Urban Thought Collective

UTC Family,

From summer to fall, and having moved from the Midwest to the South and back, I’m here with you again. And reading. I hope you have been, too. I was engrossed in “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill for a few months (which, by the way, is a POWERFUL book), but now I’ve gotten back to my love of African-authored novels. I’ve read a couple in a two-week time period, and ordered about 20 new ones that I can’t wait to share with you guys. But first, I wanted to get us talking about an old classic which I’ve mentioned before, and never expounded upon – “Things Fall Apart” by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe.

There have been a TON of critiques on this one book, but I’d like to offer my two cents on it, and invite you to jump in and do the same. To start, I feel like it’s a book largely based on power and the struggles men go through to get it.. This power comes in many forms; but in Umuofia, Nigeria, men without power are efulefu – worthless, empty men. Too many of those equals failed power struggles, and too many of those struggles mean no structure at all – things falling apart.

It isn’t about who’s the biggest, it’s about who has the most titles, wives, children, obis (or huts) and control over his clan or community.

To get his power points across, Achebe focused on Okonkwo – a middle-aged Nigerian man who was looked upon as a village hero because he overthrew the village’s wrestling hot shot Amalinze the Cat at an early age; had three wives and nine children; a bunch of yams; and grave control over his clan.
Now, this is not to say I’m suggesting that Achebe has only written a power-focused novel on African men. Instead, I’m suggesting that Achebe has written a story of culture, gender roles, intrusion and power; but moreover, about what one man’s power can do to another man when engaged in a struggle over which one deserves it.

Throughout the novel, Okonkwo constantly tried to prove his power by beating his wives, openly disciplining his children, trying his hardest not to be like his father who had held no title in his village and was weak. Because of this, Okonkwo was deemed powerful by his people. But when the white, Christian missionaries settled upon Umuofia and brought with them their foreignness, religion, dogged determination and control, a whole other level of power existed that the West African clan had never seen before.

“And then it became known that the white man’s fetish had unbelievable power.”

When young boys and girls started leaving their clans and customs to follow the ways of the white man’s Christianity, something was lost in Umuofia.

“How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably 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.”

Eventually, the ways of the European won, draining all that power out of Okonkwo – causing him to succumb to a power struggle that was really about personal gain on the white man’s side, and kinship on the African’s side.

The subject matter, for me, is interesting, of course, because of my passion for African culture. But more importantly, Achebe’s writing style is one that even a young child can understand – yet he gets to the heart of so many deep issues through story. I thought Achebe could’ve been a little bit more descriptive, but his writing style is very matter-of-fact. This obviously works for him if he was able to sell more than two million copies! As a writer, I don’t mind taking tips from him. In fact, the plan is to meet Mr. Achebe one of these days. That’s one brain I’d love to pick.

Now for our:

Re-cap(ture)

Book: Things Fall Apart
Author: Chinua Achebe
Pages: 209
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 1959
Themes: Nigerian culture, gender roles, intrusion, power, family
Recommendation: I’ve owned this book for nearly a decade and this is only my second time reading it. I’d say it’s definitely considered “Classic Chinua Achebe” and should be read for historic, cultural or leisure purposes. This man is brilliant, so nearly everything he writes is golden. So would I recommend it? An astounding YES.

Enjoy life until next time…

RaNeeka J. Claxton is a Master of Fine Arts student at University of California, Riverside, with a concentration in Fiction. A teaching artist and former journalist, she is diligently working on her first Young Adult novel. Claxton is based in Detroit, and would love to hear from book fans at raneeka_claxton@yahoo.com.