Things Fall Apart Bias Portrayal and British Colonialism
Things Fall Apart, by Achebe Chinua, is a novel in which various acts of tragedy happen throughout. Things Fall Apart includes several brutal acts of violence which plagued Nigeria due to British colonialism. These acts of violence are often due to masculinity issues within the tribe and within the character, “Okonkwo”. Okonkwo is constantly fighting for recognition and status within the Igbo society. Okonkwo’s life is fueled by fear of disappointment and fear of not being portrayed as a “man”. The Igbo society includes acts of violence that are overlooked as well as a plethora of injustices. During this novel, the Igbo people are fighting against the invasion of British colonialism on their land. The ultimate trait that leads the Igbo society to total failure is their emphasis on portraying themselves as, “masculine”. The novel goes on to explain that Christianity was considered an absolute enemy to most Igbo’s, and that they refused to accept it. The demise of the Igbo society was caused by their failure to accept the Christian faith, although some did.
The irony of the refusal to accept Christianity leads to the thought process that this novel was written in a one-sided manner. It portrays the Igbo people as violent, unaccepting, and too traditional to adopt external values and beliefs. In my opinion, this is exactly what someone invading another territory would say about an “indigenous” group of people who will not fall under their rule. This one-sided story reminds me of Adichie’s, “The Danger of a Single Story”.
British colonialism in what was soon to be Nigeria was caused by the intention of taking over territories to build corporate entities to fuel the economy (Maiangwa 1). Companies were tasked to “govern” these territories. This often involved attempting to persuade the residence to adopt their culture and values (Maiangwa 1). When met with resistance, violence was often the solution. The lack of respect for these people, their rights, and their land led to constant violence and uprising. The masculinity portrayed in this novel, in my opinion, was really the pride in these “indigenous” people’s society that wanted to keep their tradition. British colonialism was likely a poison to them in which they rejected to attempt to hold their own values and beliefs.
Sources:
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor, 1994. Alcorn, Marshall.
Chimamanda Ngozi, Adichie. “The Danger of a Single Story.” 2009,
Maiangwa, Benjamin. “How the Colonial Enterprise Hard-Wired Violence into Nigeria’s Governance.” Quartz Africa, 21 Oct. 2020, https://qz.com/africa/1920769/the-british-colonial-enterprise-wired-violence-into-nigeria/.
Thank you for your wonderful context presentation! I especially loved how you gave us the historical background behind Achebe’s work. Your words make me wonder whether the effects of British colonialism continue to impact every-day individuals in Nigeria. Like Nigeria, India was also colonized by the British, and much of my Indian family is influenced by the aftermaths of imperialization even today. As you mentioned, violence and masculinity were reoccuring themes mentioned throughout the novel, such as how Nwoye conforms to the norm by behaving more manly to impress Okonkwo. It was quite tragic to learn that Okonkwo determines masculinity by dominating others, like his wives, in such brutal ways. Overall, great job!
Thank you for a very informative context presentation I thought you did a wonderful job explaining a lot of the story while taking into mind the context of texts we have learned before. I particularly enjoyed your emphasis on the single story. I feel as though the portrayal of the Igbo people in Things fall apart is complex and while it does provide a more detailed view of African life with all of the social complexities that come with it, it still does at points paint a poor picture of certain aspects their culture. Overall this presentation was great thanks again!
Hello! Thank you for your context presentation this week, it was very well constructed and left me with a few extra thoughts which I had not realized before. I really had not noticed to the degree that you did that the novel was written in a one-sided manner, but rather in a way that showed the pride of the Nigerian people and the deep cultural connection they have to their land and gods, and how not everyone was willing to immediately abandon their beliefs to satisfy the Europeans. The novel really puts it into perspective for me, how colonization leaves the colonized with no choice but to abandon their traditional faith for the new faith of the colonists or face extreme consequences if they refuse to bend the knee. Overall great context presentation and I liked your points!
You did great on your explanation. Although, I felt like this really reminded me of Master and Slave. Okonkwo acted as a master because he wanted everyone to live up to him. He wanted everyone to be as masculine as him. I agree that the lack of respect, and rights led to much more violence. It was crazy once he finally realized he couldn’t save his village, after the way he was. The way he portrayed himself you would think he could do anything! Then, he killed himself, which showed us that he knew he wasn’t going to win.
Thank you very much for your background introduction, which gives me a deeper understanding of the background of things fall apart. The Igbo people in the novel are resisting the invasion of their land by British colonialism, which makes us understand their ideological roots. Your introduction really helped me understand a lot. You can imagine how strong the consciousness of resisting the British colonists is in the hearts of Nigerians. In the novel, the comparison of men to women is naturally the biggest personal attack on them, which is the embodiment of their resistance to colonization.
I think yu did a really wonderful jobs of explaining all the key points from the novel. I agreed with most of what you said especially in regards to comparing it to Adichies single story. I also would have maybe added that before the British came the men where the One in society woth the women being much more suppresed, you could even go as far to say that the children where also others because of how they were treated. The topic of masculinity is very prominent in this novel and end up being the reason why some characters fall to their doom.