Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Comprehensive Analysis
Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”: A Comprehensive Analysis
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator is anonymous but empathetic towards the residents of Umuofia. The narration is in the third person, by an omniscient figure who focuses on Okonkwo but switches perspectives to reveal the thoughts and motives of various characters.
Tone
The tone is ironic, tragic, satirical, and fablelike.
Setting
Time: 1890s
Place: Lower Nigerian villages, particularly Iguedo and Mbanta
Protagonist
Okonkwo
Major Conflict
The conflict is between the traditional society of Umuofia and the new customs brought by the whites, which are adopted by many villagers. Okonkwo also struggles to differentiate himself from his deceased father, whom he perceived as weak and effeminate.
Rising Action
Enoch’s unmasking of an egwugwu, the egwugwu’s burning of the church, and the District Commissioner’s arrest of Umuofian leaders escalate the tension between Umuofia and the colonizers.
Climax
Okonkwo’s murder of a court messenger
Falling Action
The villagers allow the white government’s messengers to escape, and Okonkwo, realizing the weakness of his clan, commits suicide.
Themes
- The struggle between tradition and change
- Varying interpretations of masculinity
- Language as a sign of cultural difference
Motifs
- Chi
- Animal imagery
Symbols
The novel is highly symbolic, and it asks to be read in symbolic terms. Two of the main symbols are the locusts and fire. The locusts symbolize the white colonists descending upon the Africans, seeming to augur good but actually portending troublesome encounters. Fire epitomizes Okonkwo’s nature—he is fierce and destructive. A third symbol, the drums, represents the physical connection of the community of clansmen in Umuofia, and acts as a metaphorical heartbeat that beats in unison, uniting all the village members.
Foreshadowing
- The author’s initial description of Ikemefuna as an “ill-fated boy,” which presages his eventual murder by Okonkwo
- The arrival of the locusts, which symbolizes the eventual arrival of the colonizers
- Obierika’s suggestion that Okonkwo kill himself, which foretells Okonkwo’s eventual suicide