Africa has traditionally been a continent of mixed fortunes, where real-life stories of hope and despair abound. African traditions, values and customs have been slowly influenced by colonization and eventual globalization that has turned the world into a global village. The novel, Things fall apart, is a reflection of the extent to which Africans were tied to their beliefs and customs, as a violation of those customs was regarded as being disrespectful to the gods. Resistance to the new values and beliefs as brought by the missionaries are resisted since the communities regard them as inclined on disrupting the norms that hold the community together. However, aspects such as the oppression of women and human sacrifices offered to the gods paint the picture of how the African traditions were somewhat retrogressive. Achebe’s regaining the voice of African and defends their humanity despite their nervous conditions of living in a dual world that can ruin one's self-identity and state of mind.
Things Fall Apart is a perfect example that encompasses the life, nature, and traditional culture of Africans. Chinua uses Okonkwo, a fierce and champion fighter, to show how Africans led their life with regards to the way they observed traditions, lived in harmony with each other and worked hard to provide for their families. For instance, when the gods desire the life of Ikemefuna, the village boy whom the Umuofia village had been given in a debt settlement with another village, Okonkwo obeys the order and facilitates the killing of the boy despite the fact that he did not like the idea. Obedience and total allegiance were necessary for the Africans in the post-colonial period. Failure to obey the rules led to repercussions such as being excommunicated from the village as a way of showing respect for the gods. Such is the case with Okonkwo, who is ex-communicated from his village and therefore leaves for his mother’s village till the missionaries arrive. (Achebe 46)
The African society is closely tied together, and the perspective of life is that of unity and consideration for the larger community. Individual crimes are severely punished, and the gods must be pleased even when it means sacrificing a life to ensure that no one violates the norms and values identified in the society. Moreover, disputes between clans are solved amicably to foster effective relationships among neighboring villages and clan members. The case where Ikemefuna is offered to another village as a way of solving disputes shows the extent that the people were ready to go to ensure that there were no conflicts among members within a society. Chinua Achebe succeeds in weaving a story that shows the reality, perspective and ideology of life in a traditional African setting, and how interpersonal relationships and community ties influenced the nature of life. Most importantly, family ties and the definition of family in African society are depicted as elements that characterized the lives of Africans. In this perspective, Ikemefuna bonds with the family of Okonkwo, cultivating a good relationship with his blood son, Nwoye. Okonkwo derives a lot of pride from Ikemefuna because he is a hardworking boy who influences the behavior of Nwoye. In the case of the extended family, the people of Mbanta, where Okonkwo’s mother came from, accepted him willingly and even gave him a compound to build some huts when he was ex-communicated thereby proving the string ties were desired in the African culture.
When the white people came and tried to impose Christianity and a western way of thinking on religion and culture, individuals such as Okonkwo were resistant to such motives. The gods refused the influence of the white people with incidences such as the burning of churches proving the extent to which western influence was not accommodated. Burning of churches created renewed anger in the missionaries thereby leading to arrests of several people believed to have contributed to the torching. Fellows like Okonkwo were so attached to their village customs and beliefs that they could not bring themselves to thinking about the worship of a new god. When Okonkwo realized that majority of the villagers were unwilling to oppose the missionaries, he committed suicide by hanging himself, an act that was considered shameful in the village. The strong faith in the values and cultural practices of the Africans is therefore proven by Okonkwo defending the traditions to the extent that he kills himself to prove his opposition to the western influence.
The complete allegiance to the wishes of the gods and the way the gods were represented by elders raises questions on the credibility of the decision made by the elders. It is hard, for example, to understand why the gods demanded the death of Ikemefuna, a diligent young boy who had learned the importance of hard work from Okonkwo. Perhaps, the elders were just wary of the threat Ikemefuna posed if he grew up to become as successful as Okonkwo. Moreover, the fact that he was not a blood descendant of the village ancestors might have worked to his disadvantage. Traditional African beliefs had great convictions on fate with incidences such as the death of the elder’s son during his burial through busting of Okonkwo’s gun, viewed as either retaliation from the gods or a deliberate act from Okonkwo. Nevertheless, such incidents raise issues on the limitations of the traditional African values and beliefs. The traditions were to a larger extent oppressive on the rights of women who were denied the freedom to choose their preferred partners for marriage. The women role was believed to be domestic which meant that they were not supposed to engage in activities that were masculine. Such factors depict some of the negative consequences the African culture had on its people.
“Nervous Conditions” illustrates the female perspective of colonialization and its effects in a combination of the value of the African culture. Tambu is at the center of the family story, as she finds it odd that her cousins, Nyasha, and Chido cannot speak Shona when they return from studying abroad. Tambu is deeply rooted in her African traditions and has the conviction of the superiority of the African culture. Tambu seemed to detest the people who got absorbed by the western influence including their pursuit of academic education. For instance, she refused to attend her parents’ church wedding as advised by Babamukuru. Ironically, though, towards the end she becomes influenced by the white man’s education and feels herself sinking into the struggles of the new culture like Nyasha (Dangarembga 180-189).
Tambu is caught up in a culture struggle whereby besides being determined to preserve her African roots she shows some willingness to get educated. Her enthusiasm about education is reflected when she is chosen to replace her brother, Nhamo, as the beneficiary to the scholarships given by Babamukuru. In her new school in the mission, she works hard and learns how to perform house chores in the new setting, Babamukuru’s house. She learns that Babamukuru’s wife, Maiguru, is highly educated, and that was the reason for the conflict in their marriage, as she usually stood to defend her position in times of turmoil. Maiguru does not like the fact that she has to cook for the extended family as the senior wife, and she laments to Tambu, highlighting her thoughts as a modern woman who understood her rights and the need to depart from norms that degraded women in the community.
The cultural conflict is deeply embedded in Nyasha, who struggles to find happiness in the hybrid world where rules changed by the day. For example, one day Babamukuru is pushing Tambu’s parents to authenticate their marriage in a church wedding, and the next day Maiguru, Babamukuru’s wife, is subjected to traditional culture by having to cook for the extended family as the senior wife. This struggle makes Nyasha lose herself, suffering even more when Tambu moves to the convent school, where she lives in a room full of girls. Technically, Nyasha has lost the war on society and conviction; she is absorbed by the conflict of expectations, internally within her educated family and externally with other people. Somehow Tambu succeeds to strike a perfect balance, just like Maiguru, showing the ability of women to overcome cultural difficulties in the pursuit of their goals. Nervous Conditions is a woman’s voice on the need for them to be allowed to play roles in the society that are no longer reflective of the stereotypes associated with the fact that women have no significant influence on the society. The fact that the African culture denies women the freedom to act in their best interest proves the complexities of the values and beliefs.
Themes of both Things fall apart and nervous conditions display African culture throughout colonization and reflect the true image of Africa from “the empire” (colonize people). The use of the colonialist language depicts Africa as a continent that was undergoing a search for self. The adoption of the western culture and language could only be uprooted using the same colonial language, adjusted to the realities of the African, in the postcolonial era. Reconciling these thoughts with the opinions in the essay, the empire writes home, one gets to learn the importance of language in raising issues in literature, and the necessity of differentiating literature from the language. The success of English as the oppressor’s writing language is a psychological desired impact by the ‘empire’ and that it puts him in a controlling position, still, despite relinquishing power to the local governments. In perspective, Things Fall Apart and Nervous Conditions are depictions of the historical and psychological lifecycle of English as the ‘Empire’ language vis a vis its usefulness in highlighting the plight of the colonized population. Thus, the process culminated into a new type of English is a proof of the stubbornness of culture and its flexibility at the same time. Culture hinges on usefulness and language as core part of that culture, which does not refer to the actual semantics and phonetics, but the idea of thought, and how it presents the case of the oppressed (Eagleton).
The case for Africa points to the question of the impact of colonization on ‘Africanism’ and the question of whether Africa is better in its current ‘civilized’ form or in its traditional set up where societies were carefully intertwined (Rodney 16-30). Chinua Achebe uses Okonkwo to illuminate on the cultural richness of the African societies, with a clear emphasis on the strength of the interpersonal and communal ties, and the collective sacrifice of the society for the individual, and the complete allegiance of the individual to the society. That interplay constructs a three-dimensional triangle that is anchored on the gods and their relationship with human beings. In the Nervous Conditions, the subject of Africa before colonialism is thwarted by the inclination of the writer towards the use of superlatives on women, and the angle of the woman question, or, feminism. However, that does not take away the fact that Nervous Conditions highlights the difficulties of cross-culture decisions, like Tambu leaving the homestead to join the school, with her parents refusing to let her go, as they still have fresh memories of the death of Tambu’s brother (Verongos).
Lastly, the mistrust between the colonizer and the colonized and the obstruction of knowledge is shown by the reluctance of the majority to adopt academic education. In western education, especially in 19th and 20th century, Africa is depicted as the antidote to civilization, a place where deprivation and disease rules run rampage on people. Before the rise of political correctness, many writers were not vibrant on their views on Africa and blackness. This conflict was highlighted by Chinua Achebe faceoff with Conrad, by branding his books racist and for the oppressor’s agenda. Chinua Achebe reflects that conviction in his writing, by creating dominant African characters that charge on the ideas of the missionaries and the white man (Phillips).
Conclusion
Achebe’s regaining the voice of African and defends their humanity despite their nervous conditions of living in a dual world that can ruin one's self-identity and state of mind. Things fall apart creates the impression of stronger ties between communities and the need for effective interpersonal relationships among people of the same society. Deviation from the norms and values leads to punishment as a way of cautioning others against defiance. However, the stubbornness of the African culture is seen when the people resist academic education, are oppressive on the rights of women and unwilling to adopt modern ideas. Africans view education as a western concept that should not be embraced especially by women who play inferior roles to those of men in the traditional African community is undermined. Women like Nyasha who manage to get educated are seen as individuals whose state of mind is ruined since the culture is rooted in the fact that women could only fit in domestic roles. The limitation of the African culture is, therefore, a reason for departure from rigid beliefs and adopting the western culture including accepting the need for women to be educated and using the western language to acquire and exchange modern ideas.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 2006. Print.
Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervous Conditions: A Novel. United Kingdom: Clarke, Ayebia Publishing, 2004. Print.
Eagleton, Terry. “The Empire Writes Back.” The Lancet 367.9515 (2006): 977–978. Web.
Phillips, Caryl. “Out of Africa.” The Guardian 22 Feb. 2003. Web. 11 June 2016.
Rodney, Walter. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (23rd March 1942-13th June 1980). London: Bogle L’Ouverture Publications, 1988. Print.
Verongos, Helen T. “Nadine Gordimer, Novelist, Who Took on Apartheid, Is Dead at 90.” Books 15 July 2014. Web. 11 June 2016.
