EGERTON UNIVERSITY

COURSE: ENGLISH LITERATURE

FACULTY: EDUCATION ARTS

DEPARTMENT: LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND LINGUISTICS

NAME: JUSTUS REBIRO

REG NO: E13/10431/22

UNIT TITLE: ACADEMIC WRITING

UNIT CODE: LITT 222

LECTURER: DR. WALUNYWA

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 17/04/2024

APART

Abstract

This paper deals with the examination of the African society and how the differences in social

hierarchy brings about division, therefore, weakening it. The findings will lead one to the

realization that the culture of a divided society is prone to western influence. Change is a

reoccurring theme throughout history. It creates and destroys. It can cause death and life. Major

changes in the African societies were due to colonialism. Forcing people to turn away from their

way of life. It is a misconception that the African culture is savage and primitive. It has been

preserved and passed down the generations. With the invasion of the white man the social and

cultural implication of this contact has been presented as a conflict. For the society to either

adapt or be crushed underneath the foot of colonialism. This caused a great rift between the

tribes and the European settlers. The paper is concerned with one of Chinua Achebe's novels that

record a full-blown, civilized human society with its strong bonds of community and in this

essay, I will be considering his novel, Things Fall Apart to show how the European colonial

power and their so-called modern Christianity create chaos, confusion, catastrophe, and complete

fragmentation in the pattern of the traditional Igbo culture, religion, history, and society in the

name of pacification.

Keywords: Colonialism, Alienation, Disintegration, Igbo, Society, Culture, Religion, Conflict

1.0 Introduction.

Every systemic society has fault and is continuously developing. It should be allowed to evolve,

grow and change on its own, according to modern needs without invasion from foreign cultures.
The image of an African society should be portrayed from an African writers’ perspective. In

order to get the stories of societies that have been irreversibly distorted. The dominant theme of

the major African writers has been an assessment of the impact of Africa’s contact with the

West. Both the social and cultural implications of this contact remained the major concern of

most African writers. Characteristically this meeting of Africa and Europe has been presented as

a conflict. As we see in the works of Chinua Achebe, one of the Africa’s leading novelists. He

has been the recipient of numerous honors from different parts of the world, including over

twenty honorary doctorates from universities in Britain, the United States, Canada and Nigeria.

Achebe’s greatness as a writer lies in his ability to embody the political, historical, as well as

cultural sensibilities of his people. His first novel Things Fall Apart is the most celebrated work.

Over five million copies of the book have been sold, and it has been translated into thirty

languages. It deals with the pre-colonial society of eastern Nigeria. It examines traditional Igbo

society prior to and at the point of its confrontation with European colonialism.

One of the most weakening effects that the British had on other nations during their expansionist

period was the causing of alienation in the people of those nations. When the British came they

brought with them new customs, a new religion, and new laws; everything that defined the

indigenous people as a society was to be swept away in favor of the new order. The British tried

to impose their own values and judgments on the locals and this resulted in their being cut off

from their own history, religion and customs, leaving them alienated from everything that made

them distinct as a culture. In the first chapter of this dissertation I have discussed the traditional

Igbo culture and society and in the second chapter I have chosen to begin my investigation with

the novel Things Fall Apart. What becomes clear from reading this novel is that the pre-colonial

era of eastern Nigeria had vibrant communities and the societies were religious and very cultural
in their own way. They had political and social institutions which provided the required guidance

in smooth running of their affairs. These institutions were threatened and later destroyed with the

arrival of Whites and Christianity. The destruction of such societies is personified by the death of

the protagonist Okonkwo, who hangs himself because he cannot see any chance of coexisting

with European intruders.

2.0 Igbo culture and society:

A society is made up of people who live together in a relatively ordered community. With shared

values, intersect, rituals and belief systems. Creating harmony in the social interaction. Needless

to say, that without these practices the people will lose their identity which is the very essence of

a community. What makes a society uncivilized is when the people do not show respect to the

social systems in place and not showing any concern for people. With that in my mind it is clear

that the Igbo society is civilized and no a savage group as the white man would want to believe.

Chinua Achebe seeks to portray the ways of life of the Igbo authentically. His objective approach

to the telling of the story of his people affords one the opportunity to see the Igbo from the

inside. He provides a comprehensive image of Igbo civilization. He describes a culture that has a

social order characterized by a rich tradition, rituals, values, a system of justice, a social structure

and some kind of spiritual belief system.

Igbo culture, in all its variety and diversity has been meticulously captured by Achebe in his

novel. He describes the electrifying excitement of the wrestling matches and the busy

preparations for the Feast of the New Yam when huts are decorated, immense amounts of yam

foo-foo and vegetable soup are cooked and relatives are invited in huge numbers. The Umuofia’s

abide by rituals of courtesy and reverence. In every society, there are traditions and practices

which the people hold not as a mark of their identity but which are like bonds that bind them
together. In this respect the Igbos are not left out. In his works, Achebe’s use of language, it is

apparent how unique the Igbo's culture is. By using traditional Igbo words, folktales, and songs

into English sentences, the author shows us that African languages are comprehensible. Before

Okoye breaches the real issue. Unoka says, “Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who

stand before it shines on those who kneel under them” (Achebe 1958, page 6).

This is a ritual which the reader will eventually come to accept as a matter of course whenever

two of the Igbo meet; the sharing of the kola nut is as much a part of the Igbo way of life as

shaking hands is in the West. Achebe is deliberately establishing the culture of Umuofia as

complete and elaborate in its own right from the very beginning of the novel. Although the

largest part of his readers will not understand obscure references to painted toes or the specifics

of the New Yam Festival, these things speak for themselves. The Umuofia’s had a civilization of

their own. The rituals and customs which play such a large part in the novel, brings the reader

into this culture and make it seem real, vital, and complete in its own right; the absence of those

rituals later in the novel heightens the reader's awareness of how the British have changed the

Igbo way of life.

Another tradition that help unite families is shown through the negotiating of the bride price

before a wedding. Before a marriage can take place, a suitor and his family must meet with his

prospective wife and offer payment. This silent negotiation is done through passing of short

broomsticks bundles back and forth, as the number in the bundle represents the price. This

custom is considered to be more respectful than verbal discussions because it avoids wording a

price for one’s daughter. It can be clearly seen that the Igbo society is well structured and can

sustain itself since they have their beliefs and tradition and are living together harmoniously.

3.0 Division due to social status:

honor that one is accorded by the rest of the society. Distribution of resources, leadership

position and power in general is given depending on the social class in which one belongs based

on competence and merits. Even though there is no king or queen at the top of this social class as

in European social systems, the whole Igbo society is divided into different groups with quite

different social and political positions.

In the Igbo society, a man is known for his own achievement and activeness. As a result, material

wealth and masculinity, especially bravery, are highly honored by the society. It is

understandable, then, that social class is also defined by the combination of material possessions

and masculinity or bravery. To be specific, what social class a person belongs to is determined

by the number of barns of yams and wives he has, and by his behavior in war. Those who are

most masculine and possess the most material wealth acquire the most titles in the society. The

more titles one has, the more respect one will won, the more advantages one will enjoy over

others.

The more titles one has, the more respect one will won, and the more advantages one will enjoy

over others. Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, for instance, is considered a total failure partly because

he is poor, as his wife and children do not have enough to eat, and partly because he is a coward

who “was never happy when it came to wars... and could not bear the sight of blood.” (Achebe

1958, page 5). Thus, despite the fact that Unoka is an excellent musician and eloquent speaker,

he is not accepted by Igbo society. Okoye, Unoka’s friend, also a musician, is respected by the

community, not because he is a musician, but because he has a large barn full of yams, and has

three wives. Thus, a person like Unoka who has real talent as a musician, but no material

achievement actually has no status in the society. In contrast, the titled people of Umuofia, such
as Nwakibie, “who had three huge barns, nine wives and thirty children...and had taken the

highest but one title which a man could take in the clan.” (Achebe 1958, page 15). Ezeudu, the

great and fearless warrior in Umuofia is “accorded great respect in all the clan” (Achebe 1958,

page 38). A comparison between Unoka’s death and that of Ezeudu highlights the way the

society appraises their people of different social status. Unoka is an ill-fated man. He does not

even have a grave, for:

“he died of the swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess. When a man was

afflicted with swelling in the stomach and the limbs he was not allowed to die in the house. He

was carried to the Evil Forest and left there to die...Such was Unoka’s fate.‟( Achebe 1958, page

16)

The women are at the bottom of this hierarchical society. The value judgments in Igbo society

are based on a male-female principle. Male is good and female is evil. The best way to

discourage a man is to call him a woman. When a man suits a woman, he negotiates a bride price

using “a small bundle of short broomsticks”, showing that women are only treated as properties

and commodities in Igbo society. Even crops in Igbo society are divided by such norms:

women's crops are coco-yams, beans and cassava; the king of crops is yam, which stands for

manliness (Achebe 1958, page 24-25). So, balancing of the male and female principle is

reflected in Igbo society.

If the social status of women is very low or even if they are at the bottom of the Igbo community,

there are others who even do not belong to any social group.
They are actually “classless.” There are the social outcasts, or Osu, whose social status is no

more than that of a slave. They are totally rejected by and cut off from the regular life of the

community. As the novel Things Fall Apart reveals.

In retrospect those at the top of the status quo are treated fairly better then those at the bottom.

This creates a divided Igbo society, where those with material possessions, men are highly

favored by the society than women and those with less material possession.

4.0 Separation due to belief systems:

The reality of supernatural powers possessed by the spirit is undeniable and irrefutable in the

African traditional setting. It is believed that when one gains their support fear is inspired among

his peers and the entire society. White men have an established religion with a holy book called

the bible to show as concrete evidence, whereas the Igbo religion is oral.

The Igbo belief system in the existence of a supernatural being responsible for bringing the

universe into the existence. Over the years Christianity has brought pain to some and relief to

others. In things fall apart the white missionaries brought about social changes in the Igbo

community. With the introduction of the Christian faith their tribal customs began to be

questioned. Tearing apart of Okonkwo’s family by religion and change that occurs in Okonkwo

himself when he realizes he cannot prevent change from happening. There were thoughts that the

forests were evil and the missionaries took this opportunity to build churches in the churches and

were able to get more converts as they had cast doubts on whether the Igbo beliefs seemed false.

They were able to build trust among the people and began to teach them their truth.

This is how religious the people of the tribe are. They worship all gods and believe that every

god helps or harms them. When the Christian religion is introduced, many people of the Ibo
became interested in this new religion. The most interested of the tribe were the people with the

least titles. The British told the Ibo people that worship of polygamy is senseless and that there is

only one god. “Your gods are not alive and cannot do any harm,’ Replied the white man. ‘They

are pieces of wood and stone” (Achebe 1958, page 93).

On the other hand, “The white man was also their brother, because they were all sons of God”

(Achebe 1958, page 93). The question thus arose, how could they be brothers yet have religions

that were so disparate? This made them question what was actually true. Whose religion was

right, who's wrong?

This created the beginning of a lasting rift between fellow clansmen and relatives who now

differed in their beliefs. Those who first converted to Christianity were members not fully a part

of the clan life. For example, the first woman convert was Nneka, who had to discard four sets of

twins. Her husband and his family were becoming critical of her, so she fled to join the

Christians where they would accept her present pregnancy. Most of the clan considered this a

“good riddance” (Achebe 1958, page 96). There was also the gentle Nwoye, who had been

shunned because of his “less manly” ways and finds answers in the poetry of Christianity

(Achebe 1958, page 94).

Ironically, one of the main differences between the two cultures was the degree of allowance to

kill. In fact, the British almost kill off an entire village in vengeance of the murder of one white

man (Achebe 89). The Western tradition condoned people to fight each other over religion, such

as in the Crusades, but the Ibo tradition forbade them to kill any present clan member. This was

an abomination. Wars against other clans only took place when truly justified.

5.0 Conflict and change due to colonialism.

Apart

The immediate subject of Chinua Achebe's novel is the tragic consequences of African encounter

with the Europeans…. his novel deals with the social and psychological conflicts created by the

white man and his culture into the hitherto self-contained world of African society and the

disarray in the African consciousness that has followed. ( Achebe 1958, page 10)

One of the first references to the white men's arrival we get when Okonkwo's friend Obiereka

casually visits the exiled Okonkwo in Mbanta. Obiereka tells him that Abame, one of the Nine

Villages, is "no more." Because the people of Abame killed a white man their village was

attacked by "three white men and a band of other men," and the whole village was slaughtered

on a market day. Okonkwo's reaction to the news is typical of a warrior: “They should have

armed themselves with their guns and their machetes even when they went to market” (Achebe

1958, page 89). Two years after the news of Abame, Obiereka also brings news about the arrival

of missionaries to Umuofia through which the white man begins to make his presence felt:

“The arrival of the missionaries had caused a considerable stir in the village of Mbanta. There

were six of them and one was a white man. Stories about these strange men had grown since one

of them had been killed in Abame and his iron horse tied to the silk-cotton tree. And so,

everybody came to see the white man.” (Achebe 1958, page 92)

After hearing the news of the arrival of the whites, exiled Okonkwo perhaps sees the white man

as an opportunity to strive again for the greatness that he almost had in the village of Umuofia.

Okonkwo only stays to watch the missionaries in the hope that “it might come to chasing the
men out of the village or whipping them” (Achebe 1958, page 94). But after his return from the

exile, he deplores the changes in Umuofia. He thinks the people of Umuofia have all become

"women," mainly because they have accepted the church and allowed their own people to

convert to Christianity, and they also have allowed the white men to rule them. The white men

have brought to Umuofia their own government along with the religion. Umuofia is no longer the

same old place, and Okonkwo's return is not the glorious one he dreamed of during his exile:

“Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan,

which he saw breaking up and falling apart and he mourned for the war like men of Umuofia,

who had so unaccountably become soft like women.” (Achebe 1958, page 115)

Division exists among the Igbo prior to the arrival of Whites and the missionaries, but it is

heightened by their presence. The new religion attracts many members of Igbo society, mostly

the Efuiefu, "worthless, empty men" (Achebe 1958, page 92), but also Nwoye, Okonkwo's son.

Nwoye had been “attracted to the new faith from the very first day,” but he “kept it secret” out of

“fear of his father” (Achebe 1958, page 96). Then something had given way inside him. It

descended on him again, this feeling, when his father walked in, that night after killing

Ikemefuna.” (Achebe 1958, page 41). Ikemefuna's death also leads to Nwoye's estrangement

from his father. With the coming of the church in the town, he finds an alternative in the new

religion. He leaves his father, “never to return” and goes to see Mr. Kiaga, who is overjoyed at

Nwoye's departure: “Blessed is he who forsakes his father and his mother for my sake” is his

response. The social isolation grows even further when Nwoye decides that he will “return to his

mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to the new faith” (Achebe 1958, page 97).

As the months progress, the discord that develops between Nwoye and Okonkwo widens to

include others in Mbanta. The Christian church grows stronger, and more people from the Nine
Villages are converted until there is a clear division between the locals. At first the Igbo are not

too worried, but this quickly begins to change: Three converts had gone into the village and

boasted openly that all the gods were dead and impotent and that they were prepared to defy

them by burning all their shrines. "Go and burn your mothers' genitals," said one of the priests.

The men were seized and beaten until they streamed with blood. (Achebe 1958, page 99)

Okonkwo tries to encourage people to resist the white man’s power. One of the converts, Enock,

desecrates one of the Egwugwu by lifting its mask, which is considered one of the greatest

crimes a man can commit. Upon that incident, the Mother of the Sprits weeps "as if the very soul

of the tribe wept [weeps] for a great evil that was [is] coming — its own death" (Achebe 1958,

page 117). Such evil had not happened in the history of Umuofia. And subsequently people

destroy the church to pacify the spirit of the clan (Achebe 1958, page 175). While the village

elders and lords of the clan were discussing the measures of resistance, the court messengers

arrive there and ordered to close the meeting. Okonkwo takes this opportunity and beheads the

head messenger, thinking that the villagers would follow him as usual. But the villagers let the

other messengers flee. Okonkwo hears people murmuring why he has done that? He discerns

total disintegration of the clan in such a cold reaction of his clansmen. He cannot reconcile with

such a situation and hangs himself to a tree in his backyard. With Okonkwo’s suicide

disintegration in the traditional Igbo culture is complete.

6.0 Conclusion.

Things fall apart is a novel through which Chinua Achebe portrays a society that is well

established and one that can sustain itself. It provides a perspective in which we get to

understand how civil the Igbo society was before the coming of colonialism. Although the

society has its flaws and there is division between the people it is not savage. The novel provides
the idea of a society falling apart as a result of the white man bringing change in Umuofia.

Which creates further rift among the villagers. Due to this separation their way of life is

inevitably influenced by the western culture. Those like Okonkwo who refuse to conform are left

in despair and with no hope of thriving in the new society. At the end of it all the Igbo

community can do is try and preserve the traditions which the white man does not consider

barbaric and let go of the rest.

Reference.

Achebe, C. (1958) Things fall apart. London: Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.

Critical perspective on Chinua Achebe, ed. C. L. Innes and B. Lindfors. London: Heinemann

Publication, 1979, Print.