Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a Greek tragedy situated in Nigeria, about the downfall of a man, Okonkwo, and the change in his traditional tribal customs with the introduction of Christian British colonists. Okonkwo is a man living in fear of following his father's failed legacy. As a result, he over compensates with force, using his success as a wrestler to prop up his manhood. Through Okonkwo and the poetic voice of the narrator we experience the novelty and fallacy of tribal customs in Nigeria (as read with a Westerners point of view).
Advice from the motherland: This archetypal African novel written in English, is a quick read carrying few, but, important themes. The first notable lesson is, "from whom it is well, for whom it is well? There s no one for whom it is well." Okonkwo encounters such words of advice upon his exile from Umoufia (his tribe). The words that once were uttered to a down trod ended disgrace seeking comfort from his motherland, ring true to a reader two years out of college living in his mother's home in 2009. Consequently this theme can be understood by any person that feels like they are falling short. In this world, especially in a competitive country like the United States, it is easy to feel like you aren't making the grade, "or not well." What is beautifully expressed is that everyone feels short changed, deprived, or frustrated. Once we look beyond ourselves, we can come to recognize that we all suffer, perhaps not to grave degrees, but, regardless we all ail in some way. So if we live in an absolute reality where everyone hurts, then it is quite possible we aren't suffering at all. The acknowledgement of suffering is only derived through the contrast of what it is to flourish and we only understand our own languish through our perception of isolated agony (not shared by everyone). Once we understand that everyone falls (some worse than others) then suffering isn't suffering. It's simply a unifying life experience, the leaves we all have to rake as habitants of a home amidst the Fall.
The primary theme of the novel is consequently the name of the book. Okonkwo comes to this realization and "was deeply grieved. And not just a personal grief. He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart." If you subscribe to the idea that the purpose for the creation of matter is for it to be destroyed, then its no surprise that things often fall apart. There is day only for there to be night. So when I started reading Things Fall Apart, I had a full understanding of the concept as it applied to the tribal community in Nigeria and main character Okonkowo. What I didn't realize was how this book, published in 1958 and taking place in the 15th century Nigeria, applied to why your car breaks down, why families dissasemble, why after 25 years of employment you're laid off, why after years of home ownership you're suddenly homeless. Things, relationships, economies, for whatever reason, fall a apart and then take upon a different context (existential crisis). Whether it be from flawed intuition or circular theory, things that seem to work always tend to stop. No matter how high your penthouse, or your bay view office is, you tend to always reach the ground floor with your work cut out for you. We will always create ourselves anew only to disassemble again. Chinua Achebe presents this theme only for us to answer the question that follows: How do we put ourselves back together?
Ultimately, Things Fall Apart is still a poignant read for the times of today. While the language is beautiful, the themes are the greater point of discussion. The idea that things fall apart is a common thread throughout history, societies, and personal lives; and encourages us to understand our own suffering. The book is not masochistic and doesn't encourage self inflicted pain, however, it simply serves as comforting words of perspective. The tribes of Nigeria were created to be colonized by the British, like Okonkwo lived to serve as a human example of ruin. The redeeming idea within this philosophy is that once things fail, the only option is to progress. We learn from the Okonkwos in all facets of our lives and move forward only to fall in another ways. Ironically, failures serve a greater purpose, and in essence cannot be considered failures at all.
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