Things Fall Apart Major Essay
In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe attempts to answer many questions, such as Is fate real? Achebe provides readers with a few options to this question, some of which are logical, and others that are superstitions adapted by the Igbo culture of Africa. Achebe clearly states the idea of an individuals chi, yet characters have their own beliefs about that superstition. For example, Okonkwo, the main character of the novel, and other members of his clan believe in different specific details and proverbs about chi. Chi helped shape Okonkwos destiny. Okonkwo ends up fighting against his chi, and he eventually lost.
The Igbo concept of chi is used in various forms. Ralph Madu, a Reverend and Director Directorate of Communications Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria Abuja, proposes two forms of chi: it means day, because chi abola translates as daybreak, or, from a more sacred origin, it means personal God the spirit that animates human beings. (Okoro) In Things Fall Apart, chi refers to the divine afflatus that is considered the supreme God shared by each individual, but more specifically in that persons aspect, a giver and creator of destiny. (Okoro) For Madu, destiny is the philosophy and belief of the traditional stage that every life is unique in a significant way and is subject to a series of unforeseen hazards and unexpected rewards, which are all made from the chi. (Okoro) According to the Igbo culture, no two people have the same chi. Each individual is inimitable and irreplaceable. Chi is regarded as the Igbo principal of individualism. Achebe speaks of chi often in Things Fall Apart and makes it clear that all clan members of the Umuofia tribe believed in chi in some way.
Okonkwo feels that every man has control over his chi and his destiny. As Achebe writes, At the most one could say that his chi or ... personal god was good. But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. Okonkwo said yes very strongly; so his chi agreed. Okonkwo believes that if a man prospers in life, it is because of something he himself did or thought, not what his chi decided for him. For example, this belief about chi molded Okonkwos disgrace about his father, Unoka. He assumes that Unoka was a horrible warrior, was womanly and weak, and could not provide for his wife and children because of his own decisions, judgments, and actions. The clan, however, thinks that Unoka had an evil-fortune in society.
In the beginning of the novel, Okonkwo deems that it is his duty to restore his family name. More importantly, however, he thinks he has the power and control to change the reputation of his family name; he reasons that he has control over the titles he holds and his overall status in the village. When he becomes a successful and respected warrior and leader of the clan and excels in wrestling, many clan members claim that his good chi is responsible, while Okonkwo thinks of himself as accountable for his achievements. Okonkwo comes to the conclusion that his chi does not run parallel to his own personal life.
In time, Okonkwo starts to loose fame through his arrogance and roughness in dealing with less triumphant men. In one incident, he calls a fellow clansman a woman because the man in question contradicts him at a village meeting. Okonkwo continues to harshly explain that the meeting was only for men. In another occurrence, he beats one of his wives during the week of peace, a time at which such an act was an abomination nso ani. As punishment for this, Okonkwo had to appease the earth goddess by offering a she-goat, a hen, a length of cloth, and one hundred cowries. In yet another episode, Okonkwo defies the warning from Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village, and takes part in the killing of his adoptive son Ikemefuna, thus committing a second offence against sacred laws and tradition of his clan.
Finally, at Ezeudus funeral, Okonkwos gun accidentally goes off, killing Ezeudus sixteen year old son. For traditional Igbo culture, this is a point of no return. To spill a clansmans blood or take a clansmans life, even if the act was unintentional, is an abomination against the earth goddess and a horrendous act to the clan. Okonkwos punishment this time is a seven yearlong exile. Along with Okonkwo, his titles and respect of the clan disappear as well. After he leaves, his house is burned to the ground, erasing the evils that Okonkwo brought upon his clan. He flees to his maternal land Mbanta where his family lives.
Achebe tells us that while Okonkwo is in exile, he gradually looses interest in work. The once popular and respected hero evolves into an impotent, angry man without social status. His exile is like a new beginning in life a life without vitality and zeal. Working no longer provides him with pleasure and when he isnt working, he is sitting silently trying to sleep. While in exile, a Christian fellowship arrives in Okonkwos village. His knowledge of this conquers his thoughts with hatred and rage. He plans and witnesses the execution of the conspiracy to burn down the white mans Christian church. Because of this, Okonkwo and five other leaders of the clan are arrested, detained, and abused. After a few days they are released and a village meeting is held. No sooner does the meeting begin than five messengers arrive from the district commissioner ordering that the meeting concludes. Infuriated and ready to take revenge, Okonkwo challenges and beheads one of the messengers in hopes that this violent act will cause his fellow clan members to act out in war. The meeting breaks up immediately in confusion. Once Okonkwo realizes that his people will never go to war against the white men and that he will never regain his former revered position in the clan, he hangs himself.
As seen in the accounts above, Okonkwos life is filled with successes and failures, climax and anticlimax, praise and rejection, and finally a disgraceful death. From his contradictory life, one can argue that Okonkwo possesses two chis, or that he has one chi that is both successful and unsuccessful. It is most logical when considering the Igbo culture, however, to assume that Okonkwo has only one chi that he attempted to defy. His chi causes him to attain greatness, yet when Okonkwo accredits himself for his triumphant life, he resists his chi, thus causing his tragic downfall. What is important in Okonkwos case is not the raising of particular philosophical problems but rather the recognition of the general philosophical orientation of the chi/personal destiny issue in the Igbo culture.
Okonkwos destiny is shaped by chi because he ends up fighting against his chi and ultimately looses. Okonkwo thinks that any weak man needs to leave the clan while he is completely lost in his own masculinity. When life is good for him, he perceives himself as master and creator of his own destiny; when life is bad, however, he automatically renounces responsibility and asks why he is so ill fated. His loss of faith in his chi is hypocritical and destructive. Thus, Okonkwo is left to die in the same state as his father alone, shameful, and without a title. As Achebe explains, man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi.
Works Cited
Okoro, Edward. "Chi Symbolism in Achebe's Things Fall Apart." African Journals Online 5
(2008): 62-64. AJOL. Website. 30 April 2010.
<http://http://ajol.info/index.php/og/article/view/52328/40953>.
Already have an account? Log In Now
3217