Language survives even though things fall apart

                   
                Language survives even though 
                         "Things fall apart"

As the title says, things fall apart in “Things fall apart”. Okonkwos life rises and falls, relationships and conversation, Ibo’s culture and beliefs, those that held the clan together, Umuofia, everything slowly falls apart  ... when the white man came … 

The white man colonized  Africa bringing religion with only one God, the bible and the written word. Colonialism represented the africans as primitives with neither logos nor voice.They took control in the most profound and effective way, by silencing their speech. 

Most african literature had been written by europeans, but as language reflects cultural information and is "the embodiement of the speakers point of view" Chinua Achebe gifts us with the view from inside.

"Writing in English, the language of the imperialist conquerors of Nigeria, Achebe’s stated goal was to create a “new” and more African English. He integrated Igbo words and phrases, proverbs, folktales, and other elements of communal storytelling into the narrative in order to record and preserve African oral traditions and to subvert the colonialist language and culture."

He makes the novel comprehendable by writing in  the colonizers language but using the colonized voice. He constructs a relationship between the oral and the written word. The novel is full of Achebes native Ibo oral tradition, with african wisdom and perceptions. This orality helps describe the culture within  and his choice of words allows us to somehow experience their life. We are grounded in their beliefs, traditions, transitions and functioning society, (YES!!! functioning society!!!) which is vital to understand the moods, attitudes and actions of the novels characters, real characters, and see them as human beings that breath and feel.

Achebe introduces us to Okonkwo, the main character, in a simple, straightforward but different way, an African way. It’s as if we are immediately drawn into a circle of storytelling, being passed on by elders and tradition. 

“Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievement.” The reader is silenced and though reading seems to be with his ears and senses open, listening for the story to come. "He  threw Amalinze, the cat, in a fight which the old men agreed was one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights."

Achebe also describes his characters with beautyful language, voicing their emotions through readable words that make them more vivid and alive than any other descriptive devices. He describes their soul and doesn´t condem.

Okonkwo:

• "... was ruled by one passion, to hate everything his father loved, such as gentelness and idelness..."
• "... his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness, it was deeper and more intimate than any other fear. It was the fear of himself, resembling his father..."

Unoka:

• "...was lazy and incapable of thinking about tomorow... but Unoka loved to play his flute, his face would beam with blessedness and peace, he loved the season when the rain had stopped and it was not too hot, and the sun rose every morning with beauty, he loved the first kite that returned and would sing with all his heart to welcome it back..." 

Nwoye: 

• "... was becoming a man. Even though he loved his mothers stories he knew they were for foolish women and children, and he knew his father wanted him to be a man. So he feigned that he no longer cared for womans stories ..."

Ikemefuna:

• "...seemed to know everything. He could fashion flutes, he knew the names of all the birds, he could st clever traps, and knew which trees made the strongest bows..."

Though things do fall apart, through history and life, language remains, passed down from genertions, with its wisdom and depth, with its meanings and representation of culture, and belief of men, from oral to written, it still opens souls ........ and so  language survives by what Okonkwo was defeated  ..... it is only  change.