Chinua Achebe’s Literary Analysis “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosened upon the world.” The famous words of W.B Yeats fully represented the tragedy of both wars: war for conformity, and war against the human spirit. If one challenges society’s own rules as well as their own morals, life starts to crumble in both the challenger and the one challenged. Award winning Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe, stresses the message through the Umuofia Clan, an Igbo tribe who faces corruption in both their custom and the new changes in society as British colonization takes over. In Things Fall Apart, missionaries and the white court are seen as the challengers to the traditional social structure of the Igbo tribe. At the
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Many scenes described in the novel Things Fall Apart, such as festivals held within the Umuofia clan captures the culture within the Igbo Tribe. “The whole village turned out on the ilo, men, women and children. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought their young sons or slaves (Achebe 46).” Ilo, meaning “the village green (courtyard)”, in Igbo is a common gathering place for all citizens where most wrestling and soccer matches are held the small villages in Southeast Nigeria. In this specific scene, Achebe sets the tone as serene and welcoming as everyone gathers to watch a wrestling match. “The wrestlers were not there yet and the drummers held the field. They too sat just in front of the huge circle of spectators, facing the elders. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade (Achebe 46).” Achebe quickly builds excitement into the scene through the seven drummers who was “possessed by the spirit of the drums”, dancing in a circle while the crowd roared and clapped. The metaphor used was to exaggerate the amount of energy and passion within the group of drummers, which also builds the scene of excitement. This scene display the beauty of the Igbo culture: the fun, exciting festivals with everyone gathered together as
Many scenes described in the novel Things Fall Apart, such as festivals held within the Umuofia clan captures the culture within the Igbo Tribe. “The whole village turned out on the ilo, men, women and children. They stood round in a huge circle leaving the center of the playground free. The elders and grandees of the village sat on their own stools brought their young sons or slaves (Achebe 46).” Ilo, meaning “the village green (courtyard)”, in Igbo is a common gathering place for all citizens where most wrestling and soccer matches are held the small villages in Southeast Nigeria. In this specific scene, Achebe sets the tone as serene and welcoming as everyone gathers to watch a wrestling match. “The wrestlers were not there yet and the drummers held the field. They too sat just in front of the huge circle of spectators, facing the elders. Behind them was the big and ancient silk-cotton tree which was sacred. Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade (Achebe 46).” Achebe quickly builds excitement into the scene through the seven drummers who was “possessed by the spirit of the drums”, dancing in a circle while the crowd roared and clapped. The metaphor used was to exaggerate the amount of energy and passion within the group of drummers, which also builds the scene of excitement. This scene display the beauty of the Igbo culture: the fun, exciting festivals with everyone gathered together as