Analysis of "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe
In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, multiple essential themes affect how we interpret the text. So this is teaching 'Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe essay book review in which the moral and topics of the story are briefly analysed.
One significant theme in the novel is fate and free will. Fate and free will are an essential theme in the novel as we see Okonkwo trying to control his future, yet he chooses to commit sinful acts that could damage his chances of fulfilling his dreams. At the start of the novel, we meet Okonkwo when he is viewed as the “[...] greatest wrestler in the nine villages [...]” and, [...] a wealthy farmer,” with plenty of yams, three wives, and two titles from strength shown in war. This description made the reader believe that everything was working out for Okonkwo; however, it was not because Okonkwo was busy fighting a battle with himself.
Okonkwo was combatting his feelings of fear, shame, and pride by forcing these thoughts out of his mind through violence. These emotions were one that Achebe writes about whenever Okonkwo speaks about his lazy father and how he, Okonkwo, brings himself up from nothing. For instance, “[...] It was the fear of himself [...] resented his father’s failure and weakness [...] gentleness and [...] idleness.” The fear of becoming his father in addition to the shame Okonkwo felt when he learned his father was “agbala” stay with him pushing Okonkwo to do horrendous things. Okonkwo feels pride when he beats his family, and when he talks about his plans to be better than his father. When Okonkwo feels the overwhelming fear of becoming his father, or when he remembers the shame of his father, he beats his family, and after beating his family, Okonkwo feels fulfilled because he believes that makes him better than his father.
Finally, one of the most prominent themes in the book is about gender roles. Throughout the book, the reader notices how women are viewed in the Ibo society. In the Ibo culture, women are weak and need a husband to provide them with shelter, clothing, and money. The women are expected to be faithful wives, take the beatings, and birth many children for their husbands to discipline to carry on their legacy. Ibo culture even has “women’s crops” that women are allowed to grow “[...] coco-yams, beans, and cassava [...]” while men, of course, get to grow the “king of crops,” Yams. Okonkwo puts down anything that is feminine or anything that relates to women in any way. For example, “[...] a man had contradicted him [...] Okonkwo had said, “This meeting is for men.” The man that contradicted Okonkwo didn’t have any titles meaning that he was agbala, a woman. It is alarming that Okonkwo and the Ibo society believe the way to insult someone is by referring to them as women because then that represents what they believe about women overall. Furthermore, Okonkwo wishes that his daughter would be a man because she has the qualities of one but cannot do anything a man can do because of the standards their society holds.
Bibliography
- Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart.
- “Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: Find Definitions, Translations, and Grammar Explanations at Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries.” Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries | Find Definitions, Translations, and Grammar Explanations at Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/.
