Things Fall apart - Positioning

• Narrative voice – what judgements does the narrator make about the events
• Implied audience – what role is assigned to the reader (insider/outsider)
• Whose voices/thoughts/opinions/culture are privileged
• Whose voices/thoughts/opinions/culture are silenced
• Binary oppositions or contrasts – do they work to represent some things as good, making the opposite bad? Or do they increase the level of sophistication or complexity of the representation? (see next point)
• Level of complexity of the representation – the more complex and ambiguous, the less the reader is positioned to completely accept or reject a point of view or character
• Consequences of actions – how are the consequences represented (deserved? Tragic? Triumphant?

Comparison Exercise - Things Fall Apart

Chapter twenty.

1. How does the author position you to view the Ibo tribe? (Consider social structure, culture, values, attitudes, beliefs, etc).

The reader is positioned to view the Ibo tribe as being demolished by the white people. Whilst Okonkwo was exiled his people have been taken over by white people and learnt that their spiritual way and thoughts are bad. There is a strict colonial discourse in this chapter as the Ibo tribe are being colonised by the white people by learning their way of life, government and religion. “It is already too late, said Obierika sadly. Our own men and our sons have joined the ranks of the stranger. They have joined his religion and they help to uphold his government.” This is an example of colonial discourse which is embedded in the chapter as majority of the Ibo tribe are to believe that their society, religion and way of thinking is morally wrong and are being taught by the white people how to behave.

2. How does the author position you to view the individual characters? (Focus only on those characters who are essential to the plot).

Okonkwo

Okonkwo is still determined to regain the respect of the Ibo tribe and win back the land. Although when he returned the tribe wasn’t the same as they had been colonised by the white people. Okonkwo is trying to find any way to regain his title of the Ibo tribe, to which he thinks will help if he demolishes the white people and rescue the ones who have followed the strangers.

Obierika

Still believes that there is someway to resolve this crisis, however he is not as determined as Okonkwo. Obierika’s motive is significantly different to Okonkwo’s as he is doing it, mostly to regain his title in the tribe however Obierika wants to stop this because he knows it is wrong for his culture and he believes that people shouldn’t be punished for such a thing.

Enzinma

Enzinma is seen as favoured mostly by Okonkwo not only in this chapter but throughout the book, as Okonkwo believes she should be a man. “I wish she were a boy, Okonkwo thought within himself. She understood things so perfectly. Who else among his children could have read his thought so well.”

3. How does the author position you to view men?

There is a split with how the author positions the reader to view men. As the men like Okonkwo and Obierika are trying to stop the invasion of the European, however there are the men like Ogbuefi who has joined the Europeans.

4. How does the author position you to view women?

Women are not mentioned in the chapter, they are viewed as to follow the orders of the men and are of lower status.

5. How does the author position you to view the Europeans? (If relevant to the chapter).

The Europeans in this chapter are viewed as being the ones that invaded the Ibo tribe and disrupted the peace that was within the society. This is which makes Okonkwo to want to fight back so he is able to regain his title in the land. Also because of the deep spiritual connection he felt the Europeans have demolished.

6. What are the similarities and differences between the two chapters and what impact has this had on your understanding of the story and the overall invited reading?

At the end of Chapter 20, Obierika points out that there is no way that the white man will be able to understand Umuofia’s customs without understanding its language. This idea mirrors one of Achebe’s purposes in writing Things Fall Apart: the book serves not only to remind the West that Africa has language and culture but also to provide an understanding of Igbo culture through language. Achebe shows us the extent to which cultural and linguistic structures and practices are intertwined, and he is able to re-create in English the cadences, images, and rhythms of the speech of the Igbo people. By the time things begin to “fall apart,” it becomes clear that what the colonialists have unravelled is the complex Igbo culture.

Comparison Exercise - Things Fall Apart

Chapter eight.

1. How does the author position you to view the Ibo tribe? (Consider social structure, culture, values, attitudes, beliefs, etc).

In this chapter there is a distinct binary opposition which is embedded for the reader to view the Ibo tribe. The binary opposition is between men and women as the Ibo believe that if you are male you should convey masculinity as if you are female you should display femininity.

2. How does the author position you to view the individual characters? (Focus only on those characters who are essential to the plot).

Okonkwo

In the beginning of the chapter, Okonkwo is depressed due to the death of Ikemefuna. During this period, he is isolated alone for a few days. “How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.” (pg 47). The author positions the reader to view Okonkwo as one who always believes that men are the dominant gender rather than women. Also identifies that women have weak abilities and characteristics.

Ezinma

Is viewed as a source of comfort to Okonkwo. Because she understands him, she does not address his sorrow directly; rather, she urges him to eat. Enzinma is his favourite child. Okonkwo’s frequently voiced desire that Enzinma were a boy seems to suggest that he secretly desires attachment with his actual sons, although he avoids admitting as much because he fears affection as a weakness. Enzinma which also exhibits desirable masculine traits.

3. How does the author position you to view men?

In this chapter the audience is positioned is positioned to view men as trying to act very masculine. The Ibo men believe that is feminine to show emotion and not to show they are weak.

4. How does the author position you to view women? Women are seen as quite inferior and are the ones with very vulnerable qualities and are weak. As Okonkwo associates weakness with femininity.

5. What are the similarities and differences between the two chapters and what impact has this had on your understanding of the story and the overall invited reading?

There aren’t any similarities between the two chapters, except for fact that men are of a higher status compared to women. However this chapter only refers to the Ibo tribe and not the Europeans. Whilst this chapter is only about the Ibo tribe, and their respect for men and women. Men and women are seen as completely different people with different traits, which is the only similarity to the 25th chapter.

Things Fall Apart - Character List

Okonkwo
An influential clan leader in Umuofia. Since early childhood, Okonkwo’s embarrassment about his lazy, squandering, and effeminate father, Unoka, has driven him to succeed. Okonkwo’s hard work and prowess in war have earned him a position of high status in his clan, and he attains wealth sufficient to support three wives and their children. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw is that he is terrified of looking weak like his father. As a result, he behaves rashly, bringing a great deal of trouble and sorrow upon himself and his family.

Nwoye
Okonkwo’s oldest son, whom Okonkwo believes is weak and lazy. Okonkwo continually beats Nwoye, hoping to correct the faults that he perceives in him. Influenced by Ikemefuna, Nwoye begins to exhibit more masculine behavior, which pleases Okonkwo. However, he maintains doubts about some of the laws and rules of his tribe and eventually converts to Christianity, an act that Okonkwo criticizes as “effeminate.” Okonkwo believes that Nwoye is afflicted with the same weaknesses that his father, Unoka, possessed in abundance.

Ezinma
The only child of Okonkwo’s second wife, Ekwefi. As the only one of Ekwefi’s ten children to survive past infancy, Ezinma is the center of her mother’s world. Their relationship is atypical—Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name and is treated by her as an equal. Ezinma is also Okonkwo’s favorite child, for she understands him better than any of his other children and reminds him of Ekwefi when Ekwefi was the village beauty. Okonkwo rarely demonstrates his affection, however, because he fears that doing so would make him look weak. Furthermore, he wishes that Ezinma were a boy because she would have been the perfect son.

Ikemefuna
A boy given to Okonkwo by a neighboring village. Ikemefuna lives in the hut of Okonkwo’s first wife and quickly becomes popular with Okonkwo’s children. He develops an especially close relationship with Nwoye, Okonkwo’s oldest son, who looks up to him. Okonkwo too becomes very fond of Ikemefuna, who calls him “father” and is a perfect clansman, but Okonkwo does not demonstrate his affection because he fears that doing so would make him look weak.

Mr. Brown
The first white missionary to travel to Umuofia. Mr. Brown institutes a policy of compromise, understanding, and non-aggression between his flock and the clan. He even becomes friends with prominent clansmen and builds a school and a hospital in Umuofia. Unlike Reverend Smith, he attempts to appeal respectfully to the tribe’s value system rather than harshly impose his religion on it.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Brief Summary

The story of Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart takes place in the Nigerian village of Umuofia in the late 1880s, before missionaries and other outsiders have arrived. The Ibo clan practices common tribal traditions—worship of gods, sacrifice, communal living, war, and magic. Leadership is based on a man's personal worth and his contribution to the good of the tribe. Okonkwo stands out as a great leader of the Ibo tribe. Tribesmen respect Okonkwo for his many achievements.

Even though the tribe reveres Okonkwo, he must be punished for his accidental shooting of a young tribesman. The Ibo ban Okonkwo from the clan for seven years. Upon his return to the village, Okonkwo finds a tribe divided by the influence of missionaries and English bureaucrats who have interrupted the routine of tradition. Only when Okonkwo commits the ultimate sin against the tribe does the tribe come back together to honor custom.