Parallels Between Things Fall Apart and the Life of Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe is the bestselling author of Things Fall Apart and multiple other books. In 1930 in Ogidi, Nigeria, Achebe was born to a Christian minister. He went to school at University College in Idaban and eventually wrote his bestselling book, Things Fall Apart, in 1958. His book was written in response to the book Mister Johnson, which inaccurately and almost negatively described his home country. Mister Johnson was written by an Irish man and was exclaimed by TIME Magazine to be one of the best books ever written about Africa. Since then he has written five other novels, five nonfiction books and a collection of short stories and poems. In 1990, Achebe was involved in a car accident and as a result became paralyzed. He underwent treatment in the United States and was slated to teach at Bard College for two years. However, due to the inaccessibility of a wheelchair and a degrading political situation in Nigeria, he wasn’t able to return until 1999.
We are able to find parallels between the life of Chinua Achebe and the book Things Fall Apart. The commonalities between his life and his book are numerous despite the fact that he wrote his book before most of his life had taken place. Some of the major parallels include political and social divisions and changes in his home country, a conflict of religions and his exile.
Umuofia is one of the nine fictional villages of Nigeria from Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart. Things Fall Apart details the life of one prominent man in the community, Okonkwo, and his life in Umuofia during the time of colonization of the Africa continent, roughly 1890. During the colonization of Africa, the Europeans brought new ideas and practices as they tried to “tame the savages”. Nigeria is similar to Umuofia in the way that each experienced permanent results due to colonization. While the reader is not told what happens to Umuofia in the end of Things Fall Apart, the reader is given some statements by the District Commissioner that intend to show that white man will not retreat, that white man will conquer the savage of Africa. Before the District Commissioner arrives, a body of elders and spirit ancestors, called ogwugwu, make decisions to govern the village. After his arrival, the District Commissioner is the new government and is put in charge of the nine villages; as he attempts to maintain peace between the villagers and the newly established government, he partakes in acts of murder and kidnapping. These acts were stunning to the villagers because there were laws against them and if a villager performed one of these acts, they could be killed or exiled, and thus were almost never done.
While Umuofia experienced the implementation of British colonial rule, Nigeria has experienced that and many more political upheavals in the past century. In Nigeria, Britain colonized and maintained authority until 1960 when Nigeria gained their independence. At that point the population was imbalanced in Nigeria with a larger percentage of the population living in the North; this led to the rebellion that started in 1962 due to the inequality of representation in the government. This rebellion lasted until 1970 when outside countries became involved and offered help to the federal government. The Nigerian people were then governed by General Gowon, who built up the financials of Nigeria by drilling for the large amount of oil found in Nigeria. However due to falling oil prices, the country became vulnerable to the military dictatorship that started in 1993. Finally in 1999, a democratic election was held and a southern Christian was elected president. However, this election has led to more struggles due to the large population of Islamic communities in the North. Although Nigeria has undergone, and continues to undergo, some very serious and altering phases of politics, the political changes in Umuofia were much more unexpected due to the lack of a strictly structured government before the arrival of the missionaries and British leaders. However, like Umuofia, Nigeria has been permanently changed by politics and has become divided based on religious beliefs that back separate political bodies.
Religious division is a key parallel between Achebe and his book Things Fall Apart. In Umuofia, before the missionaries’ arrival, the villagers believed in a set of gods and ancestors. They believed that each of the gods controlled parts of life, such as the weather, fertility and crop growth. One such example, the priestess, was called the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves and interpreted one god, Agbala, who was considered the highest god. The villagers also kept animals that were considered holy, for example the royal python was allowed to go anywhere it pleased. The Europeans brought Christian religious beliefs, which divided the Umuofian people and brought on violence and deception in their community. The missionaries ungracefully stated that the villagers’ gods didn’t exist and that only their god existed; while they won converts to Christianity, many stayed away and became increasingly wary of the missionaries and converts. The villagers went so far as to ban all converts from the three most important places to the villagers, the stream, the chalk quarry and the red clay pit. The division between the villagers’ religion and the converts to Christianity led to violence in the community. Converts took actions to tear apart the villagers’ religion, for example one convert removed the mask of one of the ancestor spirits and killed the royal python. However, the villagers struck back and burned down the church built by the Christians. Like in Umuofia, the true spread of Christianity pitted neighbor against neighbor and divided communities.
Although such religious conflicts were also present in real-life Nigeria, the divide today exists between Christians and Muslims. The divide between Muslims and Christians is close to being considered civil war, as violence is a common occurrence. Contrary to common belief, the violent actions are shared between the two religions, and not performed by just one of the religious groups. These attacks leave hundreds dead. One of the best examples is the massacre in Jos, Nigeria, where Christians attacked and killed over 300 Muslims. Jos is one of the most difficult places to live because it is located on the virtual border that divides the Islamic North and Christian South. Achebe was from Southern Nigeria and didn’t have much experience with the divisions in religion caused by the political struggle between the Muslims and Christians who held power. However, like in Things Fall Apart, Nigeria has and is experiencing radical religious division that has led to violence and division of their community.
Exile is another commonality. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo accidentally killed a boy during the burial of another man because his gun exploded. He was issued seven years of exile, during which time the home that he had left changed dramatically due to the beginning of British colonization. Achebe’s story is similar, not only in time, his exile lasted approximately nine years, but also for the fact that his absence was unexpected. Achebe was paralyzed during a car accident and forced to leave for treatment. During his absence, governmental policy changed dramatically into that of a military dictatorship. Achebe’s exile was extended due to the harsh reactions towards writers during the era of military dictatorship that took place from 1993 to 1999. While he had hoped to return, he was not able to due to the government’s actions toward writers like himself. The commonality between Achebe’s life and Things Fall Apart comes from the fact that both Okonkwo and Achebe experienced events that dramatically changed their lives and forced them to leave their homes for an extended period. When both Okonkwo and Achebe returned to their homeland, they found it to be very different.
Many commonalities or parallels are made between Chinua Achebe’s life and his book Things Fall Apart. Both demonstrate or experience a division and change in the politics of Nigeria. While Umuofia undergoes a transition to becoming a part of colonial Britain, Achebe experienced many political developments, including colonial freedom, civil wars and military dictatorships. Both Achebe and his book demonstrate or have lived through great religious division. This religious division has caused violence and a separation in the community, religious beliefs separated villagers with pre-colonial traditions from Christian converts and today separate Muslims from Christians. Finally both Achebe’s life and his book, Things Fall Apart, deal with the experience of exile and an unexpected leave from their homes that dramatically changed in their absence. These parallels are able to express political and social division in fictional and present day Nigeria, the division due to religious struggle fictional, past and present and the changes that occur over time that are overemphasized due to an absence.
We are able to find parallels between the life of Chinua Achebe and the book Things Fall Apart. The commonalities between his life and his book are numerous despite the fact that he wrote his book before most of his life had taken place. Some of the major parallels include political and social divisions and changes in his home country, a conflict of religions and his exile.
Umuofia is one of the nine fictional villages of Nigeria from Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart. Things Fall Apart details the life of one prominent man in the community, Okonkwo, and his life in Umuofia during the time of colonization of the Africa continent, roughly 1890. During the colonization of Africa, the Europeans brought new ideas and practices as they tried to “tame the savages”. Nigeria is similar to Umuofia in the way that each experienced permanent results due to colonization. While the reader is not told what happens to Umuofia in the end of Things Fall Apart, the reader is given some statements by the District Commissioner that intend to show that white man will not retreat, that white man will conquer the savage of Africa. Before the District Commissioner arrives, a body of elders and spirit ancestors, called ogwugwu, make decisions to govern the village. After his arrival, the District Commissioner is the new government and is put in charge of the nine villages; as he attempts to maintain peace between the villagers and the newly established government, he partakes in acts of murder and kidnapping. These acts were stunning to the villagers because there were laws against them and if a villager performed one of these acts, they could be killed or exiled, and thus were almost never done.
While Umuofia experienced the implementation of British colonial rule, Nigeria has experienced that and many more political upheavals in the past century. In Nigeria, Britain colonized and maintained authority until 1960 when Nigeria gained their independence. At that point the population was imbalanced in Nigeria with a larger percentage of the population living in the North; this led to the rebellion that started in 1962 due to the inequality of representation in the government. This rebellion lasted until 1970 when outside countries became involved and offered help to the federal government. The Nigerian people were then governed by General Gowon, who built up the financials of Nigeria by drilling for the large amount of oil found in Nigeria. However due to falling oil prices, the country became vulnerable to the military dictatorship that started in 1993. Finally in 1999, a democratic election was held and a southern Christian was elected president. However, this election has led to more struggles due to the large population of Islamic communities in the North. Although Nigeria has undergone, and continues to undergo, some very serious and altering phases of politics, the political changes in Umuofia were much more unexpected due to the lack of a strictly structured government before the arrival of the missionaries and British leaders. However, like Umuofia, Nigeria has been permanently changed by politics and has become divided based on religious beliefs that back separate political bodies.
Religious division is a key parallel between Achebe and his book Things Fall Apart. In Umuofia, before the missionaries’ arrival, the villagers believed in a set of gods and ancestors. They believed that each of the gods controlled parts of life, such as the weather, fertility and crop growth. One such example, the priestess, was called the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves and interpreted one god, Agbala, who was considered the highest god. The villagers also kept animals that were considered holy, for example the royal python was allowed to go anywhere it pleased. The Europeans brought Christian religious beliefs, which divided the Umuofian people and brought on violence and deception in their community. The missionaries ungracefully stated that the villagers’ gods didn’t exist and that only their god existed; while they won converts to Christianity, many stayed away and became increasingly wary of the missionaries and converts. The villagers went so far as to ban all converts from the three most important places to the villagers, the stream, the chalk quarry and the red clay pit. The division between the villagers’ religion and the converts to Christianity led to violence in the community. Converts took actions to tear apart the villagers’ religion, for example one convert removed the mask of one of the ancestor spirits and killed the royal python. However, the villagers struck back and burned down the church built by the Christians. Like in Umuofia, the true spread of Christianity pitted neighbor against neighbor and divided communities.
Although such religious conflicts were also present in real-life Nigeria, the divide today exists between Christians and Muslims. The divide between Muslims and Christians is close to being considered civil war, as violence is a common occurrence. Contrary to common belief, the violent actions are shared between the two religions, and not performed by just one of the religious groups. These attacks leave hundreds dead. One of the best examples is the massacre in Jos, Nigeria, where Christians attacked and killed over 300 Muslims. Jos is one of the most difficult places to live because it is located on the virtual border that divides the Islamic North and Christian South. Achebe was from Southern Nigeria and didn’t have much experience with the divisions in religion caused by the political struggle between the Muslims and Christians who held power. However, like in Things Fall Apart, Nigeria has and is experiencing radical religious division that has led to violence and division of their community.
Exile is another commonality. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo accidentally killed a boy during the burial of another man because his gun exploded. He was issued seven years of exile, during which time the home that he had left changed dramatically due to the beginning of British colonization. Achebe’s story is similar, not only in time, his exile lasted approximately nine years, but also for the fact that his absence was unexpected. Achebe was paralyzed during a car accident and forced to leave for treatment. During his absence, governmental policy changed dramatically into that of a military dictatorship. Achebe’s exile was extended due to the harsh reactions towards writers during the era of military dictatorship that took place from 1993 to 1999. While he had hoped to return, he was not able to due to the government’s actions toward writers like himself. The commonality between Achebe’s life and Things Fall Apart comes from the fact that both Okonkwo and Achebe experienced events that dramatically changed their lives and forced them to leave their homes for an extended period. When both Okonkwo and Achebe returned to their homeland, they found it to be very different.
Many commonalities or parallels are made between Chinua Achebe’s life and his book Things Fall Apart. Both demonstrate or experience a division and change in the politics of Nigeria. While Umuofia undergoes a transition to becoming a part of colonial Britain, Achebe experienced many political developments, including colonial freedom, civil wars and military dictatorships. Both Achebe and his book demonstrate or have lived through great religious division. This religious division has caused violence and a separation in the community, religious beliefs separated villagers with pre-colonial traditions from Christian converts and today separate Muslims from Christians. Finally both Achebe’s life and his book, Things Fall Apart, deal with the experience of exile and an unexpected leave from their homes that dramatically changed in their absence. These parallels are able to express political and social division in fictional and present day Nigeria, the division due to religious struggle fictional, past and present and the changes that occur over time that are overemphasized due to an absence.