How does Things Fall Apart conform to, or deviate from, the
conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose?
Things Fall Apart by Chinua
Achebe is a novel written in 1958 and follows the life of Okwonkwo, a strong
willed man who is a part of the Ibo tribe in Nigeria. By following several
characters throughout the novel, the reader is able to step into the shoes of a
complex tribe who has their identity stripped away by British colonizers and Christian
missionaries. As the tribe begins falling apart, there are many aspects of realism
shown in the novel because the plotline can be applied to similar situations in
history. African literature was not highlighted until the 1950’s, one of the
primary reasons why their struggle and their side of the story is not commonly
known today. Things Fall Apart is considered to be a realistic fiction
because it reflects the Ibo culture and their history accurately and
authentically while also showing the friction between the two different
cultures and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions from the captivating
plotline that Achebe brings about.
Achebe has been highly praised for
his ability to show the Ibo culture and the situations they have had to endure
without bias, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions. A good characteristic
of a realistic novel is that it challenges the reader to think of ethical and
moral implications and allows them to draw their own conclusions, while
relating the plot and the characters to their own personal experiences. The
egwugwu, the evil forest, the secret societies, and other complex traditions
were just given to the audience with no personal opinions connected. When
Achebe introduced the tradition that twins are thrown in the evil forest to
die, he did not include any personal opinions and introduced it quite blandly
and simply stated it as a fact. This allows the reader to recall their personal
beliefs and opinions and draw their own conclusions on something like that. Unlike
a lot of old literature about the African culture, this is one of the few books
that gives the raw details of the culture. It is an accurate representation of
human life, and it is realistic. The audience can relate to the love between
Enzima and Ekwefi or the motivation that Okwonkwo has. With an accurate representation
of human life and authentically representing the culture, many aspects of
realism shine through. Although Achebe does not directly show how each
individual person was affected with the colonization, he shows it subtly
through the structure, thus changing the mood and tone throughout the novel,
and allowing the readers to really understand what the Ibo went through.
Throughout parts 1, 2, and 3, the clan begins falling apart. In part 1, the
culture is shown and there are flashbacks, such as recalling Unoka’s laziness, and
special events; there is a harmony in the culture. The sentences are short and
the ideas bounce off of each other and everything seems to go well. In the second
part, the harmony is still there but there are instances where the white people
are mentioned. These instances seem to disrupt the harmony, but then it goes
on. In the third part, the Ibo have been colonized, the sentences get longer,
it is more linear and sequential, and the structure is very clear and organized.
This shows how the Ibo went from harmonious and happy to structured and
constrained. Their identity and their
love for their culture was taken away from them, and the audience can feel this
just by reading the novel. So while the effect of the changing plot is not directly
stated, being able to step into their shoes allows the reader to draw their own
conclusions. The changing structure is realistic and shows exactly how a group
of people can begin falling apart.
The sociopolitical part of the novel
is also a reason why this story is realistic. Colonization happened, Christian missionaries
did influence a big portion of Africa, and land was taken. Although this novel
is not a historic novel because it is not based on exact people and exact
events, it is something that happened and it is realistic and believable. There
is clear tension between the two different cultures, something that is realistic.
There is a difference in perspectives between people in the own culture,
something is also realistic. The setting and plot is reflective of the cultural
and social status of the clan and the individual characters. Similar to how Mr.
Brown used kindness and care as a way of influence, Christian missionaries came
in peace and that is how they were able to influence. Unlike Joseph Conrad’s Heart
of Darkness, where the Africans are portrayed as savages and as
incompetent, Things Fall Apart shows both sides of the story, without
directly antagonizing one side. Again, this allows the reader to be able to
relate the plot to their own lives and understand how it is realistic. Students
in Korea are able to relate this novel to their experience with the Japanese
colonization. When an author accomplishes to take one plotline and be able to apply
it to many different situations effectively, the have succeeded at writing a realistic
fiction.
In conclusion, we can see that
giving the audience information as it is and allowing them to form their own
opinions is at the heart of a successful realistic novel. Achebe was able to
revolutionize African literature because he took real events and made it a
fiction. Following Okwonkwo and other characters, the audience can’t help but
sympathize with the characters and the internal and external conflicts they
face.
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