English Literature

Many literary books are considered important resources for a country. These books represent the histories of the past civilizations of a country along with the people who lived those histories.

Things Fall Apart is an African literary masterpiece composed and written by Chinua Achebe. In African literature, the significance that this book has gained is the same as that of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow written by Washington Irving, in the American literature. The novel has been considered as an archetype of the African novels in English. Readers of the novel are located on a global scale. African communities and histories were introduced in American English literature for the first time in this widely read novel. Achebe has fused languages and variety of cultural forms in a beautiful manner and this shows that there is more literary talent in Africa to be explored.

An essentially African story, Things Fall Apart has contributed a lot in the African literature and the contributions that have been made by this novel shall be outlined below in this paper.

A special feature of the novel is that it is a fictional story that represents African history. The existence of the most importance values that have been a part of the African culture have been highlighted in the novel. In this case, the novel presents the pre-colonial African symbolism in a very balanced as well as an honest manner. African culture, the pre-colonial period, and the African values have been represented with all the associated reality, whether bitter or sweet, and there are no rosy colors being painted to present these values and cultures.

African tribal life is highlighted in the book and the author makes use of the merits and demerits in order to draw attention to the African tribal life. All the activities and the tasks that used to take place in the African tribal life before the European invasion have been highlighted. This has been included, because of the fact that the European invasion had many effects on the African tribal life. The author has outlined these European influences as it is observed that these study of these influences and changes in African civilization, after the European invasion, is missing in European contexts.

In the book, the author has emphasized the fact that the Igbo people in Africa belonged to the culture that was rich in its values and great institutions. Their culture included the laws that placed great emphasis on the provision of justice. There were no kings and queens to make the decisions but there was simple democracy in which the males gathered and made their decisions by consensus. Although the Europeans are known to be the democratic leaders, but after the European invasion in the African communities, These Europeans used to interfere in these gatherings in Africa. At one place it has been added by the author,

The white man is very clever. He came quietly and 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.

The weaknesses in the Igbo culture have been highlighted in the novel and the author writes that the Igbo people were highly patriarchal. A great fear for twins resided in the Igbo culture and the Igbo people used to abandon the twins after their birth. The author says that African culture was not ruled by higher authorities as the kings or queens. These points made the Umofian culture more vulnerable to the invasion of the westerns. It has been mentioned by the author,

No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man.

The author adds that one of the main factors that were been noticed after Europe started colonizing Africa was that the African culture started to develop technologically, the Igbo people developed academically along with better changes in their social status. Thereby African communities were refined by the Europeans. These developments became a part of the personalities of the African people. This is reflected in one of the characters of the book, District Commissioner as he reflects certain Eurocentric characters in his personality, as depicted by the author. It can be added here that the author has not tried to accentuate the point that the Europeans destroyed the African culture. Instead, the author adds that there were many positive changes that were bought in the African culture by the European invasion and these changes may have played their roles in redirecting the routes of the African culture. Moreover, African history also has seen some changes that were introduced by the European invasion.

The author has developed all the characters very carefully and this is an important feature of an iconic fiction story. The author has used the technique of the fusion of the African and European languages and it helps the readers in understanding the main changes that have occurred in the African history.
The author has highlighted the tragedy of Africa and an African. By making use of this main plot, the author makes use of different themes of tragedy.  Underlining this theme of tragedy, the other main themes that have been outlined by the author include change, conflict as well as struggle.

It is said that the Things fall apart represents the Modern Greek tragedy. The plot designing is the same as are used in the Greek tragedies. The main element required in the Greek tragedies is a tragic hero and the character who has been represented as a tragic hero is Okonkwo. The arrival of missionaries in Africa has been the main reason that the Igbo way of life and the Igbo culture is destroyed in Africa and this event leads to the death of Okonkwo. The tragic hero, Okonkwo is distressed because of the arrival of white men as they introduce newer systems, newer values and newer ways of living in the traditional societies of Africa. A lot of hard work that was done by Okonkwo was being destroyed by the newer system that was introduced by the whites.

The concluding part of the novel reflects the fact that the Igbo language gradually lost its entity. This is the main reason of the destruction of the African culture. In this case, it has been seen that the author talks about the better points that were seen in the African culture that was a part of the pre western society. It has been clearly outlined that the destruction of the African culture was because of the weaknesses and vulnerabilities that resided in the native culture. Igbo people had well developed institutions but they were illiterate and superstitious. Thereby the European invasion had helped Igbo people in achieving higher academic and institutional standards. The definition of culture that has been given by the author is that a culture is composed of religion, governments and higher authorities.

Conclusion
It has been said that by writing the book, the author has tried to change the ideology that the original African culture was based on savage and primitive beliefs. Thereby the African point of view has been given in response to the colonization of the Igbo in the African communities. Things Fall Apart portrays the western culture as ethnocentric as well as an arrogant culture. These qualities reflected the fact that the African culture in those times was in need of a leader.