Things Fall Apart: A Cultural
Enlightenment
It is often said that books are
the gateways to the world. By reading, a person may find
himself or herself in distant
lands unimaginable to the mundane mind. They may learn about things never heard
of to socially deaf ears. Furthermore, they may open their eyes to an existence
of unbelievable things. Chinua Achebe’s Things
Fall Apart offered all of these factors and more to me. Prior to reading
this novel, my knowledge of the African culture was based solely on textbook
studies. But because the book is written with such elaborate details, with
omniscient view, and with simple terms, it is as if the words of a typical history
book were activated and made the African culture and history more
understandable, thus relatable.
A very important factor in
creating a convincing and believable story is creating a character or
characters to which the audience can somehow relate. A character that I found
most interesting was Okonkwo. His character epitomizes the effect that one’s
childhood has on his or her future. Okonkwo spent his entire life wanting to be
everything that his own father was not. This constructed a barrier in his mind
against accepting failure and created a wall around his heart against emotions.
From the number of wives that he
had to the stretch of land that he owned and even the number of battles that he
had won in his lifetime, Okonkwo symbolizes the mind frame of many people—
value, oftentimes, outweighs value. This characteristic of him makes him very
relatable. Not many will admit it, but people fight for money, power, and
respect and do whatever it takes to obtain it. In Okonkwo’s case, he was
respected by his titles, but his tyrant attitude and disregard for man made him
unbearable, even in his own home. It mattered to him, nonetheless, because he
had the power, ability, and standing that his father did not have.
To further endorse
“un-father-like” behavior, Okonkwo showed little to know emotion. The incident
that struck me most is the killing of Enkidu— the sacrificed male of the
neighboring village who had been staying with Okonkwo and his tribe for several
years. The time finally came that the village elders decided that Enkidu should
be put to death. Though you’d never hear Okwonko say it, Enkidu had grown to be
a part of the family. But instead of the familial love that Okwonko had for
Enkidu, it was his thirst for respect and desire to remain emotionless that
allowed him to take part in the internally heart-wrenching murder of Enkidu.
The reader may empathize with
Okwonko’s character even more when he begins to experience his hardships, or
when “Things Fall Apart.” We as a people often overlook our blessings. When
presented with obstacles never before seen, we tend to panic and become
irrational. We bash the idea of change and shy away from those who accept it as
well. We see an example of this when Okwonko returns from his seven year exile
in his mother’s homeland; he cannot comprehend how or why his people have
allowed the white man to take over. After trying to go against the white man by
himself, getting no support, therefore, failing, Okwonko decides to hang
himself. It can be argued that he did this, ironically, as a sign of weakness
to circumstances or one may say that he did this as a way of proven to the
white man how he has caused the crumble of a previously prospering society.
After looking at such a character, the reader is left to beg the question: When
is respect not enough and is there such a thing as too much respect to the
point that it causes stress?
In addition to the latter
addressed issue, Things Fall Apart raises
many questions but has a variety of lessons to teach ranging from spiritual to
mental guidance. Two themes that this novel explores are fate versus free-will
and social disintegration.
The main character of Things Fall
Apart, Okonkwo, is portrayed as a man trying to avoid
“walking in the shoes” of his father. Okonkwo’s father lived carefree,
with no reverence
for upholding his word as a man; in the same manner, his father died in
debt and with no
respect. Okonkwo’s fight to go against his father’s tattered legacy begs
to question the
power of fate versus free will. This “defiant” mentality ultimately affects
one’s everyday
routine and the manner in which they respond to various obstacles. “When
a man says
yes, his chi says yes also.” This could be the inspiration for Okonkwo’s over
achievements but can also be the blame for his crass, nonchalant, and
harsh personality.
In Okonkwo’s mind, he had definitely turned out to be everything that his
father was not.
Ironically, however, upon his death, he had to be dishonorably buried just
as his father
was.
One of the pressures that can be
assumed to be a cause of Okonkwo’s demise is his social disintegration. As
previously mentioned, he was crass, nonchalant, and harsh. He once beat one of
his wives during the Week of Peace. On another account, he aided in the death
of a boy he had basically raised as his own. It was his heartlessness and
disregard for rules which eventually led to his seven year exile when he
committed a “female crime” and accidentally killed a village boy. From this point,
he met his social decline. The idea that a man who single-handedly built a
revered and respectable legacy from the ground up and is driven to a depressing
point of taking his own life shows that no one is set in his social group.
Reputations, both socially and cultural, must not only be built, but they must
be maintained.
The biggest hindrance between cultures is understanding or lack thereof.
People tend to
fear, disregard, and show no appreciation for that which they do not
understand. Reading
Things Fall Apart gave a more
personable view of African culture (more specifically,
according to the Igbo tribe of the novel). It gives the reader a view of
the people’s home
life, spirituality, and beliefs. The second aspect allows us to be view a
culture as it is
forced into transition from one set of beliefs into another— represented
by the coming of
the Europeans and their religion. Because we can all relate is some way,
this novel allows
us to view diversity and, hopefully, embrace these differences.
