African American History: Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is about the heartbreaking fall of the novel’s protagonist Okonkwo as well as the Igbo Culture. The protagonist is a respected and prominent leader in the Igbo community of Umuofia in Eastern Nigeria. His personal distinction and fame comes when he successfully beats Amalinze the Cat, in a wrestling duel. This earns him much honor.
This novel is a demonstrative explanation of the culture of the Ibo clan as narrated from an insider's point of view while focusing on the life of Okonkwo. The customs and religion of the Ibo village comes out with simplicity and sympathy. This creates a sense of reminiscence for a way of life that is, no doubt, completely unusual to Western sensibilities and practices. This influences the reader to experience the strength and sense of a traditional culture as seen from within. The book is a vivid description of how rich African culture was before the invasion of the missionaries and colonialists rather than a bad portrayal of supposedly barbaric practices as has been claimed by some critics. For instance, Achebe describes a marriage ceremony of the Ibo community which paints a clear picture of their social and cultural aspect. There is so much socialism that an event such as marriage is a reserve and responsibility of the whole community. Achebe writes, “Women and children began to gather at Obierika’s compound to the bride’s mother in her difficult but happy task of cooking for a whole village” (Achebe 78). This idyllic description shows how connected the Ibo people were, in matters of cultural practices.
Culture is not usually static but dynamic. The Igbo culture, though, full of valid cultural practices of which some would be considered weird and inhumane, was valued in the Ibo community. At one point Achebe posits that, “A man life from birth to