Table of Contents
Initiating
Things Fall Apart: Tradition or Change?
In conclusion,
Works Cited
An opening statement
Things Fall Apart is as much a war between tradition and modernity as it is about the characters. The war is defined by the events surrounding Okonkwo the protagonist, who cannot adapt to changes occurring in his culture. It’s a tragedy for Okonkwo to refuse to change in contrast to his society. Things Fall Apart, which is a story about tradition and change, uses this theme to show the tragedy of Okonkwo as well his society’s decline.
The society of Things Fall Apart has a strong tradition. Okonkwo is a member of the Umuofia collective village, which has nine villages with similar beliefs and practices. Their belief in ancestral gods (egwugwu), and the multiple gods they worship, who require sacrifices and rituals for their guidance, prosperity, and protection, is central to their daily lives. The kola-nut and palm wine that are served when guests arrive, or the way the language is spoken to convey thoughtfulness and respect, define daily life. Because they all share the same beliefs, their thinking is similar. The government keeps everyone in line so that there are no outliers or troublemakers. Umuofia’s people live together in harmony because they are happy. The tribe enjoyed all things, no matter how negative they were. The locusts were a rare and beautiful sight to the Umofians. The Umofians consider locusts a delicacy and were happy to see so many of them. Many people took baskets out to try and catch them.
A conversation between Okonkwo’s Dad, Unoka and an individual to whom Okonkwo was owing money illustrates language’s importance to their society. Although it may not be efficient, the Igbo value formal and rhetorical language. It is important to use the metaphor that words are food because it suggests that communication and language are just as essential as food. The metaphor of words for food is important because it implies that language and communication are as necessary to life as food.
The commandments determine one’s social position and are used as a means of coordinating a system that checks and balances. Achebe illustrates this system with Okonkwo’s beating Ojiugo. Igbos have a holy week called the Week of Peace, where they must refrain from any violence in order to be blessed by Ani, their god. The priest Ezeani warns him that his actions can destroy the whole clan (Achebe 30). He must pay an apology and pay fines for the sins he committed.
One of Igbu’s more negative customs is that it separates the osu. An osu can be defined as “a person dedicated towards a god or an object set apart – a taboo everlasting, with his children following him.” He was not allowed to marry or be married by those born free. He was an exile, who lived in a separate area of the town… wherever he moved, his dirty, long and tangled hair accompanied him. The osu occupy the lowest position in the social structure, while elders and the council sit at its top to judge society. Traditions are a part of every aspect, from the social class to the spoken language. These customs are the foundation of Igbo culture and provide a structure for all individuals. The severity of these beliefs can create a gap between an individual and a group.
The colonizers are able to take advantage of these gaps and convert a large number of Igbos. Christianity thrives in a society that is weak because of its arrival. They rush to it because they are treated as equals. Many others also feel deprived. Joseph McLaren in his essay Things Fall Apart: Culture and Historical Context explains how “Achebe makes use of the Umuofians’ abandonment and sacrifice of Ikemefuna (as a form of reciprocal injustice perhaps) to illustrate the Igbo’s vulnerability and susceptibility to Christian converts.”
The elders of the society and those with a good standing were not attracted to the Christian freedoms. However, those who were oppressed and destitute were. Outcasts in the village had either lost their respect or been humiliated by it. They saw Christianity as a way to escape their humiliation and shame.
Nwoye eventually joins Christians, including Okonkwo himself. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, was not a good enough son. He was too feminine, reminding Okonkwo his laziness, so Okonkwo punished him harshly. Okonkwo was “unforgiving of unsuccessful men” according to Achebe 2. It is also clear that Okonkwo scared Nwoye because he believed that the songs depicted “brothers living in darkness, in fear and ignorant of God’s love”.
Okonkwo’s child abandons family and religion to become Christian to gain his freedom. Okonkwo screams “you’ve all seen what your brother did” after Nwoye has betrayed his clan. I will have only one son who will stand tall among his people. If you want to be women, follow Nwoye”. Okonkwo, his father, is so angry with Nwoye that he degrades Nwoye to the status of a female.
The Igbu, and their traditions, suffer the same fate as Okonkwo. Uchendu Okonkwo, Okonkwos uncle, shelters Okonkwo in Mbanta and claims “It’s a fact that a son belongs to his father. When a child is beaten by its father, it will seek sympathy from his mother. When everything is going well, and the days are happy, a man will return to his homeland. He seeks refuge from bitterness and sadness in his motherland. Uchendu’s famous aphorism, “Your Mother is There to Protect You”, is a representation of the Igbu civilisation losing members due to colonizers.
Igbu represent the fatherland while colonizers represent the motherland. A child represents individuals who want to be free and secure in their new religion. This revelation is not only indicative of the loss in Igbu culture, but the cause as well. Igbu, including Okonkwo and other Igbu leaders, refused to doubt their belief system to the extent of believing that the converts were the “excrement of the tribe, and that the newly-formed faith was an insane dog that came to devour it”. This refusal to accept change is a dangerous one, as it only encourages colonizers’ temptations and leads to the destruction of Igbu cultures.
Okonkwo’s point-of-view is a powerful way to illustrate the tragedy of Igbu’s loss. Okonkwo was raised by a father who was neither a good member of the clan nor incredibly successful. This led Okonkwo, in order to be a man of honor and diligence, to work hard. Despite all his efforts, Okonkwo still does not meet the high standards that have been set for himself. He beats his spouse during peacetime and kills Ikemefuma in spite of Ogbuefi warning.
Matthew Bolton writes in “‘You must not stand in one place’: Reading things fall apart in multiple contexts,” that Okonkwo “is a flawed person, just like Oedipus or other tragic characters of the Athenian writers.” His destruction is caused less by his faults and more by the vast, impersonal forces in history. He is in the unfortunate position of having embraced Igbo Culture at a period when it was being abandoned and dismantled. Okonkwo has a tragic character, both personally and on a larger theme. The main cause of Okonkwo’s personal tragedies is his desire to be the clan leader, which often causes him to get into trouble.
Okonkwo’s role in Ikemefumas’s death was a small tragedy. Okonkwo was told by Ogbuefi that Ikemefuma should not be hit, but Okonkwo struck him to show his masculinity. Okonkwo was punished for his actions by accidentally killing Ogbuefi and his son during Ogbuefi funeral. Okonkwo is also banished for 7 years because of this accident. Not only did Ogbuefi lose his innocent son, but Okonkwo was punished as well. Okonkwo was punished especially harshly, because “his passion had driven him to the point of becoming one of clan’s lords” (Achebe 144). His punishment also removes him permanently from his clan.
Okonkwo, the main character in the novel also represents the wider tragedy: the loss Igbo cultures to Christian colonization. Okonkwo worked hard to earn respect and authority within his clan while the lowest members were slowly converting. He cannot see because he is blinded by devotion. After he has become the only rebel in the face of the colonizers, the man realizes his tribe’s fate and commits suicide. Igbos hold that suicide is a grave sin. A man who kills himself is committing an act of abomination against the Earth. His clansmen will not bury him.
Only strangers are allowed to touch his body” (Achebe 178). Okonkwo, who is a member of the clan, realizes his clan’s conversion, but will not follow. He therefore commits suicide. Not only is his suicide tragic because it contradicts Igbo values, but also because it represents the total loss of those values. Okonkwo would never deliberately go against tradition or customs. Therefore, his suicide is indicative of both his own faith loss and the demise of his culture. Bolton asserts that Okonkwo, “in his prime,” embodied Ibo culture’s ideals, and his suicide serves to not restore their values, but hasten the culture’s own demise. Okonkwo is a character that illustrates both personal tragedy, in terms of his misfortunes as well as his eventual loss of belief. It also highlights the tragedy of his civilization’s conversion to Christianity.
ConclusionThe struggle to balance tradition with change is something that many societies face as they expand and come into contact with other cultures. Things Fall Apart from Chinua Achebe shows this through the introduction and eventual decimation Igbo cultures by Christian colonizers. Christian ideals are at odds with Igbo customs and beliefs that have provided order for centuries. Okonkwo loses his faith, and Igbos are destroyed.
Bibliography
Original: Thesis
Paraphrased: Argument
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall apart Anchor Books published a work in New York in 1994. Print.
Bolton, Matthew J. “You must not stand in one place”: reading Things Fall Apart in Multiple Contexts.” Literary Reference Center is a source for literary information. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
McLaren, Joseph. “Things fall apart: cultural and historical context.” Critical Insights : Things Fall Aside (2010): 19-32. The Literary Reference Center is a source of literary and critical information. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.