Study Notes on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Introduction to Things Fall Apart

• Presenter: John Green

• Format: Crash Course Literature

• Duration of discussion: Two weeks

• Noteworthy comment: The length of a book is not directly analogous to its quality

• Mention of potential additional topics: Babysitter's Club 26 discussion

Author and Context of the Novel

Chinua Achebe

• Full Name: Albert Chinwamaluga Achebe

• Year of Birth: 1930

• Timeline: Approximately 80 years after first missionaries arrived in Igboland

• Family Background:

  • Father: Converted to Christianity and became an evangelist through missionary schools

  • Mother: Adhered to traditional Igbo culture and religions

  • Personal experience: Grew up at the intersection of cultures

Achebe's Early Literacy

• Achievements:

  • By age eight: Able to read in both Igbo and English

  • Literary influences: Read Shakespeare and missionary texts as well as participated in Igbo storytelling circles

Purpose of Writing the Novel

• Quote from Achebe: "Retell the story of my encounter with Europe in a way acceptable to me, to counter the traditional European view of Africa and Africans with a human picture that matched the complexity of actual humans."

Themes and Depictions in The Novel

Reflection of Igbo Culture

• Life in Igbo society:

  • Depicts the significant role of ancestors in life and death processes

  • Presentation of various rites of passage leading to ancestors

Community Structures

• Functioning institutions present in Igbo society:

  • Tribal council: Mediated disputes and maintained social order

  • Interaction with colonial powers: European missionaries misunderstand these institutions, attempting to replace them with Western systems

Critical Views on Worldviews

• Achebe’s narrative remains neutral:

  • Neither unambiguously condemns nor praises both Igbo traditions and European influences

  • Challenges essentialized European assumptions of pre-colonial African lives, illustrating their complexity

Historical Context

Colonization of Africa

• Timeframe: Late nineteenth century, prior to the ban on the slave trade in the British Empire (1807)

• Economic motivations for colonization:

  • Supply of raw materials for European manufacturing

  • New markets for industrial goods

• Significant event: Berlin Conference of 1885 organized by German chancellor, wherein Africa's fate was decided without African representation

Economic Exploitation

• Colonial economic structures:

  • Shift from slave trade to palm oil production

  • £16,000,000 worth of palm oil exported annually

Achebe's Reflection on Colonization and Decolonization

Context of Book's Publication

• Year of Publication: 1958

• Decolonization period in Africa:

  • Debates regarding governance and model of nationhood moving forward (European nation-states vs. pan-African concepts)

  • Discussion on allies in global politics (Soviet Union vs. USA)

Character Analysis

• Okonkwo’s role:

  • Embodies strength yet struggles within both traditional Igbo society and colonial structures

  • Eventually experiences personal ruin due to the transformation of his community

Conflict with Colonizers

Arrival of Missionaries

• Phases of missionary involvement:

  • First missionary: Mr. Kiyaga, described as harmless

  • Second missionary: Mr. Brown, practiced compromise and gained local respect

  • Third missionary: Reverend James Smith, portrayed as rigid and black-and-white thinker, causing tension

Events Leading to Strife

• Community reaction to colonial intrusion:

  • Okonkwo’s frustration with community’s acceptance of colonial religion and governance

  • Arrest and violence against village leaders, resulting in a retaliatory atmosphere in Umuofia

  • Okonkwo's desperate act of killing a messenger, which signifies the breaking point of his community's conflict

Conclusion of the Novel

Final Events

• Okonkwo’s suicide:

  • Represents the tragic outcome of his struggle between traditional pride and colonial reality

• Last reflections from the district commissioner, expressing a colonialist mindset:

  • Plans to write a book titled The Pacification of the Primitives of the Lower Niger, illustrating the dismissive view of local complexities

Thematic Closure

• Achebe’s critique of colonization:

  • Highlights the dehumanizing effects of colonialism

  • Urges readers to seek a more nuanced understanding of different cultures and histories

  • The importance of acknowledging multi-dimensional human experiences in literature

Overall Significance

• The impact of Things Fall Apart:

  • Serves to enhance the reader’s understanding of the intricacies of colonial stories

  • Calls attention to the deeper complexities of human emotion and societal structures in the face of societal changes and upheaval

• Final Quote from Achebe: "If you want to see it well, you must not stand in one place."