Things Fall ApartChinua Achebe

The reason African Literature came into existence because these things that were supposed to represent [Africans] were inaccurate. There was a vacuum, a gap to be filled ~Chinua AchebeAchebe, about African Literature

Chinua Achebebrief biographyBorn 1930 in a Christian family in Ogidi in Eastern NigeriaWent to college, taught at universityReceived the Nigerian National merit Award in 1987By 1995 over 8 million copies of Things Fall Apart were sold

Igbo Society Social & Political Structures

Lack of centralized political structuresLived in autonomous villages & towns, ruled by their eldersOrganized in patrilineagesDemocracy was obtained through a council of elders, age groups, councils of chiefs, womens associations, and secret societies

Igbo SocietyMarriage CustomsMarriages were discussed in depth as they brought families & entire villages togetherMost husbands practiced polygamyIgbo women lived in separate houses, cooked for themselves, and raised their own childrenUnhappy women could leave a marriage

Igbo Society Igbo Religion (polytheistic)

Chukwu (the supreme being) is everywhere at the same time--therefore there are no shrines or altars for worshipEkwensu=trickster god who caused problemsThe ikenga = a wooden carving that symbolizes a mans strength & success--a priest invokes a spirit into it & the men consult it for adviceChi = a persons personal godfollows you throughout life and can be either malevolent or benevolentbut chi does not control destiny

Things Fall Apartbrief backgroundStory is set between 1860 & 1890--written between 1952 & 1958; a time when Nigeria was finally ending colonial ruleCentral theme=what happens to the values that define Okonkwos cultural community & define his sense of moral order when everything collapses in the face of European colonialismColonial rule destabilizes traditional values & institutionsThere is a crisis of authority & power, which leads to a crisis of culture