"...only the story...can continue beyond the war and the warrior.

It is the story that outlives the sound of war-drums and the exploits of brave
fighters.
It is the story...that saves our progeny from blundering like blind beggars
into the spikes of the cactus fence.
The story is our escort; without it, we are blind.
Does the blind man own his escort? No, neither do we the story;
rather it is the story that owns us and directs us.
--Chinua Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah (1987)
The cultural, religious, linguistic, and other historical divisions among ethnic
groups have continued to challenge and blur the colonial borders of many
African Nation-States, during colonization and especially after Independence
African frustration was compounded by the inconsistency between, on the one
hand, universalistic Christian ideals (for Christianity spread widely during the
colonial period, as did Islam) and liberal political ideas which colonialism
introduced into Africa, and, on the other hand, the discrimination and racism
which marked colonialism everywhere. This discrepancy deepened during the
Second World War, when the British and French exhorted their African subjects
to provide military service and labor for a war effort which was intended, in
part, to uphold the principle of national self-determination. Post-war Africans
were well aware that they were being denied the very rights for which they and
their colonial masters had fought.
The society of Umuofia, the village in Things Fall Apart, was totally disrupted
by the coming of the European government, missionary Christianity, and so on.
That was not a temporary disturbance; it was a once and for all alteration of
their society. To give you the example of Nigeria, where the novel is set, the
Igbo people had organized themselves in small units, in small towns and
villages, each selfgoverned. With the coming of the British, Igbo land as a
whole was incorporated into a totally different polity, to be called Nigeria, with
a whole lot of other people with whom the Igbo people had not had direct
contact before. The result of that was not something from which you could
recover, really. You had to learn a totally new reality, and accommodate yourself
to the demands of this new reality, which is the state called Nigeria. Various
nationalities, each of which had its own independent life, were forced by the
British to live with people of different customs and habits and priorities and
religions. And then at independence, fifty years later, they were suddenly on

their own again. They began all over again to learn the rules of independence.
The problems that Nigeria is having today could be seen as resulting from this
effort that was initiated by colonial rule to create a new nation."
Note places in the text that foreshadow this disruption, this replacement of one
reality with another, as they read the novel. For example, Achebe's first
reference to the character Ikemefuna as "ill-fated," at the end of Chapter 1,
foreshadows the boy's death and Okonkwo's son Nwoye's troubled response in
Chapter 7, which in turn foreshadows Nwoye's conversion to Christianity and
joining the missionaries in Chapter 16. In Chapters 16 through 18, Achebe
indicates the ways in which the Europeans separated Nigerians of different clans
and ethnic backgrounds and turned them against their own people and villages
through their appeal to the village outcasts and by "teaching young Christians to
read and write." Another example of how Achebe foreshadows the alteration of
indigenous society is the replacement by "the white man's court" of the clan's
customs with their own laws, discussed in Chapter 20. Obierika explains: "He
has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart."
Another theme that appears over and over in Achebe's writing is that our
perceptions and the stories we tell are shaped by our social and cultural context,
and he emphasizes that, "those that have been written about should also
participate in the making of these stories" ("An African Voice"). Achebe writes
his own history of colonization in order to present a perspective different from
those taught in the Western literary and historical tradtions. However, the text of
Things Fall Apart provides a range of perspectives through its narrator and
many characters. To create a framework for interpreting the conflict within and
between values and cultures that Achebe addresses, Id like you to think about
perspective/standpoint, and its significance to character revelation.
"Who is the narrator/speaker in the novel? Do the narrator's position,
perspective, and identity remain constant or change throughout the narrative?
What other characters' views are represented and used to convey the novel's
insights and to give readers a certain viewpoint on Igbo society and the class
with the British missionaries?

Note the ways in which Achebe represents African culture and the African
landscape, and to give textual examples of ways in which he employs narrative
techniques that contest colonialist discourse. (Some examples are Achebe's use

of simple, ordinary prose and a restrained mode of narration; the omission of

exotic descriptions; creation of a subjectivity for his major characters; inclusion
of a specific cultural and temporal context of the Igbo and Umuofia;
presentation of the complexities and the contradictions of a traditional Igbo
community without idealizing; introduction of white Europeans into the story
from the Igbo population's perspective.)

In "Chinua Achebe's Response to Conrad" (2004), Robert Reese tries to correct

such view arguing, The forests were a place for burial, not just wide expanses
in which the natives roam aimlessly (4). Achebe accordingly draws a picture of
the real Africa: a normal community with towns and farms. The African society
is made of villages and towns just like the European towns and cities. According
to Reese, the first statement the novel starts with illustrates the geographical
discipline of the African society: Okonkwo was well known throughout the
nine villages and even beyond (3). With this first statement, we learn that the
Igbo people have distinct political units-the villages-that communicate with
each other and with other distant communities-the beyond (Reese 1).
The Igbo society consists of a group of individuals each with his own personal
characteristics and qualifications, not one massive conglomerate of animal-like
natives. The Igbo society, as depicted by Achebe in Things Fall Apart, is an
organized society with its own special cultural heritage, religious beliefs, and
social laws. According to Clement Okafor, it is "a
society in which there are clearly defined parameters of right conduct on both
personal and communal level" (21). The Igbo are committed to their laws and
traditions. They do their best to respect the law. When they break it
unintentionally, they accept the punishment willingly. When Okonkwo breaks
the sacred week by beating his wife, he offers a sacrifice as a punishment for his
violation of social and religious rules. When a mans cow is let loose on his
neighbours crops, he pays at once the heavy fine required in a case like this.
Throughout the novel, Achebe illustrates some of the favourable characteristics
of the Igbo. They are a very peaceful people. They are brave and courageous,
yet they are not fond of shedding blood and waging fierce wars. When a man
from another clan kills an Umoufian woman, the Uomoufians do not declare
war immediately but choose to negotiate. They accept a peaceful solution
coming back with a woman and a boy. Commenting upon the dilemma of

Abame, Uchendu expresses the view that the natives had been foolish when
they decided to kill the first white man who had been driving a metal horse;
they should have waited to question the reason behind his existence and find out
whether his intentions were good or bad.
The Igbo are originally a practical, hardworking people depending mainly upon
the natural sources of their environment to provide for their necessary needs.
Not only are the Igbo responsible and hardworking, but they are also shown by
Achebe to be even wiser than the Europeans. Obierika, for example, shows a
good understanding of the reason why the white man does not respect them:
. . . he does not understand our customs, just as we do not understand his. We
say he is foolish, because he does not know our ways, and perhaps he says we
are foolish because we do not know his (134). In this passage, the Africans are
presented to be even more rational in their way of thinking than the Europeans
and that is because of their ability to acknowledge differences; to acknowledge
the fact that if something does not make sense to them, it may make sense to
others, hence it may have a real meaning and deserve to exist. It is such right to
exist which the Europeans have denied the African culture and people, and it is
such unjust denial which has motivated Achebe to present his people in the light
of their real life and value.

In Things Fall Apart, Achebe attempts to play the role of the story teller who
makes use of the different aspects of his traditional culture such as religious and
social rituals, proverbs, folktales, and folksongs in making a kind of unity recollecting all the members of the society around one centre. His detailed
presentation of the cultural aspects of the Igbo society has further been meant to
assertively refute the claims made in colonial writings about the culturelessness
and animal-like quality of his people.
In the first part of Things Fall Apart, Achebe introduces the reader gradually to
the Igbo culture through the different customs and traditions practiced by the
different members of the society. Examples of the rituals and customs practiced
by the Igbo are dropped here and there in the novel. One of those famous rituals
is that of the kola nut which reflects the hospitality of the Igbo. According to
this ritual, the host has to offer the kola nut for the guest to crack, but the guest
insists that it is the host who has to do it. There is also the ritual of the week of

peace when all are constrained to be at peace with their neighbours no matter
what happens (Okafor 23).
Through such typical presentation of the daily life of the tribe, the reader is
acquainted with the various aspects of the culture of those people and drawn to
appreciate the style of their life, however eccentric it may look like at first.
Achebe purposely shows how his characters speak a highly-eloquent,
sophisticated language to assert the human value of the Igbo language. Such
idea is illustrated early in the novel when a neighbour visits Unoka to collect a
debt; the neighbour does not ask for the debt directly but addresses it gently
through a series of proverbs. Proverbs play an important role in the life of the
Umoufians, which is illustrated by the famous saying: Among the Igbo the art
of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with
which words are eaten (5). Mustafa Ali notes how Achebe uses proverbs to
"illustrate the depth of thought and systematic thought processes that govern the
life of those people. He refutes the western stereotype that the Africans were
mindless people before the arrival of [the] colonists . . . Achebe reaffirms the
value of wisdom and philosophy in the lives of those people (3). Wise sayings
or proverbs are dropped here and there in the novel firmly assuring the richness
of both the language and the culture of those people who have been unjustly
denied the least characteristics of humanity. One of the earliest examples
mentioned in the novel is The sun will shine on those who stand before it
shines on those who kneel under them (5); this proverb illustrates the
importance of hard work exemplifying how those who do their best will get the
profit of their work before those who do not. Another example is If a child
washed his hands, he could eat with kings. (6); this proverb perfectly reflects
the case of Okonkwo: the person who is able to improve his conditions and
prove the worth of his abilities deserves to be highly estimated among people.
This proverb exemplifies the idea of social mobility which the Igbo society
enjoys. In Achebe the Orator (2001), Chinwe Okechukwu notes how the Igbo
culture is "benevolent, valourizing achievement as it does, it does not pin one
down to ones inherited status . . . The cultures willingness to give a chance to
anybody who is willing to help himself is a motivation for people to strive in
this culture (16-17). A third example is: An old woman is always uneasy
when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb (15); this proverb refers to
everyones awareness of whatever bad qualities he may have. This proverb,
according to Mahfouz Adedimeji, exemplifies how "conscience worries people

of negative attributes even when they are not addressed but their excesses . . .
are being condemned (9). Those are not the only proverbs mentioned in the
novel; there are many other proverbs which all co-operate in providing an
authentic account of the real nature of those people and, as such, doing justice to
them. "By giving his Igbo characters the capacity to wield proverbs so capably",
Robert Reese argues, "Achebe makes the point that the Africans do not rely on
grunts but instead have complex languages" (1). Such eloquent and expressive
proverbs nullify the Europeans argument concerning the inferiority and
culturelessness of the Africans. It proves with a clear evidence how intellectual
and moral those people used to be.
Proverbs are not the only device employed by Achebe to display the cultural
heritage of the Igbo and assert their humanity, he further employs Igbo folktales
which are narrated here and there to speak of the beauty and richness of that
culture. Achebe includes examples of such folktales which the elders used to tell
to their children with the aim of providing entertainment as well as teaching
moral lessons. Though simple and apparently childish, the story of the birds
and tortoise, which Ekwefi tells Ezinma, is symbolically rich. The tortoise
symbolizes colonialism which is ready to do anything to deceive the natives and
usurp what is not his; however, the birds are able to defeat the deceit of the
tortoise when they unify and adopt a serious attitude towards it. There is also the
story of the boy who cries wolf which teaches children how it is dangerous to
tell lies. There are still other folktales included in the novel such as the story of
the snake lizard and its mother, the story of the mosquito and the ear, the
story of the quarrel between the earth and the sky, and so many other stories.
Simple as they are, those stories have profound meanings. Through the
inclusion of proverbs, folktales, and songs translated from the Igbo language",
Neil Kortanaar argues, "Achebe managed to capture and convey the rhythms,
structures, cadences, and beauty of the Igbo language (35), that is, to stress the
wisdom of those people and the human value of their culture. Achebe further
illustrates the richness of the African culture by suggesting how each tribe has
its own specific cultural heritage exemplified by Ikemefuna's introduction of
new folktales which are unfamiliar to the Umoufians.
Achebe also portrays the religious life of the Igbo to illustrate the thoroughness
and integrity of the different aspects of the Igbo culture. The religion of the Igbo
is rich in its rituals and practices , and is involved in every field of their life.
Although they appear strange to us as foreigners to that culture, the religious

rituals of the Igbo have their own logic which perfectly fits within the main
frame of the whole culture. Katherine Slattery explains how those beliefs and
customs about the Evil Forest, twins, ogbanji, abominable diseases, and many
others are derived from traditional stories known and sometimes practically
experienced by those people . Furthermore, the Igbo used to believe in the
presence of one creator known as Chukwu. They further believe in the presence
of other gods who have powers of blessing and destruction: there is the Earth
goddess Ani who looks after the crops; there is also Agbala, the Oracle of the
Hills and the Caves, whom the Igbo used to consult before doing anything.
Moreover, everyone has his own personal god who is referred to as Chi. Each
person has a personalized providence, which comes from Chukwu, and returns
to him at the time of death, a Chi (Slattery 1). Martin Klein sees such Chi as
playing the role of "a guardian angel (31). The Igbo used to think highly of
their gods. They are accustomed to respect the traditions and customs inherited
from their ancestors believing that their gods would harshly punish them if they
broke such laws.
Achebe's interest in including such detailed description of both the social and
the religious life of his people speaks of his urgent wish to reflect the practical
as well as the spiritual dimensions of the character of those people unjustly
called savage and barbaric. The fact that the African life style simply lacks the
type of scientific technology achieved in Europe does not necessarily mean that
it has been totally dark and primitive. Through such detailed representation of
the Igbo life and culture, the Africans are decisively made into real human
beings with a real culture; though different from those of the supposed civilized
countries of its time, still it is a culture which deserves to exist and be respected.
Achebe has mainly designed Things Fall Apart to work as an instrument to
repair the severely damaged portrait of the Africans which was implanted in the
minds of the European as well as the African readers of colonial works.
However in its attempt to repair, the novel does not seek to present a picture of
an ideal African civilization, but a portrait of a normal society with its virtues as
well as flaws. Such realistic representation of the defects of his own culture and
people stresses Achebe's authenticity which is further detected in his
presentation of the other side. Such authentic and neutral standpoint adopted by
Achebe frees him from the charges of racism made against his European
counterparts who were caught in the web of glorifying whatever native at the
expense of denigrating whatever foreign. In "Culture in Chinua Achebe's Things

Fall Apart" (1993), Diana Rhoads argues, Achebe presents the peculiarities of
the Igbo culture, especially the beauty and wisdom of its art and institutions,
though . . . Achebe also presents its weaknesses which require change and
which aid in its destruction (61). Achebe has been quite aware of such defects
and finds no shame in admitting them. In "The Role of the Writer in a new
Nation" (1979), Achebe notes We cannot pretend that our past was one long
technicolour idyll. We have to admit that like other peoples past, ours had its
good as well as its bad sides (8).
In his exploration of the eventual collapse of the Igbo society after the arrival of
the colonizers, Achebe is fair and objective enough to lay the blame for that
fatal destruction not only on the European side, which undoubtedly played the
basic role in such critical phase, but equally on the contradictions and
weaknesses of the African side which were severely
working within its body paving the way for the prevalence of European culture
and religion. The problems inherent in the Igbo society played an important role
along with colonialism in the process through which things fell apart. The Igbo
society fell apart, Willene Taylor argues, partly because of some complex
contradictions which it carries within itself. The seeds of disintegration lay
within the tribal society itself (27). Achebe has been brave enough to admit
such fact: The society itself was already heading towards destruction . . . [but]
Europe has a lot to blame . . .There were internal problems that made it possible
for the Europeans to come in. Somebody showed them the way. A conflict
between two brothers enables a stranger to reap their harvest (qtd. in Daniels
71).
The presence of some negative aspects in the Igbo culture has helped in the
supremacy of the white beliefs that appear to be more logical and seem to
provide relief for those who are rejected under the tribal laws. According to
Martin Klein, The early success of Christianity is rooted in the existence of
people of low status and people alienated by the harsher Igbo customs (32).
Katharine Slattery enlists a number of the irregular religious rituals practiced by
the Igbo: women who die while giving birth, children who die before they have
teeth, those who commit suicide; those people are not buried but thrown in the
bush. Babies born with teeth or whose upper teeth come first, babies born feet
first, twins, people suffering from swelling, and many other cases are thrown
away alive in the Evil Forest (1). In "Portrayal of Missionaries in African
Literature" (1998), Mbongeniz Malaba comments upon such peculiarities of the

Igbo culture: One pivotal weakness of that culture . . . is its harsh treatment of
those who do not fit into the basic frame work, symbolized by its rejection at
birth of twins and throughout their lives of osu. This is the structural weakness
that
Christianity is able to exploit (196). Women who used to give birth to twins
turn to that religion that allows twins to live. Men with no titles convert to
Christianity to find worthy positions for themselves in that new world. Nwoye
is attracted to the new religion not because of its teachings which he does not
fully understand, but because he has found in it a kind of relief to his sadness at
the inability of the Igbo society to accept a person like him.
However, one may say that all those cases who reject the old way of life have
personal reasons which lie in their inability to fit within that society; in other
words, their rejection is related to their own personal weaknesses not that of the
tribal laws. Yet, what about the case of Obierika? He is a titled leader of the
clan, known for his wisdom; even his 16-year-old sons attitude speaks of a
flourishing future. Still, Obierika is quite uneasy about some of the Igbo
practices. It is true that he has taken part in some of those unexplained practices
such as burning Okonkwos huts and barns after he accidentally murders a
clansman; however, Obierika perceives such acts as illogical wondering, I do
not know how we got that law (48);he questions the need of blindly obeying
the oracles: " Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offence he had
committed inadvertently? . . . He remembered his wifes twins, whom he had
thrown away. What crime had they committed? (87).
It is important here to note that the presence of a character like Okonkwo
contributes to a great extent to the representation of the conflicting aspects, i.e.
strengths and weaknesses, of the Igbo culture. Chinwe Okechukwu argues:
Achebe makes the reader admire the positive values of the culture through
Okonkwos rise from abject poverty to the highest but one rank in the society.
While setting out Okonkwos virtues-courage, industry, valour, and strengthAchebe is careful to show his vices-short temper, impatience, and inflexibility . .
. This man, like any other man, is not perfect, just as his culture, like any other
culture, is not perfect (16).
Okonkwo is excessive in his adoption of Igbo principles. He never thinks about
things like his close friend Obierika. While Obierika refuses to take part in
killing Ikemefuna, Okonkwo, on the other hand, stabs the boy lest the clansmen

should think he is weak. Obierika has been provided to show that there can be a
kind of compromise, an in-between between the two excesses: Unokas
shameful laziness and Okonkwos excessive manliness. The presence of
Obierika accordingly proves that Achebe is not absolutely for the values
represented by Okonkwo. This is further illustrated by the fact that the clansmen
Achebe portrays in his novel do not share Okonkwo's views of manliness with
such exaggeration. They disapprove of his violent attitude towards the European
messengers and prefer negotiation, trying to find the most peaceful solution
since bloodshed is no longer useful. Bruce King explains, Okonkwo is
destroyed, and brings ruin on others, because he is excessive in his adherence to
the values of his society; those who can compromise change with time and
adjust (qtd. in Iyasere 98). Achebe highlights the fact that change should be
neither blindly rejected nor
completely embraced. Those who blindly reject change reflect a sense of
inflexibility and bring about destruction for themselves and for those around,
and those who completely embrace change, like Enoche, irresponsibly cause
conflicts in their societies. The problems and tensions inherent in the Igbo
society would have resulted by time into normal, gradual change and
development. Colonial interference, however, unfortunately caused a sudden
change, and hence a collapse in the structure of the Igbo society.
2.5 An Objective African View of Colonialism
Achebe has similarly been objective in his presentation of the colonizers trying
his best to avoid the mistakes committed by the European novelists who
stereotyped "the other" in their novels. Achebe presents various types of
European characters involving the well-understanding, tolerant, wise Mr. Brown
as well as the tough, zealous Reverend James Smith.
As for Mr. Brown, he adopts a policy of restraint, never allowing his men to
trigger violence and antagonize the natives. He does not seek to impose his rules
and religious beliefs on the African tribes, but attempts to peacefully achieve a
kind of cross-cultural understanding between the two opposing sides. Mr.
Brown has done his best to improve the style of the Igbo life: . . . he built a
school and a little hospital in Umoufia. He went from family to family begging
people to send their children to his school (128). However, it is quite important
not to think of Mr. Brown as standing for the typical policy known of the
colonizer, for there can be found few

examples like Mr. Brown who adopt a policy of sympathy and mercy towards
the colonized.
On the other hand, Reverend James Smith is the exact stereotype of the racist
colonialist who rejects everything that is not European. He adopts a policy of
violence and intolerance in dealing with those inferiors as he believes them to
be: He saw things as black and white. And black was evil. He saw the world as
a battlefield in which the children of light were locked in mortal conflict with
the sons of darkness (130). Rev. Smith triggers aggression among his people
by encouraging his fellowmen to antagonize the African clan and ridicule their
traditions and religious beliefs.
The District Commissioner's decision to incorporate a chapter or a paragraph on
Okonkwo in his book speaks of the colonialist's ignorance and misguidance in
believing himself able to understand everything about the continent and its
culture more than the natives themselves. While the Commissioner is going to
write only one paragraph about the useless life and sad end of that barbaric
savage, Achebe provides a whole book to discuss the circumstances which
surround the life and the death of the same person. If a just comparison is made
between the European and the African accounts on Okonkwo, it will be easy to
detect the inaccurate representation the Europeans have provided in their
writings about peoples they do not really know. According to Solomon Iyasere,
the Commissioners Okonkwo is completely different from Achebes Okonkwo
just as Conrads Africa is completely different from the real Africa. Iyasere
ridicules the Commissioner's attitude noting how Achebe has spent most of the
novel presenting aspects of the richness and complexity of the Igbo culture to
come at the end of the novel with the shallow view of the Commissioner which
epitomizes the superficial view of the Europeans (104).
The fact that Achebe provides ridiculous examples of European characters does
not influence the degree of his objectivity. John Thieme argues, Although
Achebes Europeans lack the complexity of his Igbo characters, they are never
as shadowy as Conrads Africans (Postcolonial Con-Texts 20). In Things Fall
Apart, Achebe presents the two sides comprehensively, i.e. the Africans and the
Europeans, moving to and fro between what is good and what is bad, unlike
Heart of Darkness where the inferiority of anything African is clearly
represented and the superiority of anything European is vividly acknowledged.
2.7 Why Do Things Fall Apart? The Role Played by Colonialism

To form a civilized community-always for the good of a barbaric

continent, colonialism blatantly unformed, reformed, deformed, and sometimes
even eliminated existing local communities (Bhattacharja 2); as a result, things
fall apart. Taken from W. B. Yeatss poem The Second Coming (1919),
Achebe's title speaks of the disastrous phase the Nigerian society went through
under the influence of colonialism. It is the chaos which eventually happens as a
result of the collapse of the old system and the inappropriateness of the new
system to re-establish itself in the empty place left.
It was only few years after the arrival of the whites in the African society that
everything started to change and for ever. The new settlers were thought of as a
summer cloud that would be removed sooner or later, but they ended up
destroying the Igbo world. Obierika records such fact when
he wonders how the white man is very clever. He came quietly and peacefully
with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay.
Now he has won our brothers and our clan can no longer act like one. He has
put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart (124125). Obierika here refers to the centre that holds things together; that is, the
different aspects of the native culture. When such centre weakens, things fall
apart and the whole society collapses. What started as a small group of converts
ends up as a government, for the intruders are no longer a religious group but a
powerful political system which has stepped forward to control peoples life. At
that point, resistance proves useless for the Umoufians are no longer one unit as
before but divided into small, religiously separated groups.
Achebes harsh criticism of the corruption caused by the intrusion of the
European culture and religion into the native sphere does not mean that he
objects to the discovery of and learning about new religions and cultures
(Bleakley 1); Achebe himself was born a Christian and writes in a foreign
language; still he cares for keeping his Nigerian identity and cultural ethos.
What he yearns for is a peaceful side-by-side existence of different cultures and
religions where none claims its superiority at the expense of denigrating others.
In an interview with Kaylie Nelson (2008), Achebe summarizes the problems
resulting from the racial act of denigrating indigenous cultures: "The basic
problem of a new African country like Nigeria is really what you might call a
crisis in the soul'. We have been subjugated-we have subjected ourselves too-to
this period during which we have accepted everything alien as good and
practically everything local or native as inferior" (7-8). It has been one of the

motives which made Achebe write a novel like Things Fall Apart to teach the
Africans about their past
and assert how it was valuable. Achebe puts it simply: What we need to do is
to look back and try to find out where we went wrong, where the rain began to
beat us (The Novelist as Teacher 31). It is the role of Achebe, along with
other African intellectuals, to discover the root of the problem and try to restore
their lost identity.
2.7 Conclusion
Achebe means Things Fall apart to work as a postcolonial response juxtaposing
the colonial vision made by Conrad and other writers of the colonial period.
Since [t]he European education taught its people that the African has no soul,
no religion, no culture, no history, no human speech, no sense of responsibility
(Okechukwu 7), thus Achebe tries his best to reshape the deformed Africa
presented by Conrad. The method he employs to counter what he sees as
racism in Conrad's is the construction of an alternative historiography of the
period in which European colonial society was establishing itself in West
Africa (Thieme, Postcolonial Con-Texts 19). In Achebe's postcolonial version,
the European-African roles are exchanged: it is the Igbo people, not the English,
who are centre-stage, and again, it is through the eye of an Igbo narrator, not an
English man, that the story is told. The primitive savages of Heart of Darkness
turn out to be courageous men of a valuable culture and a respectful law while
the supposed civilizers turn out to be intruders who, instead of being victims of
such supposed alien, lawless environment, have contributed to a great extent to
the collapse of the Igbo society. It is the message which Achebe tries hard to
communicate, that Africa was not a vacuum before the coming of Europe, that
culture was not unknown in Africa and that culture was not
brought to Africa by the white world (qtd. in Ogbaa VI). The novel portrays a
broader picture of the Igbo mirroring the social changes which occurred with
the arrival of the white man to the Nigerian society, and thus giving the reader
an insight into the problems emerging between the old traditions of the Igbo and
the newly adopted ways of the colonizer.
In a few pages of a literary work, Achebe has cleverly mirrored the cultural
aspects of his African society, the conflicts working within its body, and how it
has eventually disintegrated due to the fatal consequences of colonial rule. He
made a deliberate effort to recreate the pre-westernized African reality, using

authentic Igbo characters, situations, values, and religious concepts, and

bending the English language to express Igbo proverbs and idioms (Chinweizu
288-289). Achebe considers his novels an authentic source of information about
the forgotten African culture presented for the serious reader who seeks to know
the reality about things:
I am writing about people in the past and in the present, and I have to create for
them the world in which they live and move and have their being and, therefore,
if someone is in search of information, or knowledge, or enlightenment about
the total life of these people -the Igbo people- I think my novels would be a
good source (qtd. in Nakai 100).