Things Fall Apart is a novel written to take place in Africa during colonization times. The book centers around an African village with focuses on certain tribe members. Written by Chinua Achebe, this story's purpose is to put the spotlight on a group whose perspective is usually not told. The novel is a refreshing new view point that does the opposite of marginalizing African culture and voices.
As we have seen, Achebe has strong views of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad because he believes not one African voice in the novel was heard. And he'd be right. Luckily, he writes an entire novel that focuses on the voices, thoughts, feelings, and culture of Nigeria and its inhabitants. Okonkwo, a key character, struggles with a problem that most men struggle with: masculinity. In that aspect, he becomes a relatable character who is still part of a different culture. Achebe writes many relatable characters in his novel and even if his intent was not to do this to make Africans seem just as human as everyone else, he did just that.
Things Fall Apart is also a clap back at all the colonist literature because it shows the perspective of the invaded rather than the invader. The only other time I've read about somewhere being colonized is the Inca tribe and the conquistadors. This novel stuck with me just as the Inca stories did. To read about a foreign person coming in and hurting your people when they clearly do not belong is much different than say reading about Marlow observing the chained Africans and wondering about their humanity. It's more real to read on the receiving end. It reminds one how awful the colonizers were to enter a different culture and not respect their rules and rituals. Achebe does a fine job in demonstrating that in his novel.
Achebe also does a sufficient job in comparing and contrasting the two religions and cultures. Heart of Darkness, and no other colonization story I've read, really compares minuscule details like this book does. It shows the validity of the African tribe's religion. It proves they are no more heathens than anyone else, rather just different spiritually. The novel brings truth to their practices and really makes the reader understand how the English men disregarded their religion.
All in all, Things Fall Apart has been one of the most important novels I've read and analyzed. It's important to read all perspectives. It highlights their culture well and gives great insight into their every day lives and religion. They have families just like any other culture. They worship a god just like every other religion. Achebe proves that there's no need to silence African voices in novels, on the contrary, they can make a very good star.
I think it's really interesting how you wrote this. I think that part of it is that none of Conrad's African character's are developed or human. This would be an interesting point to discuss in your post. Otherwise, this is well thought out.
ReplyDeleteYou went really in-depth in listing all of the things that Achebe succeeded and Conrad failed in, and it was very fascinating to read. I would have liked to see more quotes and references to the text to further prove your point, but without it, your argument is still very effective. Great job!
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