The title of a book is the most important part since leads you to two opposite options: catch your attention/interest or led you not to read it. When I heard the title of this book, a question came to my mind: why things fall apart?
Following the same line of some books/stories that we have read along the course such as "A rose for Emily" or "A streetcar named Desire" to name a few, "Things fall apart" represents a struggle between something old which does not want to die and something new which is inevitably coming. It represents a conflict between two forces in whose end one of the forces is going to win and the other one is going to fall apart.
Although Okonkwo is the main character of the play, he is just a symbol within it. It is a symbol created by Chinua Achebe with the main purpose of representing the Igbo culture and the African culture, which resist to die and disappear because of the colonialism that is coming to Africa.
Okonkwo insists on perpetuating old things, values and traditions and at the same time he denies to change until is too late. Just as Blanche in "A streetcar named desire", Okonkwo fails in this role and the crisis begins. However, the crisis is not bad at all since represents a new beginning and new possibilities, the problem has to do with people who resist to live though the crisis and adapt to changes. That is the moment when things fall apart.
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ResponderEliminarI find myself in accord with your comment, specially with the comparison that you made at the end of your post. I sincerely believe that it's highly important to always compare on the others readings that we've done during the semester, not only because it open us to new ideas and beliefs, but also because at some point they can find themselves totally related, but in other time, place or action.
ResponderEliminarMoreover, I hadn't thought about Okonkwo and Blanche, but now that you mentioned, of course there is a similarity. Both Okonkwo and Blanch didn't want to change, instead, remain just where they were. We also have to take into consideration, that both were tragic heroes. Blanche on one hand had to handle more suffering than the others characters, also she provoked pity and fear, and had to face her own fate. In addition, Blanche ended up going to an insane asylum, and she never had the possibility to claim or to be free from the blame of many things that she did. What's more, she lie a lot and had fantasies with things that would never happen. Finally her soul died, and ends in the insane asylum not feeling proud of anything, which led to her destruction.
To continue, Okonkwo is also a tragic hero in the classical sense. Further, he is a remarkable character, his tragic flaw has to do mainly with the comparison of temerity and manliness, and violence, which also led to his own destruction.
All in all, we have two main characters defeated by their own fears, desires and furies. Two main characters that are worth to know about and appreciate.
ResponderEliminarI agree with your ideas since your post is kind of similar to mine in the sense that thing are always changing and it is almost inevitable. What I would like to emphasize is why people resist to this change. In the case of “Things fall apart”, Okonkwo has his own reasons to perpetuate his community, which may be to perpetuate his traditions and his heritage.
It is true when you say that changes bring new possibilities. However, as I wrote in my post, changes mean progress and loss, since the essence of Okonkwo’s world is lost, the community will never be the same, there is an imposition of new beliefs and traditions, which may lead them to a new vision of the world and at the same time to a loss of their pure identity.