Essay Title - Analysis and Critique: “Things Fall Apart”
Introduction
Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart has often been called the first truly African novel, as well as the best. This paper uses literary criticism to help analyze the novel from a feminist perspective.
Discussion
Things Fall Apart is an extraordinarily rich novel that can be approached from many different perspectives. It can be seen as the portrait of a man driven by ambition; as postcolonial literature; as a cautionary tale of the problems inherent when two disparate cultures come in contact; or as a condemnation of superstition. It’s also worth noting that trying to analyze the novel is like navigating a minefield, because readers tend to see it through Western eyes. And they have become prejudiced.
Over the years, the media coverage of Africa has been almost entirely one-sided, concentrating on unstable governments, famine, violence and social unrest, with the result that there is a “fatigue” now associated with these images (Bacon). That is, the rest of the world is tired of hearing about these problems; in addition, it expects that any news from Africa will be bad or disturbing as it has always been in the past (Bacon). This has led to a perception throughout the rest of the world that Africa is simple, a savage continent whose population is somehow different from the rest of the human race (Bacon). Achebe insists that this view of Africa is completely wrong, and is the result of the selective way in which African affairs have been reported in the West over a long period (Bacon).
Since Africa’s various societies are extremely complex, Things Fall Apart should not be considered a “quaint” or “homespun” tale of a primitive civilization, but an examination of a high-functioning culture, albeit a culture far different from those Westerners are used to. Failing to take the portrait of Igbo culture on its own terms reduces the story to a description of a incomprehensibly violent and superstitious society. Also, readers need to be aware of the long-standing ideas that speak to “inferiority of black peoples with the superiority of whites” (Giblin). Such ideas “arose in Western societies as Europeans sought to justify their enslavement of Africans and the subsequent colonization of Africa” (Giblin). Just as most Americans accept the doctrine of “Manifest Destiny” without question—and thereby ignore the genocide of the Native Americans that accompanied the move west—readers will probably not even recognize their prejudices, since they are so deeply-seated and of such long-standing. It’s now recognized that by considering Africans as racial inferiors, the belief has become entrenched that they live “in a state of primitive barbarism” (Giblin). Many of the records that have been used by historians to explore the African past are the product of whites who traveled in Africa in the 19th century (Giblin). These records are therefore subject to the same racism as the accounts written by the colonizing powers (Giblin). All of these factors contribute to the difficulty in assessing this novel.
Arguably the main theme of the novel is Okonkwo’s quest to be accepted as a man within his culture. He is anxious to differentiate himself from his father, whom he sees as weak and “womanish.” In fact, Achebe says this about Okonkwo at the beginning of the book: "His fame rested on solid personal achievements"; and "He had no patience with unsuccessful men" (Achebe 3). "His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness" (Achebe 9). The failure he was so fearful of was the failure of differentiating himself from his father, who was considered foolish, weak and less than a man by the village (Nnoromele). Because the novel turns on his ideas of masculinity, a feminist reading is extremely valuable in shedding light on his actions. There have been a number of feminist examinations of this book; a great many critics have noted that women in the Igbo culture are oppressed and considered nothing more than property; they have no voice and their presence is marginal. Others have argued that this is untrue, and that the women are extremely important. We’ll begin by examining some of the critics who hold these views.
Mezu argues that the societies of both Africa in general and Nigeria in particular were “oppressively masculinist.” Although there were some matrilineal societies in Ghana, the traditional Nigerian culture “had been masculine-based even before the advent of the white man” (Mezu). But the type of oppression and the degree to which it is practiced have continued to be a source of debate among scholars (Mezu). Some writers such as Flora Nwapa and Ama Ata Aidoo believe that the “image of the helpless, dependent, unproductive African woman was one ushered in by European imperialists whose women lived that way” (Mezu). Others insist that African women were traditionally “subordinated to sexist cultural mores” (Mezu). Mezu inclines to this believe, and argues therefore that when Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart, he was merely using literature as a mirror to reflect the conditions that already existed (Mezu). A reader might consider what effect this aggressively masculine culture has on those who live with it.
In the world Achebe describes, “patriarchy intrudes oppressively into every sphere of existence. It is an androcentric world where the man is everything and the woman nothing” (Mezu). Women are valuable only insofar as they are acquired by men, and bear them children (Mezu). The highest honors men can attain are to have “wives, yam barns, social titles” – all of them in multiples (Mezu). “These [items] determine a man's social status, as illustrated by Nwakibie who has three huge barns, nine wives and thirty children, and the highest but one title which a man can take in the clan” (Mezu).
But the entire book is filled with violence, largely caused by the “utter lack of a moderating female influence” (Mezu). Mezu quotes two other scholars, Donald Weinstock and Cathy Ramadan, who have noted that when Achebe relates the parable of Earth and Sky, he helps to illustrate the problems of a society in which the feminine is absent (Mezu). As Achebe tells it, Earth represents the female principle, with its fertility and ability to bear; and Sky represents the male, since it provides the necessary rain to make crops grow (Mezu). Ramadan and Weinstock believe that Okonkwo is analogous to Sky, withholding lifegiving rain and then releasing it finally in a torrent that brings destruction (Mezu). Okonkwo’s “despair and fall represent the despair and break-up of the Igbo clan before the inexorable, invincible forces of the white man's religions and political organizations, all because of the absence of that female principle that could have maintained balance and sanity” (Mezu). Seen in this broader context of the mitigating influence of the feminine principle, rather than merely the oppression of women, the book presents a strong (if indirect) argument in favor of inclusive treatment of women. This may or may not have been Achebe’s intent, but it’s fair to argue that a close reading of the novel can lead to this conclusion.
However, this interpretation only occurs to a reader in the context of critical remarks, because the book itself presents the treatment of women in stark and unpleasant terms. The women in the book are “stunted individuals” or “idealized as mothers”; mothers here represent love and comfort, a refuge in troubled times (Mezu). On the other hand, a man “belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet” (Mezu). Interestingly, both boys and girls turn to their mothers for comfort while the fathers are the ones who discipline them (Mezu). This of course reduces the mothers to the stereotype common in every culture—the woman who is defined by her relationships with her children and her husband. She is “Mrs. Smith” or “Charlie Smith’s wife” or “Mary Smith’s mother”; she is never “Rosie Jones, who married Charlie Smith.”
In Achebe’s world, the only women who win respect are those who are beyond the ordinary societal bounds, such as Chielo, who is a priestess (Mezu). Her connection to the ancient gods effectively removes her from society and cloaks her in mystery; it also gives her a great deal of power (Mezu). She is so powerful, in fact, that she can scream curses at Okonkwo, something no one else dares: “"Beware of exchanging words with Agbala [the name of the Oracle of the Hills and Caves]. Does a man speak when a God speaks? Beware!" (Achebe 95). Okonkwo may be powerless before the priestess, but he exerts iron control over “his” women, perhaps at least in part for the bitterness he feels because he cannot control Chielo (Mezu). When Nwoye’s mother asks him if Ikemefuna, a boy from a neighboring village, will be with them long, “Okonkwo bellows to her: "Do what you are told woman. When did you become one of the ndichie [clan elders]?" (Achebe 18).
Okonkwo’s treatment of women is brutal, but not necessarily unexpected given the society in which he lives; again, a reader must remember that this is a functioning culture, not a laboratory study, and judgments are useless and unfair. The society Achebe describes “has definitive and complex social systems, values and traditions” (Strong-Leek). Achebe “brilliantly places his characters within an ancient civilization with a labyrinthine system of governance and laws” (Strong-Leek). Because he is describing a vital society, although it is strange to Westerners, it must be accorded respect.
But his life within this system means that Okonkwo “emerges early in the text as a traditional hero, who has within himself the ability to languish or attain his goals” (Strong-Leek). Okonkwo’s failure to achieve his goals and his ultimate self-destruction are not necessarily the result of colonization; instead, his downfall is an act of self-destruction, brought about by his “desire to be the antithesis of his ‘feminine’ father” (Strong-Leek). His consistent and over-riding desire to be wholly masculine, strong and dominant drives not only his reprehensible behavior with the women in his life, but also leads to his eventual destruction. As Mezu noted above, without the mitigating influence of the feminine, masculine society is so brutal that it is ultimately self-defeating.
Rhonda Cobham notes that the book might have been more well-rounded and true to the actual situation of women in Africa if Achebe had “thought fit to consult traditions of female authority that are fairly well documented by anthropologists and made evident by the Aba Women’s War of 1929” (Okpewho). But even Cobham is not “too hard” on Achebe for his apparently sexist viewpoint; instead, his writing serves as a reminder that “literature, like history or anthropology, is a form of selective representation” (Okpewho). That is, Achebe chooses the incidents, characters and dialogue to present in order to tell the story that moves him. That story may not be necessarily completely accurate historically or anthropologically, nor should his use of selected incidents and societal constructs invalidate the work.
Most of the critics contend that Achebe’s portrayal of women leaves them “without voice, and certainly … [without] real power in their relationships with men” (Martin-Brown). They cite the beatings Okonkwo gives his wife and other events as evidence of Achebe’s sexism. But Achebe has defenders too, who say that the author is “merely realistically depicting Igbo society and the subordinate role of women in it” (Martin-Brown). Martin-Brown believes that at least to some extent, the claim that Achebe is merely relating what he sees is valid. Igbo author Obioma Nnaemeka goes even further, saying “What I see here is realism in novel writing and not male chauvinism on the part of the author” (Nnaemeka). She recalls a visit she made to Nigeria, and how she was treated, saying that she “never felt a loss of identity” (Nnaemeka). Finally, she says, “Despite the radical feminist trashing of the so-called African tradition, Igbo culture has many privileges and advantages for women, and the women who belong to that culture know it and have articulated it” (Nnaemeka). In her perspective, then, Achebe has not been unfair to the women.
This charitable view of Achebe’s motives is not shared by Florence Stratton, who connects the book to the events occurring in the real world at the time Achebe wrote. She asks readers to remember that Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart in the years just before Nigeria gained its independence in 1960 (Stratton). This was a “transitional period when political power was being transferred from the colonial masters to a Nigerian male elite. Things Fall Apart legitimizes this process whereby women were excluded from post-colonial politics and public affairs through its representation of pre-colonial Igbo society as governed entirely by men” (Stratton). For this critic, then, Achebe’s work is an excuse for the incoming male government to continue to ignore women in reality as Achebe ignored them in fiction.
Conclusion
The most logical conclusion of this examination is that both viewpoints are right: Achebe did paint a realistic portrait of Igbo society, including its oppression of women. But in so doing, he also showed readers the weakness of such a society and the impossibility of establishing real justice in a context that eliminates the feminine principle completely.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1996.
Bacon, Katie. “An African Voice.” The Atlantic Online. 2002. 18 Jul. 2008. <http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/ba2000-08-02.htm>
Giblin, James. “Issues in African History.” Department of History. 1999. University of Iowa. 18 Jul. 2008. <http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/history/giblinhistory.html>
Martin-Brown, Jane. Voicelessness and Voice in Chinua Achebe's “Things Fall Apart” and “Anthills of the Savannah.” Watermarks. 2000. 18 Jul. 2008. <http://www.llp.armstrong.edu/watermarks2/jmb.html>
Mezu, Rose Ure. “Women in Achebe’s World.” The Womanist. 1995. 18 Jul. 2008. <http://www.uga.edu/~womanist/1995/mezu.html>
Nnaemeka, Obioma. “Feminism, Rebellious Women, and Cultural Boundaries: Rereading Flora Nwapa and Her Compatriots.” Department of Women’s Studies. 1995. University of Indianapolis. 18 Jul. 2008. <http://www.fb10.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/kerkhoff/AfricanLit/Nwapa/Nwapa3.htm>
Nnoromele, Patrick C. “The Plight of a Hero in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.” College Literature 27 (2000): 146-157.
Okpewho, Isidore, ed. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Casebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Stratton, Florence. “How Could Things Fall Apart for whom They Were Not Together?” Contemporary African Literature & the Politics of Gender. London: Routledge, 2002. 22-38.
Strong-Leek, Linda. “Reading as a Woman: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart And Feminist Criticism.” African Studies Quarterly 5: 2. [online] 2001. 18 Jul. 2008. <http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v5/v5i2a2.htm>
