By Katlyn Marion
In order to understand the reading this week, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, allow me to widen your scope on Achebe’s life. Chinua Achebe was born November 15, 1930 in a place called Ogidi, Nigeria. At this point in history, Nigeria had recently become British Protectorate only 30 years prior, and the constant reclassifying of different sections of the country by the British made it difficult for the Nigerian natives to unite and push the British out (historyworld.net). The British were using Nigeria as a source for raw materials and manufacturing British goods all while building railroads. As they did this, missionaries flooded the country in order to “civilize” people and evangelize to the natives. Unfortunately, this sometimes meant that the. Missionaries used their religion as a means of controlling the natives. During World War two, when Chinua would have been a young adult by now the Nigerian economy was taken control of by the British because of “war time efforts”. The country would suffer from this for years to come.
Meanwhile, Chinua Achebe was growing up amidst an interesting time in Nigeria. Achebe’s mother and father, although natives of the Igbo Tribe, had left their tradition religion and had begun to follow Christianity which Achebe was brought up in. It was in Achebe’s youth that he would notice this and his curiosity for his native religions would spark. According to notablebiographies.com, “Achebe was unhappy with books about Africa written by British authors such as Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) and John Buchan (1875–1940), because he felt the descriptions of African people were inaccurate and insulting.” This is a very good example of a topic we covered last week, Spivak’s question of “Can the subaltern speak?” In colonizing Nigeria and speaking and writing on their behalf, the British men effectively stole the voices of many Natives because the British men had already written their opinions and ideas of how the Nigerians behaved, and thus creating an environment where the Nigerian’s could barley speak for themselves. The Nigerians had almost become the subaltern of their own land because they were not treated the same as the white colonizers. In an article from the New York Times, Achebe said “In the end, I began to understand…There is such a thing as absolute power over narrative. Those who secure this privilege for themselves can arrange stories about others pretty much where, and as, they like.” This is very true of how the British would organize stories about the natives to discredit them and isolate them from the world.
Achebe wanted to combat this and while working for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company, he composed Things Fall Apart, which immediately took the world by interest. The novel went on to become a play that would even go as far as preforming in the United States where they were apart of the Kennedy’s Center African Odyssey Series. Achebe would go on to be a very accomplished writer and teacher of others. He worked in many notable universities such as Brown, University of Connecticut, University of Massachusetts and University of Nigeria. In the later portion of his life, he was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident while visiting Nigeria and afterward, he moved to the United States to teach at Bard. He was given honorary degrees from Universities around the world as well as many other prizes before his death in 2013.
Works Cited
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://countrystudies.us/nigeria/53.htm.
Chinua Achebe. (2020, June 17). Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://www.biography.com/writer/chinua-achebe
Chinua Achebe Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://www.notablebiographies.com/A-An/Achebe-Chinua.html
Kandell, J. (2013, March 22). Chinua Achebe, African Literary Titan, Dies at 82. Retrieved September 19, 2020, from https://. www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/world/africa/chinua-achebe-nigerian-writer-dies-at-82.html
Katlyn, you did an amazing job of providing background information on Achebe’s life. The change in religion, British influences, and being a subaltern deeply contributes to his quality of the novel. Since, for many years, the Nigerian people had been told through the British literature lens, Achebe rewrites the power and stories from his own land.
Your point about “The Nigerians had almost become the subaltern of their own land” was an interesting point you brought up. Imagining a stronger force taking over your homeland and not allowing you to objectify their ways of life is threatening, but we forget that this happens to a lot of countries. Thank you for your post!
Katlyn, you did a really thorough, informative, and well-supported analysis of Achebe’s life, background, and culture. African history is something that is very rarely taught in any capacity in American schools, and as such I think the majority of that information you gave would be unknown to most people. As you noted, though, that contextual history is extremely important in order to truly understand Achebe’s work.
I really like how you also tied that history and background into the concepts from last week. That gives a different way of looking at it and lends a little more insight into Achebe’s works.
Hi Katlyn! Thank you so much for your informative post! Being able to really delve into Achebe’s life really helps allow me to better understand the context of when this novel was produced and makes me feel better going into the reading. I really like how you pointed out that the Nigerians had become subalterns of their own land as i will for sure pay attention to this as i do the reading. Thank you for your hard work and insight! I look forward to doing the reading as i look out for things you brought up!
It is quite interesting to have more background on Achebe’s life and what led him to writing his novel. When I was looking into his history I found it interesting that his parents were Protestant yet he stopped using the name Albert. I also found it interesting to learn more about Nigeria’s independence from Britain and the Nigerian Civil War, historical events that I previously didn’t know much about. Learning about the author and context of the time period and place in which they wrote their book helps provide more context.
Thank you for including posts about the history of Nigeria. I have many friends that have told me bits and pieces about the colonization but I had no idea how recent the end of the British rule was thank you for your informational post.
Hearing the background on Chinua Achebe’s life was helpful in understanding what inspired him to write this book. This background set the scene for the reasoning of the book. It is important to understand that Achebe is trying to exemplify what life in Africa was truly like. It is also interesting to hear about the conflict of religion at that time period and seeing how it is displayed through Achebe’s work. I wonder how Achebe views religion being that his parents converted and became missionaries. Did this confuse him being that his parents had followed a different religion his whole childhood? Did he value religion as strongly as his parents?
Thanks for giving such a detailed and interesting account of Achebe’s life. Understanding where he came from certainly helps to better understand the reading. I like how you mentioned the concept of the subaltern. I think colonization as a whole relates strongly to Spivak’s ideas and it will help us to better understand conversations and discussions this week.
Katlyn,
I think it is interesting that we see the concept of “Can the subaltern speak?” again in this piece of literature. Achebe originating from Nigeria and Spivak raised in India, both of these countries were under British control. Broadening our learning of Achebe’s childhood allows us to see where his desire for acceptance and his voice comes from. When Achebe said, “There is such a thing as absolute power over narrative,” this can resonate to many cultures. I think authors such as Achebe and Spivak are great role models not only in the world of literature but in life. The voice of one should never be unheard.
Hi Katlyn,
I really like how you were able to give an extensive background on Achebe’s life. It is crucial to understand where he came from because it allows us to better understand what the book is about and why he chose to write it. Achebe is trying to display what life in Africa was truly like for the people there. This allows me to gain more respect and a better understanding of the culture and why people acted in the ways they did throughout this story. I really liked how you also compared the Nigerians became a subaltern of their own land.
Hi Katlyn,
Excellent job on the blog post this week. I really appreciated reading you post and it gave me a much better understanding of Achebe’s work, and what was the reasoning behind him becoming a writer. For as long as I have been interested in literature, I have always found reading more enjoyable when I understand the “Why” behind why something is written. You painted a picture in which I now can understand that why. I also really liked your reference to last week and the subaltern. Great job!
Hi Katlyn,
Thank you for all the back ground research you did on Achebe’s life. Understanding his back ground and the way he grew up really helped me understand the reading a lot better than I otherwise would have. The fact that his parents were protestant and he lived with so much British influence really helped put the novel into context for me. Additionally, I think its interesting the point you brought up about him being subaltern in his own homeland because of the way Europe as a whole, and in this case the British specifically, colonized the rest of the world. It is important to learn about the authors unique background while reading these texts throughout the semesternso that we don’t categorize them all together as the miscellaneous ‘third world’.
I enjoyed reading your post! I also had my context research presentation for this week but is interesting that Chinua Achebe didn’t like the representation of Africans from the British perspective. I can’t imagine having someone from a colonized standpoint try to capture who I am based on what I do or believe in. It is in a way destructive to their reputation that still follows most minorities today. I would like to see a book come out that accurately describes people of indigenous cultures and show why we need to preserve it.
Katlyn, I enjoyed learning about this history of Nigeria and the history of the author, Chinua Achebe. Knowing where Achebe came from and what life was like during that period helps set the mood for Things Fall Apart. The connection you made between native Nigerians being subalterns couldn’t ring more true. Achebe did not want to live his life not being heard and made a positive impact in the world.
This is a very informational and engaging post. Hearing Achebe’s background adds a lot of depth to his work that we read for this class. Learning about British colonization of Nigeria is an interesting parallel to British colonization of America, but sadly there were much worse effects for Nigeria. Now that I know more about Achebe’s upbringing, it creates a better understanding for why he wrote a book that gave subalterns a voice.
I really appreciated that context of who Achebe is. I believe that understanding the man behind the mask helps us readers understand not only where he is coming from in his writing, but helps convey the message he is trying to put forth. After having read part 1 and then reading this, I feel like this writing was very at home for him and I like to think he was very comfortable writing about something from which he must’ve had first hand knowledge of. I believe it adds credibility to his voice. Nice work!
This was a great precursor to our reading for the week, and it helped me to understand the context of Achebe’s life when the book was written. One thing that stood out to me was how similar Achebe’s message is to the TedTalk from Adichie that we heard a few weeks back about “single stories”. Adichie spoke about how Western historians teach about African culture and civilization, much like how Achebe describes the British side of the Nigerian story. In addition to this, your connection between Spivak’s ideas about the subaltern really brings everything we’ve learned together. This, along with the description of Nigeria and Achebe’s life at the time, really made the reading much easier to comprehend in the context of our class and the topics we’re learning.
Thank you very much for the information and background. I think this has played a very important role in helping my reading comprehension. Through Things Fall Apart, I learned about the colonial process and colonial culture from a newer and more authentic perspective, and also understood the impact of all this on them from the perspective of the colonized.
Thank you for this background on Achebe and the motivations that were likely on his mind as he wrote Things Fall Apart. The impacts of British imperialism persist today, as evidenced by the popularity of Christianity in place of traditional religions and English language requirements in schools. The all too common descriptions of Africans in classic literature is frustrating and a clear cut example of the subaltern losing their voice, silenced by British men. Achebe’s desire to speak the voice of Nigeria, just like Spivak’s for the rite of sati, is evident in his writing.
Hi Katlyn,
Your post was very interesting and provided a great amount of detail about Chinua Achebe. All of the work Achebe put into, helps us understand what he was doing and what he was doing it for. It was interesting to read about him growing up and what lead him to where he was. The fact that he ended up teaching and writing is powerful and sharing his experiences to teach others, its good to know that his work was acknowledged and seen as an influencer. I think it helps all of us when there are connections from the week before as well, which allows as an additional source of information.
Katlyn, Thank you for enlightening me on Achebe’s background. Before reading this I really had little idea on who Achebe really was but now I feel like I know everything about him. I found it very interesting about how Achebe got into writing in the first place as he felt that British writers were not portraying Africa and the African people in a good and well educated light. I also had no idea that Achebe was such a well accomplished teacher in his time here in America. Again thank you for educating me on Achebe’s and his families background I really do think it will help me better understand the story as I finish it.
Katlyn, thank you so much for your context research presentation. I found it to be very informative and eye-opening. Though I have read Achebe before, I had forgotten that he was raised as a Christian and sought out more native religious beliefs as he grew older. I also loved the connection you made with “Can the Subaltern Speak?”. Knowing what I know now will certainly deepen my understanding and appreciation for this great author’s work.
Hello Katlyn
Your post about Achebe’s Things Fall apart was very informative and interesting. I liked how you gave a back story about Achebe and what he went though throughout his life! It made me better appreciate his life and what happened with the British. I’m glad he wrote this book to give perspective on how life was. The connections you make about the subaltern and the Nigerians I would definitely agree with you on that. Throughout the story I feel like the Nigerians are not able to use their voice at all. This post was well written and helped me have a better understanding of the story we are reading.
Thank you!!
Hi, Katlyn. I think your presentation is informative. Knowing the author’s background is really important to understand the story. From your research, I realized Nigeria natives are a “subaltern” group compare with British men. The colonization of Nigeria has great impacts on Achebe’s life and writing. Your post is helpful for me to connect to the reading this week. Thank you.
Hi Katlyn,
I love that how you combined what we learned about “can the subalterns speak” from last week with what we are learning this week. When you quote how Achebe said he was unhappy about how British write about Africans because it was inaccurate and insulting, I immediately thought of the topic we learned last week. It is very nice of you to introduce the background information of Achebe to us. Great job!
Hi Katlyn,
Great job with your post, you provided a lot of detail. Learning the history and background of Achebe really helps understand his writing better. I am sure a lot of people will agree that our own history or background is the reason we do certain things or are a certain way, it is what helps create who we are becoming. This is the same for Achebe, you can figure out and understand ones reasoning by looking into their past. Great job!
Actually hearing about how Achebe grew up in the time when christianity took over Nigeria, thier native culture had to be abandoned by some of them and they were subjected to follow the foreign culture, this gives me to think how hard it was for him to accomplish his dreams. It was atime of refraining to a culture they had no idea with. During the period of colonialism, the subject was just meant to obey and not at any moment given achance to express themselves, this moves with the last weeks reading ‘can the subaltern speak’
Hi Katlyn,
Throughout the weekly reading I have realized the importance of knowing the Authors background when reading their work. It is difficult sometimes to understand the message the author is trying to convey unless we understand the reason they’re trying to get it across. Relating to the previous topic of the subaltern, Achebe strongly felt that people within his country were not given an equal voice. Therefore he made sure to create one for them.
Hi Katlyn, you did a great job giving a perfect background Nigerian through Achebe’s lens. It has helped me better understand the Nigerian people’s culture and how they became the subalterns after the invasion of the British. Things fall apart in fact helped clearly understand the meaning of the term subaltern from Spivak’s work from last week’s course material.
Overall, this was a very enlightening read that definitely gives a overview of the weeks topics. I found it very interesting how Nigeria was becoming a subaltern with all of the works about it being depicted by British authors. Achebe wanting to change this and show it from a different light, is amazing to think about, the impacts this would come in literature and overall the view of Nigerian culture. The fact it became a play is something I was unaware of, I find this interesting and I may go see it someday myself.
hi Katlyn, I think these context is very helpful for me. After reading, I understand how the early life and life experience of the writer Chinua Achebe looks like. I understand how he contrubute his time on fighting against injustice between different groups of people in society. That is very helpful for me to understand the background information when I am reading Things Fall Apart.
Katlyn, thing blog post provides a lot of good context that helps in understanding Things Fall Apart. The history of what was happening in Achebe’s early life really helps understand what is being discussed and taught in the reading of Things Fall Apart. I also really liked how you compared this situation back to “Can the subaltern speak” because I believe this is a prime explain that would help answer that question. Throughout your blog I found it very interesting how the world pretty much only heard about Africa, and Nigeria especially here, from white people who didn’t even grow up in this area, when it should have been told by the people who know the land and culture like Achebe. Overall, I found you research to be very helpful in furthering my understanding of Things Fall Apart.
Hi Katlyn, I am so glad to read your context research for our reading of this week. After reading it, I realized why it is so difficult for Nigeria to resist the colonization of the British. British used many methods to separate the power of Nigeria and control inhabitants’ thinking by using religion, which made me have a better understanding on what our reading wanted to imply us. I also learned about some achievements that Achebe got. Great work!
Hi Kailyn! I appreciate the context as I found is very useful. You did a wonderful job giving a background Nigerian through Achebe’s eyes. In comparison to last weeks post, I realized Nigeria natives are a subaltern group in comparison with British men. Achebe’s desire to speak the voice of Nigeria, just like Spivak’s for the rite of sati, is evident in his writings. Great post!
Thank you very much for your speech. The description of Achebe’s background in the article can give us a deeper understanding of this week’s topic. It is interesting to understand the British colonization of Nigeria and the British colonization of the United States. I also checked the Works Cited of your presentation. They are some very good information. Provided us with very good help.
Good post! This research on Achebe’s helps one to understand what he was trying to portray in his novel. I think that he wanted to show the audience what his life was really like. A lot of novels can tell you about things but I think he wanted to dig deeper with his and make the audience feel for him and show the dynamics of this.