Protagonist
THE main character of this book is Okonkwo, a man, who had fame, lost it, and died tragically.
Setting
It was set in the 1890s. The probable locations in lower Nigerian villages, Iguedo and Mbanta, in particular.
The Plot
Unoka, the father of Okonkwo, was a man with great disrepute. He was an idle man, who owed a lot of debts and kept piling them until death. He was not only lazy, but also quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow. He liked fun and entertainment and was a great flutist. He drank heavily too, which he could only afford by borrowing more money. But the worst, he was both an agbala and an efulefu. An agbala is someone who has no title. And an efulefu is a worthless man. Okonkwo hated this about his father- he in fact hated everything about his father.
Okonkwo, at a young age, had beaten Amalinze the Cat (The Cat because his back had never touched the floor in a wrestling match. So one would understand the importance imposed when Okonkwo had beaten him). His fame, thereafter, grew like a bush fire in the harmattan’.
The book describes all of Okonkwo’s success extensively: He was the greatest wrestler in nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams. He had taken two of the four titles obtainable in the village. All this for one man and one would ask. Did he enjoy such a life throughout the book? But Achebe wasn’t about to bore us now, was he?
Mbano, a nearby village, killed a woman from Umuofia. They had two choices — give compensation or start a war. But Mbano knew about Umuofia, about Okonkwo’s war prowess. So, they gave the compensation — a boy, Ikemefuna, and a virgin. The virgin was given to Ogbuefi Udo, a chief of the clan, whose wife was killed. Okonkwo then, was asked by the clan to keep Ikemefuna.
After three years, Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna, as according to the clan’s superstitious laws. But the problem was Okonkwo had committed a taboo as he was warned by the gods of the land to not be involved in the murder of Ikemefuna.
Ezeudu, a great man of the clan, has just died. He was celebrated well and at his funeral, there were a lot of gun shooters. But of all the gun shooters, only Okonkwo’s gun exploded. Now we know that at this time Okonkwo had committed two taboos. Could this be the gods of the lands’ way of getting him back?
The explosion of his gun caused a murder. For this, Okonkwo got exiled for seven years.
Okonkwo left and went to Mbanta and stayed there, among his mother’s people. While in Mbanta, Okonkwo heard of the people of Abame who killed a white man and were wiped out afterwards.
When Okonkwo returns to Umuofia, everything’s upside down. The White man had come, built churches and by the leadership of Mr. Brown, they were growing fast. Okonkwo was particularly ashamed that even men with clan titles who are supposed to uphold the clan’s in have joined the white men. Okonkwo through the foolish courage that always had its dominion over him killed a court messenger of the white men. For this, the white men set out to end Okonkwo. But Obierika leads them to Okonkwo’s body, which now dangles from a tree, lifeless- Okonkwo had committed suicide. Okonkwo is the buried by the white men who are ‘strangers’ because, it is taboo for any member of the clan to touch the body of a man who commits suicide.
Characters
Okonkwo: He, by determination became unlike his father. He had two titles of the clan. He had a life dominated and motivated by fear- Fear of failure and weakness like his father. He ruled his family with a strong hand and trained his children with such brutality for fear of being thought weak. He had been blinded by pride or better, foolishness. This also led him to kill himself as he would not have any kill the great ‘Okonkwo’. In the end, Okonkwo had only been malevolent to himself.
Obierika - Okonkwo’s good friend. He was able to keep Okonkwo up-to-date with the things that happened in Umuofia during his exile. His son Maduka won a wrestling match and was showing much promise.
Uchendu-He is Okonkwo’s cousin. He was the person who accepted Okonkwo in his motherland when he got exiled. He is the oldest man in Mbanta- As we can see in the depicted picture.
Ikemefuna- Was given to the Umuofia clan as sacrifice to prevent a war. He lived with Okonkwo’s family for three years. He became very close to Nwoye (A son of Okonkwo). Okonkwo liked Ikemefuna but he liked superstitious beliefs more. So Okonkwo killed ikemefuna as against a warning from the gods.
Unoka: The idle, improvident, unsuccessful efulefu (worthless man) was the unlikely motivation of his son. His buoyant attitude made his life look somewhat specious. He died a dishonoured man and a debtor.
The Climax
Okonkwo’s murder or commits ochu against the court messenger.
Symbols
Two of the main symbols are the Locust and Fire. The locusts symbolize the white colonist 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 represent the physical connection of the community of the clansmen in Umuofia and act as metaphorical heartbeats that beat in unison, uniting all the village members.
Important Quotations
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world
Explanation
Achebe hints at the chaos that arises when a system collapses.
2. And at last the locusts did descend.
They settled on every tree and every blade of grass, they settled on the roots and covered the bare ground.
Mighty tree branches broke away under them,
and the whole country became the brown earth colour of vast , hungry swarm.
Explanation
This passage from Chapter 7 represents, in highly allegorical terms, the arrival of the colonizers. The locusts have been coming for years, but their symbolic significance in this passage lies in the inevitable arrival of the colonizers, which will alter the landscape and psychology of the Igbo people irreparably.
Title
I think the title captures the whole story— because for Abame, Mbanta, Umuofia and Okonkwo, things did truly fall apart.
My View Of the Book
Achebe is trying to convey to the world the disaster the white man has brought to our soil. The Igbos once had a culture, something they really believed in but the white man came and skillfully eroded off every bit of it, and it was at this point in time things fell apart. This is a book written to make us remember. Remember who we once were and to make sure our cultures are not striped from us. To remember that all who work together will eventually succeed in the cause they set out for and lastly to remember that those who don’t work together, eventually will fall apart.
No comments:
Post a Comment