cave, and he also waits with her. The next morning, Chielo takes Ezinma to
Ekwefi's hut and puts her to bed.
When
Ogbuefi Ezeudu dies, Okonkwo worries because the last time that Ezeudu visited
him was when he warned Okonkwo against participating in the killing of
Ikemefuna. Ezeudu was an important leader in the village and achieved three
titles of the clan's four, a rare accomplishment. During the large funeral,
Okonkwo's gun goes off, and Ezeudu's sixteen-year-old son is killed
accidentally.
Because
the accidental killing of a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess,
Okonkwo and his family must be exiled from Umuofia for seven years. The family
moves to Okonkwo's mother's native village, Mbanta. After they depart Umuofia,
a group of village men destroy Okonkwo's compound and kill his animals to
cleanse the village of Okonkwo's sin. Obierika stores Okonkwo's yams in his
barn and wonders about the old traditions of the Igbo culture.
Okonkwo
is welcomed to Mbanta by his maternal uncle, Uchendu, a village elder. He gives
Okonkwo a plot of land on which to farm and build a compound for his family.
But Okonkwo is depressed, and he blames his chi (or personal spirit) for his
failure to achieve lasting greatness.
During
Okonkwo's second year in exile, he receives a visit from his best friend,
Obierika, who recounts sad news about the village of Abame: After a white man
rode into the village on a bicycle, the elders of Abame consulted their Oracle,
which told them that the white man would destroy their clan and other clans.
Consequently, the villagers killed the white man. But weeks later, a large
group of men slaughtered the villagers in retribution. The village of Abame is
now deserted.
Okonkwo
and Uchendu agree that the villagers were foolish to kill a man whom they knew
nothing about. Later, Obierika gives Okonkwo money that he received from
selling Okonkwo's yams and seed-yams, and he promises to do so until Okonkwo
returns to Umuofia.
Six
missionaries, including one white man, arrive in Mbanta. The white man speaks
to the people about Christianity. Okonkwo believes that the man speaks
nonsense, but his son, Nwoye, is captivated and becomes a convert of
Christianity.
The
Christian missionaries build a church on land given to them by the village leaders.
However, the land is a part of the Evil Forest, and according to tradition, the
villagers believe that the missionaries will die because they built their
church on cursed land. But when nothing happens to the missionaries, the people
of Mbanta conclude that the missionaries possess extraordinary power and magic.
The first recruits of the missionaries are efulefu, the weak and worthless men
of the village. Other villagers, including a woman, soon convert to
Christianity. The missionaries then go to Umuofia and start a school. Nwoye
leaves his father's hut and moves to Umuofia so he can attend the school.
Okonkwo's
exile is over, so his family arranges to return to Umuofia. Before leaving
Mbanta, they prepare a huge feast for Okonkwo's mother's kinsmen in
appreciation of their gratitude during Okonkwo's seven years of exile.
When
Okonkwo returns to Umuofia, he discovers that the village has changed during
his absence. Many men have renounced their titles and have converted to
Christianity. The white men have built a prison; they have established a
government court of law, where people are tried for breaking the white man's
laws; and they also employ natives of Umuofia. Okonkwo wonders why the
Umuofians have not incited violence to rid the village of the white man's
church and oppressive government.
Some
members of the Igbo clan like the changes in Umuofia. Mr. Brown, the white
missionary, respects the Igbo traditions. He makes an effort to learn about the
Igbo culture and becomes friendly with some of the clan leaders. He also
encourages Igbo people of all ages to get an education. Mr. Brown tells Okonkwo
that Nwoye, who has taken the name Isaac, is attending a teaching college.
Nevertheless, Okonkwo is unhappy about the changes in Umuofia.
After
Mr. Brown becomes ill and is forced to return to his homeland, Reverend James
Smith becomes the new head of the Christian church. But Reverend Smith is
nothing like Mr. Brown; he is intolerant of clan customs and is very strict.
Violence
arises after Enoch, an overzealous convert to Christianity, unmasks an egwugwu.
In retaliation, the egwugwu burn Enoch's compound and then destroy the
Christian church because the missionaries have caused the Igbo people many
problems.
When
the District Commissioner returns to Umuofia, he learns about the destruction
of the church and asks six leaders of the village, including Okonkwo, to meet
with him. The men are jailed until they pay a fine of two hundred and fifty
bags of cowries. The people of Umuofia collect the money and pay the fine, and
the men are set free.
The
next day at a meeting for clansmen, five court messengers who intend to stop
the gathering approach the group. Suddenly, Okonkwo jumps forward and beheads
the man in charge of the messengers with his machete. When none of the other
clansmen attempt to stop the messengers who escape, Okonkwo realizes that they
will never go to war and that Umuofia will surrender. Everything has fallen
apart for Okonkwo; he commits suicide by hanging himself.
CRITIQUE:
It
is a realistic novel, it concern the socio-political aspects of the novel
including the fiction between the members of the Igbo society as they confront
the intrusive and over powering presence of western government and beliefs.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
CHINUA
ACHEBE
Chinua Achebe born in 1930, Nigerian
novelist and poet widely recognized as the father of the African Novel.
Born in Ogidi, Nigeria, when Nigeria
was still a British colony, Achebe studied at a missionary school and earned a
degree in English literature and history from the University college of Ibadan
(now the University of Ibadan). He subsequently taught at various universities
in Nigeria and the United States, including a long tenure as professor of
languages and literature at Bard College in New York State.
BOOK REVIEW (THINGS FALL APART)
Reviewed by IFEDAYO AKINWALERE
on
8:22:00 am
Rating: