Historical Context of Things Fall Apart

 

Historical Context of Things Fall Apart 

What is the historical context of Things Fall Apart?

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is probably the most authentic narrative ever written about life in Nigeria at the turn of the twentieth century. Although the novel was first published in 1958  two years before Nigeria achieved its independence  thousands of copies are still sold every year in the United States alone. The novel takes its title from a verse in the poem "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats, an Irish poet, essayist, and dramatist:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

When Things Fall Apart was first published, Achebe announced that one of his purposes was to present a complex, dynamic society to a Western audience who perceived African society as primitive, simple, and backward. Unless Africans could tell their side of their story, Achebe believed that the African experience would forever be "mistold," even by such well-meaning authors as Joyce Cary in Mister Johnson. Cary worked in Nigeria as a colonial administrator and was sympathetic to the Nigerian people.

In Things Fall Apart, the Europeans' understanding of Africa is particularly exemplified in two characters: the Reverend James Smith and the unnamed District Commissioner. Mr. Smith sees no need to compromise on unquestionable religious doctrine or practices, even during their introduction to a society very different from his own. 

He simply does not recognize any benefit for allowing the Nigerians to retain elements of their heritage. The District Commissioner, on the other hand, prides himself on being a student of primitive customs and sees himself as a benevolent leader who has only the best intentions for pacifying the primitive tribes and bringing them into the modern era.

The life of the Igbo is romanticized and so distorted by the Europeans. But by presenting a view of pre-colonial Igbo society Achebe attempts to reclaim African history from an African perspective” (O’Reilly 2001: p. 34). Achebe receives early education in English, but grows up surrounded by the complex fusion of Igbo traditions and the colonial legacy. 

The invention of tradition and the narration of history are central to the nation. The nation has its own 

historical narrative that illustrates its origins and individual disposition. (McLeod 2007: p. 70).

In his essay “Named for Victoria, Queen of England”, Achebe expresses his moral responsibility to reassert the past. He says that Things Fall Apart “was an act of atonement with my past, a ritual return and homage of a prodigal son” (1995: p. 103).