Achebe’s ‘Things fall apart’ as a subtle reflection of today’s society.

Ah, Things fall apart. One of the greatest African stories ever told out of Africa. Yes, that’s right. This prodigy of a book was written by no other than Chinua Achebe, a novelist from Nigeria and father of modern African literature.

This here is one book I could read over and over again without getting tired. Its exceptional storytelling structure is hypnotic and it has this antique feel although 1958 wasn’t too long ago. Now let us get into the review we’re all here for. This is one review I’ve always thought of writing but couldn’t muster the zeal and Alacrity to. Rather than write a review as I did for Adichie’s ‘Americanah’, I kept battling with the words and images Okonkwo had burned in my head. However, today‘s a good day for a book review so let’s get it.

Things fall apart as a subtle reflection of today’s society. Society. What is society? This community of uncertain fellowship we have found ourselves in with set out rules and cages. In the first part of the book We are introduced to Okonkwo, a great wrestler, and champion of the Umuofia people who despite humble beginnings, rose to the strata of power in Umuofia, for among these people, achievement was revered. Achebe quickly made clear, Okonkwo’s motivational force. A force that is driven by fear. Fear of Failure. Fear to become his father Unoka. Now in today’s society, success standards and goal quotas have been set. It is no new thing to see men and women reaching their limits just to avoid failure. But Mr. Failure, however, is present in all aspects of human life. Unoka is regarded as a failure in the book. One looked upon with shame by everyone. A debtor, a lazy man, and with the inability to think of tomorrow. His life was termed bad luck and we see his son Okonkwo shudder at the very thought of being called ‘weak’ like his father. But on a brighter note, Unoka was also a flutist. One Who found joy in the gentle things of life. One who

dances to a melody. Ironic isn’t it. That Unoka the pauper had something that no one else in the book had. Talent for the flute. And it was also said that despite Unoka's debts, people still borrowed him more money. What special trick was that? Perhaps Unoka was skilled in the art of sweet talk which would have been perfect for brands in today’s society. But sadly we’ll never know as Unoka died terrible, alone and rejected by his Kinsmen. Now that got me thinking.

What if Unoka was born in the wrong era? Was he not living in the moment like we would tell each other? What if Unoka had sort for ways to make money off his music because just like him, there are lots of creatives today that wouldn’t like the normal 9- 5 jobs so they sort themselves out with their skills. But what would Unoka have done in a mundane society that ran activities in market days?

Unoka‘s passion for music that cost him his prestige is one people still battle with today. To me, I feel like Unoka didn’t find the right audience and the values of his time served as a passion killer for skills excluding sheer masculinity. We shall talk about this soon enough. In the book, we learn of Okonkwo’s hot temper, his disregard for weaker men, and his deep insecurities. Okonkwo despite being the great man he was, was, unfortunately, a victim of his environment.

His levels of masculinity, which some might consider toxic, were born out of a deeply rooted patriarchal society. And While we read from today’s standards, we should not forget that ’Things fall apart was set in a period encompassing varying cultures and beliefs.

While a majority of today’s world might go on to claim woke and term Things fall Apart misogynistic , we can see similarities in the systems and beliefs of Umuofia and our current society. Chielo, Priestess of Agbala was the only influential woman in the book. She was the mouthpiece of the Oracle. In today’s world of conflicting views and opinions, we have women in places of power. A feat that was not rare in the past considering “Things fall Apart”. So it’s safe to say that life can be a place of recurring values.

Okonkwo, while in exile after killing a clansman unknowingly during a funeral, disowns one of his sons Nwoye, who he deemed weak and effeminate. Nwoye had joined the missionaries and like all new converts after him, refused to give in to peer pressure. Yes. Peer pressure.

It was peer pressure that made Okonkwo kill ikemefula the lad. He was afraid of what people would think. He didn’t want to be considered weak like his father Unoka. His insecurities always had the best of him. This flaw is a major character in today’s world of standards. The pressure is always there. We are fixated on people’s opinions and set out rules that we forget reason. Okonkwo being unable to control Nwoye, persuaded his siblings to ostracize him. The last move in desperation.

One would have thought Okonkwo’s return to Umuofia would have been his redemption arc as his native town had been run over by the missionaries. But alas he let his resentment and anger flow from his bloodthirsty machete when he beheaded the court messenger. While some say might see Okonkwo as a pure brute, I see him as someone dealing with a loss. A loss of his homeland, his prestige, and his very essence. Be it toxic or not. This trait is found in today’s society.

We don’t want to let go of values and things that mean a lot to us and while some just sob out their eyes, the rest might react worse than Okonkwo. It’s Human Complexity. One that Chinua Achebe perfectly narrated from the view of an omnipresent writer.

However, “ The World has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others”...