Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe - Episode 4 - The Clash Of Cultures Ends Tragically
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Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe - Episode 4 - The Clash Of Cultures Ends Tragically
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Hi, I\\u2019m Christy Shriver and we\\u2019re here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us.\\xa0
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I\\u2019m Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast.\\xa0 This is our fourth\\xa0and final\\xa0episode discussing Chinua Achebe\\u2019s groundbreaking novel\\xa0Things Fall Apart.\\xa0In episode one we discussed the country of Nigeria, the history, the cultural context, Achebe\\u2019s life, the poem from which the book got its name and a little of the life of Okonkwo- our hero in the story. In the second episode we explored the first seven chapters of the novel and talked briefly about the book that inspired Achebe to write it, Joseph Conrad\\u2019s novel\\xa0Heart of Darkness.\\xa0Last episode we got into more controversial territory as we broached issues of gender as expressed by Achebe.\\xa0 This week, in case gender wasn\\u2019t controversial enough, we\\xa0will focus on\\xa0colonialism, religion and father/son relationships- Good Lord- Achebe is merciless!!!\\xa0 He\\u2019s killing us with controversy.\\xa0
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Killing us-\\xa0haha- irony!!!\\xa0 Is that foreshadowing?\\xa0 It\\u2019s true, but\\xa0some how\\xa0he does it so sweetly\\xa0and can be confrontational without being offensive.\\xa0 I really love to listen to Achebe lectures.\\xa0 His voice is comforting.\\xa0 Achebe conveys\\xa0hope\\xa0when he talks- especially in his later years, he really does, and I encourage\\xa0anyone\\xa0 to\\xa0just google some of his lectures and listen to him.\\xa0 I\\u2019ll put some links on our website.\\xa0 By virtue of his birthplace and age, he\\xa0confronted\\xa0issues\\xa0fifty years ago that today\\xa0are common problems\\xa0all of planet earth.\\xa0\\xa0 By being born a child of two cultures and\\xa0two distinct\\xa0religions, by living in\\xa0a country plagued with colonialism,\\xa0civil war,\\xa0racism\\xa0and corruption,\\xa0his\\xa0perspective\\xa0from\\xa0lived\\xa0experience\\xa0has credibility,\\xa0and on that\\xa0note\\xa0I do want to draw attention to a\\xa0contemporary\\xa0Nigerian author\\xa0of our day\\xa0who follows in the same vein as her mentor- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.\\xa0 Adichie first came to my attention through a friend who\\xa0told her about her\\xa0TedTalk\\xa0\\u201cThe Danger of a Single Story\\u201d.\\xa0 Adichie, just like Achebe understands that things are more than just one thing- that balance must be the goal- and\\xa0she\\xa0speaks to our generation about how to apply these things\\xa0today.\\xa0 I\\u2019m going to link her\\xa0TedTalk\\xa0to our website as well.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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So, let\\u2019 begin talking about\\xa0religion\\xa0and the introduction of Christianity into the Nigerian landscape\\xa0which is where we left off last week.\\xa0 Last week, we were still in part 2 of TWA, Okonkwo was still in his mother\\u2019s land.\\xa0\\xa0Today we finish part 2 as well as discuss the most important ideas of part 3.\\xa0\\xa0
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We finished with chapter 15 and the incident of the white man entering into Abame,\\xa0being killed\\xa0there by locals encouraged by the oracle and then slaughtered\\xa0en\\xa0masse by the\\xa0full force of the colonial army.\\xa0\\xa0And the pattern is established:\\xa0The missionaries come first, but after them comes government in that order\\xa0or as it says in chapter 18, \\u201cThe white man\\xa0had not only brought a religion but also a government.\\u201d\\xa0
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By\\xa0chapter 16, we\\xa0are\\xa0referencing\\xa0the white man, but\\xa0not by missionaries building hospitals or even teaching in schools, but as\\xa0soldiers.\\xa0 It doesn\\u2019t take long for one to follow the other.\\xa0 We are also led to understand some of the things about Christianity that appealed to the native people. It\\u2019s the second year of Okonkwo\\u2019s exile and\\xa0Obierika comes back to Mbanta to visit, but this time when he talks about the white man, it\\u2019s about the white man coming to Umuofia, and not just that, it seems Okonkwo\\u2019s own son has converted to Christianity and had been one of the missionaries to\\xa0visit the clan.\\xa0\\xa0Obierika\\xa0was shocked.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Yes, and this again is where we see Achebe hitting on universal issues and setting them in a context that is foreign to most of us.\\xa0 Okonkwo\\u2019s issue with his son is more than just an example of colonial intrusion.\\xa0 Why is\\xa0Nyowe\\xa0an early adopter of\\xa0Christianity?\\xa0\\xa0In large part, the\\xa0only people converting to Christianity were the what they called\\xa0efulefu- or worthless people- people that\\xa0were on the absolute bottom of the Igbo\\xa0social system.\\xa0\\xa0In fact, this was one of the reasons the clan permitted Christianity- they were collecting all the garbage the clan really didn\\u2019t want and were living in the Evil Forest, a place no one wanted to be.\\xa0Here\\xa0Achebe also explains that\\xa0Igbo society\\xa0had a class system, and\\xa0not everyone was flourishing under it.\\xa0 Those who were rejected by that system were the first to accept\\xa0the\\xa0new system that elevated their worth.\\xa0\\xa0If you\\u2019re an\\xa0efulefu\\xa0or an\\xa0osu, which literally means outcast, that makes sense.\\xa0\\xa0But\\xa0Nyowe\\xa0isn\\u2019t\\xa0efulefu?\\xa0 His father has two titles.\\xa0 Achebe answers this question very subtly for his audience by again using the narrative technique of gently letting us slip into Nwoye\\u2019s mind- remember we call\\xa0that indirect discourse.\\xa0 Let\\u2019s read the passage where the missionaries are talking about Jesus Christ and what exactly led Nwoye to convert to this new faith.\\xa0
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Read page 145-147\\xa0
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Now let me read what Okonkwo thought of his son\\u2019s conversion.\\xa0
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Page 152-153\\xa0
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In some ways, what we see happening with\\xa0Nyowe\\xa0is very Freudian.\\xa0 He basically rejects Igbo faith, in part at least, as a way to reject his own father.\\xa0 Okonkwo won\\u2019t bend on what his idea of a man is, so\\xa0Nyowe\\xa0embraces more of what Okonkwo hates.\\xa0 The relationship falls apart.\\xa0How many sons and daughters have done something just because they knew their parents hated it?\\xa0 How many of become something their parents hate just to spite them?\\xa0 Okonkwo himself\\xa0is a reaction to his own father.\\xa0 His obsession with masculinity is a direct response to his father as is his son\\u2019s\\xa0a response to his.\\xa0 How complicated is this\\xa0crazy thing we call the\\xa0parent/child\\xa0relationship.\\xa0\\xa0The relationship you have with your parent or child is totally unlike any relationship you will ever have with any other person on this earth- and it goes on through the generations- although not this pronounced- but one generation reacting to the previous one.\\xa0
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And\\xa0in the case of Okonkwo and Nwoye it\\xa0brings us back to the imbalance between the masculine and feminine principles.\\xa0\\xa0It is one of the things that divided these two men.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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I think it\\u2019s important to understand that not everything portrayed about the Igbo culture is something Achebe endorses.\\xa0\\xa0Achebe never claims that Igbo culture is a perfect culture.\\xa0\\xa0There is no such thing.\\xa0\\xa0We have seen this raw\\xa0expression\\xa0humanity from the beginning.\\xa0 One example would be the killing of twins.\\xa0 As we make our way to the end of the\\xa0book\\xa0we began to understand more fully why it is important to Achebe to\\xa0portray Igbo culture in as honest a way as he can.\\xa0 Igboland is not Adventureland at Disneyworld; it\\u2019s humanity on display.\\xa0 Their civilization is not flawless, but it IS a human civilization. That seems obvious from this vantage point, but if we understand a little about colonial education, it becomes an important point to emphasize.\\xa0
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\\xa0Actually, I\\xa0heard Achebe talk about his homeland when the book turned 50 years old.\\xa0 He talked about his love for his homeland.\\xa0 He clearly loved his homeland deeply, but he also described Nigeria as frustrating.\\xa0 He called it annoying, but then said, \\u201cIt is the only home I have.\\u201d\\xa0 There are things about it he loved about his home, his culture.\\xa0 He loved their admiration of hard work and excellence, their appreciate of dialogue, but there were things about his homeland that he hated- the propensity for corruption as we will see exposed in part 3 is\\xa0one\\xa0I heard him talk about specifically- although I will say, if you could name a country that was without corruption, I\\u2019d move there now- no such animal exists.\\xa0\\xa0But as he explained\\xa0himself\\xa0he made the point that his\\xa0loyalty to Nigeria and to the Igbo was never contingent on Nigeria\\u2019 perfection\\xa0or really even on their commitment to improve- although he longed for the day when a leader would surface that could lead them into a better reality.\\xa0 He talked about loving home\\xa0because it is a part of\\xa0who we are\\xa0and we are a part of it- the improving part- that\\u2019s where we do our part.\\xa0 When we demand our homeland to be a perfect place as a requirement for our acceptance- we create a binary that cannot withstand\\xa0pressure.\\xa0\\xa0
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And may I point out that is also true between parents and children.\\xa0 When we make uncompromising demands from anyone that puts the relationship exclusively on our terms, we create binaries that divide and ultimately makes relationships fall apart.\\xa0
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When I heard Achebe talk about his home country, it made me think about my home country- the United States\\xa0but what he talks about applies to any country.\\xa0 Achebe\\xa0explains that the Igbo worldview is made up of\\xa0ideals\\xa0and beliefs- values,\\xa0but even people who believe strongly in the ideals, like Okonkwo,\\xa0don\\u2019t always live up to\\xa0their own beliefs\\xa0and it is these\\xa0weaknesses from within the culture that\\xa0destroy it.\\xa0 I\\xa0understand him to be arguing that the\\xa0military force\\xa0was not the biggest\\xa0threat\\xa0during the colonization period- it was the cultural colonization that was given an opportunity to flourish because internal weaknesses.\\xa0 This is kind of how I interpret the final part of the book.\\xa0\\xa0That also seems to be similar to\\xa0Yate\\u2019s idea\\xa0in\\xa0the\\xa0poem \\u201cThe Second Coming\\u201d which\\xa0not only gives us the\\xa0book\\xa0title, but if we read the whole stanza sort of outlines what happens in the\\xa0story-\\xa0Look at the stanza of the poem where Achebe gets this title\\xa0
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Things fall apart; the\\xa0centre\\xa0cannot hold;\\xa0
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,\\xa0
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere\\u202f\\u202f\\u202f\\xa0
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;\\xa0
The best lack all conviction, while the worst\\u202f\\u202f\\u202f\\xa0
Are full of passionate intensity.\\xa0
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Look at these last three lines- The ceremony of innocence is drowned\\u201d- that\\u2019s what we\\u2019re seeing now in part 2.\\xa0\\xa0We had this ceremony of innocence in part one, but it\\u2019s drowning.\\xa0 We also see that\\xa0The\\xa0best lack all conviction- - and\\xa0finally\\xa0we\\u2019re going to see with the introduction of the character Enoch and the corrupt government officials-\\xa0that\\xa0\\u201cthe worst are full of passionate\\xa0intensity\\u201c.\\xa0 This is the recipe that\\xa0drives things to fall apart.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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I agree with you. Humans, families and civilizations fall because of weaknesses from within the system- not without\\xa0- the center no longer\\xa0holds, to use Yeats words- and things fall apart.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Yeats actually believed that all civilizations eventually fall apart.\\xa0 We can talk about that next episode when we feature the poem itself.\\xa0\\xa0
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Well, he may be right.\\xa0 How does a civilization evolve with people of integrity doing their best to preserve ideals and values while changing with the times?\\xa0 How\\xa0do\\xa0you fight corruption\\xa0from within?\\xa0\\xa0There\\u2019s a lot of opportunity, when things change, for power-grabbing.\\xa0\\xa0People\\xa0without integrity or wisdom\\xa0often\\xa0rise to power.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Achebe\\xa0illustrates\\xa0in this third section how all of this creates disaster.\\xa0 On\\xa0the\\xa0personal level, we see a man of integrity, Okonkwo, but he cannot evolve or change.\\xa0 We also see a society who will evolve, but corruption immediately sets in.\\xa0 In times of great transition, it\\u2019s just easier for people without integrity to get to the top.\\xa0 They are willing to do things people with convictions just won\\u2019t do- and the center doesn\\u2019t hold=\\xa0so\\xa0 discuss\\xa0the\\xa0historical narrative of colonialism and how things break down on a community level,\\xa0but before we\\xa0do\\xa0I do want to make one HUGE clarification- Okonkwo is going to fall, but let us be clear about one thing- the Igbo people have not fallen\\xa0apart- not by any definition of the term.\\xa0\\xa0It is actually a thriving community all over the world to this day.\\xa0\\xa0Listen to what Achebe said when talking about Igbo culture later;\\xa0
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A culture can be damaged, can be turned from its course, not only by foreigners. . . .\\xa0[A] culture can be mutilated, can be destroyed by its own people, under certain situations. . . .\\xa0The Igbo culture was not destroyed by Europe. It was disturbed. It was disturbed very seriously. But... a culture which is healthy will often survive. It will not survive exactly in the form in which it was met by the invading culture, but it will modify itself and move on. And this is the great thing about culture if it is alive. The people who own it will ensure that they make adjustments: they drop what can no longer be carried in transition[.]\\xa0..\\xa0.\\xa0So\\xa0I think what has happened is that we still have the fundamental principles of the Igbo culture. Its emphasis is on the worth of every man and woman.\\xa0
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And so there we land once again on this idea of balance and finding balance during transition which is the big takeaway from the middle part of the book.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Christy, as we think about the role of missionaries\\xa0in Africa, I know we start to get a little personal with you because of your family\\u2019s involvement with missions all over the world and\\xa0specifically the many ties you have to Africa.\\xa0 For those that don\\u2019t know, Christy was raised overseas and even before that her dad was a missionary in Vietnam during the sixties and her mother was in Nigeria, actually during Achebe\\u2019s time there, working in education- although she worked with the Yoruba people.\\xa0 Christy, it\\u2019s been a long\\xa0time ,\\xa0literally over 100 years, since the first missionaries were sent to Africa and there is no debating that the colonial government grew in parallel with the missionary efforts.\\xa0 What are your thoughts\\xa0on this last section\\xa0book\\xa0that looks at the mission work from the side of the indigenous people?\\xa0
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Well, honestly, I truly appreciate the fact that Achebe does not put all missionaries in the same basket.\\xa0 Christian missions, and that\\u2019s what I know\\xa0although it\\u2019s not the only religion to practice missions, but mission work\\xa0obviously is cross-cultural\\xa0by definition.\\xa0 Historically there is no denying that\\xa0a lot has been done\\xa0in the name of missions\\xa0that is destructive to native cultures\\xa0and\\xa0even individuals- sometimes because of ignorance but also sometimes intentionally.\\xa0There has been a lot of arrogance- many have what today we call the \\u201csavior complex\\u201d- no doubt. But I don\\u2019t believe missionaries are the only group that can be accused of that.\\xa0 Any person or organization if they have\\xa0a new technology like hospitals or bicycles\\xa0or even a worldwide trade language like English- in this case, but it could just as easily be a computer or any other technology- Knowing something other people don\\u2019t brings with it an arrogance- in most people.\\xa0 I\\u2019ve seen it even in my little work place here in Memphis, but certainly in the US at large.\\xa0 People with\\xa0the technological edge in one domain\\xa0can be led to misunderstand themselves and\\xa0think they possess wisdom\\xa0in all domains.\\xa0\\xa0Some but not\\xa0all\\xa0 missionaries\\xa0are like that- the ones that are going to be any good most certainly will not be- and Achebe makes this distinction very clear.\\xa0Mr. Brown and Akunna have extensive dialogue over spiritual things that are respectful and helpful.\\xa0There are missionaries\\xa0like\\xa0Mr. Brown, who\\xa0are very aware of differences in cultures and want to respect them.\\xa0\\xa0Mr. Brown holds on to his\\xa0Christian\\xa0interpretations of\\xa0life principles like\\xa0a Christian definition of\\xa0human life\\xa0but introduces the values as something to be discussed and accepted voluntarily not superimposed.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Well, you would think that the value of life would be something easy to define, but it actually isn\\u2019t.\\xa0
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No, it\\u2019s definitely not.\\xa0 The Igbo obviously hold life as sacred; as do the missionaries, but how do we protect life.\\xa0 How do we protect the lives of most people?\\xa0 These kinds of ethical questions plague all cultures and\\xa0Achebe expresses this with\\xa0the\\xa0killing\\xa0of\\xa0twins- that\\u2019s the example we see here.\\xa0\\xa0The\\xa0Igbo\\xa0see the twins as a threat to the lives\\xa0of the\\xa0already living; Christianity sees the value of the\\xa0newborn\\xa0babies as trumping the value of the\\xa0adult members\\xa0clan.\\xa0 This is an honest discussion, but\\xa0there are those like Mr. Smith who\\xa0don\\u2019t have dialogue at all.\\xa0 They\\xa0don\\u2019t see differences\\xa0of\\xa0moral\\xa0interpretation\\xa0as\\xa0related to\\xa0culture\\xa0but instead\\xa0see\\xa0\\xa0all\\xa0things as\\xa0my culture is morally right and yours is morally wrong.\\xa0\\xa0We are good people and therefore you are bad people.\\xa0\\xa0There have always been both types of missionaries and\\xa0only someone with large amounts of\\xa0direct experience with both kinds, like Achebe, would be interested in making a nuanced description of both. There\\xa0do exists\\xa0culturally sensitive missionaries\\xa0who do have religious\\xa0convictions\\xa0but\\xa0also\\xa0seek to respect indigenous values and there\\xa0are also\\xa0unreflective cultural imperialists- and this second version\\xa0is\\xa0portrayed\\xa0through the character of Mr. Smith.\\xa0
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Another interesting nuance that Achebe\\xa0acknowledges\\xa0is that there was\\xa0some\\xa0positive\\xa0and immediate\\xa0impact of British education, medicine and even commerce.\\xa0I am a huge believer in education as a tool for empowerment, and even Achebe\\u2019s influence on the world scene would not have been possible without missionary schools\\u2026\\xa0Achebe was an individual shaped by two cultures- and\\xa0he\\xa0explores\\xa0the\\xa0messy\\xa0nature of the colonial encounter.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Yes, and\\xa0Achebe\\xa0underscored\\xa0more than once\\xa0that Africa did gain a lot from the missionaries.\\xa0 The question he raises is if culturally, they did not lose more than they gained,\\xa0and\\xa0he\\u2019s not talking about\\xa0soldiers\\xa0or government- he\\u2019s actually talking about education-\\xa0and\\xa0his reasons for this are psychological.\\xa0\\xa0Africans were taught in colonial schools, whether directly or\\xa0subtextually, that their history was inferior to European history.\\xa0 That the \\u201cgreat\\u201d men to be imitated were all European, men like David Livingston.\\xa0 They were taught that the important history of the world was history that occurred far away, not near where they lived or within their social fabric.\\xa0 None of this is healthy for critical thinking and all of it creates feelings of inferiority\\xa0in individuals as well as in entire cultures.\\xa0 Achebe spoke of feeling that struggle within himself.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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\\xa0True and we must remember\\xa0Achebe speaks as\\xa0one of the children raised in the church, not in the village.\\xa0\\xa0He went to these schools, did well, and in fact was one of the most successful in the entire nation.\\xa0\\xa0This is what he said and I quote from an essay he wrote in 1976,\\xa0\\u201cI was born in\\xa0Ogidi\\xa0in Eastern Nigeria of devout Christian parents. The line between Christian and non-Christian was much more definite in my village forty years ago than it is today. When I was growing\\xa0up\\xa0I remember we tended to look down on the others. We were called in our language \\u201cthe people of the church\\u201d or \\u201cthe association of God.\\u201d The others we called, with the conceit appropriate to followers of the true religion, the heathen or even \\u201cthe people of nothing.\\u201d\\xa0.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Again, we see her in a religious context what we were just talking about in terms of education.\\xa0\\xa0This\\xa0kind of thing\\xa0reinforces the psychologically harmful\\xa0idea that native Igbo or African culture of any kind is inferior-in fact, as far as Africans were taught- they were taught that before the Europeans came to Africa they had no history, no\\xa0culture,\\xa0 no\\xa0civilization at all- that they had been savages- lesser forms of humanity.\\xa0 That\\u2019s what enraged Achebe and motivated his writing.\\xa0
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This is what\\xa0these\\xa0confrontations at the end of the book are about.\\xa0\\xa0Achebe wants to write his book about his people- to\\xa0incontroverdibly\\xa0illustrate their humanity.\\xa0 In order to do\\xa0this\\xa0he chooses to draw attention to\\xa0the\\xa0weaknesses within the community\\xa0and within individuals that gave place to chaos-\\xa0not the weaknesses in colonial schools or other outside pressures.\\xa0 Let\\u2019s look at\\xa0Nyowe,\\xa0for example,\\xa0he had questions that were not being answered within the framework of traditional Igbo culture about his own identity and definition of masculinity.\\xa0 He had deep wounds over the death of Ikemefuna that were\\xa0legitimate.We\\xa0also see\\xa0other problems.\\xa0 In chapter 18 this is highlighted through the character of\\xa0Mr.\\xa0Kiaga,\\xa0the native-African missionary leader/interpreter\\xa0as he tries to balance two\\xa0contrasting\\xa0worldviews\\xa0in regard to the Osu or worthless people.\\xa0The church, who you remember is mostly composed of people on the lower rungs of regular Igbo society, want to reject people from the church based on their being lower\\xa0then\\xa0them.\\xa0 Mr.\\xa0Kiaga, as an African\\xa0leader in his own right, navigates Christian faith in an Igbo context, and Achebe displays how complicated this is.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Page 155\\xa0
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So, having discussed the\\xa0messy situation as it pertained to the church and even the schools, I think the imperial imposition of colonial government is easier to understand.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0Which brings up the natural question?\\xa0 How does one country just show up in another country and set up government?\\xa0 It\\u2019s hard to understand how that happened?\\xa0 From the view of the natives, these people just showed up.\\xa0\\xa0
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That\\u2019s a great question, and it has everything to do with what was happening outside of\\xa0Africa while all this missionary work was going on\\xa0inside.\\xa0 It\\xa0is\\xa0outside forces that villagers didn\\u2019t even know existed that was\\xa0going to create the\\xa0cataclasmic\\xa0clashes we see in part three of the novel.\\xa0\\xa0And honestly, from our vantage point in history, it just seems incredible that this happened.\\xa0 So, in 1884, Otto von Bismark called together something called the Berlin or the Congo Congress.\\xa0\\xa0Representatives from 14 countries attended, none of them were African, and they organized what was called the \\u201cScramble for Africa\\u201d.\\xa0 By the end of the conference, all of the countries with the exception of the US, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden-Norway, had made a claim to lands in Africa.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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You mean, they agreed on where they were going to aggress and not to aggress the lands others were going to aggress?\\xa0
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That\\u2019s definitely how Africans see it.\\xa0 And honestly,\\xa0colonizers\\xa0had already been doing so- we talked about the Royal Niger company in episode 1. What happened\\xa0at this conference\\xa0did not start colonization in Africa, but it contributed to heighten it as well as help override most existing forms of African self-government that had existed up to this point.\\xa0Colonialism happened with kind of this\\xa0three prong\\xa0front: religion, economics and finally military or government.\\xa0\\xa0Could things have been different if only companies and missionaries had come to Africa and there were no\\xa0political\\xa0and military invasion?\\xa0 We don\\u2019t know.\\xa0 That\\u2019s not what happened.\\xa0\\xa0In\\xa0the\\xa0case\\xa0of\\xa0Nigeria, the British military\\xa0was associated with and aided by the advent of the missionaries and commercial endeavors,\\xa0but the military presence\\xa0immediately\\xa0resulted in violence, a total upheaval of the political system,\\xa0and\\xa0taking away systems that were locally controlled- and in the case of the Southern regions of Nigeria,\\xa0even\\xa0the elimination of\\xa0local languages as the language of state.\\xa0 All of a sudden, everything is being done in English.\\xa0\\xa0It\\u2019s also ironic to notice that the British came in with a totalitarian regime and replaced what was,\\xa0in the Igbo case,\\xa0a\\xa0democratic\\xa0system\\xa0responsible to the people they were governing.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0In the name of progress, the new colonial system was an autocratic\\xa0system comprised of people from the outside who were accountable to\\xa0absolutely\\xa0no one\\xa0on the continent.\\xa0 After the British invaded, Crown rule began around 1897, these are the exact years discussed in our book.\\xa0\\xa0These District Commissioners were accountable only to an office in Britain- the mandate was\\xa0to secure British interests.\\xa0 Who was looking out for the common man or woman?\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0The system was not designed to do that.\\xa0 These district commissioners\\xa0were despised by local people and\\xa0the local people who worked for them were viewed pretty much like\\xa0as traitors.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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Achebe uses a word that looks like an Igbo word,\\xa0if you don\\u2019t know any better.\\xa0 When I first saw it, that\\u2019s what I thought it was.\\xa0the word\\xa0Kotma- KOTMA- but it\\u2019s really a distortion of the English words \\u201cCourt man\\u201d.\\xa0 He\\u2019s making fun of them- calling them distortions of words- because that\\u2019s what they are- distorters of words- of truth- of reality- they are government messengers- but in a distorted way-\\xa0kotma.\\xa0
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And this distortion of reality is a total shock\\xa0for\\xa0Okonkwo\\xa0as he\\xa0returns\\xa0to Umuofia to a totally colonial environment.\\xa0 Okonkwo wants to rebuild just like he had done as a young man, and he has a plan to come storming back and climb up to the top of the social hierarchy.\\xa0\\xa0He is prepared for the natural setbacks of being gone from home for so long.\\xa0 He knows the white men are there, and he knows that will be a problem with his oldest son, but he has already decided how to address this.\\xa0Let\\u2019s read how Okonkwo plans to deal with the fact that his oldest son is now a Christian.\\xa0
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Page 172.\\xa0\\xa0
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Well, and although Okonkwo was prepared to deal with the missionary presence, he was not prepared for the colonial government as well as the Africans\\xa0kotman- many if not most who were not even from the communities they served.\\xa0 Let\\u2019s read that part.\\xa0\\xa0
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Page 174\\xa0\\xa0
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I will say, I\\u2019ve enjoyed the humor of the\\xa0locals\\xa0making fun of the invaders.\\xa0 Some of the most thematically important lines of the entire book come from this chapter, chapter 20.\\xa0 Okonkwo just cannot believe that his hometown has lost its self-efficacy.\\xa0 It does not rule itself.\\xa0 He cannot climb to the top of the social\\xa0hierchy\\xa0by hard work and getting respect from his peers.\\xa0 Outsiders were coming, people unaccountable to anyone, and they were not honorable people.\\xa0 These outsiders had control.\\xa0 He\\u2019s shock, and we can clearly understand why.\\xa0 It is shocking to all the readers.\\xa0 This isn\\u2019t fair.\\xa0 And we, like Okonkwo have to ask, how does this happen, to which the wise voice of Obierika once again weighs in.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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And once again, Achebe resists the temptation to make the end of the book about the colonial invaders.\\xa0 We understand what the invaders are doing, but it isn\\u2019t the focus.\\xa0 Achebe wants to tell us what has happened\\xa0from\\xa0inside the culture.\\xa0\\xa0He wants to also demonstrate what about Okonkwo himself that is problematic.\\xa0 Why does this great man fall?\\xa0 And even prior to that, we should ask the question, why is this a great man, and there is no doubt that we are to think of him as great- even if he\\u2019s imperfect- Achebe does not see perfection as the standard for greatness.\\xa0 As we look at the ending of this book, we must see that there are three endings here- the first will center around Okonkwo- the personal.\\xa0 The second will center around the district commissioner- the colonial.\\xa0 The third centers around the Igbo people- the global.\\xa0 When we see it this way, I believe, we can see that the colonial elements of this book are actually the most dated and least important of the three endings.\\xa0 But let\\u2019s look at how we are to understand the ironic ending of this book.\\xa0
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First, let\\u2019s look at Okonkwo\\u2019s personal story.\\xa0 Okonkwo\\u2019s story starts in the vein of a classical Greek hero.\\xa0 He\\u2019s mythical from the first chapter.\\xa0 He epitomizes much that is admired by his community- he\\u2019s strong- but with a fatal flaw-\\xa0harmatia\\xa0if you remember that from our study of Oedipus.\\xa0 He has hubris- excessive pride.\\xa0 He reminds me in a lot of ways of Achilles- larger than life.\\xa0 But, just like the classical Greek\\xa0heros, his excessive behaviors\\xa0puts\\xa0him at odds not just with the members of his own community, but at odds with the gods as well.\\xa0 He defies the gods, but he also takes up their cause as well.\\xa0 In chapter 22, Mr. Brown, the missionary who is Mr. Smith\\u2019s successor was not wise in keeping peace between the Christians and the rest of the clan, and one of his hot-headed converts did one of the most disrespectful things anyone could ever do in Umuofia= he unmasked the\\xa0egwuwu\\xa0in public, if you remember this was a man who represented the voice of the ancestors.\\xa0 Nothing could be more\\xa0sacrireligious\\xa0to this community.\\xa0\\xa0Mr. Smith hid Enoch from the wrath of the clan and as a result the clan burned down the church.\\xa0 When the\\xa0egwugwu\\xa0came to execute\\xa0justice\\xa0these were their words \\u2018page 190\\u2019\\xa0
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And of course, now that we know more of the Igbo civilization, their traditions, their systems, this retribution seems reasonable and understandable, and Okonkwo\\u2019s anger entirely justified.\\xa0
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Exactly, it is also reasonable that in the next chapter when the six leaders of the community are invited to discuss this with the District Commissioner, they go in good faith.\\xa0 Dialogue the instrument of balance in Igbo culture is the only way to peace.\\xa0 It is also entirely\\xa0understable\\xa0that Okonkwo burns with rage, when they are deceived, locked up, shaved and humiliated.\\xa0\\xa0 This is a government who literally and ironically lies, puts men in handcuffs and ironically claims it\\u2019s in the name of a \\u201cpeaceful administration.\\u201d\\xa0The quote is, \\u201cOkonkwo was choked with hate.\\u201d\\xa0 He\\u2019s mad at the District Commissioner.\\xa0 He\\u2019s being humiliated by men who have not worked for their place in society.\\xa0 They\\xa0are given authority by the British,\\xa0some\\xa0outside agent\\xa0that has not been given any permission by anyone to be in charge.\\xa0 There is\\xa0internal agreed upon, locally controlled system of justice.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0AND, we, as readers are to clearly understand the\\xa0people running the show\\xa0are not ethical or moral people.\\xa0 They are the opposite-\\xa0the\\xa0kotma\\xa0overcharge the community for the bail- which itself is unethical, keeping a huge bribe for themselves.\\xa0 The new justice system is totally corrupt\\xa0at every level.\\xa0 So, the reason or Okonkwo\\u2019s anger is justified.\\xa0 But. His response which comes in the second to the last chapter of the book is foolish.\\xa0 \\u201cIn a flash Okonkwo drew his machete.\\xa0 The messenger crouched to avoid the blow.\\xa0 It was useless.\\xa0Okonwo\\u2019s\\xa0machete descended twice and the man\\u2019s head lay beside his uniformed body.\\u201d\\xa0 But the twist to this hero story is the following sentences, \\u201cOkonkwo stood looking at the dead man.\\xa0 He knew that Umuofia would not go to war.\\xa0 He knew because they had let the other\\xa0messengers\\xa0escape.\\xa0 The had broken into tumult instead of action.\\xa0 He discerned fright in that tumult.\\xa0 He\\xa0heafd\\xa0voices asking, \\u201cWhy did he do it?\\u201d\\xa0 He wiped his machete on the sand and went away.\\u201d\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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If we look at this scene, we can be shocked.\\xa0 Okonkwo didn\\u2019t kill a white man. He killed a fellow native and furthermore, then he wiped the blood off of his machete.\\xa0 That was never done in their culture.\\xa0 He\\xa0had\\xa0remained true to his values\\xa0until he fell apart and violated a core principle- the deliberate killing of a native.\\xa0 He has been broken as we can clearly see- this is not the honorable man from the beginning of the book.\\xa0His suicide which we don\\u2019t see, but find, doesn\\u2019t really surprise the reader\\xa0at this point.\\xa0 It\\u2019s consistent with what has happened to him.\\xa0 Okonkwo would rather die than yield\\xa0to the\\xa0Kotma.\\xa0 But even more than that, he has fallen apart in his own culture- he would rather face the wrath of his own gods and commit one more crime against the goddess Ani- suicide- then live in this new world order.\\xa0 Very Greek, really.\\xa0 Obierika honors him with his angry words\\xa0towards the District Commissioner.\\xa0 The text reads, \\u201cObierika, who had been gazing steadily at his friend\\u2019s dangling body, turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously, \\u201cthat man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia.\\xa0 You drove him to kill himself, and now he will be buried like a dog.\\u2019\\xa0 He could not say more.\\xa0 His voice trembled and choked his words.\\u201d\\xa0
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Well, truthfully and rather ironically, the application of British law in Africa was something the British considered to be their greatest contribution.\\xa0 They considered themselves, and I will quote the journal of African\\xa0law\\u201cThe\\xa0keeper of the conscience of the native communities in regard to the absolute enforcement of alleged native customs.\\u201d\\xa0 As we can see from reading Achebe\\u2019s book, that is a totally foolish statement.\\xa0 The British had NO idea what they were doing.\\xa0 They created nicely phrased attempts at integrating African values with things like repugnancy laws and stare decisis- but neither British or African justice was faithfully implemented.\\xa0\\xa0 The whole thing reeks with irony.\\xa0 This story is a perfect illustration. African natives had already executed justice with no loss of life until the British intervened.\\xa0 The burning of the church was something the District Commissioner understood nothing about.\\xa0 It WAS the execution of justice- not an aggressive act at all.\\xa0
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And this is the irony that Achebe uses to end his book.\\xa0 Let\\u2019s read the end of the book.\\xa0 Let me point as we do that Achebe has again taken us into the mind of a character- this time the white District Commissioner.\\xa0 He gets the final word after they\\xa0have cut down Okonkwo\\u2019s body.\\xa0
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Read 208-209\\xa0
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In Achebe\\u2019s essay \\u201cColonialist Criticism\\u201d he says this, \\u201cTo the colonialist mind it was always of the utmost importance to be able to say: \\u2018I know my natives\\u2019, a claim which implied tow things at one: a) that the native was really quite simple and b) that understanding him and controlling him went hand in hand- understanding being a pre-condition for control and control constituting adequate proof of understanding.\\u201d\\xa0\\xa0
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Yet, look how he ends his book- such bitter irony- Okonkwo\\u2019s story is an epic story, but the District Commissioner understands so little of it, that he can\\u2019t even fill a paragraph.\\xa0 He is no better than Conrad\\u2019s Marlow.\\xa0 Nothing has changed.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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And with this bitter mockery of the colonizers, Achebe confronts and discredits the entirety of the quasi-historical record kept by district commissioners all over the continent for the duration of colonial occupation.\\xa0
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And like I said, he can do this with a gentleness that cuts to the heart.\\xa0 The final way to understand the ending of this book is to look at the people Okonkwo left behind.\\xa0 That is where the tragedy\\xa0goes from Greek tragedy to modern tragedy.\\xa0 In Greek tragedy the audience finds catharsis or emotional release. It\\u2019s open; we\\u2019re free. And with the death of\\xa0Okonkwo\\xa0we have a classical Greek ending, but the story is more than just Okonkwo- what about the people he left behind.\\xa0 What about his son\\xa0Myowe\\xa0who changed his name to Isaac?\\xa0 He\\xa0he\\xa0okay now?\\xa0 Nothing here suggests that he will be.\\xa0\\xa0 Modern tragedy provides no release by definition- to certainty.\\xa0 In this case, we are left with a postcolonial Africa that is ambiguous.\\xa0 Achebe called it \\u201cthe crossroads of cultures\\u201d-\\xa0 and\\xa0that is where\\xa0Achebe is very much a post. Modern writer of his day- very much in the vein of writers like Eliot, Kafka or even Fitzgerald to some degree.\\xa0
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Well, and as students of history\\xa0we can\\xa0also\\xa0find our current modern moment-\\xa0today the entire world is at a crossroads of cultures.\\xa0\\xa0Nigeria found itself in a world that was ironically aristocratic and democratic, heroic but ironic and both contemporary\\xa0but ancient.\\xa0 And in that sense,\\xa0the world today very much reflects the clashes of culture Achebe so skillfully represented.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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And it\\u2019s\\xa0much larger than\\xa0race\\xa0or even colonialism.\\xa0 Are we, as citizens of on planet,\\xa0going to discard ancient\\xa0wisdom and tradition\\xa0in favor of\\xa0new outside influences and ideas that provide quick economic gains at the expense of a center that holds?\\xa0 Are the young with their technology going to rule over old?\\xa0 Are those with the power going to steam role over the many without?\\xa0\\xa0 Do\\xa0our systems promote\\xa0integrity or corruption?\\xa0\\xa0 And in that sense, we are all heirs of Achebe\\u2019s prophetic message- if I may be so bold and perhaps melodramatic to say.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0
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What a book?\\xa0 What a man?\\xa0\\xa0 Thanks for listening\\u2026..etc..and\\xa0the rest.\\xa0
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