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Title: The Israelite Demand for A King: a Biblical Excursion
Author: HG Furaha///BlogSpot University online-editor-in-chief
Timescape: 2008
Type: Class Assignment
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There came a time in the life of Israel as a nation that its people demanded a human king. Israel had been living as a loose confederacy of tribes for very long and was, in the words of Manya (2008), “going round in a cycle of: sin>>punishment>>repentance>>blessing>>complacency, then back to sin again.” The period of the judges spans one hundred and fifty years, which are enclosed within another 400 years characterized by general apostasy. The people repeatedly turned from the LORD to other gods, and displayed the lack of a sound knowledge of God. Conversely – as depicted by the cycle – God in His love and grace always sent His people a deliverer in the form of a judge.
This time, when Israel transitioned from the leadership of the judges to a monarchic form of government, was a time of great change for Israel. Israel’s delicate internal balances of culture, government, ethos, and almost all other aspects of its societal existence were profoundly touched by this transition into a monarchy. The discussion that follows is based on chapter 8 of the book of Samuel, and is concerned with Israel’s quest for a king, and the implications thereof:
Samuel, the last judge of Israel, was both a religious and political leader. He was Israel’s prophet, priest and judge. As a prophet, he served as one who received divine utterance and communicated God’s will to the people – he is also referred to as a “seer” on numerous occasions throughout this book (1 Samuel). As priest, he wore the ephod of priesthood and conducted all religious practices and the Levitical rituals demanded of a priest by the Mosaic Law. As judge, he was Israel’s chief (and often final) decision maker: he solved cases, settled disputes as an arbitrator and offered advice to any who consulted him. Moreover, he was a deliverer – used by God to redeem Israel from the oppression of the surrounding nations (e.g. 1 Sam 7 speaks about his dealing with the Philistines). The Bible depicts him as a righteous individual, a man in a two-way relationship with God, and as Israel's deliverer from the clutches of sin and the apostasy that bound them tightly during the period of the judges. In what Hill and Walton (1991) call “The Shiloh Traditions (1 Sam 1:1 to 4:1a)” Samuel’s background is explained: his miraculous birth, arrival at the temple, radical calling and, finally, the start of his functioning as prophet, priest and judge of Israel after the demise of Eli and his family. (As briefly noted above, The Shiloh Traditions refer to 1 Samuel 1:1 to 4:1a were Samuel’s background is elaborately explained. They are thought to be obtained from oral narratives traditionally accepted by the Jewish people to be the story of Samuel’s birth and his life before taking position as Israel’s leader. The name Shiloh comes from the city in which the temple and the Ark of the Covenant resided.)
Israel at this time was in a tumultuous condition in which each tribe lived on its own accord with little or no regards of the other tribes. It was a loose confederacy of ethnic outfit. Samuel became a thread that wove through all of Israel in spite of the ethnic precincts and boundaries. Despite the fact that Israel was internally divided it can easily be seen that God, Samuel, and even outsiders considered it one nation. This can be judged from the following observations: when the Midianites (during Gideon’s times) or the Philistines (during Samson’s time) attacked the Israelites, they attacked them holistically – as one nation! Moreover, when God spoke, particularly through Samuel, he spoke to the whole of Israel – as one nation! The period of the judges ends dramatically. It closes with the Ark of the Covenant being captured by the Philistines. This capturing made Israel, and its God, objects of contempt and mockery. Researches on biblical anthropology and history explain that the nations of Ancient West Asia states regarded military victory as one nation’s deity conquering over another’s. This meant that the capturing of The Ark made Israel items of “scorn and ridicule”1 – the Philistines regarded it as capturing Israel’s God. The Israelites became items of divine abandonment, and were left in the webs of a “self-imposed exile of the Lord.”1 It is at these troubling times that Samuel emerges as a radical transitional figure and presides over Israel’s move into a monarchic form of statehood.
The Israelite’s demand a king: The events surrounding Israel’s demand for an earthly king are elaborately discussed in the section that follows:
As seen in the paragraphs above, Israel was in a chaotic state but God used Samuel to restore its dignity and stability. The Bible also states that as Samuel neared the end of his time as Israel’s leader there was a “great peace” in the nation, that even their fiercest enemies – the Philistines – “did not disturb them” (1 Sam 8). Now, Samuel grew old and returned to Armathaim (some versions: Ramah), his hometown, then, as the Bible records, “he placed his sons as judges over Israel” (1 Sam 8:13). Nonetheless, the Bible also mentions that Samuel judged Israel “all the days of his life” (1 Sam 8:15); this implies that although his sons were the “judges” of Israel they were merely ceremonial leaders, and quite unauthorized in that Israel still regarded Samuel as their real leader. This is also witnessed in the fact that the Israelites, when they asked for a king, did not consult his sons but went directly into the countryside of Armathaim to lie out their complaints before him. His sons were considered nominal leaders. The Israelites felt that there was no one appropriate to serve as prophet, priest and judge in Samuel’s place.
In verse 5 of 1 Samuel 8, the Bible states three reasons that the Israelites had for demanding a king, derived from what they themselves said in their petitions for a king. The next paragraphs deal with the reasons explicitly stated by the Bible for Israel’s demand of a king:
Samuel had grown old: the Israelite’s mention this to him in their demand for a king (verse 5). The great leader of Israel had started to wear out physically due to his advancing age. Actually, he had even returned to his hometown. This act of Samuel withdrawing to his hometown despite his dynamic roles (of prophet, priest and judge) carries the symbolic meaning that he had become very old and frail. It was customary for people in OT times to return to their hometowns when they thought that they were nearing death so that they would be “buried with their fathers.” It is also good to note that, in those times, old age was associated with wisdom, experience and, hence, good leadership. Therefore, Samuel’s retirement of the judgeship shows us that he was not simply elderly, but very aged – too old to retain his dynamic positions. This meant that he could not be as mobile as before, capable of serving the whole of Israel. Additionally, the Israelite’s discerned that no one was proficient enough to take over Samuel’s position as Israel’s sole administrator. However, or so they thought, a king with people working under him (as subordinates) would be a fuller national administrator after Samuel.
His sons were corrupt and vile leaders: the Israelites also complained to Samuel that his sons “did not follow his example.” They complained that his sons were despicable leaders – devoid of holiness and wisdom. Samuel had set them as judges over Israel, but, as verse 3 records, they were “seduced by the love of money, took bribes, and gave biased verdicts.” The people had expected that, as Samuel’s seed, they would be people of integrity, wisdom, and godliness. They probably even expected that they would raise the bar of stability and dignity that Israel found with Samuel. Israel’s elders were hurt by their evil actions, and at once ran to Samuel – whom they still regarded the “real judge” – and poured out their complaints to him. Joel and Abijah’s actions shattered all hope among the Israelites for a judge after Samuel. (Joel and Abijah are Samuel’s sons).
They desired a king “like the other nations”: the fact that all the surrounding Syro-Palestinian nations had kings who led and judged them, made the Israelite’s desirous of a king; thinking that it would further their stability and prosperity. They were attracted to the monarchic form of government – maybe just because they wanted to try something new, or because they wanted a human being, tangible and seeable, leading them – but mainly, we fathom, because of Samuel’s increasing age and the uncertainty therein that no one could take his position. They were driven by the uncertainty-avoidance characteristic of most Near Eastern cultures towards desiring something that would provide them added assurance that their internal balances would continue being in control. (It should be noted that we are not justifying Israel’s position but rather analyzing, through inferences, the most probable causes of its desire for the shift into a monarchic government.) Probably, they also were seeking a man who they, as a nation, could draw identity from. This shows the weakness of their spiritual state, because, originally they were to find their identity in God, and not elsewhere.
Apart from the three reasons that the Bible explicitly states there is a horde of other implied reasons as can be judged through a historical analysis of the times in which these events occurred. This section deals with the implicit reasons for Israel’s transition to a monarchy:
Syro-Palestinian political rivalry: the political unrest caused particularly by Israel’s enmity with the Philistines and to a small extent the other Syro-Palestinian nations (i.e. the Ancient Western Asiatic states) called for the merging of Israel’s tribes so as to form a greater alliance than the one they, at that time, had. These rivalries placed Israel in a position where they had to join and form a unified front in case of any external attacks or political interferences. The best option Israel had was to solidify their intertribal relationships by uniting under the leadership of a monarch. Hill and Walton (1991) assert, “Threats to Israel posed especially by the Philistines necessitated a greater amount of cooperation among the tribes than was the case previously, and these are directly responsible for the decision to switch to a monarchic form of government.” The picture of one Israel under one king became to them a hope and a symbol of larger national power. To them, it meant greater stability and security – it increased their chances of political constancy and national security. Due to the reasons elaborated above, they opted for a monarchic form of government rather than continuing as a slack coalition of ethnic outfit, which is relatively prone to defeat by their political rivals.
Difficulty in acquiring one to replace Samuel: the Israelites deemed it almost impossible to find a man to function as Israel's political and religious leader after Samuel’s regime. It was difficult to find one to serve as a judge with the same genuineness and administrative prowess of Samuel. Samuel’s wisdom, integrity, age, and leadership skills – together with his firm relationship with God – made him a strong figure in Israel’s political, social, and religious leadership. He assumed multiple vibrant roles as the prophet, priest, and judge of Israel. His leadership was divinely inspired for he was led by God’s Holy Spirit. These qualities won him reverence and great influence over Israel and even over other nations (as evidenced by chapter 7:13-15a). Now, the Israelites knew that there were only few, if any, people capable of serving in the capacity and qualities of Samuel. Thus, they opted for a relatively secular leadership – where governmental/administrative functions are separated from priestly/prophetic functions – and so they demanded a monarch.
This section will identify and elaborate the implications of this action of the Israelites demanding a human king:
A willful rejection of the Lord’s rule over them: When the Israelite’s went to Samuel and complained to him that they were tired of the situation they were in, and that they demanded a human king to sit on the throne and “judge” them it implied that they had deliberately rejected the leadership of the Lord. This is vividly seen in the startling statement God makes to Samuel in chapter 8:7 “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” Up to this point in history, the Israelites had always accepted God’s divine rule over them through a man in the form of a prophet, a priest, and/or a judge who received messages from God and reproduced them to the people – one who represented the nation before God. God made his will known through men like Moses, Joshua, the judges and Samuel himself, and the Israelites followed whatever their leader presented to them. God was king, and the earthly leaders were merely representatives who carried out his will. Now the Israelites were rejecting this system of divine leadership. The theocratic system of ruling was abandoned for a human regime of leadership, and though this human king was also to serve as a representative of the Divine King – Saul failed to do so.
A heavy influence of the surrounding nations on Israelite thinking and social order: One of the reasons the Israelites themselves gave for demanding an earthly king was that they should have a human king “like the other nations.” All of the other Western-Asiatic nations had kings who ruled over them – the Philistines, the Moabites, the Edomites, and all other surrounding nations that were Israel’s regional rivals had kings as their presiding administrators. This demand for a king “like the other nations” sheds light on the influence these nations had on Israel’s social order. From it, we can judge Israel’s social behavior. It implies that Israel would easily borrow many practices from the neighboring nations – these practices range from farming techniques, to morals, worldviews and even to religious systems (proven by the fact that Israel easily fell into idolatry and apostasy many times during the period of the judges). Israel followed the manners of the other nations. They separated themselves from God’s separation. God intended Israel to be a model nation and separated them by telling them “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people set apart for God.” Nonetheless, Israel fell short of this blessedness and separation of the Lord. They were influenced behaviorally, culturally, and socially by their neighbor nations. It was a time of tremendous externally inspired cultural shifts. Israel had been in exile for many years, they had adopted many ways foreign to them. As a nation, and a culture, Israel was generally insecure; and despite Samuel’s achievements in restoring stability and security, they still were prone to various foreign influences.
A general deterioration of their relationship with God: it implied that Israel’s spiritual relationship with God had weakened and degenerated. Israel’s demand of a king was, among many other reasons, a quest to find a man they could draw identity from. From this, we observe that their relationship with God had weakened because, according to God’s purpose, they drew identity from him. Originally, it was a relationship whereby man was in the image of God. One where: we are what we are because God is what he is. This can be seen in Genesis 1 (where he says, “let us make man in our own image”) and in Leviticus where he says, “Ye shall be holy, because I am holy.” This shows God’s original plan of relationship with human beings. “Ye shall be…because I am…” We are because He is – we draw our identity from him! The model nation Israel had deviated from this plan.
From verse 10 of chapter 8, Samuel proclaims to the Israelites the many things that the king they have demanded would do to them and to their children. He prophetically speaks into Israel’s future as a nation – he mentions the various oppressions that the Israelites would suffer, and that the monarch’s regime will be harsh and exploitative. Despite his warnings, the Israelites kept on with their demand for a king.
The unenviable condition that Saul left Israel in after his leadership is merely a confirmation of Samuel’s prophecy. When Saul became Israel’s first king, he was their hope. Israelites found in him an assurance of greater political stability, economic prosperity, and social welfare – only to find that his was a temporary hope. “Saul had the potential to succeed, but he did not develop into a man who knew God. His naïveté becomes clear as the text recounts his failures. ”1 By willfully rejecting God, the Israelites had thrown themselves into a pit of troubles while thinking they were solving their problems. They acted in a manner suggested by the Swahili adage “kuruka majivu, kukanyaga moto” – translated it reads “jumping ashes only to fall into fire.” In their attempts to escape its problems and establish security, the Israelites fell into bigger problems – the threat posed by the Philistines increased, the economic condition worsened, and the people were pulled farther and farther from God. This is along the lines of Dr. Martin Luther King’s words (1963) “…the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.” In their endeavor to escape oppression from outsiders, they faced internal exploitation from Saul’s tyrannical regime and constant opposition from the neighboring nations.
Showing posts with label Senior High School. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Senior High School. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 December 2008
The Main Aspects of Style in Things Fall Apart
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Title: The Main Aspects of Style in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
Author: HG Furaha///BlogSpot University online-editor-in-chief
Timescape: 2008
Type: Term Paper
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“The beauty of the universe lies in its diversity.” So writes Antonio Ugenti, highlighting a timeless truth with which we, as a group, fully concur. To appreciate Achebe’s style in Things Fall Apart we should first appreciate this truth. The most beautiful thing about life is that it comes in all shapes and sizes. There is so much beauty in diversity! There are no two people who share the same life; and there are no two things that are exactly alike. One cannot even imagine the dullness of a world in which everything is like everything else. Achebe’s style is, therefore, unique. But it does not only stop there. His distinctiveness is drawn from him being original, thought-provoking and real in his writing. In an interview by Jerome Brooks for The Paris Review, Mr. Achebe (1994) said:
I believe in the complexity of the human story, and that there is no way you can tell [a] story in one way and say, ‘this is it.’ Always there will be someone who can tell it differently depending on where they are standing … this is the way I think the world’s stories should be told: from many different perspectives. (pg.1)
He tells the story of Africa from an African perspective, with “Achebean” style. Achebe is the ideal teller of this story. Born in Nigeria during the early periods of colonialism, he spoke Igbo at home, and was taught in English at school. In an autobiographical essay he describes himself as growing up “at the crossroads of culture.” He depicts the Umuofian society as it moves from a thriving African civilization, flourishing in its culture, into a society that falls into the clutches of Westernization as the colonialists come in and conquer it. Umuofia, as the book title suggests, “falls apart.” His style is decorated with proverbs, idioms, Ibo folklore, substories, similes, forebodings, and flashbacks. This great diversity adds up to the value, and the beauty, of his book.
The book Things Fall Apart is the truest form of an African classic. It is a book about Africa, by an African, from an African perspective. It is the work of one of Africa’s greatest minds and industrious individuals, and thus, is the work of Africa itself. It tells Africa’s story in a most sincere and original way by looking at one culture of Africa – one piece of Africa the pot of gold – Umuofia.
The paper that follows is an elaborate description, after identification, of the main aspects of style as utilized by Achebe in his masterpiece Things Fall Apart and an endeavor to ornately explain their importance:
One aspect of style extensively put at task in Things Fall Apart is proverbs. Proverbs are an integral part of Umuofian (and African) culture, and are used comprehensively even in ordinary day-to-day conversation. From the beginning of the book, Achebe implies his comprehensive use of proverbs when he writes “proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten. (pg.1)” This profound statement shows the direct importance of proverbs in Umuofian oral culture, and provides us with prescience on the invaluable place of proverbs in the book. While citing some examples from the book we will henceforth elaborate the importance of proverbs in this book. One importance of proverbs in the book is that they were used as a philosophical pedestal to explain the various Ibo beliefs. For example, “When a man says yes his chi also says yes. (pg. 19)” – this explains the Ibo belief in a personal god and the philosophy that a man succeeded only because of his own diligence and not out of luck; that a man determined his fate by his choices and actions. They also provide further insight into the culture and day-to-day activities of the Ibo in a way that ordinary language cannot truly explain: “A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm. (pg. 67)” At first sight, this brings to us one major food in Umuofian cuisine – yams. Conversely, judging from its context one sees that it is stated in Okonkwo’s defense after his participation in Ikemefuna’s death. It explains that he cannot be blamed for taking part in what was forced on him as an obligation. The proverbs also offer us insight into the characters’ thoughts and attitudes towards life. Like when Okonkwo says, “Living fire begets cold impotent ash (pg. 151)” as he analyses Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity. This shows us that he had a negative attitude towards his son and toward Christianity; he also goes on and refers to him as “degenerate and effeminate” – augmenting our opinion. They were also used as tools of enculturation and education. Like when the elder says to Okonkwo “Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble. (pg. 26)” Reminding him of the universal (and Ibo) value of humility even when one succeeds. The richness in, and elusiveness of, meaning that these proverbs have shows us their advanced intellect and their understanding of life. For example … These, together with many others, were the uses and importance of proverbs in the book Things Fall Apart.
Symbolism: Achebe also employs an extensive use of symbolic figures throughout the book. http://www.sparknotes.com/ defines symbols as “objects, characters, figures or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.”(pg.1) Achebe’s style is festooned with various literary, cultural and allegorical symbols. The title itself: Things Fall Apart is symbolic to the breakdown of African traditions with the coming of the white colonialists. In another instance where he describes Amalinze, he writes, “He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the ground.”(pg.1); the symbol “the Cat” was used to depict Amalinze’s state as the grand wrestler whose back never touched the ground. Here Achebe explicitly explains the symbol that he has used. In most other instances, the symbols are concealed – therefore the reader is to comprehend the implied meaning. As when he writes, “Let the Kite perch and let the Eagle perch too.”(pg.14) – this is a prayer that Okonkwo makes to his chi as he was at Nwakibie’s house. Here, the Kite symbolizes him, and the Eagle is symbolic of Nwakibie. Furthermore, portraying the swarming of the locusts he writes “And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree, every blade of grass…and the whole country…” Here, he speaks in highly allegorical terms, using the locusts to prefigure the arrival of the white colonial settlers, and the various damages they caused to the delicate internal balances of the Umuofian ethos.
Similes: these are descriptions that simplify abstract ideas by drawing comparisons with simpler tangible artifacts. Achebe’s use of similes depicts his literary prowess, and his aptitude in abridging and simplifying abstract truths in beautiful figurative ways. Introducing Okonkwo’s fame and eminence he employs this simile: “His fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.”(pg.3) – the harmattan is a wind typical to the Ibo climate that Achebe was writing from. To explain Amalinze’s agility in wrestling he writes, “[he was] as slippery as a fish in water.”(pg.3). – as seen in the above cases, most of the similes are used to explain actions and behaviors of people. However, the similes are not limited to explaining behavior and actions. Sometimes he uses them to explain natural phenomena. For example, he writes in one instance, “The Earth burned like hot coals.”(pg.17) explaining in figurative terms the scorching heat of the sun that had caused the season to be very dry, and the harvest unfruitful.
Flashbacks: Achebe’s style is also extensively bejeweled with flashbacks. (Stories told from a nostalgic/reflective perspective). We find the first instance of a flashback in the opening chapter of the book, when Achebe tells the story of Okoye’s visit to Unoka demanding payment for the money he had lent Unoka. (pg.4) Additionally, almost the whole of chapter 3 is written in flashback. It begins with a narration of Okonkwo paying a visit to the wealthy Nwakibie to ask him for yams that he may grow on his farm. Unoka’s laziness (Unoka is Okonkwo’s father) had left Okonkwo without any inheritance – no yams, and even no substantial piece of land for him to plant them on – that is why he had to request yams from Nwakibie. This story is told in reminisce at a time when Okonkwo is already a wealthy Umuofian leader with three wives. (ch.3). It also narrates Unoka’s visit to Agbala. (pg. 12-13). Achebe used flashbacks especially to establish an understanding of the story’s movement. Without the flashbacks, important details of the story could have been left out to the reader’s misunderstanding, or even have caused failure to understand some parts of the story. He skillfully uses them to glue the story together while explaining details imperative to comprehension of the story.
Language and Choice of Words: Achebe deftly chooses his words to fit the tone of the particular part of the story, the theme he is expounding on at the time, the ideas he is aggregately explaining at that moment in the story, in a manner that ultimately adds up to the message he is conveying. One stylistic use of language that is characteristic of him throughout the book is the use of his native Ibo language betwixt English. To accentuate the difference, he italicizes the Ibo word e.g.: “They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi.”(pg. 22) While simultaneously enhancing his style, his demonstrating of imaginative, often formal Ibo language showed the complexity of the language for direct translation into English. The aspect of language, and his distinctive choice of words, is an aspect of his style that shouldn’t be ignored because it is actually the most alive part of his style – visible on every page, every chapter, - throughout the book.
Forebodings: Achebe also uses forewarnings in his writing – in a subtle manner giving the reader glimpses of that bound to happen through events that seem to ingeniously lead the active reader into discerning that which is about to ensue. In Chapter 14, for example, we see Okonkwo being exiled to Mbanta – at first sight it seems that it is a personal disaster – yet it signified the beginning of the tribe’s “falling apart”; the exile removed Okonkwo, a strong endorser and practitioner of Umuofian culture, at a crucial time from his tribe. He returns to a changed world, its internal cultural equilibrium very disturbed, that he can no longer adapt to, or substantially change. This event of exiling Okonkwo foreshadowed the falling apart of the whole tribe. Another instance of foreshadowing is the case of Ikemefuna – it is important to note how Achebe foreshadows the lad’s death even as he introduces him. From the first mention of Ikemefuna, the boy given “as compensation” (pg.8) for the killing of a woman at Mbaino, he incites in the reader a certain sense of gloom and bleakness haunting the boy – which climaxes as Okonkwo lifts up the axe and kills him (ch.2). The recurrence of the phrase “falling apart” in the last chapter also foreshadowed the story’s tragic ending – the tribe’s culture, customs, traditions, values, and even worldview had been greatly altered and destroyed – great leaders are detained – Okonkwo commits suicide – and tragic things are rampant as prefigured by the recurring phrase “falling apart.”
Other aspects of style that festoon Achebe’s Things Fall Apart are imagery – he extensively uses Animal imagery like the toad (pg.15), a kite and eagle (pg. 14), nza, the tortoise, the sacred python, and locusts – all of these animals were used as allegorical descriptions of certain abstract ideas he was conveying. Folklore: he extensively uses folk tales (like the story of the tortoise and its shell), Ibo idiomatic lexis, proverbs, and artistic expressions. Motifs: these are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that help highlight, develop and inform one of the text’s major themes. The inveterate mentioning of Chi – which is the Ibo concept of a personal god helped accentuate and develop the theme of religion and how original Umuofian beliefs were shattered by the advent of Christianity. Substories (story within a story): the whole text of Things Fall Apart is made up of various fragments and subparts that aggregately bring out a story – he glues the whole story by weaving different little stories together. All in all, from the perspective of style, Achebe has proficiently succeeded in creating a true African masterpiece and a universal epitome of the African novel.
The world is like a painting. Every color, every hue, every shade, every level of saturation – every huge or tiny difference – adds to its beauty. Imagine a painting with only one color – dull, unattractive, and unenjoyable. In the same way, Achebe’s style adds to the beauty of the world of literature. His distinctive and original perspective on life, his story-telling techniques, his choice of language, his vast range of literary devices, and, holistically, his engaging of the audience (i.e. his readers) – the truly African way introduced a new outlook and perception of life into the literary world. Moreover, his idiosyncratic style enhances the reading of the book, augments the process of comprehension, and, generally, causes the reader to look at life in new eyes. He allows the reader to experiment on new outlooks, subtly asks thought-provoking questions throughout the moving story, and explores the simple yet profound realities of life – like good, evil, satisfaction, culture, struggle, tragedy, non-conformity, manhood, success humankind’s universal desire (and quest) for God, and many other truths – in a manner that, indirectly, asks more questions than it gives answers. It engages the reader into a quest for knowledge, and truth. One thing one sees in his approach is that it utilizes a truly African approach. Throughout the story Achebe maintains his authenticity as African. In another interview, Mr. Achebe comments on the importance of African stories being told from an African perspective by the following proverb: “until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” He unmasks the realities of Umuofian culture (which is almost prototypical of African culture) by revealing the routine day-to-day life of the tribesmen in a large variety of its aspects: for example, he speaks of Umuofia’s cuisine when he mentions how they ate locusts, actually as a delicacy, “And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. Soon it covered half the sky, and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust. It was a tremendous sight, full of power and beauty.”(pg. 56) The villagers then went, during the night, and “harvested” these rarely appearing insects, dried them in the sun and then ate them “with solid palm-oil.” (pg. 56)
This is also true of when he shows the value the Umuofians give their mother by writing: “Can you tell me, Okonkwo, why it is that one of the commonest names we give to our children is Nneka, or ‘Mother is Supreme’? We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. And yet we say Nneka – ‘Mother is Supreme.’ Why is that?”(pg. 94)
His impact on the literary world, and even the day-to-day life of “ordinary” people, can be seen in the various comments by literary critics. In one essay, the critic writes:
Achebe did a good job of making the readers feel a part of the Ibo culture before the whites arrived…After widening our perspective, we, like the Africans themselves, view Europeans as strange and possibly threatening invaders. We experience colonialism, therefore, from the perspective of a colonized people.
The truth that it is not only in one way that Achebe’s originality and style have contributed to shaping perspectives of individuals all around the world is notice d again in the following critic’s remark. Observing Achebe’s contribution to the world at large, he marks:
[I have] learned that the African Tribes were not as mindless and barbaric as I…thought. Achebe…showed the changes that people are capable of when they are exposed to new ways…that finding out what’s best for you through experience is more important…He shows us that life is about driving across country as opposed to flying and interacting with other places, and then being able to talk about it. It’s sharing ideas or simply taking time to talk to the person you never talked to because they seemed different or did something that you never understood. Ask them why they do it. Take the difficult road. Risk the security of the set everyday routine that we all have, and get out there in someone else’s shoes. Then like, Nwoye, things will turn out for the best.
Yet another profound statement on the impact of Achebe’s style is visible in the observation, “As readers seeing [original African traditional day-to-day] life, we accept [it] and understand the beauty that we would have never known otherwise.” He is one of the few African writers who have truly exposed Africa to the world, and allowed people from outside Africa to have a truly African experience through reading. Intellectuals and writers like Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Shaaban Robert, Julius Nyerere, Wole Soyinka, Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Thandika Mkandawire, among other Africans have also made substantial contributions in portraying Africa the African way yet the contribution made by Things Fall Apart is of a special kind. The Sunday Times cites him as one of the “1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century” for “defining ‘a modern African literature that was truly African’ and thereby making a major contribution to world literature”
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Title: The Main Aspects of Style in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
Author: HG Furaha///BlogSpot University online-editor-in-chief
Timescape: 2008
Type: Term Paper
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“The beauty of the universe lies in its diversity.” So writes Antonio Ugenti, highlighting a timeless truth with which we, as a group, fully concur. To appreciate Achebe’s style in Things Fall Apart we should first appreciate this truth. The most beautiful thing about life is that it comes in all shapes and sizes. There is so much beauty in diversity! There are no two people who share the same life; and there are no two things that are exactly alike. One cannot even imagine the dullness of a world in which everything is like everything else. Achebe’s style is, therefore, unique. But it does not only stop there. His distinctiveness is drawn from him being original, thought-provoking and real in his writing. In an interview by Jerome Brooks for The Paris Review, Mr. Achebe (1994) said:
I believe in the complexity of the human story, and that there is no way you can tell [a] story in one way and say, ‘this is it.’ Always there will be someone who can tell it differently depending on where they are standing … this is the way I think the world’s stories should be told: from many different perspectives. (pg.1)
He tells the story of Africa from an African perspective, with “Achebean” style. Achebe is the ideal teller of this story. Born in Nigeria during the early periods of colonialism, he spoke Igbo at home, and was taught in English at school. In an autobiographical essay he describes himself as growing up “at the crossroads of culture.” He depicts the Umuofian society as it moves from a thriving African civilization, flourishing in its culture, into a society that falls into the clutches of Westernization as the colonialists come in and conquer it. Umuofia, as the book title suggests, “falls apart.” His style is decorated with proverbs, idioms, Ibo folklore, substories, similes, forebodings, and flashbacks. This great diversity adds up to the value, and the beauty, of his book.
The book Things Fall Apart is the truest form of an African classic. It is a book about Africa, by an African, from an African perspective. It is the work of one of Africa’s greatest minds and industrious individuals, and thus, is the work of Africa itself. It tells Africa’s story in a most sincere and original way by looking at one culture of Africa – one piece of Africa the pot of gold – Umuofia.
The paper that follows is an elaborate description, after identification, of the main aspects of style as utilized by Achebe in his masterpiece Things Fall Apart and an endeavor to ornately explain their importance:
One aspect of style extensively put at task in Things Fall Apart is proverbs. Proverbs are an integral part of Umuofian (and African) culture, and are used comprehensively even in ordinary day-to-day conversation. From the beginning of the book, Achebe implies his comprehensive use of proverbs when he writes “proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten. (pg.1)” This profound statement shows the direct importance of proverbs in Umuofian oral culture, and provides us with prescience on the invaluable place of proverbs in the book. While citing some examples from the book we will henceforth elaborate the importance of proverbs in this book. One importance of proverbs in the book is that they were used as a philosophical pedestal to explain the various Ibo beliefs. For example, “When a man says yes his chi also says yes. (pg. 19)” – this explains the Ibo belief in a personal god and the philosophy that a man succeeded only because of his own diligence and not out of luck; that a man determined his fate by his choices and actions. They also provide further insight into the culture and day-to-day activities of the Ibo in a way that ordinary language cannot truly explain: “A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm. (pg. 67)” At first sight, this brings to us one major food in Umuofian cuisine – yams. Conversely, judging from its context one sees that it is stated in Okonkwo’s defense after his participation in Ikemefuna’s death. It explains that he cannot be blamed for taking part in what was forced on him as an obligation. The proverbs also offer us insight into the characters’ thoughts and attitudes towards life. Like when Okonkwo says, “Living fire begets cold impotent ash (pg. 151)” as he analyses Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity. This shows us that he had a negative attitude towards his son and toward Christianity; he also goes on and refers to him as “degenerate and effeminate” – augmenting our opinion. They were also used as tools of enculturation and education. Like when the elder says to Okonkwo “Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble. (pg. 26)” Reminding him of the universal (and Ibo) value of humility even when one succeeds. The richness in, and elusiveness of, meaning that these proverbs have shows us their advanced intellect and their understanding of life. For example … These, together with many others, were the uses and importance of proverbs in the book Things Fall Apart.
Symbolism: Achebe also employs an extensive use of symbolic figures throughout the book. http://www.sparknotes.com/ defines symbols as “objects, characters, figures or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.”(pg.1) Achebe’s style is festooned with various literary, cultural and allegorical symbols. The title itself: Things Fall Apart is symbolic to the breakdown of African traditions with the coming of the white colonialists. In another instance where he describes Amalinze, he writes, “He was called the Cat because his back would never touch the ground.”(pg.1); the symbol “the Cat” was used to depict Amalinze’s state as the grand wrestler whose back never touched the ground. Here Achebe explicitly explains the symbol that he has used. In most other instances, the symbols are concealed – therefore the reader is to comprehend the implied meaning. As when he writes, “Let the Kite perch and let the Eagle perch too.”(pg.14) – this is a prayer that Okonkwo makes to his chi as he was at Nwakibie’s house. Here, the Kite symbolizes him, and the Eagle is symbolic of Nwakibie. Furthermore, portraying the swarming of the locusts he writes “And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree, every blade of grass…and the whole country…” Here, he speaks in highly allegorical terms, using the locusts to prefigure the arrival of the white colonial settlers, and the various damages they caused to the delicate internal balances of the Umuofian ethos.
Similes: these are descriptions that simplify abstract ideas by drawing comparisons with simpler tangible artifacts. Achebe’s use of similes depicts his literary prowess, and his aptitude in abridging and simplifying abstract truths in beautiful figurative ways. Introducing Okonkwo’s fame and eminence he employs this simile: “His fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan.”(pg.3) – the harmattan is a wind typical to the Ibo climate that Achebe was writing from. To explain Amalinze’s agility in wrestling he writes, “[he was] as slippery as a fish in water.”(pg.3). – as seen in the above cases, most of the similes are used to explain actions and behaviors of people. However, the similes are not limited to explaining behavior and actions. Sometimes he uses them to explain natural phenomena. For example, he writes in one instance, “The Earth burned like hot coals.”(pg.17) explaining in figurative terms the scorching heat of the sun that had caused the season to be very dry, and the harvest unfruitful.
Flashbacks: Achebe’s style is also extensively bejeweled with flashbacks. (Stories told from a nostalgic/reflective perspective). We find the first instance of a flashback in the opening chapter of the book, when Achebe tells the story of Okoye’s visit to Unoka demanding payment for the money he had lent Unoka. (pg.4) Additionally, almost the whole of chapter 3 is written in flashback. It begins with a narration of Okonkwo paying a visit to the wealthy Nwakibie to ask him for yams that he may grow on his farm. Unoka’s laziness (Unoka is Okonkwo’s father) had left Okonkwo without any inheritance – no yams, and even no substantial piece of land for him to plant them on – that is why he had to request yams from Nwakibie. This story is told in reminisce at a time when Okonkwo is already a wealthy Umuofian leader with three wives. (ch.3). It also narrates Unoka’s visit to Agbala. (pg. 12-13). Achebe used flashbacks especially to establish an understanding of the story’s movement. Without the flashbacks, important details of the story could have been left out to the reader’s misunderstanding, or even have caused failure to understand some parts of the story. He skillfully uses them to glue the story together while explaining details imperative to comprehension of the story.
Language and Choice of Words: Achebe deftly chooses his words to fit the tone of the particular part of the story, the theme he is expounding on at the time, the ideas he is aggregately explaining at that moment in the story, in a manner that ultimately adds up to the message he is conveying. One stylistic use of language that is characteristic of him throughout the book is the use of his native Ibo language betwixt English. To accentuate the difference, he italicizes the Ibo word e.g.: “They called him the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his chi.”(pg. 22) While simultaneously enhancing his style, his demonstrating of imaginative, often formal Ibo language showed the complexity of the language for direct translation into English. The aspect of language, and his distinctive choice of words, is an aspect of his style that shouldn’t be ignored because it is actually the most alive part of his style – visible on every page, every chapter, - throughout the book.
Forebodings: Achebe also uses forewarnings in his writing – in a subtle manner giving the reader glimpses of that bound to happen through events that seem to ingeniously lead the active reader into discerning that which is about to ensue. In Chapter 14, for example, we see Okonkwo being exiled to Mbanta – at first sight it seems that it is a personal disaster – yet it signified the beginning of the tribe’s “falling apart”; the exile removed Okonkwo, a strong endorser and practitioner of Umuofian culture, at a crucial time from his tribe. He returns to a changed world, its internal cultural equilibrium very disturbed, that he can no longer adapt to, or substantially change. This event of exiling Okonkwo foreshadowed the falling apart of the whole tribe. Another instance of foreshadowing is the case of Ikemefuna – it is important to note how Achebe foreshadows the lad’s death even as he introduces him. From the first mention of Ikemefuna, the boy given “as compensation” (pg.8) for the killing of a woman at Mbaino, he incites in the reader a certain sense of gloom and bleakness haunting the boy – which climaxes as Okonkwo lifts up the axe and kills him (ch.2). The recurrence of the phrase “falling apart” in the last chapter also foreshadowed the story’s tragic ending – the tribe’s culture, customs, traditions, values, and even worldview had been greatly altered and destroyed – great leaders are detained – Okonkwo commits suicide – and tragic things are rampant as prefigured by the recurring phrase “falling apart.”
Other aspects of style that festoon Achebe’s Things Fall Apart are imagery – he extensively uses Animal imagery like the toad (pg.15), a kite and eagle (pg. 14), nza, the tortoise, the sacred python, and locusts – all of these animals were used as allegorical descriptions of certain abstract ideas he was conveying. Folklore: he extensively uses folk tales (like the story of the tortoise and its shell), Ibo idiomatic lexis, proverbs, and artistic expressions. Motifs: these are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that help highlight, develop and inform one of the text’s major themes. The inveterate mentioning of Chi – which is the Ibo concept of a personal god helped accentuate and develop the theme of religion and how original Umuofian beliefs were shattered by the advent of Christianity. Substories (story within a story): the whole text of Things Fall Apart is made up of various fragments and subparts that aggregately bring out a story – he glues the whole story by weaving different little stories together. All in all, from the perspective of style, Achebe has proficiently succeeded in creating a true African masterpiece and a universal epitome of the African novel.
The world is like a painting. Every color, every hue, every shade, every level of saturation – every huge or tiny difference – adds to its beauty. Imagine a painting with only one color – dull, unattractive, and unenjoyable. In the same way, Achebe’s style adds to the beauty of the world of literature. His distinctive and original perspective on life, his story-telling techniques, his choice of language, his vast range of literary devices, and, holistically, his engaging of the audience (i.e. his readers) – the truly African way introduced a new outlook and perception of life into the literary world. Moreover, his idiosyncratic style enhances the reading of the book, augments the process of comprehension, and, generally, causes the reader to look at life in new eyes. He allows the reader to experiment on new outlooks, subtly asks thought-provoking questions throughout the moving story, and explores the simple yet profound realities of life – like good, evil, satisfaction, culture, struggle, tragedy, non-conformity, manhood, success humankind’s universal desire (and quest) for God, and many other truths – in a manner that, indirectly, asks more questions than it gives answers. It engages the reader into a quest for knowledge, and truth. One thing one sees in his approach is that it utilizes a truly African approach. Throughout the story Achebe maintains his authenticity as African. In another interview, Mr. Achebe comments on the importance of African stories being told from an African perspective by the following proverb: “until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” He unmasks the realities of Umuofian culture (which is almost prototypical of African culture) by revealing the routine day-to-day life of the tribesmen in a large variety of its aspects: for example, he speaks of Umuofia’s cuisine when he mentions how they ate locusts, actually as a delicacy, “And then appeared on the horizon a slowly-moving mass like a boundless sheet of black cloud drifting towards Umuofia. Soon it covered half the sky, and the solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust. It was a tremendous sight, full of power and beauty.”(pg. 56) The villagers then went, during the night, and “harvested” these rarely appearing insects, dried them in the sun and then ate them “with solid palm-oil.” (pg. 56)
This is also true of when he shows the value the Umuofians give their mother by writing: “Can you tell me, Okonkwo, why it is that one of the commonest names we give to our children is Nneka, or ‘Mother is Supreme’? We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland. And yet we say Nneka – ‘Mother is Supreme.’ Why is that?”(pg. 94)
His impact on the literary world, and even the day-to-day life of “ordinary” people, can be seen in the various comments by literary critics. In one essay, the critic writes:
Achebe did a good job of making the readers feel a part of the Ibo culture before the whites arrived…After widening our perspective, we, like the Africans themselves, view Europeans as strange and possibly threatening invaders. We experience colonialism, therefore, from the perspective of a colonized people.
The truth that it is not only in one way that Achebe’s originality and style have contributed to shaping perspectives of individuals all around the world is notice d again in the following critic’s remark. Observing Achebe’s contribution to the world at large, he marks:
[I have] learned that the African Tribes were not as mindless and barbaric as I…thought. Achebe…showed the changes that people are capable of when they are exposed to new ways…that finding out what’s best for you through experience is more important…He shows us that life is about driving across country as opposed to flying and interacting with other places, and then being able to talk about it. It’s sharing ideas or simply taking time to talk to the person you never talked to because they seemed different or did something that you never understood. Ask them why they do it. Take the difficult road. Risk the security of the set everyday routine that we all have, and get out there in someone else’s shoes. Then like, Nwoye, things will turn out for the best.
Yet another profound statement on the impact of Achebe’s style is visible in the observation, “As readers seeing [original African traditional day-to-day] life, we accept [it] and understand the beauty that we would have never known otherwise.” He is one of the few African writers who have truly exposed Africa to the world, and allowed people from outside Africa to have a truly African experience through reading. Intellectuals and writers like Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Shaaban Robert, Julius Nyerere, Wole Soyinka, Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Thandika Mkandawire, among other Africans have also made substantial contributions in portraying Africa the African way yet the contribution made by Things Fall Apart is of a special kind. The Sunday Times cites him as one of the “1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century” for “defining ‘a modern African literature that was truly African’ and thereby making a major contribution to world literature”
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