A Novel by Chinua Achebe

 

I've recently read an African novel called Thing Fall Apart. The author is Chinua Achebe. He was an English teacher himself. The picture that comes to our mind when we say Nigeria is different but after reading this novel, it disappears completely and takes a different form. In this way, Chinuba Acheba did a great service to his Ebo tribe and to the African continent. The novel has been translated into more than 50 languages and sold more than a million copies. Could someone like Joseph Conrad have heard the heartbeat of black people? But a new voice is heard in it, because Chinuba Acheba himself is a son of the soil.

Let's go into the novel. There is something interesting on every page. Maybe it's because we know so little about life in Nigeria. Where did you read a lot of American, Russian, and other European novels? Well, there are many reasons for that. This book is available in almost every country in Africa. They, like us, were ruled by the British. This book is the story of that period. And the British did not understand what psychology was, but this novel was first published in London! 

Okonkwo is known as a warrior and a big man not only in his village but also in nine surrounding villages. It is a tradition to win prizes in competitions held during festivals. Such people deserve special attention. In the village of Umuofia, our hero Okonkwo is also a large farmer. His father Unoka is famous for being an extravagant man, a drunkard, a debtor and a bad name. He is determined not to be that way in life. Yams is widely cultivated. Beef and chicken are good. He built houses for his three wives and their families in his compound. 

There are 11 children. Polygamy is common in their Ibo tribe. There is nepotism. Okonkwo's second wife was a man who came here after leaving his first husband. Well, life to life is one of the customs of that tribe. For example, if a woman from their village is killed by a man from a neighboring village, they are asked to kill a member of their family. Then they give a three-year-old child. His name is Ikemefuna. After three more years, the boy is killed. That's the thing there. If it is not given, the entire village falls on the house of the culprit. That's the thing... It's wrong to think that if someone falls, they will be crushed. For example, when an Okonkwo gun goes off accidentally, one of the elders of the village destroys his house and the family is expelled from the village for seven years. Our hero also bears it silently as it is all part of his commitment.

 I am most grateful to them. A god. The serpent is also a god. It doesn't kill under any circumstances. When it comes into the house, it will wait until it has eaten what it wants. Adults also use goat skin as a mat to sit on. Do you remember how our ancestors used deer and tiger skins? Well, very happy. The life of our hero, which moves with small contradictions, turns in seven years of exile. That exile was not somewhere, in the courtyard of his great-uncle's house.. in the village of Mbanta. .! It must have been seven years since Ramani came to this village, because by mistake, his gunshot wound caused the death of someone in his native village. 

One or two years later, his friend comes to see Obierika and tells him about the changes that have taken place in their village. He explains that Christian preachers came to town and converted some of his tribe, and that Mr. Brown, a white man, was responsible. He says that the spirits of our ancestors and gods are chanting. Okonkwo also suffers. A big man from the village also goes to church. How the missionaries divided the town in a systematic way is discussed. Some of the questions raised by the Ebo elders about the Bible intrigue Mr. Brown. He takes a different route. He brings schools, hospitals and teacher training institutes to this village by talking to the government. Seeing the educated people working there, the upper class of the Ibo tribe also begin to send their children to missionary organizations. Until then, only the lower classes could send their children. 

At the end of the sojourn, Okonkwo returns to his village. All things seem to change. The souls of their forefathers and gods have become worthless. Songs are heard from the church. My friends say we can't do anything about it. Some of us wonder what we can do when we do. White missionaries brought business to the village. Purchase centres for palm oil and pulses have been opened. The money is well in the hands of the locals. While in Thaidi, a person who has adopted the religion of Kiaga creates a ruckus during a local festival. There will be riots. Under the leadership of the hero, all his followers go to Kiyaga's house and destroy it and kill the man. The church will also be destroyed. In this case, however, there is a white man other than Mr. Brown. He goes to the Deputy Commissioner and tells him all about it. He's also a Brit. 

The officer immediately sends the jawans for talks and brings some of the elders of the village, captures them and tortures them. They are told by Odalali that everyone should pay the penalty together and some like Okonkwo should come and surrender. The protagonist kills a government messenger. The commissioner comes to this town with his force as there is no more profit. The villagers say that a corpse hangs from a tree at the end of the village. The bodies of those who committed suicide will be cremated, they said. The commissioner says okay and unloads the body with the jawans. It's not Okonkwo's body. The commissioner is shocked. I don't think he'll ever be on the field again. On the other hand, he felt happy because he had found good material and furniture for the book he was going to write. His book is called The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. The book also contains a suicide note. 

   Written for # WRITEAPAGEADAY            

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