6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

("Toevaluatemyassignment,clickhere")

DepartmentofEnglish
MaharajaKrishnkumarsinhjiBhavnagarUniversity

Name:ParmarMilankumarL.

RollNo.:14

Enrollmentno.:pg14101026

Coursename:AfricanLiterature

Topicofanassignment:CultureinThingsfallApart

Submittedto:Dr.DilipBarad,
Headofthedepartment
DepartmentofEnglish(MKBU)

Introduction

Literatureisthemirrorofthesocietywhichrelectsthesocietyandso
theculture.Cultureisthetextureofanysocietyanditisinseparablepartofany
society.TheThingsFallApartisoneofthegreatestnovelswrittenbyNigerian
postcolonialwriterChinuaAchebe.Itwasirstpublishedin1958.Itistheirst
African novel to get global critical acclaim. It is staple book in schools
throughout the Africa and widely read and studied in English speaking
countries.ThetitleofthenovelistakenfromalineinthepoemSecondcoming
byWBYeats.(Wikipedia)

ThenovelpresentsthecultureoftheIbocommunityinNigeria.Achebe
himself belongs to this culture thus we get the more appropriate and truer
picture to the culture of the Ibos.
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 1/8
6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

picture to the culture of the Ibos.

Throughout the novel he celebrates the
strength of his own culture, with that he
also points out the weaknesses of the Ibo
communityandpointoutwheretheyreally
needchanges.
Achebegivesexposuretohisculture,which
had.

The great culture of Ibo community is an example in itself and how it is

disturbed and disintegrated by the British imperialism and by missionaries.
VariousinterpretationofthetitleThingsfallapartarelike

Things begin to fall apart in these nine villages
Umuoia clan long before European colonist
missionarycultureinsertsitselfthere.
Whenheaccidentlykillsaclanman,thingsbeginto
fallapartinlifeofOkonkwo.

SowhensomemembersoftheUmuoiacommunity
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 2/8
 6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

SowhensomemembersoftheUmuoiacommunity
unwittingly accepted the invitation and endorsed
strangefaiththingsfallapartfortheIgbopeoplein
Achebesnovel.

Achebetriedtoshowhisownpeoplethegreatnessanddignityoftheirculture
which they have lost during the colonial period in his work Anthills of the
savannah1987hewrote

Igbo,hadaphilosophyofgreatdepthandvalueand
beauty that they had poetry above all they had
dignity.(Nnoromele,2000)
This novel we have various pictures of Igbo society at the end of the
19thcentury. Achebe presented to the word the positive as well as negative
sidesoftheIgbopeople.hediscussedIgboscustoms,theirpoliticalstructure
religions seasonal festival and ceremonies. In his comment on the novel,
Achebesaidthecharactersarenormalpeopleandtheireventsarerealhuman
events

Things Fall Apart is savage and tender; it blister with wit and radiates
with the inner glow of hard earned compassion. It is disillusioned but
passionately engaged solemn while being exuberant it is polemical but wise.
Thereisnotashredofthecongealviolenceofcheapsentimentality:Achebes
charactersdonotseekourpermissiontobehuman,theydonotapologizefor
beingcomplex.(Achebe,2001)

Democraticsystemofgovernment

Collectivewill

Tolerantofotherculture

Forbidonkillingeachother

Igbosdoesnotightwitheachotherbecausetheyareprimitive,butbecauseits
a matter of existence in Nigeria thus there raise need of war as a matter of
survival. The land in Nigeria is rocky and very poor and thus it could not
supportlargenumberofpeople.Plantingsoondepletedandsovillagerswere
forced to move further and further aield to ind land which would high
supportthemtocontinuelife.AsthepopulationofNigeriaincreasedlandand
foodwereinsuficienttoprovideeveryone.Thenovelseemstomaptheturning
pointinthealterationfromplentytoscarcity.Sometimesbetweengeneration
ofOkonkwoandhisuncleUchenduspeaksofthegooddayswhenamanhad
friends in distant clans nobody like ight but at list it provides means of
preservation. Some wars are inevitable if the clan is to survive Neighboring
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 3/8
 6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

preservation. Some wars are inevitable if the clan is to survive Neighboring

clanstrytoavoidwarwithUmuoiabecauseitisfearedasavillagepowerfully
war

Religion

Religionisafactorbothinlimitingwarandsupportingitwhenitisjust.
IgbohadadevelopsystemofreligionwhichworksaseffectivelyasChristianity.
In a matter of religion, Achebe has given a close comparison between
ChristianityandIgboreligion.BeforetheBritishtherewasonlyreligioninclan
that was Igbo. But now they have to religion and both supports morality. For
British it seems crazy to worship wooden idols as in chapter 19th Mr. Brown
saysyoucarvepieceofwouldlikethatone,andyoucallitagod.Butitisstilla
pieceofwood.(Achebe,2001)andforIgbositseemscrazytosaythatgodhas
asonwhenhehasnowifeyoutolduswithyourmouththattherewasonlya
god.Andnowyoutalkabouthisson.Hemusthavewifethen.(Achebe,2001)

Bothsystemofreligionbelieveinonlyaonesupremegodandbothgods
have messenger on earth. Supreme god or Umuoia is Chukwu and wooden
idolsaremessengerofgodforIgbos.Withthatitisalsotruethateachmember
of the clan has its own personal god whom the call Chi Luck. Whereas for
Christianitythereisonegod,andJesusChrististhesonofgodandmessenger
of god. Both religion supports humanity and humility. Igbo speak to god
through messenger because they do not want to worry the master, but they
deal with Chukwu directly if all else fails. Both gods are vengeful only when
disregarded. If person disobeys Chukwu, the god is to be feared, but Chukwu
need not to be feared by those who do his wills. (Achebe, 2001) The good
thingsabouttheIbosinmatterofreligionisthattheydonotightonthename
ofthegod,asChristianityhaskilledmorepeopleonthenameofcrusadethan
any wars by Igbo. Achebe makes it clear that the demoralizing state of the
political affairs in Africa is the result of European interference rather than
simplythenaturaloutgrownculture.(Rhoads,1996)

Systemofjustice

ConsistofnineEgwagwueachoftheninerepresentsavillageoftheclamone
ofthegreatestcrimemancouldcommitwastounmaskanEgwagwuinpublic
Igbos have a well established and effective system of district commissioner
andcourtmessengers.Disputeinclamwhichisnotsolvedbyeachotherthen
theycangobeforeEgwugwuthegreatestmaskedspiritsoftheclan,playedby
thetitledvillagers.Theyhearsandwitnessfrombothsidesandgivedecision
forexampleinnovelwehave..

inchaptertenincaseofUzowoli,whobeathiswifeandhiswifeandchildren
hadgoneaway.InthismatterIgwagwutrytoassuageeachside.

TheywarnandsuggestsUzowoligotoyourinlawswithapotofwineandbeg
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 4/8
6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

TheywarnandsuggestsUzowoligotoyourinlawswithapotofwineandbeg
yourwifetoreturntoyou.Itisnotbraverywhenamanightswithawoman.
Here we discover two things at once that Egwagwu settles this types of
disputesinclanwiththatwecometoknowabouttheacustomofwinepotin
exchangeofwoman.ThedutyoftheEwugwuisasEvilForestsaysourdutyis
nottoblamethismanortopraisethatbuttosettlethedispute

Okonkwo's gun accidently discharged and killed the son of Ezeudu. Even
thoughthiswasanaccident,itwasviewedasanabominationintheland,for
undernocircumstanceswouldsomeonekillaclansman.Andaccordingtothe
rulesoftheclanOkonkwoandhisfamilyhastoleaveinexileforsevenyears.

Igboconsideredsuicideasaworstcrimeagainstlife,anditisunforgivable,no
onedaretotouchthebodyoftheperson,thefuneralorburialisnotgivento
the dead one. Even the family members or friends are not ready to touch
Okonkwosbody"ThatmanwasoneofthegreatestmeninUmuoia.Youdrove
himtokillhimselfandnowhewillbeburiedlikeadog...

Weekofpeace

The life in Nigeria requires war like men for the survival of the clan. But the
clanalsoknowshowtocontrolthewarlikespiritsandangerofthemen.For
that Igbo decided to celebrate the week of the peace its a kind of the way to
control these men. During the week of peace it was convinced to all that no
violenceshouldbeallowedinclanevendomesticviolenceisalsonotallowed.
Though the men in clan must be the warrior and ierce to their enemy, but
gentletohisownpeople.

Killingamemberofhisownclanisforbidden.

Okonkwo broke the week of peace, and was punished on one afternoon in
anger he had forgotten that it was the week of peace and beat her wife very
heavily.Itwasforbiddeneventobeatfamilymemberhoweversevercrimeone
hascommitted.Whenheviolatedthepeaceweekbybeatinghisyoungestwife,
which was an offense to the goddess, Okonkwo agreed to make offerings as
demanded by the custom of Umuoia. In fact, he offered an additional pot of
palmwine, which was a distinct indication of genuine repentance and
cooperationforthegoodofthecommunity

CombinationofMaleandFemaleprinciples

Themaleisstrongandwarlikeandfemaleistenderandsupportiveintimesof
adversity. Uncle Uchendu explains his explication of saying Mother is the
supreme.

"It'struethatachildbelongstoitsfather.Butwhenafatherbeatshischild,it
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 5/8
6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

"It'struethatachildbelongstoitsfather.Butwhenafatherbeatshischild,it
seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when
thingsaregoodandlifeissweet.Butwhenthereissorrowandbitternesshe
inds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is
buriedthere.Andthatiswhywesaythatmotherissupreme.(Achebe,2001)

InIgboCulturetheearthgoddessactsascounterbalancetomalestrength.Yet
Igbos have not achieved the ideal balance of male and female. But they have
control over the abusing of woman by man and even domestic violence is no
longerregardedasvirtue.Eveninclanweindsomeelementswhichseemale
andfemaleasequal.Forinstancetribesaysthatitisnotbraverytoightwitha
woman,evenAchebedepictsinlawsasobjectingtotreatmentofawifeandas
actiontopreventdomesticviolence.IgboincludesmenlikeNduluewhotreats
their wives as equals: about Ndulue and his wife it was always said that
Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind. he could not do anything without
telling her though many people in the clan sees him as weak. But by giving
such example Achebe indirectly suggests that this is the great warrior whom
therestoftribeshouldadmire.Andthatisthewaytobringequalityinsociety.

In contrasts to Ndulue there is aso men like Okonkwo whose war like anger
makes them dangerous for the peace. For he is harsh with his children and
wives,heoftenbeatshiswivestoprovehisstrength.Evenmoreinthatcruelty
hekillsIkmefunaonlybecauseheisafraidofbeingthoughtlikehisfather.his
wholelifewasdominatedbyfearthefearofFailureandweakness.

Evenduringtheweekofpeacehebeatshiswifewithoutanykindoffearnot
even goddess. Okonkwos friend Oberika sees Okonkwos part in killing
Ikmefunas death as crime against earth it is the kind of action for which the
goddess wipes out the whole families. And we see Okonkwos tragic
destructionattheendofhislife,theimpositionofoneculture,social,political
structureuponanotherandthushehadtokillhimself.

Economicsystem

The Igbos have an economic system which redistributes wealth among the
peopletopreventsupremacyofmanoverthewealth.Inordertotakeanytitles
oftheclan,amanhastogiveupaportionofthewealthtoclan.Idemilititleis
thehighesttitleinthelandandmostexpensivetoo.

ArtsandPoetry

AchebeintroducesvariousartsoftheIbosduringthecourseofthenovel.The
chiefamongthemarepoetry,music,luteplaying,decorationofwallsandbody,
shavinghairpatternsinvariousceremonies.Musicanddancingarethepartof
Igbo rituals. Story telling becomes means of inciting men to strength, of
teachingaboutgods,orgenerallypassingtheculture.
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 6/8
6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

Okonkwoencouragedhischildrenwithmasculineandbloodshedstories,while
themothertellsstoriesofanimalsandgods.

Igbos makes very good use of proverbs to show respect and wit in
conversations Achebe says for Igbos proverbs are the palm oil with which
wordsareeaten.
Someofthewellknownproverbsusedinthenovelare

the sun will shine on those who stand before it shine on those who kneels
underthem

To explain his culture Achebe use proverb as elder said if a child washed
handshecouldeatwithkings.(Achebe,2001)Thisproverbistheemblemof
theIgbosculture,itsaysthroughthehardworkevenapersonlikeOkonkwo
canovercomehisfathersillreputetomakehimselfoneofthegreatestmanof
his time. Proverbs also helps to sustain morality and virtue in tribe which is
thebackboneoftheculture.

The system and institutions of the Igbos are not rigid like that of Britishers
whichdonotallowanykindofchange.Ibocultureallowschangeswherethey
needed and is progressive towards change. It has made many changes in the
old,unnecessary,cruel,andunwantedcustomsforinstance

Myfathertoldmethathehadbeentoldthatinthepastamanwhobrokethe
peacewasdraggedonthegroundthroughthevillageuntilhedied.Butaftera
whilethiscustomwasstoppedbecauseitspoiledthepeacewhichitwasmeant
topreserve."(Achebe,2001)

WhyBruiserswereabletodestroytheoldIgboculture

Thosewhoconvertsinitiallywerethosewhohavenotbeenfullyincorporated
into clan life. The irst woman who convert is a woman who four times gave
birthtotwinsandthrownawayjustbecauseofIgbobelievetwinchildasdevils
orghost,whichwillbringdestructiontothesociety.ButChristianityacceptsa
woman with twins. Outcasts, osu, and down trodden of the society sees that
Christianity receives twins and thus they will also receives them also. Other
like Nwoye, who bored of his fathers harsh behavior and shocked by the
murderofIkmefunaindsbrotherhoodinpoetryofChristianity.Thispassageis
taken from the end of Chapter 20 during the conversation between Obierika
andOkonkwo

Doesthewhitemanunderstandourcustomaboutland?Howcanhewhenhe
doesnotevenspeakourtongue?Buthesaysthatourcustomsarebad;andour
ownbrotherswhohavetakenuphisreligionalsosaythatourcustomsarebad.
Howdoyouthinkwecanightwhenourownbrothershaveturnedagainstus?
http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 7/8
6/17/2017 MilanParmar201416:CultureinThingsfallApartAfricanLiterature

The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his
religion.Wewereamusedathisfoolishnessandallowedhimtostay.Nowhehas
wonourbrothers,andourclancannolongeractlikeone.Hehasputaknifeon
thethingsthatheldustogetherandwehavefallenapart.(p.129)

ThisentireparagraphcanbeseenasAchebesviewsonthecolonialism.

To conclude this discussion on the culture, Igbo like any other culture in the
worldhasitsownreputation.Andwecanseethecultureinbetterwaytobeing
inculture.Achebehaspresentedhisculturetotheworldthroughthelanguage
which is not his own. Like many other cultures Igbo has its strength and
weaknesstoo.IftheIgbosarenotcivilizedthanstillthereisculturewithwhich
theywereandareliving,buttheinterventionoftheChristianityhasfractured
the integrity, unity, dignity, pride. Oberika rightly observed Now he has won
ourbrothers,andourclancannolongeractlikeone.Hehasputaknifeonthe
thingsthatheldustogetherandwehavefallenapart.(p.129)

http://milanparmar94.blogspot.in/2016/03/cultureinthingsfallapartafrican.html 8/8