Yams

Called, the king of crops, Yams carry a twofold purpose in Things Fall Apart. First, they are a sign of masculinity, a crop grown by men, a tradition Okonkwo passes on to Nwoye and Ikemefuna. Okonkwo criticises his son for mishandling the seed yams, a reflection of his greater criticism of Nwoye’s lack of masculine attributes. Seen as a masculine crop, the yams are an indication of the patriarchal society and separation between the genders. It creates a village where women are dependent on the yam farming men to provide for them.

Second, yams symbolise sustenance and a way of life. The year and seasons are marked by yam planting and harvesting. A week of peace is observed to please the gods and ensure a bountiful harvest. Planting and harvesting festivals are the social gatherings of the villages. The yams are an ongoing sign of traditional life.

Yam Quotes

‘I have come to you for help’, he said. ‘Perhaps you can already guess what it is. I have cleared a farm but have no yams to sow. I know what it is to ask a man to trust another with his yams, especially these days when young men are afraid of hard work.’ (Okwonko) Chapter 3

But for a young man whose father had no yams, there was no other way. (about Okwonko) Chapter 3

Drums

Drums symbolise a unique characteristic of the Umuofia village. The drums are seen as a part of the living village. The locals can interpret their language and this sets them apart from outside cultures. The drums are used to herald important events or meetings. By listing the sounds and translating the drum language, Achebe grants it a status equal to other languages. The drums are used as an indication of mood as they swell to a frenzy during the wrestling tournaments or break the silence of the night with an announcement that is transmitted like a news service.

Drum Quotes

Okonkwo cleared his throat and moved his feet to the beat of the drums. It filled him with fire as it had always done from his youth. Chapter 5

There were seven drums and they were arranged according to
their sizes in a long wooden basket. Three men beat them with sticks,
working feverishly from one drum to another. They were possessed
by the spirit of the drums. Chapter 6

Fire

Fire is used in the physical sense to eradicate wrongdoings. It is taken to the compounds of those who have transgressed and used to ruin their obi’s, or huts. It is also used to burn the church as a sign of vengeance after the Reverend Smith and Enoch provoke the elders.

Fire is used to describe Okonkwo. His clansmen see him as a roaring flame. His temper and personality consumes those around him. However Okonkwo laments that despite his internal fire his son does not possess the same spirit. He ponders that hot fire brings cold ash, that his nature has not passed to the next generation.

Fire Quotes

He was like an elder brother to Nwoye, and from the very first seemed to
have kindled a new fire in the younger boy. (about Ikemefuna) Chapter 7

Ezeudu’s quarter stormed Okonkwo’s compound, dressed in garbs of war. They set fire to his houses, demolished his red walls, killed his animals and destroyed his barn. It was the justice of the earth goddess, and they were merely her messengers. Chapter 13

Okonkwo’s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He sighed again, deeply. Chapter 17

Locusts

Foreshadowing the arrival of the colonisers, the locusts come in shifts. The original group represents a scouting party arriving and being greeted warmly, knowing that they symbolise the arrival of locusts that are sweet to eat and cherished by the Igbo villages. In the same way, the original missionaries are tolerated. Soon after them however come the governing forces associated with colonisation. These will be seen to devour the land in the same way a swarm of locusts could devour a crop. The oracle tells the community members of this comparison but they fail to heed the warning and let the colonisers settle among them.

Locust Quotes

‘Locusts are descending,’ was joyfully chanted everywhere, and men, women and children left their work or their play and ran into the open to see the unfamiliar sight. Chapter 7

‘…I forgot to tell you another thing which the Oracle said. It said that other white men were on their way. They were locusts, it said, and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain. And so they killed him.’ (Obierika) Chapter 15