Things Fall Apart: Themes (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 4ET1
The exam question on Things Fall Apart will ask you to respond to the question with critical, personal engagement. This means the examiners require your answers to be led by an interpretation of ideas delivered in the text. Whether the question is on character or theme, you will need to explore how the writer delivers ideas or themes via characterisation, setting and plot.
Below are some themes that could be explored in Things Fall Apart. This list is not exhaustive, and themes often overlap, so consider how these themes may cover other ideas too.
Here you will find sections on:
Culture and identity
Tradition and gender
Fate and free will
Family bonds
Culture and identity
Set in pre-colonial Nigeria, Things Fall Apart examines Igbo culture, as well as the pressure placed upon it by the influence of British culture. Achebe portrays the challenges encountered by villagers who attempt to maintain their identity amid cultural change.
Knowledge and evidence:
The story describes Igbo marital customs, funeral ceremonies, and festivals, such as Peace Week, by relating events in a community called Umuofia:
Through narration, Achebe shows the significance of Igbo tradition
The novel also portrays the responses of Igbo villagers to colonisation:
Obierika speaks of the massacre of the Abame clan by men with guns
The men describe their suspicion of white men like “locusts”
The clash of religious beliefs between Christian missionaries and Igbo villagers brings confusion and violence:
Some, who feel misunderstood or oppressed by Igbo culture, like Nwoye, convert to Christianity and learn to read English
The village men burn a church, and are tortured and arrested
Okonkwo murders the commissioner’s messenger and commits suicide
What is Achebe’s intention?
Achebe raises questions about the powerful influence of culture on identity
Achebe highlights the drastic changes within Igbo culture over a short time
The resolution highlights the indigenous people’s powerlessness against British influence
Tradition and gender
Chinua Achebe’s novel presents the danger of traditional viewpoints that become rigid and intolerant. In particular, the novel illustrates how extreme patriarchal viewpoints can create conflict and barriers in a community.
Knowledge and evidence:
The novel highlights patriarchal Igbo traditions:
In a domestic dispute, the egwugwu instruct a husband (who has beaten his wife) to take his wife back and treat her better
Okonkwo beats his three wives if he thinks they behave poorly
Initially, Okonkwo’s success is linked to his traditional values:
He is a successful, hardworking farmer and a family man who delivers discipline to his three wives and children
But Okonkwo’s obsession to be unlike his father leads to extreme views:
He believes that discussion and pacifism are feminine qualities, and that aggression, physical work, and discipline are masculine qualities
His murder of Ikemefuna to prove his masculinity brings him guilt
Achebe contrasts Okonkwo’s extreme views with characterisations of other more tolerant males in the village:
Okonkwo is challenged by Obierika for his violence
Okonkwo’s uncle encourages him to be more peaceful and understanding with Nwoye
What is Achebe’s intention?
Chinua Achebe offers a balanced view of Igbo traditions by showing discriminatory practices that particularly harm women and children
Achebe presents the damaging consequences of extreme patriarchal views
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember to form a carefully considered argument before you start writing your answer on Things Fall Apart. This is what examiners call your interpretation of the question, and it will ensure you show a “focused, sensitive, lively and informed personal engagement”.
To form a good argument, always consider how Achebe shows the theme in the question throughout the text, i.e. in the beginning, the middle and at the end of the novel.
Fate and free will
Chinua Achebe’s tragedy considers the universal struggle of exerting one’s autonomy against external pressures. The novel illustrates Igbo beliefs regarding personal destiny, but the tragic ending portrays a protagonist whose lack of personal accountability, accompanied by forces beyond his control, lead to his downfall.
Knowledge and evidence:
The novel highlights Igbo spiritual beliefs, such as the idea of the chi, which relates to the destiny into which a child is born
However, the Igbo people believe in free will: blaming fate is discouraged, as it’s believed to invite misfortune:
One’s chi can be changed according to one’s actions, such as when Okonkwo overcomes childhood poverty
Certainly, Okonkwo’s downfall begins when he curses fate for his exile and blames others for his circumstances
His inability to take control of his anger and manage his chi leads to tragedy:
Nevertheless, Okonkwo's suicide is presented as the result of intolerant and aggressive settlers as well as his own transgressions
What is Achebe’s intention?
The tragedy, Things Fall Apart, examines an individual’s ability to exert free will in a pressured, changing environment
Achebe explores the result of blaming misfortune on fate rather than taking accountability of one’s own actions
However, the novel also depicts citizens powerless to control their future in the face of external forces, suggesting the inevitability of change
Family bonds
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart highlights the importance of family, while also showing the difficulties that arise from clashing identities and belief systems. The novel explores how intolerance can create division and lead to isolation.
Knowledge and evidence:
The novel illustrates the bond between the Igbo people and their ancestors:
Instructions are delivered by well-respected elders and Oracles
Achebe highlights the important role of the mother and father in the family:
Ekwefi tells fables to her daughter, and she and Okonkwo go to great lengths to help Ezinma recover from her illness
Nwoye’s mother plays an important role in helping Ikemefuna to settle
The elders exile Okonkwo to his motherland to change his ways
Okonkwo’s attitude to his family is extreme and his actions often hypocritical:
While Okonkwo is deeply committed to Igbo traditions, he kills Ikemefuna despite Ezeudu’s warning not to take part
But he believes that the village’s submission to the missionaries and District Commissioner betrays their ancestors
Achebe presents Okonkwo’s lack of accountability as one of his flaws:
He forces his will on Nwoye and believes his son has turned his back on his father when he converts to Christianity
Okonkwo creates a damaging cycle as his son denies his roots
What is Achebe’s intention?
In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe raises issues about generational divides
Achebe highlights the damage caused by intolerant attitudes towards the younger generation
The novel portrays the significant role of community and extended family on the fate of its characters
Examiner Tips and Tricks
To achieve the best response on Things Fall Apart, remember that the first few sentences of your answer should consider the way the specific idea (or theme) in the question has been raised across the whole text. Then, in your analysis, make sure you explain how any evidence you use illustrates Achebe’s presentation of that idea.
The examiners reward answers that closely engage with the themes of the novel, rather than answers that just recite what happens.
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