Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is one of the authentic tales about Africa. While its context is in Nigeria’s Igbo community, it is a perfect representation of the entire continent before and after the colonization era. Based on the plot, the author’s audience is the non-Africans. He uses different characters and scenarios to respond to the misinformed notion that Africans were primitive individuals who needed foreigners to show them the light. To do so, he gives a detailed account of the African society’s way of life, including their religious beliefs, governance structure, and social activities.
Notably, Achebe is keen on delivering his message in an objective way. He is not solely trying to portray the outsiders as the cause of Africa’s troubles. Indeed, he acknowledges that Africa had some internal challenges that it needed to handle. In this article, the focus will be on the aspects that resulted in Africa falling apart. Incorporating the views in Diana Akers Rhoads’ “Culture in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart” will be helpful in providing an expansive insight of the novel. Internal and external factors are responsible for things falling apart in the society portrayed in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
The Rich and Self-sufficient Culture
Throughout this piece of literature, the author provides a detailed illustration of Igbo as a community with a rich culture. To begin with, the society has a well-functioning justice system. It is led by egwugwu; a group of clansmen who formulate and implement the law. One of the instances where the egwugwu is presented as the community’s judicial structure is when a case of wife beating is presented before them (Achebe 87). The ndichie, who are the community’s elders, also form part of Igbo’s operational judicial system. Keen on promoting democracy and decorum in the area. Another aspect that showcases the Igbo community as a society with a rich culture is religion. Like other African societies, the Igbo people believed in ancestral spirits. Rituals were constantly made to appease them and see their guidance.
With such a rich and solid culture, the Igbo community and Africa at large did not need the assistance of foreigners to ‘come of age’. In her critical analysis, Rhoad expounds on this aspect clearly. She notes that to some extent, Igbo’s culture was self-sufficient and more effective that the system imposed on them by the European colonizers. For instance, the community’s legal framework was keen on presenting judgement based on an individual’s doings. Even if Okonkwo was a respected member of the community, he is found to be in the wrong for beating his wife during the Week of Peace. In contrast, the European system of ruling the Igbo people is filled with corruption (Rhoad 63). From this perspective, Africans didn’t need the colonizers to show them the way.
The Cultural Aspects that Needed Change
One of the reasons why Achebe’s novel is perfect in analyzing Africa prior to and after the colonial period is because he presents his arguments in an objective manner. Granted, the Igbo society and Africa at large was self-sufficient and could do without the interference of the colonizers. However, the novelist notes that some of its traditions were non-beneficial and were due for change. A good example of these outdated practices is the events surrounding Ikemefuna’s death. In the traditional African society, masculinity is guarded by all means. Men are willing to reach imaginable lengths so as not to appear weak. In the novel, Ikemefuna becomes a beloved member of Okonkwo’s family. In fact, this young boy from the nearby village refers to Okonkwo as his father. However, Okonkwo is keen on following the tradition of settling scores with the other village by personally killing his son. It is disheartening that Okonkwo was quick to kill his son with a machete after he run to him for help saying, “my father, they have killed me!” (Achebe 61).
Fast forward to when the European missionaries entered the continent and introduced a new way of life to the people. By introducing Christianity to the Igbo people, retrogressive traditions such as murdering a loved one for the sake of revenging against a nearby village was no longer acceptable. This was founded on the biblical teaching that ‘You shall not kill’. From the perspective humanity and dignity, wasn’t it time for such changes to be executed? Indeed, Rhoad (64) points to this aspect when she states that the Christian missionaries objected to Igbo gods for encouraging the community to fight and kill each other. However, she is keen to add that the colonizers who came in the name of religion ended up killing more people than the Igbo did in the pre-colonial times. While Rhoad’s angle of viewing this issue is multifaceted, one thing is irrefutable, murders like that of Ikemefuna were outdated and called for certain changes in the African community.
Conclusion
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is one of the useful tools in analyzing the lifelong debate on whether the Europeans improved or worsened the structures and systems in the larger African community. In this novel, the Igbo community is a perfect representation of Africa prior to and after colonization. On the one hand, the Igbo society has effective traditions that were part of a rich culture. Interference by the colonizers only made certain societal systems worse. However, there are certain cultural aspects that were outdated and due for change. From this perspective, certain external and internal factors are responsible for things falling apart in Igbo and Africa at large.