Intro:
Context
Title
Author
Era it's set in: rise of colonialism in Africa
Respond to the question (Thesis: your response to the Qs)
What's examined?
AO1: General Understanding of events: What, How, and Why it happened. Significance?
AO4: Context in which it's written, understanding of the Igbo tribe, Achebe's intentions of writing this text as a response to Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'
NO need to analyse language and structure
Respond to the question - provide an idea of how the theme/character is shown
Backed up with a SPECIFIC example in response to your point. What is the significance of this example?
Quotations are needed for L4 and 5
Context and content
• Things Fall Apart, an African novel written in English, was published in 1958 during a period of time when Nigerian writers were producing powerful new fiction that drew on the oral tradition of their culture.
• After studying history and theology at university, Achebe became interested in traditional Nigerian culture and customs but does not flinch from showing the negative elements of their practices as well as the positive. The novel reflects this with its references to the rituals and beliefs of the Igbo tribe such as the Egwuwu ceremony and the festival of the locusts.
• Achebe succeeds in presenting a realistic portrayal of Igbo life, integrating into the text the specific vocabulary of the tribe.
• The novel is set in the 1890s and Achebe uses it as a vehicle to highlight the influences of colonialism on African cultures, including the inefficiencies of colonial local government.
• Achebe’s novel challenges the assumption prevalent in 1958 that native Africans were somehow inferior and uncivilised compared to white Europeans.
• White characters such as the District Commissioner, Mr Brown, and the fervent Reverend Smith are examples of characters created by Achebe to demonstrate this.
• Reverend Smith in particular represents the inflexible and dogmatic application of Christianity to the African communities. The District Commissioner sees himself as a moderniser and support to the tribespeople while in fact oversimplifying things.
Themes
• Masculinity or what it is to be a man: a key theme of the novel, as Okonkwo struggles to come to terms with his own actions and responsibilities as a leader, father and husband. The fact that his own father was hopeless motivates him even more to reject weakness and behave with strength. Unfortunately, Okonkwo’s quest to be masculine often leads to misery as he suffers the consequences of his own violent actions, such as beating his wives and murdering Ikemefuna.
• Tradition and religion: significant because of Igbo rituals and ceremonies at the centre of many of the novel’s concerns. Respect for native gods is set alongside newer attitudes to religion by the younger generation and the fact that Christianity had been brought in by the westerners.
• Fate, linked to free will: evident in Okonkwo’s presentation and development. Bad luck seems to strike him, no matter what he does to try to avoid it - such as the accidental shooting of Ezeudu’s 16-year-old son at the funeral.
• Family: Okonkwo struggles to lead his large extended family. He tries to be a good example but never quite manages to do this and his son Nwoye adopts the modern ways of society, moving away from his tribal past.
• Clash of cultures: African cultures and traditions come into conflict with colonialism and European influences. Structure and form Although written in English, Things Fall Apart captures the essence of life in Africa at the turn of the 19th century. Little anecdotes relating to matters of custom and tradition are spread throughout the narrative, offering windows into a past way of life. Superstitions and rituals are described in clear and poignant detail, such as the feast of the new yam and the harsh treatment of twin babies.
Form and Structure
The novel is structured into three parts of which the first is the longest and the third the shortest.
The tone of Achebe’s prose is, at times sparse, but the rich blend of narrative and description provides the reader with a vivid portrayal of life in Nigeria at this time. The first part of the novel deals with tribal life through the experiences of the central character, Okonkwo.
The second part deals with his tragic exile and introduces the influence of the white men, while the third part marks his return to the village and discovery that modernisation has taken place. Okonkwo’s suicide is followed by the bleak irony that, in the District Commissioner’s book, ‘The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger’, Okonkwo’s story will form only one small paragraph.
Themes tested in past papers:
Gender
Identity
Friendship
Women
fear
reputation
disappointment
beliefs
Traditions
power
honor
loss
death
marriage