A Cultural Interpretation of Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'
It has been said that our era will see the beginning of a new period in world history, the 'Age of the Indigenous Peoples', a reassertion of the "third world's" identity in reaction to the imperial and colonial expansion which dominated international relations of the past few centuries. With few exceptions, colonialism has wreaked havoc on native peoples, killing or displacing large populations, exploiting resources, demarcating arbitrary national boundaries, and leaving regions economically and politically dependent on former imperial powers. Yet this multicultural contact has also fostered a new global consciousness and facilitated the rise of international institutions that have given political substance to the belief in universal human rights. Already one can see civil wars and popular uprisings throughout the developing world sparked by the unstable mixture of foreign-sponsored despots and democratic or socialist ideas. Meanwhile, historians today are being forced to reexamine fundamental assumptions regarding the European incursion on the rest of the world. To speak of 'civilizing the primitives' or 'saving the souls of the heathens' is not only intellectually naive, such euphemisms are repugnant to the modern sense of mo
rality. Western society faces a critical point in history. Disillusioned with past conquests and faced with unprecedented possibilities for future catastrophe, we must strive for a new understanding of the indigenous cultures so alienated and embittered by our predecessors' misconceptions (Achebe vii). Fortunately, real positive change is already in motion. Conscientious individuals are joining together in voicing opposition to state actions, allying themselves with unfamiliar ethnic and religious groups in exotic regions. Out of this cultural ferment, great artists emerge to reveal new truths and new values, and to reaffirm that which is most universal in the human condition. Such a man is Chinua Achebe, a contemporary Nigerian writer whose work addresses the complexities of post-colonial Africa with an insight and humanity that transcend cultural and political boundaries. While Okonkwo represents the militant, reactionary element in the clan leadership, more important to the continuation of Igbo traditions are the wise elders such as Uchendu and Akunna. These characters reveal a more enlightened attitude towards the ultimate significance of religious prescriptions and practices and serve to relate Igbo beliefs to a wider human context. Discussing the differing customs of various clans, Uchendu says, "There is no story that is not true. The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others." (Things Fall Apart, 130) Here Achebe demonstrates the remarkable depth of the Igbo philosophy hidden beneath the surface of superstition and mythology. Uchendu acknowledges the relativity of particular customs but suggests that the truth of stories and rituals is of a metaphorical or symbolic nature. In light of such a statement, one cannot help but ask 'who are the primitives:' the Christians, who divide into totally separate sects over the question of whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son or the Father alone , or the Neolithic agricul-turalists such as Uchendu, who recognizes all metaphors (heresies included) as possessing some value? By saying "the world has no end" he seems to imply that customs necessarily adapt to new times, and that there is no absolute standard for moral decisions. This attitude provides an effective contrast to Okonkwo's almost puritanical orthodoxy. Part of what makes Achebe's writings so appropriate to the current conflicts is that they are themselves a unique amalgam of British literary style and African cultural perspectives (Nnolim 163). In his best known novel, Things Fall Apart, he gives the Western audience an insider's appreciation for traditional Igbo culture while maintaining a certain objectivity that allows him to criticize aspects of both colonial and indigenous society. As a retelling of the story of the European missionaries in Nigeria from the perspective of the natives, this book is an important
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Approximate Word count = 1960
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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