"Things Fall Apart," Raises More Questions Than Answers

Africa has many faces. Many in the United States view it as a completely foreign world and many only associate it with poverty, disease, and death. In Europe, many citizens may ignore the people and think solely of the animals and landscape. Dozens of opinions and perspectives are held on Africa as a whole, but each is merely one pixel in a picture. The truth is, a massive continent composed of many countries, all extraordinarily unique, cannot be summarized with a few words. It is just as complex as any other continent in the world, and equally human. Achebe illustrates this in Things Fall Apart. Achebe doesn't attempt to skew perspective by portraying a Lion King style utopia, but instead creates a story of great depth. It is a story where the protagonist may become the guardian and protector of a child of a neighboring village, but kill the same boy three years later. Okonkwo, the protagonist of the story, has weaknesses and strengths that ultimately make him human. "Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger" (28). As the name of the novel suggests, things will fall apart. Already Okonkwo has killed a boy who had been as a son to him; before Okonkwo raised his machete for the fell swing, the boy screamed, "My father, they have killed me!" (61). Okonkwo's answer was the sound of iron. This act proves that Achebe isn't interested in making a fake case about Nigerian people, but instead interested in showing how alike people are. Regardless of what culture a person immerses in, he/she will find people are one and the same. We all feel anger, confusion, sadness, pleasure, joy, excitement, anxiety, and we all do deeds we regret and deeds we pride ourselves on. Achebe reminds the reader of this, whether or not the reader is open-minded or not. It is not an opinion or perspective, but a fact. The title foreshadows events in the book; likely including Okonkwo falling from grace, more people dying, crops withering, tribes dispersing, and foreign influences permeating into tribal life. All these things and much, much more are possible when things fall apart. We are a single race, on a single planet.

Heads or Tails? Chinua Achebe's Response to Joseph Conrad

A single story of a village in Africa. Warnings of a single story. Warnings coming from a Nigerian woman. How does one untangle the levels of moral and ethical complexity to reach right? Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart may well have been written as a response to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Considering this, it would be logical to conclude that Achebe is combating the single story Conrad developed in his novel; however, Achebe's novel is another single story... regardless how justified it is. As if it weren't difficult enough to reach the truth behind both works, a woman named Chimamanda Adichie delivered a very contemporary and provocative speech regarding the dangers of releasing but a single story. To illustrate her intentions, if foreigners came to the United States and spent their time exclusively at McDonald's restaurants, the epitome of our cultural failure, they may easily assume all Americans look like rejects from obesity programs. Obviously, this is not the case. To begin to address these delicate ideas, it is necessary to delve into Things Fall Apart, but with knowledge of a single story. Thus far, Achebe's story is compelling but it is also a single story, and seemingly scrutinizing several villages in Africa. Not an epic of wide scope that encompasses all issues and weaves it together into a tight, digestible package. With this knowledge, the logical mind would believe Achebe is instead delivering another single story, in response to Conrad, to present both sides of the coin. If not having listened to Adichie's speech, Things Fall Apart would seem appropriate, yet now not quite as adequate as we would initially have been led to believe. From an objective standpoint (it is quite difficult to judge with a clinical mind as Achebe is an artist, a true master of his craft) it would have been more beneficial for African people if the story written on their behalf would have been more all-encompassing. It seems Achebe stooped to Conrad's level to meet him one-on-one and consequently left readers with the choice to choose which side they want to believe; the interpretation of African people as fundamentally the same as anybody else(morally correct), or the more sinister interpretation of African people as infinitely more barbaric. Achebe knows himself to be a talented author with the most profound of insights into African people and culture, and when considering writing a work of literature that would shake foundational beliefs he as a moral obligation to deliver a story shedding the people he is representing in a beautiful light, but not one of tunnel vision. Opinions will continue of this long standing issue will continue to change, develop, and build as we progress through Things Fall Apart. Do not hesitate to offer your own insights into the dangers of a single story, opinions on Things Fall Apart, or reactions to the ideas expressed here.