Chinua Achebe’s writing is underscored by his desire to establish that ‘African peoples did not hear of culture for the first time from Europeans; that their societies were not mindless . . . , that they had poetry and, above all, they had dignity’. Outspoken in his criticism of writers who engaged the African continent in their writings, such as Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness, Chinua employed Things Fall Apart to correct literature’s stereotypical portrayal of Africans and show a more multifaceted and valuable culture.

After the outlawing of slavery in 1807, the British established relations with Nigeria in the guise of preventing others from engaging in the slave trade. They quickly tapped resources such as palm oil and cotton and established themselves with certain aristocratic groups. Following the discovery of quinine, a medicine which removed fear of catching the deadly disease malaria, the British pushed further into the continent than ever before. Among the emissaries were businessmen, soldiers and missionaries. Treaties and trade policies were established.

Colonial administrators encouraged conversion to Christianity and it spread from 1860 onwards. The education system played a large part in this as mission schools took young converts and trained them to be the intellectual, commercial, civic, and military elites, who would then often be promoted by the British colonial government. While many found this transition to be fulfilling, establishing Nigeria as a protected and wealthier region, many traditional tribesmen such as some represented in Chinua’s novel struggled with the change.

‘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.’ (W B Yeats)

Achebe’s use of Yeats’ poetry in his prologue is adept for the context of this novel. These lines from The Second Coming describe a moment in history when the past has been obliterated and the future is unknown but arriving any ominous minute. It raises the inescapability of change and the uncertainty of exactly what that change will bring.

Things Fall Apart begins in a pre-colonial setting in a village called Umuofia, a part of the Igbo clans. It follows a respected tribesman Okonkwo who has endeavoured to make something of himself despite his start in life. Okonkwo’s father, Unoko, is seen as lazy, squandering, and ‘effeminate’ in the eyes of the village. Effeminacy is used to describe any man considered not to uphold the masculine ideals as constructed by the culture. He is in immense debt and refuses to work his way out from under it. This has brought shame on him however Okonkwo has made himself into a man that shares none of this shame. He has worked hard and made a name for himself as a provider and a respected clansman receiving titles from the community. His exploits as a wrestler, having defeated a famous tribesman who was thought unbeatable, helped elevate his status.

Okonkwo is a short-tempered and abrupt man who is proud and obstinate. He is almost single-minded in his goal to be a great man, discarding anything that may be considered cowardice or effeminate. He imposes the same work ethic and cultural expectations on his family under threat of beatings. His meteoric rise in the community is only halted by fate. When a gun Okonkwo shoots explodes and a small piece errantly strikes and kills a boy, Okonkwo is found guilty of a crime considered ‘effeminate’ and is shamed and exiled for seven years.

During his time in exile Okonkwo begins to understand the idea of community over his own individual desires. However it is during this time that missionaries and colonists arrive in the villages of the Igbo. While some community members embrace Christianity and others are learning how to balance their own beliefs with the new colonial regime, Okonkwo resorts to his old ways of thinking that the fight should be physical. Eventually he takes on the new presence in a furious attack that leaves a colonial messenger dead.

The protagonist highlights the cultural divide between the incumbent community and the new arrivals. It shows how necessary change is for survival. In a somewhat balanced way it shows that not all change is bad, as the colonial regime and missionaries bring practices that would be considered by many to be positive. They rescue discarded babies, considered to be evil under antiquated beliefs, and strive for a more inclusive community empowering outsiders and women.

Some fellow Nigerian writers were not pleased with the representations made by Achebe. Fears were expressed that focusing on one group in an idealistic way may elevate their status in a developing nation. Such fears were in some ways warranted when the Igbo populated area known as Biafra tried to secede from Nigeria after discovery of petroleum in the region.

Published in 1958, Things fall Apart won the Margaret Wong memorial Prize for Literature. It established Achebe as an influential writer and won him broad critical acclaim. Critics have praised Achebe’s neutral narration and have described Things Fall Apart as a realistic novel. The novel opened the way for more African writers to pen works set in Africa, a significant change from the works of European writers who were framing Africans as the savage in need of redemption.