Whenever I read a book, I like to take in as much details as possible because there is usually something, however small, that gives a clue about what is to come later on. In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart the arrival of the white man is foreshadowed by the arrival of the locusts previously mentioned in chapter 7. In addition, the locusts are a representation of the white man.
Initially, only a small group of locusts are seen to be heading towards Umuofia but their numbers increase quickly. This can be compared to the first few missionaries that arrive to evangelize and the later large number of white men who have created churches and legal establishments, essentially invading the territory of the natives.
For the people in Umuofia, the locusts are harmless. They also seem to be considered beautiful as inferred by this passage: "tiny eyes of light like shining star dust. It was a tremendous sight." The white man causes the same impression. When the white men first arrive, the Igbo let them do as they please as long as they do not interfere with their way of life. The Igbo do not go up against them because they seem harmless. In addition, the Igbo have never seen white men before, they are as rare as the locusts that the Igbo are so fond of.
Apart from the mentioning of a shadow that fell upon the world when the locusts appeared, which usually entails a negative event, Achebe describes the descend of the locusts in the following: "Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast, hungry swarm." Since the Igbo are so in-tune with nature, the breaking branches can represent the breaking of tradition, caused by the white man.
Finally, seeing as how Achebe included an excerpt form Yeats' The Second Coming and how this poem can be related to religion, it could be important to remember that locusts were one of the ten plagues of Egypt described in the Bible. The locusts devoured everything and anything in their way, devastating Egypt and creating great upheaval and change, similar to the arrival of the white man in Umuofia.
I must admit, that is a really clever comparison between the locusts and the white men. It is interesting to see how the white men could be assimilated to the locusts. As you say, in the beginning they seem harmless and even beautiful. The may even think, How can a being like this be any dangerous? So, they just let them be. But, before they notice they start their invasion leading to, as you say, the breaking of tradition of the Igbo people.
ResponderEliminarSo, considering how the white men are "invasors" that try to impose their culture and traditions over the other ones, we have to ask, Is the white men a plague as dangerous as locusts?