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Things Fall Apart

Author	Chinua Achebe
Cover artist	C. W. Barton
Country	Nigeria
Language	English
Genre	Historical fiction
Publisher	William Heinemann Ltd.
Publication date	1958

Things Fall Apart, a book written by Chinua Achebe in 1958, brought a whole new meaning to the term “African Literature”. He masterfully crafted a book that told the story of the colonization of Africa from the perspective of an African. Chinua Achebe was a pioneer in his work, and inspired many other authors to follow in his footsteps. Things Fall Apart is the first book in a three part series which tells the story of three (kind of four) different generations of the same family, all wrestling with the idea of change. This book, which tells the story of a man named Okonkwo has stood the test of time and is one of the most cherished texts from the 20th century.

Brief Summary

Things Fall Apart tells us the story of Okonkwo, a citizen in the Nigerian village of Umuofia. In the first chapter it is made clear that Okonkwo is known as a wildly successful man, mostly due to the shortcomings of his father which are shown in a flashback of sorts. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, is known as the lazy bum who sits around all day doing nothing. Unoka is also known for owning various debts to people in the village. Okonkwo is spurred on, despite many failures, to become the hard working and successful man that his father was not. Early on in the book Okonkwo obtains custody of a boy named Ikemefuna, who was a peace offering from another tribe. As the book progresses Okonkwo becomes fond of the boy in a featherlike manor, then one day disaster strikes when Ikemefuna is murdered by Okonkwo, and the other village elders, because of a direct order from the village priestess. Despite a brief bout of depression life pretty much returns back to normal, until Ezeudu's (a village elders) funeral. The Grim Reaper seems to have a twin brother, when a malfunction in Okonkwo's gun causes the death of another man, resulting in his seven year banishment. Throughout the seven years of banishment Okonkwo, and the rest of the Ibo people struggle with the incoming power of the western world. After losing acquaintances, friends, and even family to the missionaries, Okonkwo begins to develop a brutal hatred for the white men invading the village. This hatred climaxes in a fury of events where Okonkwo kills a messenger. Knowing the European consequences for murder, Okonkwo hangs himself, leaving a world that had slipped from his tight grasp.

Motifs

There are many different motifs in Things Fall Apart, each and every object seems to have a deeper social, and moral meaning than just being a mere thing. Some objects do stand out above the rest though, yams, machetes, kola nuts, guns, and locusts are the five of the most powerful examples of motifs in this book.

Yams

A Ibo Yam Harvest

One of the focal points of this story is the yam. Yams are the encompassing force in Ibo life. Yams represent wealth and power, as seen in the following quote “Okoye was also a musician. He played the ogene. But he was not a failure like Unoka. He had a large barn full of yams and he had three wives” . In the Ibo culture success in directly correlated with manliness, so in some respects yams also represent manliness, “Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed” . Okonkwo has an obsession with yams from the beginning of the story because yams were everything his father was not, that is to say manly and successful. Yams are one of the most prominent motifs in the story and they have a large influence on the actions of the characters.

The Machete

A Machete

Another large motif in this story is the machete. The machete represents death and destruction, whenever a machete is present in the story death and destruction follow. A machete is used to kill Ikemefuna, an act that causes Okonkwo to spiral into depression, in other words the machete is a catalyst for death and destruction “Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak” . A machete also appears directly before the misfire of the gun, foreshadowing the killing of Ezeudu's son and Okonkwo's banishment, “Some of them were very violent, and there had been a mad rush the earlier in the day when one had appeared with a sharp machete... Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart”. Finally at the end of the story machetes are brought to the missionary and clan meeting foreshadowing the arrest of the village leaders, ultimately causing the destruction of the Ibo society.

The Kola Nut

Video about kola nuts

Right from the start of the story we are shown that the kola nut has a special place in the Ibo society. The kola nut is used in almost every encounter that takes place between two Ibo people, it is for this reason that the kola nut represents tradition, this representation can be seen in the following quotation “As he broke the kola, Unoka prayed to their ancestors for life and health, and for protection against their enemies” . Besides the obvious representation of tradition, the kola nut represents the invisible bridge takes shape between the characters throughout the novel, Okonkwo and his father, two characters who act in sharp contrast to each other. both use the kola nut, as does every man in the Ibo tribe. The kola nut tries to demonstrate the fact that even as we are being torn apart the backbone of tradition brings us together.

Motifs Surrounding White Settlers

White Settlers

Throughout the story there are also many motifs that represent the incoming white settlers, and the change and destruction that follows them. The major motif is the gun, the gun is a great representation of how the western world weeds its way into Ibo culture, forever changing it. An example of this is the fact that Okonkwo ends up killing Ezeudu's son with a gun, which is a western weapon, and causes confusion and change, just like the white men do, “And then from the center of the delirious fury came a cry of agony and shouts of horror... Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece of iron had pierced the boy’s heart” . Besides the gun, the other major representation of the white settler is the locusts. The locusts appear suddenly , just like the white man, “And then quite suddenly a shadow fell on the world, and the sun seemed hidden behind a thick cloud” (Chapter 7, Page 55), this quote also demonstrates how the locusts also came in (and caused) chaos, just like the white man, and finally the locusts also settle on what is not theirs, just like the white man, “They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground” . The author positions the incoming locusts at a perfect time to foreshadow the incoming tide of Englishmen, with their western government, guns, and churches. The gun, and the locusts are the two major representations of the white settlers in this story.

Concluding Thoughts

When a person finishes Things Fall Apart they can expect to have the whole picture painted for them. Achebe masterfully crafts the story in a way so that both sides are represented equally. Both sides, the Ibo, and the British, have characters that a person can fall in love with, or hate forever. Mr. Brown, and Uchendu are seen as fairly wise and likable characters whereas Okonkwo and Mr. Smith are very cold and unlikable. Achebe draws many parallels between the English and the Ibo people which makes the story feel more human. The ultimate goal of the story is to show you that we are all the same on the inside. The story tells us to look past the curtains of culture to find humans at their rawest state, where we all are bound together by basic principles like kindness and egos. Chinua Achebe leaves the reader with an unbiased, un glorified look at the colonization of the Ibo tribe. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a fantastic, raw look at the history of 19th century Nigeria.