Name: Vyas Nupur Hiteshbhai
Roll No: 34
M.A English , Batch: 2015-17
Sem - 4
Paper 14 – The African Literature
Topic: The Theme of Racial discrimination in ‘’Things Fall Apart’’.
Submitted to S.B. Gardi Department Of English, MKBU [Bhavnagar].
About Writer:
Chinua Achebe is considered by many critics and teachers to
be the most influential African writer of his generation. His writings,
including the novel Things Fall Apart, have introduced readers
throughout the world to creative uses of language and form, as well as to
factual inside accounts of modern African life and history. Not only through
his literary contributions but also through his championing of bold objectives
for Nigeria and Africa, Achebe has helped reshape the perception of African
history, culture, and place in world affairs. He first
novel of Achebe's, Things Fall Apart, is recognized as
a literary classic and is taught and read everywhere in the English-speaking
world. The novel has been translated into at least forty-five languages and has
sold several million copies. A year after publication, the book won the
Margaret Wong Memorial Prize, a major literary award.
Racism means:
Racism is the belief in which certain groups of people are
considered superior (or inferior) because of their skin color. One example of
racism is the Ibo peoples' stories of the British men. These stories mock the
white skin the English men have - the Ibo villagers call them lepers and
albinos. (Achebe, 138-139 and 74) In this example the Ibo people believe they
are superior. In other cases, it was the English who thought they were superior
and thought of the Ibo people as uncivilized, using words like
"primitive" when describing them. (Achebe 209) Exploitation of a
group of people is a main part in the process of colonization.
Introduction
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is
probably the most authentic narrative ever written about life in Nigeria at the
turn of the twentieth century. Although the novel was first published in 1958 —
two years before Nigeria achieved its independence — thousands of copies are
still sold every year in the United States alone. Millions of copies have been
sold around the world in its many translations. The novel has been adapted for
productions on the stage, on the radio, and on television.
The novel takes its title from a verse in the poem "The
Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats, an Irish poet, essayist, and dramatist:
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.
In this poem — ironically, a product of European thought —
Yeats describes an apocalyptic vision in which the world collapses into anarchy
because of an internal flaw in humanity. In Things Fall Apart,
Achebe illustrates this vision by showing us what happened in the Igbo society
of Nigeria at the time of its colonization by the British. Because of internal
weaknesses within the native structure and the divided nature of Igbo society,
the community of Umuofia in this novel is unable to withstand the tidal wave of
foreign religion, commerce, technology, and government. In "The Second
Coming," Yeats evokes the anti-Christ leading an anarchic world to
destruction. This ominous tone gradually emerges in Things Fall Apart as
an intrusive religious presence and an insensitive government together cause
the traditional Umuofian world to fall apart.
When Things Fall Apart was first published,
Achebe announced that one of his purposes was to present a complex, dynamic
society to a Western audience who perceived African society as primitive,
simple, and backward. Unless Africans could tell their side of their story,
Achebe believed that the African experience would forever be
"mistold," even by such well-meaning authors as Joyce Cary in Mister
Johnson. Cary worked in Nigeria as a colonial administrator and was
sympathetic to the Nigerian people. Yet Achebe feels that Cary, along with other
Western writers such as Joseph Conrad, misunderstood Africa. Many European
writers have presented the continent as a dark place inhabited by people with
impenetrable, primitive minds; Achebe considers this reductionist portrayal of
Africa racist. He points to Conrad, who wrote against imperialism but reduced
Africans to mysterious, animalistic, and exotic "others." In an
interview published in 1994, Achebe explains that his anger about the
inaccurate portrayal of African culture by white colonial writers does not
imply that students should not read works by Conrad or Cary. On the contrary,
Achebe urges students to read such works in order to better understand the
racism of the colonial era.
Achebe also kept in mind his own Nigerian people as an
audience. In 1964, he stated his goal:
To help my society regain belief in itself and put away the
complexes of the years of denigration and self-abasement. . . . I would be
quite satisfied if my novels . . . did no more than teach my [African] readers
that their past — with all its imperfections — was not one long night of
savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God's behalf delivered them.
In Things Fall Apart, the Europeans'
understanding of Africa is particularly exemplified in two characters: the Reverend
James Smith and the unnamed District Commissioner. Mr. Smith sees no need to
compromise on unquestionable religious doctrine or practices, even during their
introduction to a society very different from his own. He simply does not
recognize any benefit for allowing the Nigerians to retain elements of their
heritage. The District Commissioner, on the other hand, prides himself on being
a student of primitive customs and sees himself as a benevolent leader who has
only the best intentions for pacifying the primitive tribes and bringing them
into the modern era. Both men would express surprise if anyone suggested to
them that their European values may not be entirely appropriate for these
societies. The Commissioner's plan for briefly treating the story of Okonkwo
illustrates the inclination toward Western simplification and essentialization
of African culture.
To counter this inclination, Achebe brings to life an African
culture with a religion, a government, a system of money, and an artistic
tradition, as well as a judicial system. While technologically unsophisticated,
the Igbo culture is revealed to the reader as remarkably complex.
Furthermore, Things Fall Apart ironically reverses the style
of novels by such writers as Conrad and Cary, who created flat and
stereotypical African characters. Instead, Achebe stereotypes the white
colonialists as rigid, most with imperialistic intentions, whereas the Igbos
are highly individual, many of them open to new ideas.
But readers should note that Achebe is not presenting Igbo
culture as faultless and idyllic. Indeed, Achebe would contest such a romantic
portrayal of his native people. In fact, many Western writers who wrote about
colonialism (including Joseph Conrad, George Orwell, Herman Melville, and
Graham Greene) were opposed to imperialism but were romantic in their portrayal
of noble savages — primitive and animalistic, yet uncorrupted and innocent. The
opposition to imperialism that such authors voiced often rested on the notion
that an advanced Western society corrupts and destroys the non-Western world.
Achebe regards this notion as an unacceptable argument as well as a myth. The
Igbos were not noble savages, and although the Igbo world was eventually
destroyed, the indigenous culture was never an idyllic haven, even before the
arrival of the white colonialists. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe
depicts negative as well as positive elements of Igbo culture, and he is
sometimes as critical of his own people as he is of the colonizers.
Achebe has been a major force in the worldwide literary
movement to define and describe this African experience. Other postcolonial
writers in this movement include Leopold Senghor, Wole Soyinka, Aime Cesaire,
Derek Walcott, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, and Birago Diop. These writers not only confront
a multi ethnic perspective of history and truth, but they also challenge readers
to reexamine themselves in this complex and evolving world.
As an African novel written in English and departing
significantly from more familiar colonial writing, Things Fall Apart was
a ground breaking work. Achebe's role in making modern African literature a
part of world literature cannot be understated.
Throughout this novel, Achebe uses the spelling Ibo,
the old spelling of the Umuofian community.
A Brief History of Nigeria
The history of Nigeria is bound up with its geography. About
one-third larger than the state of Texas, Nigeria is located above the inner
curve of the elbow on the west coast of Africa, just north of the equator and
south of the Sahara Desert. More than two hundred ethnic groups — each with its
own language, beliefs, and culture — live in present-day Nigeria. The largest
ethnic groups are the mostly Protestant Yoruba in the west, the Catholic Igbo
in the east, and the predominantly Muslim Hausa-Fulani in the north. This
diversity of peoples is the result of thousands of years of history; as
traders, nomads, and refugees from invaders and climatic changes came to settle
with the indigenous population, and as foreign nations became aware of the area's
resources.
The events in Things Fall Apart take place
at the end of the nineteenth century and in the early part of the twentieth
century. Although the British did not occupy most of Nigeria until 1904, they
had a strong presence in West Africa since the early nineteenth century. The
British were a major buyer of African slaves in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
In 1807, however, the British outlawed slave trade within
their empire. At the time, they did not yet control Nigeria, and internal wars
continually increased the available supply of captured slaves. In 1861,
frustrated with the expanding slave trade, the British decided to occupy Lagos,
a major slave-trading post and the capital of present-day Nigeria. Slowly and
hesitantly, the British occupied the rest of Nigeria.
Ultimately, the British were prompted to occupy Nigeria for
more than the slave trade. The British were in competition with other Europeans
for control of the natural wealth of West Africa. At the Berlin Conference of
1884-85 — a meeting arranged to settle rivalries among European powers — the
British proclaimed Nigeria to be their territory. They bought palm oil,
peanuts, rubber, cotton, and other agricultural products from the Nigerians.
Indeed, trade in these products made some Nigerian traders very wealthy. In the
early twentieth century, the British defined the collection of diverse ethnic
groups as one country, Nigeria, and declared it a colony of the British Empire.
The British moved into Nigeria with a combination of government
control, religious mission, and economic incentive. In the north, the British
ruled indirectly, with the support of the local Muslim leaders, who collected
taxes and administered a government on behalf of the British. In the south,
however, where communities (such as Umuofia in Things Fall Apart)
were often not under one central authority, the British had to intervene
directly and forcefully to control the local population.
For example, a real-life tragedy at the community of Ahiara
serves as the historical model for the massacre of the village of Abame in
Chapter 15 of Things Fall Apart. On November 16, 1905,
a white man rode his bicycle into Ahiara and was killed by the natives. A month
later, an expedition of British forces searched the villages in the area and
killed many natives in reprisal.
The Ahiara incident led to the Bende-Onitsha Hinterland
Expedition, a force created to eliminate Igbo opposition. The British destroyed
the powerful Awka Oracle and killed all opposing Igbo groups. In 1912, the
British instituted the Collective Punishment Ordinance, which stipulated
punishment against an entire village or community for crimes committed by one
or more persons against the white colonialists.
The British operated an efficient administrative system and
introduced a form of British culture to Nigeria. They also sent many capable
young Nigerians to England for education. The experience of Nigerians who lived
overseas in the years preceding, during, and after World War II gave rise to a
class of young, educated nationalists who agitated for independence from Great
Britain. The British agreed to the Nigerians' demands and, in 1947, instituted
a ten-year economic plan toward independence. Nigeria became an independent
country on October 1, 1960, and became a republic in 1963.
With the British long gone from Nigeria, corruption and a
lack of leadership continued to hamper Nigeria's quest for true democracy. A
series of military coups and dictatorships in the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s
replaced the fragile democracy that Nigeria enjoyed in the early 1960s. In
1993, Nigeria held a democratic presidential election, which was followed by
yet another bloodless coup. And so continues the political pattern for the
troubled, violent, most populous country in Africa.
The first example is of Mr. Brown who shows how
"othering" contributes to colonization. Mr. Brown, an English
Christian preacher, has a paternalistic view of the Ibo people and feels he was
sent there by God to help them. He dismissed the Ibo people’s foolish beliefs
in many gods, and told them his God is the only God. "There are no other
gods,' said Mr. Brown. 'Chukwu is the only God and all others are false''
(Achebe 179). Mr. Brown uses Christianity to establish claims of superiority
through medicine and education. Though racism is not obvious in his words, he
still demonstrates racism because he is telling the Ibo people the white man's
way is superior.
Reverend James Smith took the place of Mr. Brown (after Mr.
Brown left Africa for health reasons). Even though Reverend Smith also wanted
to convert the Ibo people to Christianity, he did it differently than Mr.
Brown.
He condemned openly Mr. Brown's policy of compromise and
accommodation. He saw things as black and white. And black was evil.
Reverend Smith clearly implies white is good and obviously
superior, however he tries a kinder approach in persuading the Ibo people to
worship the correct God unlike Mr. Brown. The fact that he saw the world as
black and white, and black being evil shows how deeply rooted racism is when it
comes to colonization. Not only were the English men's opinions racist, but
also they used religious metaphors that were embedded with racism. "He saw
the world as a battlefield in which the children of light were locked in moral
conflict with the sons of darkness". The children of light represent white
skinned children (because light is often thought of as the color white) and the
sons of darkness represent black skinned boys (because darkness is often
thought of as the color black). This is a clear representation of the racism
impressed on the Ibo people during colonization.
The third example is the District Commissioner. The District
commissioner is an English man who is a low-level government administrator. The
District Commissioner is also an amateur anthropologist; his contribution to
"othering" is that how he saw the Ibo people as objects of study.
"Colonial governments discriminated against the employment of Africans in
senior categories; and, whenever it happened that a white and black filled the
same post, the white man was sure to be paid considerably more. This was true
at all levels, ranging from civil service posts to mine workers. He fancied
himself an expert on the Ibo people's customs and intended to write a book on
them.
As he walked back to the court he thought about that book.
Everyday brought him some new material. The story of this man who had killed a
messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading. One could almost
write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable
paragraph, at any rate.
The fact that The District commissioner said he could almost
write a chapter, or at least a paragraph, on Okonkwo's life is very belittling.
It also shows how little he values the lives of any non-white people, like the
Ibo. This is evidence of "othering" as well as implied racism.
Another example of the District Commissioner's "othering" is the
title he decided to give his book about the Ibo people: 'The Pacification of
the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger' (Achebe 209). The key word is
"primitive". He obviously considers the Ibo people to be uncivilized
which, again, connects to racism because anything other than the color white
(for skin) is evil and primitive.
In order to colonize, a group of people must have more
advantages than those they are colonizing. Jared Diamond, a scholar, spent
years studying colonization and ended up publishing a book on it titled
"Guns, Germs, and Steel" which was later made into a series of films.
Diamond has spent his life developing his theory for how people have been able
to colonize throughout the years and have advantages over those whom they are
colonizing. He believes that it is all about geography. It all depends on where
an individual lives, what materials are accessible in that region, and the
potential for building immunity to disease. In England there is a colder
climate, which required more tools to create shelter and defense. Also, because
of the cold climate, crops grown would die sooner, meaning the English had to
rely on hunting and fishing for food. This led to the domestication of animals.
By living in closer proximity to animals, this increased their chances for
immunity to disease. In Nigeria, Africa there is almost a year round warm climate,
which made it easier for the Ibo to obtain food for themselves (this mainly
consisted of yams) and gave them more time to spend on building shelters. Also
tools were created mainly for crops rather than hunting wild game. Weaponry was
also not needed much because of a feeling of safety among the villagers. Based
on Jared Diamond's theory, the difference between the Ibo people and English
men is all about geography, not skin color.
The examples using three characters of: Mr. Brown, Reverend
James Smith, and The District Commissioner are evidence of racism in Achebe's
description of colonization. As Diamond's theory shows, there is no reason for
one race to be considered superior to another. Exploitation of a group of
people is a main part of the process of colonization. This is unethical
behavior. Trade is a respectable and ethical way for two cultures to come
together and exchange goods and raw materials. The title of Achebe's novel,
Things Fall Apart, illustrates the harm caused by colonization and racism.
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