Things Fall Apart: The Loss A Tribe’s Livlihood Essay, Research Paper

Things Fall Apart: The Loss of a Tribe’s Livelihood In Things Fall Apart we witnessed the destruction of a traditional native culture. More specifically we witnessed the challenge and weakening of Igbo spirituality, as well as the death of the tribe’s livelihood. The apparent cause can be found in a seemingly good intended mission acting as a gateway for the intrusion of a foreign government, and its quest to conquer and domesticate a self-sustaining, prosperous culture. Although the Igbo downfall was caused primarily by the invasion of “Christian missionaries,” their own religious doctrine and passivity played a significant role in allowing the initial infiltration of an alien religion, and the final dissolution of a once prosperous culture. It is also critical to consider if this downfall could have been prevented or channeled to produce a positive outcome. History tends to repeat itself within specific cultures, and this is possibly the most valuable tool we can harnass to provide us a means of escaping the destruction of the mistakes we have made in the past. In Things Fall Apart the Igbo village Umuofia fell apart in two distinct fashions. The first aspect of Igbo culture to break down was the village’s spirituality, which was led by the arrival of the Christian mission. Second, this mission acted as a channel to allow a new government to infiltrate Umuofia and challenge the laws and customs that held together the former Igbo way of life. Igbo spirituality weakened in two waves. First Christianity provided answers that the inhabitants of Umuofia and Mbanta were seeking. At the end of Part One Obierika’s thoughts are expressed: Obierika was a man who thought about things. When the will of the goddess had been done, he sat in his obi and mourned his friend’s calamity. Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer. He was merely led into greater complexities. He remembered his wife’s twin children, whom he had thrown away. What crime had they committed? (TFA 87). The timing of this passage falls in between a thorough account of Igbo customs and the conversion of many Igbo people to Christianity. This transition seems to indicate that there is a representative attitude of doubt and discontentment within Umuofia (and later indicated to be similar in Mbanta). Customs such as throwing away twins and human sacrifice were troubling and no justification could be found within their own religious doctrine. The timeliness of Christianity allowed it to spread because it was the only available option to turn to. The villagers needed answers to explain the uncertainties they were feeling and Christianity was the only plausible option. This attitude is again characterized by Nwoye while he is in Mbanta: It was not the mad logic of the Trinity that captivated him. He did not understand it . . . . The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and fear seemed to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his young soul – the question of the twins lying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed. He felt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul. (TFA 104) The mission also gained respect and power by flourishing in circumstances that were believed to bring certain death, as prescribed by Igbo spirituality. The next day the crazy men actually began to clear part of the forest and to build their house. The inhabitants of Mbanta expected them all to be dead within four days. The First day passed and the second and the third and the fourth, and none of them died. Everyone was puzzled. And then it became known that the white man’s fetish had unbelievable power. (TFA 105-6) Clearly this strengthened the credibility of the new white men and their religion. Furthermore, a major blow was dealt to Igbo religion. Christianity provided an answer to the questions people were feeling about their spirituality: the Igbo religion appeared to be false by default; this is how Igbo spirituality fell apart. The new religion’s validity and acceptance, coupled with the void created by the dissolution of Igbo spirituality, left the remaining Igbo believers overpowered by the Christian converts and their new followers. “Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile. The church had come and led many astray. Not only the low-born and the outcast but sometimes a worthy man had joined it” (TFA 123). “From the very beginning religion and education went hand in hand” (TFA 128). These quotations provide an example of why the mission became so powerful as more converts were added. Schools were not only a place for education; they are also a place to spread propaganda supporting the power(s) controlling them. What had begun as a mission to spread Christianity by Mr. Brown evolved into a passage for a new government that clashed considerably with the existing law in Umuofia. Things Fall Apart acknowledges this by commentary, “…built a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance” (123), and by example when Obierika recounts to Okonkwo the controversial land dispute resolution (124).

The downfall of Igbo spirituality was the mechanism that triggered the downfall of the Igbo village and livelihood. Although the collapse was primarily caused by three men–Mr. Brown, Rev. James Smith, and the District Commissioner–it was the passivity of Umuofia, as well as the power of the mission’s government, that led to the demise of the Igbo way of life. At this point it is critical to consider various ways their livelihood could have been salvaged. When considering this situation, three relevant processes may have taken place to have a significant, positive change in the fate of Umuofia. The Igbo people, or the mission and the government could have acted in different manners. Another option is that they both could have negotiated a way to co-exist. Although there is a myriad of possible reactions Umuofia could have taken to the introduction of the Christian mission, only one other realistic option exists. Things fell apart because Umuofia took a passive stance by allowing the religion to stay. When considering preventative measures that could have been taken solely by the Igbo tribe, the only possibility is a resistant position, which denied the mission access to their village. The important question now is if it could have helped better their fate. It is critical to note here that only speculations can be drawn regarding “possible outcomes” of Umuofia. On page 127 of Things Fall Apart, Mr. Brown explains that his mission is from England, the “head of the church.” History has shown us that governments tend to act as a business would: in other words, governments will always act in their self-interest. It is a safe inference to assume that England wanted the mission where it was, and no matter what resistance Umuofia (or Mbanta) targeted toward the mission, they would have been met with greater resistance each time. The logical conclusion is that Umuofia is a victim in the truest sense of the word, and that any attempt to preserve their own way of life would not have been very successful. It does not seem particularly necessary to consider whether the mission could have acted in a manner that would have yielded a more favorable future for Umuofia. The village was self-sustaining for hundreds of years in the past and unless it was to collapse upon itself there should have been no reason it could not have existed for another hundred years. The mission could have simply left the village undisturbed and prevented its destruction. Again, this would be out of England’s best interest, so it would not occur. Perhaps the only option for the continued prosperity of Umuofia can be examined when a compromised co-existence between the village and the mission is considered. An example of a traditional African culture existing within a modern city is illustrated in the film Keita. Mabo Keita presents us with an image of how the old can be intertwined with the new to form a future where the heritage of the past is kept alive. Could this have happened in Things Fall Apart? Since the agendas of both cultures are so different, it seems less likely that an existence of compromised cultural values could have been reached. Although this seems to be the most feasible way to prevent the total destruction of Umuofia, it is important to remember that it is impossible for societies to stay static. Our world is growing at an exponential rate and it is inevitable that the boundaries of different cultures will someday overlap; but perhaps it is not really a loss after all. In Chinua Achebe’s words: . . . the world is changing so fast around us, and a lot of it we are not in control of, but what we do control I think we should think about seriously. . . . Where one story stands, bring another one to stand beside it, and if that’s a better story, then it should displace the bad one. I think that’s the way it should be. If on the other hand, it is necessary to have the two of them side by side, then you don’t lose anything. (Interview with Rob Baker and Ellen Draper)