I just finished it today. It was very interesting to read of the lives and traditions of the Ibo people, and it was very sad to see them begin to be destroyed by the colonial machine.
I will preface this by saying that I haven’t read it again in over a decade, but I remember mostly liking it on my second read. I switched schools mid high school, so I had to read it twice for school. I didn’t like it the first time, I think I was too young and not interested in interrogating it much the first time I read it, but enjoyed on the second reading.
As you mentioned, it did try to portray precolonization Igbo culture as Achebe understood it. And I thought that it was a brave choice to focus on a lot of flaws and issues with precolonization society, where many characters are some shade of moral grey. Though this does lead some people to think for the same reason that it downplays or softens the problems of colonization, despite that being the titular “things fall apart”, but I obviously feel that wasn’t what Achebe intended. I think that Achebe was trying to portray the motivation for the various downtrodden and Nwoye to go along with Christianity and colonization.
I wish we had more portrayals of precolonization societies in literature.
I do have to say, I think a lot of my distaste of it on the first reading is that superficial reading causes Okonkwo to often come off as the most two dimensional portrayal of toxic masculinity.
I had a lot of trouble with the portrayal of domestic violence as well.
I thought of Okonkwo as that two-dimensional portrayal until the last part. I may need a re-read after some time thinking about it.
I think that it was supposed to be mostly a commentary on the negative aspects of the norms and societal expectations, along with the shame from his father causing him to act that way out of deep insecurities. Because his fixation with honor and masculinity was so heavily focused on how he was seen in the community and not giving an opening for people to see him as weak or feminine, that is hammered home in his own internal justifications for his actions.
Spoiler for people that haven't read it.
Thus why when colonization started undermining his own perceived position and status in the community, and people wouldn’t follow him in resistance, he killed himself
That makes a lot of sense! I had a hard time understanding his action at the end there, but that explains it.
I remember reading it back in highschool, so my memory is pretty fuzzy about it, but I distinctly remember the protagonist hanging himself at the end :(
I also finished it very recently. It was interesting learning about the Igbo culture. It was sad seeing the colonization and I really wished they rose up before it was too late. The book also promotes a good understanding of the relationship between property and patriarchy, I am actually going to write an essay on this.
I’m interested in reading your essay!
It’s for school, but sure.
Ah, no worries either way!
