Things Fall Apart

1. Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe An Introduction

2. “Although I did not set about it consciously in that solemn way, I now know that my first book, Things Fall Apart, was an act of atonement with my past, the ritual return and homage of a prodigal son.” --Chinua Achebe

3. About the Writer… • Born Albert Chinualumogu Achebe in Nigeria November 16, 1930 • Father was a converted evangelist and leader in Christian church in Ibo village of Ogidi • Father was raised by his uncle, Isaiah who believed in the Ibo religion • Chinua dropped the British portion of his name when he began college • Influenced by both cultures in his family • British Christianity & Ibo Religion • Understood and participated in rituals and activities for both

4. …Writer, cont’d • Following WW2 political dissention began in Africa, Achebe felt that the British should fight racism in their own colonies in Africa as well as other places around the world • Felt that no outsider could tell the story of the people of Nigeria he felt compelled to write and found success • Wrote about Ibo in northern Nigeria and the struggles of the Ibo people • Became visiting professor for numerous universities and colleges

5. Writer, Cont’d • Pioneered literary style in which traditional idioms, folk tales, and proverbs gave Africans a unique identity as English language writers • Developed a vernacular style • Been nominated for Nobel Peace Prize • Works translated into 45 languages • TFA sold over 3 million copies

6. Nigerian History • Became political entity in 1914; united three colonial administrations into one territory • Gained its independence 1960; became member of British Commonwealth

7. European Influence • Began before Columbus • Christianity became a major part of Nigerian life because of Anglican missionaries in mid-1800’s • 1807 British Parliament outlaws slave trade • Once slave trade stopped British merchants began trading palm oil and other goods

8. European Influence. Cont’d • With increase trade and people, rise of Christianity grew; many trying to convert Africans • British claimed political control in 1861 with town of Lagos (Achebe hometown) • 1886 Nigeria became British colony • TFA takes place during this early period of colonization

9. Ibo Culture • Ibo (Igbo) third largest ethnic group in Nigeria • Located in the southeastern portion of Nigeria • Tropical rain forest, with a rainy season dominated by the dusty harmattan wind

10. Ibo Culture, Cont’d • Primarily subsistence farmers • Raise crops for their own consumption • Yams, cassava, taro are main staple • Corn, pumpkins, okra, melon, and beans

11. Ibo Culture, Cont’d • Yams • Traditionally grown by men • Other foods grown by women • Staple of the diet • Potato variety, several variations • Important festival with yams the end of June • Celebrates a myth that the first yam grew following a human sacrifice during a famine in Iboland

12. Ibo Family Structure • Ibo live in villages based on lineage • Male as head of household; wife went to live with husband and paternal family • Man might have two or three wives, each would live in her own hut within the family compound • Villages were loosely organized into clans or groups • No single leader; decisions made by discussions and consensus of all adult males in clan

13. Ibo Religion • Believed that the will of the deities was revealed through oracles and divine ceremonies • Personal guardian spirit for every individual called a chi • Chi affected person’s destiny; could be influenced through actions and rituals • Enormous value of hospitality to keep paternal and maternal sides of family close

14. Literary Context • Achebe integrated European and African literary voices • Achebe “skillfully melds two diverse literary perspectives- the formal novelistic structure of European fiction and the storytelling tradition of Ibo oral culture” • Two effects of this bridging • Unusual depth, simplicity and complexity • Humane tone representing strengths and flaws

15. Achebe’s Philosophy • Concerning writing fiction: • “Literature, whether handed down by word of mouth or in print, gives us a second handle on reality, enabling us to encounter in the safe, manageable dimensions of make-believe the very threats to integrity that may assail the psyche in real life, and at the same time providing through the self-discovery which it imparts a veritable weapon for coping with these threats whether they are found within problematic and incoherent selves or in the world around us. What better preparation can a people desire as they begin their journey into the strange, revolutionary world of modernization? • Hopes that writing will help to improve the individual and collective lives of African people today.

16. Novel’s Title • Taken from poem by William Butler Yeats “The Second Coming” • Achebe implies that social breakdown is not limited to Ibo society, but is universal • Breakdown of society and individual

17. Plot and Setting • Tragic Hero • Okonkwo, wealthy and respected member of Umofia clan of the Ibo • Divided into three parts • One-focuses on Ibo culture • Two-focuses on exile and encroaching cultures • Three-focuses on conflict between two groups

18. Cont’d • Setting at the end of the nineteenth century when British were just beginning to colonize Nigeria • Story of tragic hero, Okonkwo, but also about social issues such as justice, social norms, and individual conscience

19. Style and Point of View • Omniscient Narrator • Combines narrator with African tradition of oral storytelling • Uses repetition and detailed literary descriptions • Literary Forms • Fables and proverbs for symbolism • Flashbacks and foreshadowing for character understanding and perspective

20. Major Characters • Okonkwo • Values strength and hard work • His fear led to his destruction • Ekwefi • Okonkwo’s second and favorite wife • Ezinma • Okonkwo’s favorite child, his daughter by Ekwefi

21. Cont’d • Nwoye • Okonkwo’s oldest son • Disappointment to Okonkwo because he resembled Okonkwo’s father • Gentle and compassionate • Converts to Christianity • Ikemefuna • Comes to live in village as hostage • Very masculine in contrast to Nwoye • Favorite of Okonkwo; calls Okonkwo father

22. Themes • Balance of traditional masculine and feminine values • Okonkwo represents view of masculine power • Women play an important part but not primary or power role • Continual and inevitable change • Dynamic between individual and society

23. Irony • Tragic Hero • Okonkwo brought down by his own flaw • Resents his own past and roots • Allows pride to take over • Historical tragedy • Religious implications