Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel that was originally published in 1958 and is set in the late 19th century, before colonialism in Nigeria. The novel was written during a moment of decolonization, as Nigeria was about to gain independence. The narrative follows Okonkwo, a leader and warrior within the (present day) Nigerian village of Umuofia. We are shown his life in his village, however Okonkwo accidentally kills the sone of fellow clansmen of their village and is forced into exile for seven years. Throughout the narrative that follows Okonkwo, we also learn that Western Europeans have begun to take over villages in nearby areas of Nigeria, and there is a growing fear of being "wiped out". While Okonkwo is in exile, Christian missionaries come to the village of Umuofia and begin to convert people. The missionaries build a church in the village, and we are also made aware of the fact that the white people have also greated a government to govern the villages. The missionaries do not see the value in the villagers religions and traditions. The problems between the missionaries and the villagers grow, and eventually the church that the missionaries have built is burned down. The leaders of the village are then imprisoned by the District Commissioner who is very unhappy with the buring of the church. In hopes that his other clansmen will join him in resisting the missionaries, Okonkwo kills a messanger with a machete. However, Okonkwo realizes that his clansmen are not willing to fight the missionaries. Okonkwo then commits suicide by hanging himself, seeing no hope for the future of his village. The other members of the clan are not able to bury Okonkwo or even touch his body. The Commissioner agrees to take Okonkwo's body and as he does so, he thinks about the book about Africa that he is writting, and he believe's Okonkwo's story will serve as an interesting couple of paragraphs maybe. He says he has already chosen a title for the book: "The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger".
Things Fall Apart and Epistemic Violence
In Things Fall Apart, we see epistemic violence shaping Okonkwo's narrative near the end of his story. It is near the end of the second part of the novel, that things begin to change. After white, western missionaries and colonists begin to come into the picture is also when Okonkwo’s way of life begins to come under attack. During the time that Okonkwo lives in exile in his mother’s village, he is made aware that a nearby village has been “wiped out” by white men (138). In this conversation with some other men in the village he learns that the village elders had consulted their oracle, and the oracle told them the man was going to bring destruction to their village. So they killed him without finding out why he was there. The oracle also said another thing. “It said that other white men were on their way… and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain” (139). Okonkwo thinks that they were fools to have killed him without learning why he was there. He also thinks that the villagers were fools not to keep themselves armed. Almost all the villagers had been killed by white men in the market place.
It is not very long after this conversation, that missionaries come to Umuofia. The missionaries build a church there and try to convert members of the village. “They had won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages” (143). This was a source of sorrow for the elders and leaders of the village. None of the people that had converted were people of power within their clan. They all believe that “the strange faith and the white man’s god would not last” (143). Missionaries also come to Mbanta, the village in which Okonkwo is living in exile. However the presence of the missionaries becomes a problem for the people who do not want them there. The missionaries tell people that “they worshipped false gods” (145). They tell them that they are worshipping nothing but pieces of wood and stone. While many villagers were not impressed with this new faith, some had been captivated by it including Okonkwo’s eldest son, Nwoye.
In part three of the novel, Okonkwo’s time in exile has ended. He returns to Umuofia, and there has been lots of changes. The church had grown a larger following in the village. However, that is not all that has changed: “the white men had also brought a government” (174). It is explained that they have built a court which is overseen by the District Commissioner. They have instituted laws and practices that do not align with traditions and culture. The court messengers are “very greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed” (174). There is growing tension between the members of the village and the outsiders who wish to control it.
One example of the court ruling differently than the village elders is when they decide to grant disputed land to the Nnamas family because they had “given much money to the white man’s messenger and interpreter” (176). In frustration Okonkwo asks his friend Obierika, “Does the white man not understand our custom about land?”, and Obierika responds, “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion says our customs are bad. How can we fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). Looking at this particular quote with a postcolonial lense, we can see epistemic violence at work in this particular instance. The white colonizers have divided their population and now they can no longer seem to unite against a common enemy. The traditions and culture that is integral to their society was threatened by this western dominance.
The growing tensions in the village come to a spearhead when Mr. Brown, the leader of the missionaries became sick is replaced with the Reverend James Smith. Mr. Brown was a man who was respected by the community and the elders were on very good terms with him. The Reverend James Smith is a much less willing to work with different views in the village. “He openly condemned Mr. Brown’s policy of compromise and accommodation. He saw things black and white. And black was evil” (184). A series of conflicts with Mr. Smith and other members of the congregation lead to the church being burned by village leaders. The elders of the village are then imprisoned by the District Commissioner and in order to be released must pay a fine.
The elders are then released when they pay. After their release they have a meeting. They have a desire to drive the white man out of the village. During the meeting, messengers are sent to stop it. One of the messengers says “the white man whose power you know too well has ordered this meeting to stop” (204). Immediately, Okonkwo draws his machete and kills the messenger quite violently. It is at that moment that Okonkwo knows that his clan will not go to war. “He knew because they had let the other messengers escape” (205). Okonkwo is devastated by the fact that he clan will not fight. He wants desperately to hold onto their way of life, but knows that it will not be possible.
The District Commissioner comes to arrest Okonkwo at is compound. However when he arrives, Okonkwo has hanged himself in a tree. The elders are all there but cannot remove the body because it is an “abomination for a man to take his own life” (207), according to their custom. Obierika cannot restrain himself from speaking out. He says to the District Commissioner “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog” (208). Though the elders want to give him a proper burial, they cannot. And now the white man who drove him to killing himself must be the one to cut him down and bury him.
As the District Commissioner leaves the site of Okonkwo’s death, he thinks about “the many years in which he had toiled to bring civilization to Africa” (208). He also thinks about a book that he is planning to write called “The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of Lower Nigeria”, saying that Okonkwo might make for a “reasonable paragraph” of reading in it (209). The end of the novel shows how epistemic violence can be used in representation. The commissioner has reduced Okonkwo down to a paragraph. Okonkwo was a very complex character, with a very interesting back story, the entire novel is about him. The commissioner thinks that maybe he will make an interesting few paragraphs in his book. His readers will not know Okonkwo, the very proud and respected warrior. They will instead know “the story of a man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself” (208).
It is not very long after this conversation, that missionaries come to Umuofia. The missionaries build a church there and try to convert members of the village. “They had won a handful of converts and were already sending evangelists to the surrounding towns and villages” (143). This was a source of sorrow for the elders and leaders of the village. None of the people that had converted were people of power within their clan. They all believe that “the strange faith and the white man’s god would not last” (143). Missionaries also come to Mbanta, the village in which Okonkwo is living in exile. However the presence of the missionaries becomes a problem for the people who do not want them there. The missionaries tell people that “they worshipped false gods” (145). They tell them that they are worshipping nothing but pieces of wood and stone. While many villagers were not impressed with this new faith, some had been captivated by it including Okonkwo’s eldest son, Nwoye.
In part three of the novel, Okonkwo’s time in exile has ended. He returns to Umuofia, and there has been lots of changes. The church had grown a larger following in the village. However, that is not all that has changed: “the white men had also brought a government” (174). It is explained that they have built a court which is overseen by the District Commissioner. They have instituted laws and practices that do not align with traditions and culture. The court messengers are “very greatly hated in Umuofia because they were foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed” (174). There is growing tension between the members of the village and the outsiders who wish to control it.
One example of the court ruling differently than the village elders is when they decide to grant disputed land to the Nnamas family because they had “given much money to the white man’s messenger and interpreter” (176). In frustration Okonkwo asks his friend Obierika, “Does the white man not understand our custom about land?”, and Obierika responds, “How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion says our customs are bad. How can we fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). Looking at this particular quote with a postcolonial lense, we can see epistemic violence at work in this particular instance. The white colonizers have divided their population and now they can no longer seem to unite against a common enemy. The traditions and culture that is integral to their society was threatened by this western dominance.
The growing tensions in the village come to a spearhead when Mr. Brown, the leader of the missionaries became sick is replaced with the Reverend James Smith. Mr. Brown was a man who was respected by the community and the elders were on very good terms with him. The Reverend James Smith is a much less willing to work with different views in the village. “He openly condemned Mr. Brown’s policy of compromise and accommodation. He saw things black and white. And black was evil” (184). A series of conflicts with Mr. Smith and other members of the congregation lead to the church being burned by village leaders. The elders of the village are then imprisoned by the District Commissioner and in order to be released must pay a fine.
The elders are then released when they pay. After their release they have a meeting. They have a desire to drive the white man out of the village. During the meeting, messengers are sent to stop it. One of the messengers says “the white man whose power you know too well has ordered this meeting to stop” (204). Immediately, Okonkwo draws his machete and kills the messenger quite violently. It is at that moment that Okonkwo knows that his clan will not go to war. “He knew because they had let the other messengers escape” (205). Okonkwo is devastated by the fact that he clan will not fight. He wants desperately to hold onto their way of life, but knows that it will not be possible.
The District Commissioner comes to arrest Okonkwo at is compound. However when he arrives, Okonkwo has hanged himself in a tree. The elders are all there but cannot remove the body because it is an “abomination for a man to take his own life” (207), according to their custom. Obierika cannot restrain himself from speaking out. He says to the District Commissioner “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog” (208). Though the elders want to give him a proper burial, they cannot. And now the white man who drove him to killing himself must be the one to cut him down and bury him.
As the District Commissioner leaves the site of Okonkwo’s death, he thinks about “the many years in which he had toiled to bring civilization to Africa” (208). He also thinks about a book that he is planning to write called “The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of Lower Nigeria”, saying that Okonkwo might make for a “reasonable paragraph” of reading in it (209). The end of the novel shows how epistemic violence can be used in representation. The commissioner has reduced Okonkwo down to a paragraph. Okonkwo was a very complex character, with a very interesting back story, the entire novel is about him. The commissioner thinks that maybe he will make an interesting few paragraphs in his book. His readers will not know Okonkwo, the very proud and respected warrior. They will instead know “the story of a man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself” (208).