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March 26, 2007

the center cannot hold

_things fall apart_ is a tragic story about the effects of the white man on okonkwo, the hero, and his world. chinua achebe devotes the entire first book to building up, at least for the reader, the notion of order and harmony as it existed for okonkwo in his african village. his agrarian community had evolved to include such things as ancestor worship, polygamy, and certain societal understandings and (sometimes fierce) rules (about twins, the oracle, etc.) that had likely been passed down from generation to generation. even okonkwo's activity as a "superhuman" member of a council of elders was understood as part of his place in the world. the main character, however, is subject to the same boundaries and traditions he espouses. after a freak accident on a holy day, okonkwo is exiled to his motherland for seven years.

in this time, okonkwo maintains his resolve to not be the failure his father was. but despite his strength and determination, an even stronger and more determined force has arrived, at first as a christian mission. the white man is immune to the superstitions of the local people, and seem limitless in his power to subdue the forests and to attract, even value, the outcasts of society. the movement grows, okonkwo's son is converted (and subsequently disowned), and by time okonkwo returns to his homeland, what for him, and possibly generations, had been a clearly understood life had started to crumble.

"things fall apart; the center cannot hold."--w.b. yeats

the center of the story, of course, is okonkwo. the narrator effectively describes his predicament as his village is confronted by the white man, his religion, and his government. changes he never could have imagined are happening all around, and okonkwo, unfortunately, doesn't survive. how many other peoples, and their stories, have met the same fate in the face of a new culture? the growing influences of culture on (over) each other continues to feed debates on globalism today.

questions:

what is okonkwo's flaw?

how do rituals/religion in okonkwo's clan compare and contrast to christianity?

the coming of the white man was clearly not good for okonkwo, but what about the rest of his community?

the district commissioner considers titling his work, _the pacification of the primitive tribes of the niger_. what does that say about his views of okonkwo's people? are they also reflected by the other white men in the story?

why so much kola nut and palm wine?

comments

I'm sorry I haven't posted. I haven't had the chance what with papers, exams, and student shows. I will be back tomorrow!

Ana, no worries. Looking forward to your return and finding out if you did manage to read a full copy of the book.

Eddie, during our in-person conversations about the book, we discovered that you and I have drawn very different conclusions. From what I understand, you see Things Fall Apart as an indictment against colonialism/proselytization because it threw Umuofia's agrarian/pagan social order into chaos.

Although I agree that the arrival of white men was not good for the Ibo, I don't see the novel as necessarily condemning colonialism. First of all, it was written in English, the language of the British. In addition, the unsentimental tone of the narration did not make me feel a longing or nostalgia for pre-missionary/colonial society. And, it seemed to me that the Ibo were just as aggressive as the white men. (For example, Abame is razed because a white man is murdered).

Rather, I focused on Okonkwo and saw him as a classical example of a tragic hero with a fatal flaw like those found in Aristotle or Shakespeare. Since I know nothing about African literature, I naturally saw it as an exemplar of Western tragedy because:

1. Okonkwo is respected for his physical strength for throwing Amalinze the Cat, becomes a self-made man through yam farming, and rises to the status of an elder in his village.

2. His hubris makes him possess a fatal flaw, stubborn obstinance, which causes him to behave violently and make mistakes like the accidental shooting, in driving away Nwoye, and advocating rebellion against the colonials.

3. The fatal flaw is what causes his downfall: exile, losing Nwoye to christianity, and suicide.

For me, the ultimate message of the book is this: changes will happen, whether you like them or not; if you do not adapt accordingly, it will lead to your downfall.

Better late than never.

First, I'd like to make sure that my version was the complete novel. Although it was condensed to 88 pages with very small font, it was three parts and It began with, "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond," and ended with, "He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger." Is that the complete novel?

Things Fall Apart turned out to be quite a surprise to me. From the way in which it was written to what happens in the end. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of the story. The segments discouraged me a little from wanting to read it but then I got accustomed to that method. Each segment can stand as it's own short story, which reflects the tradition in storytelling in the culture described by Achebe.

I liked how the story turned around at the end. I thought that it was being told by an omniscient narrator, nonetheless, from the Ibo's perspective. But in the end, it turns out to be from the British's perspective. That was very interesting to me.

Like Mary said, Okonkwo's flaw was his pride. I did not feel sympathetic to his character at all, except towards the end when he was jailed and abused and later committed suicide. I could relate to his feelings of anger, frustration, and helplessness. From the very beginning, he was always very angry. I could never understand why. He certainly was stubborn. I thought that during his time in exile he would soften a little or gain some humilty. But it didn't happen. He seemed to become more aggressive. His end was certainly a shock. It doesn't make sense to me that he would find the easy way out. Or maybe he realized where his hubris led him, that his actions took him too far (killing one of the messengers) and it was too late to turn around.

I've been having trouble placing the novel in a time period. I don't know why I assumed that it was sent in the 20th century, but after the Christian missionaries came into the story, I thought that it took place during the 1700 hundreds? I don't know a lot about African history. I am more familiar with the time period of the Trans-Atlantic Slavery and somewhat more recent history. I did brief research through Wikipedia (heheh) and it mentions the British arriving in south Africa during the early 20th century to pacify the region. Again, this was shocking since I ignored that these practices still took place during the 20th century. Also, given the history of slavery, although that happened mostly in the western area of the continent, that this culture hadn't seen a white man before was hard to believe. To me, it is important to know the time period to understand the novel better.

Oh, the last line in the story was so weird. It had evil written all over it.

ana, wikipedia suggests that it occurred in the late 1800's/early 1900's. this is consistent with other historical accounts of missionary and colonial interests in nigeria, where the story takes place. i liked how achebe made a passing reference early in the story to the existence of a white man (and his ways), yet nobody had actually seen one. when the white man actually came, he brought with him first a religion, then a government. how quickly the world okonkwo had known changed, and change caught on like wildfire.

i agree that okonkwo was afflicted with pride. he vowed to succeed as his father had not, and aimed his whole being in that pursuit. but the rapid changes around him, where things he had despised (laziness) were suddenly valued, cast him adrift. i am more sympathetic to his plight, for how could anybody as industrious as okonkwo really be prepared for such rapid change in worldviews around him? i think there is little evidence that life improved there because of the white man.

Admittedly it has been a long time since I’ve read Things Fall Apart. I don’t think Okonkwo had a flaw. He was the ideal for his society. It is true that he was unable to adapt to the new ways but that does not mean he was flawed at least by his society’s traditional standard. This is why was able to be so successful and become an elder. I think it is by our modern standard that he is considered to have a flaw.

I also had the pleasure of meeting the Chinua Achebe at my college graduation. He was very nice and gracious. I was able to take a picture with him. Unfortunately we did not discuss his book.

i agree with joanne when she suggested that flaws are a matter of perspective. i think that okonkwo did not have "flaws" in the old Ibo worldview, but to the white man, he was marked. maybe okonkwo realized this too. why, exactly, do you think okonkwo commited suicide?

I agree also that flaws are a matter of perspective. But, I still think that Okonkwo did have a flaw for a couple of reasons.

If I take into consideration Marydell's point of view on TFA, that it is written in a western tradition and Okonkwo is the tragic hero, then he must have a flaw. We've mentioned that flaw before.

or, If I take into consideration Joanne's idea that flaws are a matter of perspective, I think that Okonkwo still has a flaw within his own society. A critical example of this is when the elders decide that the boy from the rival clan must be killed, one of the elders specifically tells Okonkwo not to be involved in his death. But Okonkwo goes anyway and he ends up killing the boy himself. Also, because the story is written from a third person, omniscient point of view, a point of view that the reader assumes is neutral even before the white men enter the story, I don't know about other readers, but I certainly felt like the narrator was showing me Okonkwo's hubris. There are little things here and there that serve to reveal his flaw, like how Okonkwo tried really hard to hide his emotions and feelings or how he really felt towards his daughter. I don't know, but I really feel like those are clues leading me to believe that he has a flaw. I don't think that the narrator showed these details in a "this is the norm" way.

Moving on to another aspect of the story, it sure was bold of the English to come into their society and set up a system of laws just like that. They set up a court and everything! It was unbelieveable. Of course, I realize that things like these actually happened outside of Achebe's fictional world, not only in the Africas, but in every other "Third World" region as well.

I honestly can't tell if the Ibo's life got better or worse with the arrival of the white man because I don't see enough evidence of either side. Obviously, their way of life was altered and most likely forced to adapt. But what about those that chose to convert? I think their actions are just as valid as those who refused to adapt to the white man's way of life. I wonder how the Ibo's life would've been affected had a different group of people arrived to pacify them instead of the Christian white men...

Nonetheless, Okonkwo's death was tragic.

ana describes the impositions of the white man as "bold." i'm sure we can add a few words here: arrogant, ambitious, fierce. it is interesting that these same words also apply to okonkwo. do you think okonkwo and the white man have more in common?

okonkwo's exile, i believe, was not a result of any character flaw (according to Ibo standards). in fact i would describe this and the (unwitted) killing of his adopted son as exemplary, for despite his power as an elder he regularly displays his sense of duty to tradition. his attitudes about his daughter and his stoicism to me suggest elements of human-ness and machismo, which only help to make the character more believable. i wonder how the story would have been different if okonkwo had not been exiled.

okonkwo's story in many ways mirrors the story of Ibo (and presumably other) cultures. interruptions in okonkwo's life (exile) parallel the interruptions introduced by the white man. we can assume that okonkwo's fear and confusion and ultimately his suicide will be reflected in the Ibo community as old traditions are questioned and eventually die in order to be replaced by the new. perhaps this story is more about the loss of cultural diversity due to the arrogance (flaw) of the white man.

When I described the impositions of he white man as "bold" was an understatement without a doubt.

It's interesting that you compare Okonkwo and the white man and that you suggest that they have more in common than we would think. That's definitely something to think about.

I am aware that his exile was not a result of a character flaw. It was a result of an accident, if that is the right word.

I was under the impression that Okonkwo was not supposed to be involved in the death of his adopted son due to tradition. At least that's what I understood when the elder told him not to have a part in it.

I wonder if machismo is a character flaw...? Or is that accepted as part of a society's standards?

Ana, I think that if your novel was in three parts, it probably was the entire thing. The book version with a normal-sized font was also pretty short.

Like you, I had trouble figuring out what the book was about and I didn't actually get it until the end. The first part seemed like a bunch of background information, and I kept wondering when the plot was going to get moving. For me, Part I finally clicked when I got to Part III.

Joanne and Eddie are right in that character flaws are subjective based on culture. However, like Ana, I am sure (100% without a doubt) that Okonkwo was flawed according to Ibo society. In addition to the example she gives (Ikmefuna's murder), there is also evidence in him shooting at his second wife, his exile to his motherland, and the fact that he wasn't able to sway his village into declaring was at the end. Eddie says, "okonkwo's exile, i believe, was not a result of any character flaw (according to Ibo standards)," while Joanne states, "He was the ideal for his society." Sorry, but I can't go along with either of these assertions.

If Okonkwo is not flawed and his violent behavior (even accidental) is acceptable to the Ibo, why did they exile him?

P.S. Okonkwo's machismo, I think, is valued by the Ibo. However, his flaw comes in when that machismo turns into violence, which, I also think, is not valued by the Ibo.

Greetings to All,

Talk about better late than never. I actually read this book when I was supposed to, but life and work got really hectic so I didn't get a chance to post until now.

I kind of fall under Mary's camp, in which I think the moral of the story is that you have to learn to adapt in order to survive. Of course, I didn't get to that message until the very end and I was very bored while I was reading Part 1.

In reflecting on it, however, it made me ponder how religions grow and fall and I found this subject fascinating. Something I hadn't thought a lot about.

I mean, I tried to put myself in different time periods. How did the Egyptians view Judaism when it first started to gain strength? How did the Jews view Christianity or the Muslim faith when they first came on the scene? How did Christians view the Mormon faith when they became the new missionaries?

In all these cases, a new religion and way of viewing life was born. There were millions and millions of converts along the way and with each convert, a different way of life was replaced. Entire families, regions and cultures were affected.

This made me wonder about what circumstances need to be in play in order to allow for such a change? Is it instant or gradual? In the case of TFA, I was amazed at how instant the change really was. An entire culture was wiped away in only one generation, things would never be the same.

Then I thought, could the major religions/cultures ever be replaced in my lifetime? In my kids lifetime? I'm in my late 20s, but in that short time on planet Earth the culture has changed SO much.

In retrospect, I think Achebe did a wonderful job of displaying this turmoil. It actually even made me connect with Okwonko - something that didn't happen while I was reading the book.

Eddie, great choice. I love books that make me think.

Also, it was curious to see the impacts of both the Muslim and Christian faiths in Africa through two very differint books (as well as authors).

i like how cynthia ponders how the rapid change in _tfa_ is like change in the world today. i don't think that natural evolutions in society, no matter how rapid, can really compare to the introduction (and even enforcement) of new ideas, like those of the alien white man in achebe's world. i would liken it to the changes i would expect to see if an advanced race from another galaxy came to our planet...imagine!

Howdy, I am new to this thing (I hope it is okay to just pop in like this) but I had a question that was bothering and google turned this discussion up. Do any of you think that there is any connection between Nwoye, Okwonko's son, and the messenger that he kills? I realize that, as Nwoye was studying to be a teacher, it is unlikely that Okwonko killed his own son, but Achebe does mention that enrolling in the school that Nwoye attended gets one the job as a messenger. Also, it is when Okwonko recognizes, not hears, the messenger that he attacks him. Finally, the clan's reaction implies that the messenger was a clansmen. Oh yeah, and it seems to work with the fact that Okwonko was advised to not take part in the death of Ikemefuna which may have led to Nwoye's conversion. To me, if this is true, it is the capstone on Okwonko's tragedy.