Dr. Ramirez
I. Biographical Overview
II. Lecture on pages 1-51, Chapters 1-6 of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
III. Character Overview

I. Chinua Achebe 1930-
Born in Ogidi in eastern Nigeria; father was a catechist for the Church Missionary Society.
Achebe was raised, accordingly, on the teachings of the Bible, but also had access to one of the best schools in West Africa, the Government College at Umuahia (high school). Later he Attended University College, Ibadan.
Initially studied medicine, and then switched to English Literature.
Worked as the Director of External Broadcasting in Nigeria during Nigeria's independence movement.  Later studied radio with the British Broadcasting Corporation.
So he was intimately acquainted with British culture and understood its privileges and impact.
In 1958 from there published his first novel, Things Fall Apart . Subsequent novels include:
A Man of the People, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God, Anthills of the Savannah,
Nigerian independence from English colonial rule came in 1960. The cultural inheritance of the British in Africa include the existence of missionary schools, the use of the District Commissioner to oversee territory, and the teaching of English.
Ibo, Igbo
This
Biographical Information comes from the Dictionary of Literary Biography.

II. My lecture will address the context for the title of Achebe's work and I will examine Chapters 1-6.

The title comes from W.B. Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming."  Yeats saw eras in 2000 year cycles.  The first coming refers to that of Jesus Christ and the speaker of the poem questions what will happen in the year 2000, the Second Coming
This poem conveys an apocalyptic vision of the world, anarchy, disorder, chaos; things fall apart, the center cannot hold, the falcon cannot hear the falconer.

Why do you suppose Achebe uses this poem as an opening to his novel?


Chapters 1-6 deals with many important elements in World Literature: the community, the family, gender expectations, respect for elders, spirit world, notions of justice, and, perhaps most importantly, the idea of being a man, earning respect, and becoming prosperous in an agrarian economy (the Ibo sell vegetables and other goods in the market)

Let's begin first with the notion of community.  Umuofia is Okonkwo's Fatherland.  Life there is based on a hierarchy; this, in turn, is informed by elders and the spirit world. Violence is tempered or punished by the community.
The clan takes on collective decision to kill Ikemefuna.  Umuofia is both the collective name and one of 9 villages which amount to roughly 10,000 people.  Within each village or clan, then, there are about 1111 people and these are divided up into families.  This is a polygamous society which means that men can have more than one wife but the inverse is not true.  Okonkwo, for example, has three wives and 8 children.  The man from whom he borrows Yams, Nwakibie, has 9 wives and 30 children.
On a related note, we should pursue the notions of marriage.  We will get into this later in the text, but I want to point out that marriage is more flexible than we might think.  For example, Ekwefi is married to someone else before she weds Okonkwo.  She leaves her husband and becomes part of Okonkwo's family.

Let's now investigate the family, where we see certain gender roles operating.  How does this culture seem to divide up its duties and responsibilities?

For example, who cooks? women and girls
Who carries a father or an elder's stool or chair? a son or a slave
Who makes a fire? daughters
Who plants yams? men and boys
Who grows cassava? women and girls

But then the gender roles become a bit more complex.  Because, for example, women can be priests--for example Chika and Chielo are both priests of the Oracle of the Hills--a place where people ask for advice or ask about the future.  Meanwhile, the priest representing Ani the Earth Goddess is a man, Ezeani (30).

The next point I want to address related to family is the role of the elders (called ndichie) and the worshipping of ancestors.
Elders give advice and are respected. For example, when a man from the Mbaino village kills a villager's wife in Umuofia, a white haired and white bearded elder of Umuofia speaks to all nine villages. This is Ogbuefi Ezeugo (the oldest man in the village 31) and his words are taken seriously as he explains the course of action they must take for justice. Likewise, when Okonkwo speaks arrogantly about a man without title, an elder corrects him with the use of a proverb: "The oldest man present said sternly that those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble"(27)

In regard to ancestors, you will notice in the text that the Ibo pray to them and honor them. In Okonkwo's compound, he has a small house or hut with a shrine dedicated to his ancestors who belong to the spirit world.  Indeed, the priest of the Earth is a go-between between ancestral spirits and the deities. These deities include

These gods represent the Ibo world view or cosmology and by worshipping them, the villagers can operate according to shared beliefs.  This is especially true in matters of transgression and justice.  So far, we see punishment operating on at least two occasions here. First, the father from Mbaino who helped to slay a wife from Umuofia is punished.  His son, Ikemefuna, is taken away and given to Okonkwo to look after.  To compensate for Ogbuefi Udo's loss, a young virgin is taken from Mbaino to replace his wife.  Thus the Ibo see justice as a kind of system of checks and balances, compensation for taboos or transgressions.  We see this when Okonkwo is punished for beating his own wife during the Week of Peace.  The priest of Ani berates him for his thoughtlessness and demands that Okonkwo bring to the shrine a she goat, a hen, a length of cloth and a hundred cowries as his fine.  (31)

The last point in my thematic overview that I want to address is the idea of being a man, earning respect, and becoming prosperous. We first see Okonkwo as a youth overcoming great odds.  He does this through wrestling and sharecropping. Unlike other youths, he has no inheritance, so everything that he accomplishes comes from his own hard work. Okonkwo's notion of being a man rests on becoming  the opposite of what his father is.  His father loves to play the flute, to be one with nature, and to socialize, but he fails to provide for his family.  From the village's perspective and that of Chika, Unoka lazes around and he repeatedly borrows money without paying it back.
In contrast, Okonkwo toils from morning to night to sow his fields and recognizes the value of the yam to his well being and that of his family.  He has defined himself as other men do by physical, marital, and material successes: wrestling, acquiring land, animals, harvesting yams, building barns, compounds, and wives.. He is good for his word if he asks for a loan.  But his flaw, so to speak, is that he abhors gentleness and, accordingly, he makes others suffer for his notion of masculinity.  We have already seen how he takes a heavy hand to his wife and children.

Having outlined the important themes--the community, the family, gender expectations, respect for elders, the spirit world, notions of justice, and, perhaps most importantly, the idea of being a man, earning respect, and becoming prosperous--I will now examine each chapter and I will highlight particular passages.


Chapter 1: Making a Man of Oneself
Coming of Age through wrestling
How is a man judged worthy? In this Ibo society, a man is judged according to his worth, not according to his father's worth
Okonkwo rises out of the ranks--the culture allows him to mobility. ( 8)
Elders--Age is respected, and achievement is revered (8)
Debt versus prosperity
Proverbs and Advice
Okonkwo rejects his father:
When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?
About this passage, one critic writes:
Okonkwo's masculinity becomes a defensive resource and his adherence to a masculine philosophy will thenceforth order his world.  In articulating his identity and justifying his actions, he cultivates his masculinity as a defense of personal honor in the face of potentially overwhelming circumstances in an antagonistic universe. (DLB, Osei Nyame, Kwadwo)
Justice--Ikemefuna compensates in part for the slain wife of Umuofia

Chapter 2: Justice
Town crier--mode of communication in traditional cultures
Beliefs about the night
Ogbuefi Udo's assembly
Debate over fight of blame versus  a just war
Ikemefuna's village is willing to sacrifice him and give a Virgin to keep the peace. So individuals are valued, but they are still part of the fabric of the community.
Okonkwo's Tyrannical control of household--fear of failure
Ikemefuna joins family--what is his status?

Chapter 3: Failures versus persistence
Chapter gtoes back in time
Examination of Unoka who consults Oracle called Agbala--also the name of a woman or a man without title--and is represented by Chika
Okonkwo has inherited nothing of value from his father and he has actively pursued his own identity.
The obsession with masculinity is an essential shield marked also by the excessive indulgences expressed in Okonkwo's outrageous assertiveness and his intense repudiation of certain subjective values such as "gentleness" and "idleness."  In Okonkwo's world, the ignominious predicament of his father, Unoka, simultaneously torments and propels him towards achieving his highest ambitions in life.  . . By constructing his identity and embedding his actions in a perverse sense in his rebelliousness against everything that Unoka represents, Okonkwo apprehends his world pessimistically. (DLB, Osei Nyame, Kwadwo)

Prosperity again with Nwakibie from whom Okonkwo borrows money
Battling the elements and survival
Unoka counsels his son, who shuns him

Man's crops: Yams
Yam, common name for any of several members of a genus of perennial herbs. Members of the genus are monocots and are native to tropical regions throughout the world. Yams are cultivated for their edible tubers, which grow up to 2.4 m(8 ft) long and weigh up to 45 kg (100 lb). The inconspicuous white or greenish-yellow flowers, arranged in spikes or racemes, have a six-parted calyx (outer flower whorl), a six-lobed corolla (inner floral whorl), six stamens, and a solitary pistil. The fruit of the yam consists of a membranaceous, three-winged capsule.Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002.

Yam, the king of crops, is a man's crop.
Elizabeth Isichei argues that the yam is of "supreme importance" and is "given ritual and symbolic importance in many areas of Igbo life (in Osei Nyame, Kwadwo). Stan Walker explains that the yam is one of three main crops in the Ibo diet.  Yams can be roasted or boiled and are only planted by men. Palm Wine is made from the juices of palm trees. It is milky in consistency and has a harsh taste.
The Kola nut is grown on  a tree which grows 40 feet high. The nut has caffeine; the Ibo eat a kola nut before and after meals to to aid in digestion; it also represents a peaceful way to handle disputes.

Woman's crops, coco-yams and cassava:
The plant grows in a bushy form, up to 2.4 m (up to 8 ft) high, with greenish-yellow flowers. The roots are up to 8 cm (up to 3 in) thick and 91 cm (36 in) long. (Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002.)

Chapter 4: Success, Arrogance, and Authority
Okonkwo's success and arrogance
Coming back to the present
Male authority--punishing of Ojiugo during Week of Peace
Threats aimed at Nwoye for mishandling of yams

Chapter 5: Yams and Wives and measures of Worth
Yams are manly--Feast of the New Yam
Oral traditions between Ekwefi and Ezinma
Boy's work (bringing a chair) and a girl's work (carrying pots)

Chapter 6: The Spirit World and the Heart of a Village
Spirit world--spirits of good children lived in the silk cotton tree and were waiting to be born
Wrestling match unites a village.
Dual identity of Chielo--as woman and priestess
Drumming is the heartbeat of a people coming together in good will.

Summary of Elements of Ibo Culture to date
Wrestling
New Year marked by Yam Harvests
Reverence of ancestors
Week of Peace
Hospitality--kola nut and palm wine--practice or custom
Oracle--to communicate with the spirits or the gods and to make a decision or seek guidance
Polydeism and polygamy
Make sacrifices (sheep/goats, chickens)--ritual
Art of conversation and story telling--practices or customs
Hold counsels to make decisions (about war, punishment, etc.)
Form of sharecropping--wealthy men dole out their yams and take 2/3s of the harvest
Women not allowed the same authority although there are priestesses.
Music important--drums and flutes


III. Character Overview
Flat characters--one sided character, not much access to their thoughts or understanding of their motives
Round characters--more dynamic, more personality, we have more access to their insights

Unoka--Okonkwo's father
Not a man of his words. Prefers to perform rather than working hard like other men.
Okonkwo--the wrestler, farmer, and titled warrior
Fears failure, contempt for weak father. Models his behavior after other successful people. Lashes out in anger
Nwoye--Okonkwo's elder son
Nwoye's mother--Okonkwo's first wife who has three sons (79) and one daughter
Obiagali- Nwoye's sister
Ekwefi--Second wife, left her husband to be with Okonkwo
Ezinma --Daughter of Ekwefi, the child Okonkwo wishes were a boy
Ojiugo -Third Wife, the one who is beaten during the Week of Peace
Nkechi --Ojiugo's daughter
Obierika --Okonkwo's friend and the one who chides him for killing Ikemefuna
Maduka--Obierika's son who wrestles in the village match
Ikemefuna- Mbaino youth sent over to village to compensate for the killing of a villager's wife. Lives three years with Okonkwo and then dies at his "father's" hand.
Chielo--Priestess of the Oracle of the Caves