The novel “Things fall apart” was written by Nigerian novelist and poet, Chinua Achebe. This novel by Achebe was classified as a postcolonial novel by many critics. According to Gikand, this novel is the first novel that emphasized “African expressions in a narrative”.
The term “postcolonial” encompasses many grand ideas but generally referred to the texts written by the people/ natives of the colonial lands. The writers of the postcolonial texts emphasize much on the effects of colonialism, the culture of the natives, and the power of the language. Achebe similarly, focuses on these features of the colonial empire that labeled Africa as a “Dark Continent”. Postcolonial texts are a response to the colonial discourse and present the side of the story that was never highlighted by the colonizers.Response to Colonial Discourse: The first and the foremost characteristic of a postcolonial text is that it is a response to the colonial discourse. It presents the other side of the story which was never heard:
Until the lions have their historians the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.
Africa, for centuries, was presented as a “prehistoric earth” and the Africans as “prehistoric men” having an accursed inheritance. European writers like Conrad and Kingsley presented Africa as land having “no meaning, no shape, no coherence” which was highly criticized by the natives. Achebe in his “Introduction to Africa” highlights that this stereotypical image of Africa was created to keep Africa empty of people so that the colonizers can “people it with the creatures of our (their) own imagination”. Achebe in his novel, “Things Fall Apart” breaks this stereotypical image of Africa which was created by European writers and he presents Africa as a land having its own culture, tradition, religion, administration, and rules that are needed for civilization.
1. Rewriting History :
The postcolonial texts aim at rewriting history. They present their own culture which was deliberately covered up by the colonizers to create a mysterious and exotic image of Africa where people dance frenziedly and beat drums. According to Achebe:
“African people did not hear of culture for the first time from the Europeans… their societies were not mindless... they had poetry and above all dignity”.Achebe in his novel represents the African culture through different institutions. Firstly, he represents the judicial system in the village of Umuofia. Mgbafo, a woman who was beaten by her husband, pleads before the egwugwu (the heads of the nine villages) who decide that for Mgbafo to go back to her husband, he must beg his wife for forgiveness and present his inlaws some wine. Secondly, the religious beliefs of the people of Umuofia was also presented. In the religious system, there was a supreme God (Chukwu) who blessed the first family with yams and cocoyams which they planted after sacrificing their eldest daughter and eldest son. Aghbala, the Oracle of Caves, in the novel also highlight religious supremacy. Thirdly, the administrative setup in Umuofia comprised of the supremacy of the religious beliefs, ancestors, and the heads of the nine villages who determine the basic rules and regulations needed for survival and civilization. Other institutes such as currency (cowries), the institute of trade (selling of yams), and the institute of marriage were also highlighted in the novel. The festivals such as “Week of Peace” and the “Feast of New Yam” also justify Achebe’s claim that the people of Africa had a culture. Similarly, the literature of Africa which was present in the form of folklore and proverbs also presented the love of the Africans for their culture and traditions. Okonkwo’s father Unoka was a flutist, a person who plays the flute; presenting the notion that the African society was not even deprived of music. Achebe by representing different institutes of African society rejects the European notion that Africa had no culture and the colonialism was due to weaning the Africans as highlighted by Conrad :
“Wearing those ignorant millions of their horrid ways”
2. Effects of Colonialism:
Achebe in the novel also presents the effect of colonialism on the African culture which is one of the most significant characteristics of a postcolonial text. Colonialism refers to the full or partial political control over the other nation for their economic exploitation. This novel by Achebe presents Africa before colonization and after colonization. The effects of colonialism on Africa and African culture were drastic as it not only destroyed the African culture but also effect the natives politically, psychologically, and economically. Okonkwo, a selfmade African native who was a prosperous man having his compound,
three wives, numerous children, and two titles, was forced to kill himself at the end of the novel due to his hamartia of fear of “failure and weakness”. He was a great wrestler who defeated Amalize the Cat and was respected by many people due to his bravery. But after seeing his people, Umuofians submitting before the colonial powers he heads lost hope:
“He mourned for his clan, which he saw was breaking up and falling apart. He mourned for his people who had so unaccountably became soft like women”.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is a postcolonial text as it deals with the representation of the culture of the Igbo society which was never represented by the Whiteman. It is also a response to the colonial texts what represented the colonized as “brutes and savages”.
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Literature