At its deepest level, Things Fall Apart is a human tragedy. Okonkwo despises his father because of the shame his lazy ways bring to his family. Okonkwo determines to be nothing like his father. With the exception of the brief time in which he comes to love Ikemefuma, he succeeds. Okonkwo gains fame in Umofia for being everything his father was not: hardworking, a man of stature, and concerned with the business of the community.
Okonkwo's rejection of his father, Unoka, is an act of social self-preservation. It also becomes a form of self-hatred. His denial of the parts of his father that exist inside himself makes him famous and revered. It is also his undoing as a human.
On the surface all seems well. Under the surface Okonkwo is a boiling mess of bottled emotion and impaired judgment. His determination to not be like Unoka causes him to put public appearance over internal intuition. This leads directly to his slaughtering of Ikemefuma. It also costs Okonkwo whatever humanity he may have had.
This incident robs Okonkwo of any ability to deal sanely with the changes taking place in his society. His rage breaks upon the immovable rocks of colonial power. In his final futility, he becomes totally unlike his father--who at least enjoyed life.
The things Okonkwo's homeland of Umofia reveres in their "great men" (and they are all men) are things that lend themselves to the preservation of people. Qualities like strength, the ability to create wealth (yams), and adherence to social and religious norms are all valued.
Okonkwo manically lives out these qualities in an attempt to not become a "failure" like his father. Though Okonkwo's heartlessness manifests itself a few times, and some of his fellow villagers notice it, his greatness is already established in his titles and past actions. The unease of others is set aside in acknowledgement of his actions.
This position Okonkwo has achieved falls apart the first time with his accidentally killing another. Yet even here, after he has, so to speak, "paid his debt to society"--he is allowed to return, his status is intact. This return and the change in society that has taken place in the interim, leads to the second, permanent "falling apart."
Okonkwo returns to a society being reshaped by the principles and, more importantly, resources of colonialism. In the face of the vast wealth and power of the colonial government the basis for Okonkwo's greatness looks rather silly and pathetic. What are yams in the face of guns?
Okonkwo's status dissolves into irrelevance as his society moves on. All that he has accomplished in his life washes away in the face of those who have more. The grass withers, the flower fades and Okonkwo's greatness goes with it.
The two white missionaries who come to Umofia, Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith, represent two very different worldviews. One (Brown) is a true-blue, "the last shall be first, the greatest is the least among you" kind of Christ-Follower. The other (Smith) represents the masses who crucify the true Christ in the name of co-opting the ways and power of those who are in charge of the temporal world.
Brown is a missionary with zeal for the lost. Not only that, he evidences a desire to help lift up the down-trodden of Umofia's society. In the face of aggression from the people of Umofia, he attempts to lovingly turn aside their wrath. In all this, Brown shows himself (by his love for others) to be a follower of Christ.
Smith on the other hand is a lackey of the state. His concern is not the condition of the souls of the people of Umofia. His concern is that no one "rock the boat" of colonial society. He has no inner restraint in dealing with the problems he finds in Umofia. The smallest gnat of a problem is met with the crushing hammer of the colonial power at his disposal.
Of course there are more temporal dangers in truly following Christ than in debasing oneself before earthly power. Smith's ways show results, Brown's largely do not. The difference is in the audience they are performing for. I choose Brown's.
I give Things Fall Apart my heartfelt recommendation.
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Things Fall Apart: A Novel 0385474547
Chinua Achebe
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Things Fall Apart: A Novel
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DENIAL OF THE ONE YOU WOULD BECOME
At its deepest level, Things Fall Apart is a human tragedy. Okonkwo despises his father because of the shame his lazy ways bring to his family. Okonkwo determines to be nothing like his father. With the exception of the brief time in which he comes to love Ikemefuma, he succeeds. Okonkwo gains fame in Umofia for being everything his father was not: hardworking, a man of stature, and concerned with the business of the community.
Okonkwo's rejection of his father, Unoka, is an act of social self-preservation. It also becomes a form of self-hatred. His denial of the parts of his father that exist inside himself makes him famous and revered. It is also his undoing as a human.
On the surface all seems well. Under the surface Okonkwo is a boiling mess of bottled emotion and impaired judgment. His determination to not be like Unoka causes him to put public appearance over internal intuition. This leads directly to his slaughtering of Ikemefuma. It also costs Okonkwo whatever humanity he may have had.
This incident robs Okonkwo of any ability to deal sanely with the changes taking place in his society. His rage breaks upon the immovable rocks of colonial power. In his final futility, he becomes totally unlike his father--who at least enjoyed life.
The things Okonkwo's homeland of Umofia reveres in their "great men" (and they are all men) are things that lend themselves to the preservation of people. Qualities like strength, the ability to create wealth (yams), and adherence to social and religious norms are all valued.
Okonkwo manically lives out these qualities in an attempt to not become a "failure" like his father. Though Okonkwo's heartlessness manifests itself a few times, and some of his fellow villagers notice it, his greatness is already established in his titles and past actions. The unease of others is set aside in acknowledgement of his actions.
This position Okonkwo has achieved falls apart the first time with his accidentally killing another. Yet even here, after he has, so to speak, "paid his debt to society"--he is allowed to return, his status is intact. This return and the change in society that has taken place in the interim, leads to the second, permanent "falling apart."
Okonkwo returns to a society being reshaped by the principles and, more importantly, resources of colonialism. In the face of the vast wealth and power of the colonial government the basis for Okonkwo's greatness looks rather silly and pathetic. What are yams in the face of guns?
Okonkwo's status dissolves into irrelevance as his society moves on. All that he has accomplished in his life washes away in the face of those who have more. The grass withers, the flower fades and Okonkwo's greatness goes with it.
The two white missionaries who come to Umofia, Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith, represent two very different worldviews. One (Brown) is a true-blue, "the last shall be first, the greatest is the least among you" kind of Christ-Follower. The other (Smith) represents the masses who crucify the true Christ in the name of co-opting the ways and power of those who are in charge of the temporal world.
Brown is a missionary with zeal for the lost. Not only that, he evidences a desire to help lift up the down-trodden of Umofia's society. In the face of aggression from the people of Umofia, he attempts to lovingly turn aside their wrath. In all this, Brown shows himself (by his love for others) to be a follower of Christ.
Smith on the other hand is a lackey of the state. His concern is not the condition of the souls of the people of Umofia. His concern is that no one "rock the boat" of colonial society. He has no inner restraint in dealing with the problems he finds in Umofia. The smallest gnat of a problem is met with the crushing hammer of the colonial power at his disposal.
Of course there are more temporal dangers in truly following Christ than in debasing oneself before earthly power. Smith's ways show results, Brown's largely do not. The difference is in the audience they are performing for. I choose Brown's.
I give Things Fall Apart my heartfelt recommendation.
NotATameLion
May 3, 2003
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