Topic: Critical Analysis of "Things fall Apart’’! And Okonkwo
Paper: 14
Paper name: The African Literature
Name: Sagarkumar G. Ladhva
Roll No: 25
Class: MA-III
Semester: 3
Year: 2015-16
E.No:14101022
Submitted to:
Department of English.
Evaluate my assignment:
Before
Things Fall Apart was published, most novels about Africa had been written by Europeans, and they largely portrayed Africans as savages who needed to be
enlightened by Europeans.For example,Joseph Conrad’s classic tale Heart of Darkness (1899),
one of the most celebrated novels of the early twentieth century, presents
Africa as a wild, “dark,” and uncivilized continent.
Introduction of the writer :
Each
of my books is different. Deliberately...
I
wanted to create my society, my people, in their fullness”
Chinu
Achebe in” Thing Fall Apart” presents a different idea of
Africans. They have families, religions, honors, music, laws and farming Techniques.
He represents the cultural roots of the Igbo in order to provide self-confidence. He presents people’s dignity that they lost
during the colonial period . Chinua
Achebe broke apart this dominant model with Things Fall Apart, a novel that
portrays Igbo society with specificity and sympathy and examines the effects of
European colonialism from an African perspective.
No
one could have predicted that this novel, written by an unknown Nigerian, would
one day sell nearly 11 million copies.
The actual title is taken from W.B
Yeat’s poem “The Second Coming”
“Turning and turning in the
widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the
falconer;
Things
fall apart;
the centre cannot hold.”
This
line from the poem reflects Okonkwo’s grasp on his own life, family and power
in his community.
Today
Things Fall Apart is one of the most widely read books in Africa; it is
typically assigned in schools and universities, and most critics consider it to
be black Africa’s most important novel to date. Further, the novel has on
syllabi for literature, world history, and African studies courses across the
globe. The first African novel to receive such powerful international critical
acclaim, Things Fall Apart is considered by many to be the archetypal modern
African novel.
To
understand the impact that Things Fall Apart had on both the African and
international literary worlds, it is useful to briefly examine the novel’s
historical context.
The
first reviews for Things Fall Apart appeared in Britain, then the United States. Though a few of these
early Western reviewers took a condescending or Eurocentric tone, for the most
part they were positive and emphasized the novel’s significance as an African’s
insight into the lives of Africans at the time of colonization.
Three
days after the novel’s publication, a Times Literary Supplement review praised
own people. Positive reviews also appeared in The Observer and The Listener.
The UK-based journal African Affairs attested: “This powerful first novel breaks new ground in Nigerian fiction”
In
the United States, The New York Times
called Achebe a “Good Writer,” and claimed, “His real achievement is his
ability to see the strengths and weaknesses of his characters with a true
novelist’s compassion”.
Many
of these early reviews emphasized Achebe’s Nigerian roots, and, while they often
praised the subject matter and his description of the African society, they
tended to pay less attention to the novel’s literary. Reviewers dwelled on
Achebe’s vivid portrayal of the Igbo village and the “Insider” quality of the
work. The New York Times called it one of the “sensitive books that describe
primitive society from the inside”, and the Times Literary Supplement claimed,
“the great interest of this novel is that it genuinely succeeds in presenting
tribal life from the inside”. African Affairs chimed in: “In powerfully
realistic prose the writer sets out to write a fictional but almost documentary
account of the day to day happenings in a small Nigerian village without
evasion, sophistry or apology”
Just
as Things Fall Apart made a large impact on Africans, it has also proven to be
popular among international audiences. It is one of those rare novels that can
be read and reread from many different perspectives and continues to generate
many diverse interpretations. It continues to endure as an international
classic.
The events of Things Fall Apart take place in
the late 1800s and early 1900s, just before and during the early days of the
British Empire's expansion in Nigeria. The novel depicts details about life in
an African culture much different from Western culture. In this chapter, Achebe
reveals the following aspects of Igbo culture:
Some Most Character as like in this novel :
Above image can help
to us that understanding of characters.
Okonkwo:
The beginning
describes Okonkwo's principal accomplishments that establish his important
position in Igbo society. These details alone provide insight into Okonkwo's
character and motivation. Driving himself toward tribal success and
recognition, he is trying to bury the unending shame that he feels regarding
the faults and failures of his late father, Unoka. Essentially, Okonkwo
exhibits qualities of manhood in Igbo society.
Familiar with Western literature and its traditional forms,
Achebe structures Things Fall Apart in the tradition of a Greek tragedy,
with the story centered on Okonkwo, the tragic hero. Aristotle defined the tragic
hero as a character who is superior and noble, one who demonstrates great
courage and perseverance but is undone because of a tragic personal flaw in his
character.
Achebe sets up Okonkwo as a man much respected for his
considerable achievements and noble virtues — key qualities of a tragic hero.
Okonkwo's tragic flaw is his obsession with manliness; His fear of looking weak
like his father drives him to commit irrational acts of violence that undermine
his nobleness. In the chapters ahead, the reader should note the qualities and
actions that begin to reveal the tragic flaw in Okonkwo's otherwise admirable
actions, words, ideas, and relationships with others. At the Achebe foreshadows
the presence of Ikemefuna in Okonkwo's household and also the teenage boy's
ultimate fate by referring to him as a "doomed" and "ill fated
lad."
One of the most significant social markers of Igbo society is
introduced in this chapter — its unique system of honorific titles. Throughout
the book, titles are reference points by which members of Igbo society
frequently compare themselves with one another (especially Okonkwo). These
titles are not conferred by higher authorities, but they are acquired by the
individual who can afford to pay for them. As a man accumulates wealth, he may
gain additional recognition and prestige by "taking a title." He may
also purchase titles for male members of his family (this aspect is revealed
later). In the process of taking a title, the man pays significant initiation
fees to the men who already hold the title.
A Umuofian man can take as many as four titles, each apparently
more expensive than its predecessor. A man with sufficient money to pay the fee
begins with the first level — the most common title — but many men cannot go
beyond the first title. Physical signs, such as an anklet or marks on the feet,
may show each title taken or face, so others can determine who qualifies
titles.
The initiation fees are so large that some writers have referred
to the system as a means for "redistributing wealth." Some Native
American tribes of the Pacific Northwest observe their own version of
redistributing wealth through a potlatch ceremony at which the guests
receive gifts from the person gaining the honor as a show of wealth for others
to exceed.
The reader begins to see beliefs and practices of the Igbo
tradition that are particularly significant in the story — for example, the
wide division between masculine and feminine actions and responsibilities.
Respect and success are based on only manly activities and accomplishments;
Taking care of children and hens, on the other hand, are womanly activities.
In this novel we can saw that some cultural movement same as same Raja
Rao’s novel ‘Kanthapura’ . There cultural; event like as:
Okonkwo has a big family that follows the traditions of the Igbo
people:
I have put image to help Okonkow was lead role of Umuofia village ...
some important outlook about Okonkow:
Ø Okonkwo
becomes successful in many ways – he becomes very wealthy, holds a high-ranked
position in the community
Ø Okonkwo is a member of the Igbo people in the
African Country of Nigeria .
Ø Okonkwo is a wealthy farmer and is well
respected in his clan.
In Okonkwo's
determination to be a perfect example of manhood, he begins to reveal the
consequences of his fear of weakness — his tragic flaw. Okonkwo hates not only
idleness but also gentleness; he demands that his family works as long as he
does (without regarding their lesser physical stamina), and he nags and beats
his oldest son, Nwoye. Achebe continues weaving traditional elements of Igbo
society into Chapter 2. The marketplace gathering illustrates the Igbo
society's reverence for what is "manly" — for example, the male
villagers' loyalty to each other when they refer to the woman murdered by
another village as "a daughter of Umuofia."
This scene also
illustrates the ceremonial nature of town meetings, as the Speaker shouts the
customary greeting to the crowd while turning in four different directions. In
addition, the reader learns that Umuofian religious traditions include the
worship of wooden objects representing not only one's personal god but also the
ancestral spirits to whom one prays and makes sacrifices.
To secure his
manliness, Okonkwo believes that he should beat members of his family (Nwoye,
Ikemefuna, Ojiugo, and his wives) and that he should ridicule men who remind
him of his father — even for slight annoyances. Although he may inwardly
experience emotions of affection and regret, he cannot show these emotions to
others, so he isolates himself through extreme actions.
Examples of traditional wisdom are used when talking about
Okonkwo:
"Those
whose palmkernels
Were
cracked for them by a benevolent
Spirit
should not forget to be humble."
This proverb means that a man whose success is a result of luck
must not forget that he has faults. Okonkwo, however, had "cracked them
himself," because he overcame poverty not through luck, but through hard
work and determination.
"When a man says yes, his chi says yes
also."
This Igbo proverb implies that a man's actions affect his
destiny as determined by his chi. Okonkwo's chi is considered "good,"
but he "[says] yes very strongly, so his chi [agrees]." In other
words, Okonkwo's actions to overcome adversity seem justified, but because he
is guided by his chi, his denial of kindness, gentleness, and affection for
less successful men will prove self destructive.(The chi itself is somewhat
ambiguous.)
In
contrast, Okonkwo exhibits feelings of love and affection — his first encounter
with Ekwefi and his fondness for Ezinma, his daughter. However, Okonkwo
considers such emotions signs of weakness that betray his anilines, so he hides
his feelings and acts harshly to conceal them.Okonkwo, whose sense of pride and
dignity continues until the end, chooses to live and die on his own terms
rather than submit to the white man. When Okonkwo tells Obierika that his fellow Umuofians should
rise up against the British, Obierika wisely understands that it is too late.
Many Umuofians have already "joined the ranks of the stranger."
Obierika says that the white man "has put a knife on the things that held
us together and we have fallen apart" - the first specific acknowledgment
of the book's title, Things Fall Apart. a third institution is established by
the British in Umuofia — trade with the outside world. The Europeans buy palm
oil and palm kernels from the Igbo at a high price, and many Umuofians profit
from the trade. These Umuofians welcome the new trading opportunities, though
these activities are effectively undermining the clan and its self sufficiency.
Throughout
the book Achebe gives his characters names with hidden meanings; for example,
Okonkwo's name implies male pride and stubbornness. When Achebe adds British
characters, he gives two of them common and unremarkable British names, Brown
and Smith. His third British character, the District Commissioner, is known
only by his title. The choice of names and lack thereof, is in itself a
commentary by Achebe on the incoming faceless strangers.
After Okonkwo is freed from prison,
he remembers better times, when Umuofia was more warriors like and fierce -
"when men were men." As in his younger days, he is eager to prepare
for war (not unlike Enoch the convert in the preceding chapter). He is worried
that the peacemakers among them may have a voice, but he assures himself that
he will continue the resistance, even if he has to do it alone. He will be
manly in his actions even to the end.
When
Okonkwo kills the court messenger, his fellow clansmen almost back away from
him in fear; in fact, his violent action is questioned. When he realizes that
no one supports him, Okonkwo finally knows that he can't save his village and
its traditions no matter how fiercely he tries. His beloved and honored Umuofia
is on the verge of surrender, and Okonkwo himself feels utterly defeated.
Everything has fallen apart for him. His action in the final chapter will not
be a surprise.
The
novel has a tragic end because Okonkwo committed suicide.
Conclusion:-
In this way the cultural conflict applied to
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart unravels is the cultural politics of the white man
Nigeria. It shows the true imperialist face behind it.It shows the
disintegration suffered by the rich and varied culture of the Igbo and with the
intrusion of the colonizers.
My
thought begins and ends, as I have said many times, with Gandhi's statement
that "We must be the change we wish
to see in the world." Not approve of the change, advocate it, or vote
for it. Be it. There is no greater or more beautiful confrontation of the
second law.
Work Citation:
Evaluate my assignment:
Good use of charts and images. Paragraph writing is also very good.
ReplyDeleteWell written and Well explained article and very helpful for the students
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