Subject: post colonial literature

Submitted by: Rida

The novel Things Fall Apart (TFA) (1958) is written by the late Chinua Achebe (1930-
2013) who was a Nigerian author. The setting of the novel is in the outskirts of Nigeria in
a small fictional village, Umuofia just before the arrival of white missionaries into their
land. Due to the unexpected arrival of white missionaries in Umuofia, the villagers do
not know how to react to the sudden cultural changes that the missionaries threaten to
change with their new political structure and institutions. Hence, this essay aims at
analyzing the effects of European colonization on Igbo culture.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century most European states migrated to Africa and
other parts of the world where they established colonies. Nigeria was amongst other
African nations that received visitors who were on a colonizing mission; introducing their
religion and culture that is later imposed on Igbo. The culture of the people of Umuofia
(Igbo culture) is immensely threatened by this change.
Achebe’s primary purpose of writing the novel is because he wants to educate his
readers about the value of his culture as an African. Things Fall Apart provides readers
with an insight of Igbo society right before the white missionaries’ invasion on their land.
Before Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart, all the novels that had been written about Africa
and Africans were written by Europeans.
Reflections on Post-Colonialism
Most texts give the definition of colonialism before they define the meaning of the term
post colonialism. Colonialism as defined by OED refers to “the policy or practice of
acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers,
and exploiting it economically”.
Post-colonialism expresses the opposite idea of colonialism. Hence, post-colonialism literature
is a consequence of colonialism. Through literature we understand the primary focus of
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: a novel written by an individual who grew up under colonial rule in
response to the effects of colonialism on his culture, Achebe writes back at the writings of
European writers and the misrepresentation of Africa in their writings. A colonized individual is
usually forced to follow the culture of their colony regardless if they are against it or not. Post-
colonial writers usually write about how their rich native cultures were destroyed under the
power of imperialism.

However, the literature does not show the colonized as victims of colonialism, but rather
it shows that they are confused about their sense of belonging. Most colonized
individuals do not know whether to follow their own culture or the culture of the
colonizer. Because of this they find themselves combining some of the elements of the
two different cultures which make them move back and forth in between their present
and past lives, hence their confused sense of belonging. This back and forth movement
in most instances leads to a miscommunication that can be meaningful.
Plot Summary of the Novel
The title Things Fall Apart was adopted from William Butler Yeats’ poem
“‘The Second Coming’” (1921). The poem foresees the end of the present age and the
world’s approach to another phase that is completely different:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed the tide is loosed and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
(Yeats: 1921)
Things Fall Apart is centered on the life of the protagonist of the novel, Okonkwo. As the
novel develops Okonkwo accidentally kills a man and he and his family are exiled from
Umuofia. During his exile white missionaries arrive in Umuofia and change the village.
When Okonkwo returns to his village he sees the major transformations that Umuofia
has undergone during his exile. Unhappy with the change, Okonkwo and other villagers
come together to drive the white missionaries out of their land. Their efforts are in vain
as the missionaries send their messengers to abort the meeting. Okonkwo kills one of
the messengers and in shock at his actions the villagers let the other messengers
escape. The messengers report back to the missionaries and they take off to bring
Okonkwo to justice only to find him dead
Discussion
Fundamental to the Age of Imperialism was the “scramble for Africa” period of the
1880s to the 1890s. The Europeans became hungry for Africa's natural resources,
resulting in their arrival into Africa as well as their hostile takeover of the land. During
this period many European countries set colonies in Africa. One of the reasons that the
Europeans had for colonising Africa was their claim to civilise the primitive African
minds as a humanitarian act. Soon African states were dominated by European power
be it economic, political or social. The Europeans held a Eurocentric view of the world;
firmly believing European culture to be superior. Eurocentrism therefore perceives
Europe as the core of civilisation and of humanity. Eurocentrism had racist tendencies
which granted an inferior status to the non-whites. In order to give his people back the
pride that they once had, Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart. Language is also a very
important element to Igbo. It gives them a sense of belonging and they also use it as a
means to preserve their culture and heritage. And although language is important to
Igbo, it ultimately leads to the fall of their society. Igbo is a society that also appears to
be sceptical about change. They refuse to send their children to school where they
stand a chance to be able to read and write in the English language. Despite Mr
Brown’s efforts to show the villagers that they need to learn English because they are
now being ruled by the District Commissioner and other white missionaries who only
communicate in English, the villagers still remain reluctant in educating their children
(Achebe 128). The Igbo depend on their language to differentiate them from other
cultures. They also depend on language to define their social rank in their society.
Okonkwo, for instance, when being compared to his father Unoka is considered as a
wealthy man and not only because he has married a lot of women or his household
produces many yams but because of his strength that helped him defeat one of the
strongest wrestlers in the village (Achebe 6). On the other hand, Unoka was a drunkard
who had only one wife, not many yams and had no titles to his name by the time of his
death (Achebe 6). The village had named him agbala a term Igbo use to refer to
“women as well as to men who have not taken a title” (Achebe iii) consequently a man
who deserves no respect from society because he is not “wealthy”.
Based on the definition of agbala it is evident that a man needs to gain the respect of
Igbo society by fulfilling either one of the three requirements that are used to define the
social status of a man. That is by either having more than one wife, producing many
yams (which are determined by the number of wives a man has, as women are
responsible for crop production) or by defeating the strongest man in the village in a
wrestling match, which also determines the number of women he marries because
families usually marry off their daughters to strong wealthy men.
Even before the white missionaries arrive in Umuofia, the Igbo already have their own
judicial systems that are based on the knowledge that their forefathers have passed
onto them about their culture. Their courts are spearheaded by the oldest men of the
village, whose wisdom and knowledge is trusted in the power of their ancestral gods to
guide them to give fair and unbiased ruling. However, one of the first things that the
white missionaries do when they arrive in the village is to replace Igbo courts with theirs.
This disadvantages the villagers as the white missionaries do not know the history of
Igbo, their culture or their system of justice. It can be argued that this is one of the many
mistakes that the missionaries make when they first decide to take over Igbo and their
territory.
In this sense Igbo do not know what is lawfully right or wrong in the white man’s courts.
That is why the leaders of the village are surprised when they are imprisoned after
burning the missionary church. The action by the missionaries in not considering Igbo
laws and customs in their hostile takeover shows that they do not care about Igbo
tradition or culture. 14 | P a g e Rather, they appear to be so keen on forcing their own
culture on the Igbo that they do not see that they are destroying Igbo culture and that
they could learn from the Igbo to better understand them and their way of life.
In fact, it seems that Igbo are more civilised than the missionaries themselves. In their
traditional courts, for example, if two parties are at conflict with each other both parties
are given the chance to tell their story before a ruling is taken as opposed to the case of
the British courts. When the villagers commit any form of crime they are imprisoned
without first being questioned whereas Igbo courts question those at conflict before a
ruling is taken. For example, Okonkwo beats up his youngest wife during the Week of
Peace (Achebe 124) for petty reasons and although wife beating is allowed in Igbo
culture, she is given the chance to take the matter before the courts. Okonkwo is not
found guilty for beating his wife but for doing so during the Week of Peace where acts of
violence are not allowed.
As far as the Igbo are concerned the white missionaries are aliens because their origin
is not known to them. They do not even understand the concept behind Christianity.
This is because until now the nature of white people and their culture has existed
outside of their language. To the Igbo it means it has simply not existed, and this
ultimately leads to the doom of their culture as they are confused about how to react to
this new religion.
Because the white missionaries are convinced that the Igbo are primitives they obligate
themselves to civilise them even though the so called primitives do not ask for their help
or to be civilised. They believe themselves to be the long awaited answer to the
problems Igbo society faces and other literary scholars such as Edward Said of
Orientalism (although not from the text itself) believe them to be cunning in wanting to
take control of Igbo land and the lands resources by coming to Umuofia under false
pretence of their true intentions which was to rule Umuofia.
The wrong approach taken by the Westerners is seen in their attitude towards the Igbo
of total submission and gratitude from them. Their arrival in Umuofia came unexpected
and it did not help that upon their arrival they thought that because they were more
civilised and educated they should be the ones to rule in Umuofia and not Igbo. By so
doing they immediately unintentionally belittled the status and importance of Igbo in
their own land. This is a great disrespect to Igbo and their ancestors, which are what,
angered and offended the Igbos the most. It would have been pleasant if the
missionaries held the Igbo people at the same high standard they thought they were at.
Conclusion
the fall of Igbo culture as well as the fall of Okonkwo cannot only be attributed to their
strong belief system and rooted cultural heritage. The aim of Things Fall Apart is to
explore the imperfections of Igbo culture as well as its strengths. Although Achebe
presents these imperfections to readers that also contribute to the destruction of their
culture; the main reason for the fall of the Igbo was caused by their inability and
reluctance to learn English because they believed that they will never have to apply its
usage in their everyday lives. Also, because the missionaries were stronger than the
Igbo with regard to their advancement in modern day life and education, they had a
stronger influence as well as controlling power 18 | P a g e of Igbo land and the Igbo
themselves. The missionaries used a hostile approach in taking over the ruling powers
of Igbo land from its natives by using their influence to spread their gospel and at the
same time abolishing Igbo traditional customs and beliefs. Hence, the missionaries
were particularly superior to Igbo just as the author explains.
The cultural exchange between the two could have benefited the Igbo more because
they have not shown interest in knowing of the world that exists outside of Umuofia and
had the white missionaries not arrived in their land, they would still be clueless of the
existence of mankind elsewhere. It is without a doubt that the white missionaries
believed themselves to be superior in comparison to Igbo, that is why they had some of
the converts of Christianity be their messengers. The white men saw Igbo as a burden
that they had to take care of by informing and educating them of things they did not
know.
The white man believed his culture to be morally superior to Igbo culture and this
caused a conflict between the two cultures. Although these problems seem resolved in
the present time, they still very much exist and are causing a clash between the two
cultures.
The arrival of white missionaries in Umuofia was to take over the ruling of it and
because Igbo are a compassionate society that was also unsuspecting of the white
men’s intentions, they welcomed them into their land and also gave them a piece of
their land not knowing that these men will be the cause of the collapse of their culture.
Without culture Igbo society is as good as dead, hence the significance of Okonkwo’s
death in the end. Like Okonkwo the Igbo committed suicide by not being suspicious of
the white missionary’s intentions in their land or questioning his presence.

Thank you.