Things Fall Apart IOP

By: Suryanshi Singh

Thesis Statement

In Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe, Achebe uses diction, foreshadowing, similes and personification to express the theme that supernatural beliefs have a large impact on people in a society.

Question:Who are the egwugwu and what function do they fill in Ibo

society?

Quick Answer:The egwugwu are elders who wear masks and dress as elders and they represent the ancestors. The egwugwu judge civil and criminal disputes and serve as a center of political power.

Answer: Part 1, Chapter 10, Pages 87-90

“Each of the nine egwugwu represented a village of the clan… The nine villages of Umuofia had grown out of the first father of the clan.” page 89

Context

Before: Ezinma gets sick and she is taken care of by Okonkwo and his second wife Ekwefi After: Okonkwo was having dinner while Ekwefi was telling Ezinma the folk story about the tortoise and the birds. The story tells you about the feast of the birds. Importance: This brings other elements of their culture to the book, and helps expand on the reader’s view on their beliefs.

Character Analysis

“Okonkwo’s wives…might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo. And they might have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders…But if they thought these things, they kept them within themselves.” pgs 89-90

Achebe develops the character of Okonkwo and his wives to show his role and position in Umuofia. Achebe shows the reader that Okonkwo is in fact one of the egwugwu and that he really does have a high rank in Umuofian society already. This also shows the reader the amount of respect and fear that Okonkwo’s wives have. Because they have to keep their tradition, they lie even though they do know that Okonkwo is the second egwugwu.

Text

Personification pg 92

“’Yaa!’ replied the thunderous crowd; the silence descended from the sky and swallowed the noise.” page 92

In this part of the book, silence has the ability to swallow noise. This happened after the Evil Forest yelled ‘Umuofia kwenu!’ to the crowd of people. Achebe uses this device to support the theme supernatural beliefs have a large impact on people in a society as it shows you how the people of Umuofia react to the egwugwu coming out to start the judgement.

Foreshadowing pgs 96 - 99The author, Chinua Achebe, used the story of the tortoise and the birds to foreshadow upcoming events such as colonialism within Okonkwo’s village. 

The birds in the story represent the village and all their innocence towards the new white settlers, while the Tortoise represents the white men, or European missionaries, who steal from the villagers. 

Tortoise is a “widely-traveled man who knew the customs of different peoples”. 

This section hints at the struggle between the European missionaries’ customs compared to the customs of the Igbo village.  These innocent birds listened to the experienced Tortoise but end up regretting that decision when he steals all their food and pride.

Simile pg 188

“The band of egwugwu moved like a furious whirlwind to Enoch’s compound and with machete and fire reduced it to a desolate heap.” page 188

Here, Achebe compares the egwugwu to a furious whirlwind. This event itself came about because Enoch had unmarked an egwugwu, which is said to kill the spirit. Achebe emphasizes the theme supernatural beliefs have a large impact on people in a society with this example by showing the anger and the actions of the egwugwu.

Diction

“terrifying spectacle” page 89

Terrifying: cause to feel/experience great fearSpectacle: a visually striking performance or play

These two words show that the people, although scared, were interested in watching the egwugwu.

Achebe uses this to exemplify the theme supernatural beliefs have a large impact on people in a society

Theme

In Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe, Achebe uses diction, similes and personification to express the theme that supernatural beliefs have a large impact on people in a society.

The egwugwu are a large part of the beliefs of Umuofian society, contributing not only religious aspects but supernatural aspects as well. Because of the egwugwu, many important events occur in the novel.

Author’s Purpose

Achebe strongly apposed the Eurocentric view that was spreading throughout the African people. He wanted to tell people to ultimately respect their culture and their values. The egwugwu, consequently, are present in Igbo society and in the novel in order to contradict the Eurocentric values and to promote the respect of culture and tradition.