Representation and Resistance in Things Fall Apart

Introduction

Things Fall Apart is a novel written by the late Chinua Achebe in the year 1958. Its setting is in the outskirt of Nigeria in a small village, Umuofia, just before the advent of the white missionaries into the area. Due to their unexpected arrival in the locale, the villagers are unable to comprehend how to react to the instant cultural change that the missionaries pose to alter their way of life including their governance systems and institutions. As a result, the essay aims to underscore the significance of the narrative as a tool of postcolonial representation. It is with a focus on the Igbo culture that is reflective of a larger segment of the African societies.

Colonial Rule and Cultural Threat

Towards the end of the 19th Century, a majority of the European states had migrated into Africa and other regions of the world to establish their colonial rule. Concerning that, Nigeria was among the affected areas in the African continent that received the visitors who were on an exploitative mission disguised as missionary work. Consequently, the state of affair led to the imposition of their religion and structures on the Igbo people that greatly threatened the thriving of their culture. Achebe’s primary objective with the writing was to educate the readers on the significance and value of his African culture. The novel provides insights of the Igbo society before colonial invasion that threatened to wipe out almost every aspect of their culture ranging from trade, family structure, religion and gender roles.

Blaming Colonial Rule

Furthermore, the author blames colonial rule for the oppression of his culture through the suppression of social coherence. Additionally, he educates the readers extensively on the Igbo society. Before the book came up, previous narratives written by Europeans discredited Africa and depicted it in a distorted way. Africans were perceived as being uneducated and uncivilized people. Europeans considered themselves as being more advanced and sophisticated, and were determined to help Africans transition from their conventional ways into a modern era of education and refinement.

Representation and Resistance

Representation and resistance are wide areas in which considerate drama of colonial relations and postcolonial assessment and contradiction of the relations took place. Meaning is constructed through representation, and spread through dominant hegemonic dialogue that can result in unequal social relations. Due to that, depiction forms a crucial part of process through which relevance is formulated and exchanged between members of a culture. For instance, Heart of Darkness by Conrad is part of a colonial discourse through which Africans are represented by Europeans as “strings of dusty niggers (Conrad 24).”

African Writers and Narrative Redemption

Based on the skewed description of Africa and its inhabitants by foreign writers, it came as no surprise that native African writers emerged to tell their own narratives and those of their people. The new crop of African writers was the reason why the outside world began being more appreciative of Africa and its people. The world began realizing the truth behind the stereotypes and misrepresentation that were prevalent from an analytical point of view.

Postcolonialism and Cultural Preservation

Post-colonialism expresses the contrary thought of colonialism. Thus, literature on post-colonialism aims at highlighting the outcome of the activity. Based on that, the primary purpose of Things Fall Apart is to provide a response to the effects of colonialism on his ethnicity. Achebe writes back at the writings of foreign writers and their prejudice towards Africa and its attributes in their work. Colonized individuals are coerced to follow their master’s ways regardless of their personal opinion. Post-colonial writers often focus on glorifying their rich native cultures that were destroyed under the authority of imperialism.

Neo-colonialism and Cultural Identity

Despite the fact that numerous countries are independent, they are indirectly impacted by some form of neo-colonialism. Post-colonialism proceeds as being a process of reorganization and hostility evident in the existence of elites supported by neo-colonialists framework. In a heterogeneous civilization, the writers try to bring about new ethnic and cultural meanings to the people that are demeaned by other societies. Besides that, they also analyze the possibility of putting aside their differences and working with the affected to overcome the grief of losing their identity. The situation will enable them to preserve the remainder of their cultural elements. Nonetheless, the colonized individuals are in most instances not depicted as victims of colonization, but rather lacking a sense of belonging. They find themselves in a dilemma of whether to follow their own culture or that of the colonizer.

Redeeming the Igbo Culture

With reference to that, Chinua Achebe writes his narrative to redeem the Igbo, and ultimately Africans from the marginalization. He takes us to the past to illustrate that Igbo’s “was not one long night of savagery (Achebe 30),” but rather a triumphant and prosperous past epitomized by characters such as Okonkwo. Okonkwo rose from poverty to glory through determination and commitment to social values. A society that produces such kind of people is worthy of recognition. Nevertheless, the past was unbalanced and full of imperfections thus, the suggestion of appropriate alternatives was a crucial role for Achebe to fulfill.

Afrocentric Perspective

Achebe’s self-declaration as the liberator of Africans makes him undertake the task of correcting past mistakes. He takes an Afrocentric stance rather than a Eurocentric viewpoint. The use of language plays a crucial role in the unraveling of certain aspects about Igbo culture. Achebe makes us understand that his tribe has certain rituals and ceremonies through the highlighting of activities such as dancing and singing. Additionally, it is fundamental in the detailing of the life of Okonkwo. As the white missionaries begin arriving, Okonkwo tries protesting the change but he is overcome and all his achievements are wiped out. Achebe attempts to position African culture within the framework of world civilization. He uses proverbs to elucidate his culture such as, “As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with the kings (Achebe 6).” The proverbs illustrate tribal recognition that though hard work, anyone can overcome generational ill reputation and be the greatest.

Contrasting Images

There are critics who argue that the author attempts to correct the distorted image of Africa by giving Umuofia an epistemological presence (Gikandi 3). On the other hand, the author never intended to represent Africa through disapproval of European perspectives. Based on that, there is an argument that the author intends to present two contrasting images of his village. One is on the old traditional way of life while the other is a place dismantled by the oppressive ideologies of the colonizers that ultimately emerge triumphant.

Heterotopias and Cultural Clash

Heterotopias are the actual spaces that the key definition of a culture is represented, inverted, and converted (Foucoult 23). Concerning that, Umuofia is portrayed as a stable society with law and order, and preserved by a complex set of customs and traditions. In the society, a man could rise to the top from poverty besides basing his prestige on the number of wives and children he had, yams in his barn, and the number of titles he possessed. What was acceptable in the Igbo culture was deemed as archaic according to the white missionaries. They were quick to change certain traditional elements that were not in line with their beliefs.

Benefits and Mistakes of Colonialism

There is the existence of a cultural clash between the locals and the foreigners. As a result, they become divided and a sense of hatred is created that never existed. Nonetheless, the division is not only a result of the invasion but also among the natives themselves. One can also acknowledge the use of proverbs in the text based on the belief by the natives that they were a sign of wisdom and respect. For example, when Okoye pays Unoka a visit to settle his debts, they share kola nuts to symbolize good relations despite his overdue debt. The novel depicts all aspects of Igbo culture and not only the desirable ones thus differentiating it from others.

European Motives and Cultural Pride

Fundamental for the scramble of Africa during the age of Imperialism, Europe wanted to exploit the natural resources for their benefit. During the period, they established settlements in the continent to propagate their motives. They held a Eurocentric view of the world and considered their culture superior and it was crucial to enlighten others. Based on that, they considered their region as the birth of humanity and civilization. On another perspective, Things Fall Apart strives to give people back their pride and dignity they once had. Language plays a vital role as it gives them a sense of belonging and a way to preserve and secure their heritage.

Clinging to Tradition

The Igbo society is adamant to embrace change evident from how they refuse to take their children to be taught how to read and write in English (Achebe 128). They rely on their language as a point of their uniqueness from other cultures. Okonkwo, for instance, is held in high esteem due to his ability to conquer another wrestler (Achebe 6). Nonetheless, what is evident is the level of ignorance the community has towards the rest of the world. Prior to any invasion, they had their own systems and procedures of conducting their activities.

Mistakes of Submission

Decisions such as to allocate land to the missionaries were a great mistake as they capitalized on their ignorance to rule them. There were also people who were happy to accept the white man’s idea, seeing it as the only way to escape from their religion that was oppressive and retrogressive. Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, went against his father’s will and embraced the foreigners due to the nobility of the religion (Achebe 147). Based on that, Achebe raises awareness of some of the benefits that colonialism brought to the people. Converting people from their culture appears as the greatest mistake that colonizers seem to have made in the course of history. Their approach was wrong towards the Igbo, insisting on complete submission and gratitude for their coming.

Conclusion

In conclusion, representation plays a fundamental role in the construction of meaning and attitudes about others. Additionally, there is also an emphasis on relationships and alliances between knowledge and power that could bring about detrimental effects to others. Based on earlier literature, Africa was negatively symbolized, which Chinua Achebe sought to contradict. He wanted to reconstruct history by showing that the continent was civilized even before the arrival of missionaries. Concerning that, it is evident that wrong representation serves to construct wrong ideologies about another group to facilitate the execution of one’s agenda. Based on that, the narrative achieves its objective by providing factual and verifiable information and breaking the long-held stereotypes about Africa and its people.

Works Cited

Chinua, Achebe. “Things fall apart.”Ch. Achebe

(1958): 1-117.

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of darkness and the secret sharer. Bantam Classics, 1981. (Conrad)

Foucoult, Michael. In Other Spaces. Trans. Jay Miskowiec. Diacritics 16 spring, 1986. Print.

Gikandi, Simon. “Chinua Achebe and the Poetics of Location: The Uses of Space in Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease.”Essays On African Writing 1: A Re-evaluation (1993): 1-12.