Paper 2: How does Things Fall Apart conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre?

How does Things Fall Apart conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre?

            The genre of this text is classified as post- colonial literature coupled with realistic fiction. Things Fall Apart written by Chinua Achebe conforms to the conventions of this particular while fulfilling its purpose. The purpose of this text is to depict how life was before, after and during the colonization of Igboland (situated in a part of Nigeria) by the Europeans. Additionally, Achebe achieves his purpose by giving a relatively unbiased view of both cultures- Igbo and European- as he essentially shows that both parties were at fault during the transition period of Umuofia.

            Realistic fiction is a genre, which consists of bits and pieces of stories that may have occurred to people in a plausible setting. These stories tend to resemble real life and fictional characters within these stories have actions that imitate the ones of real people. Igboland is a real place in Africa; however it is not sure whether characters such as Okonkwo and Obierka actually existed but it can be deduced that characters of similar sort may have once thrived in that land because even in current day, we see people with similar character attributes such as self righteousness and hot headedness. Additionally, issues such as gender inequality still exists at a global scale so this shows that the pivotal factor that caused the downfall of Okonkwo still persists.

Furthermore, Achebe digs deep into the culture, tradition and values of the Igbo people and that provides a sense of reality and trueness to the setting of the plot. One can easily identify with the culture of the Igbo people. For example, the Nwoye’s mother told him stories such as folktales and fables during bedtime; this instance can be related to the bedtime stories children read before sleeping and this fulfills Acehebe’s purpose of showing an aspect of the Igbo life and how it was similar to the current western culture yet also different as their culture was more oral based than the western culture. Contrast and similarities between the two cultures augments the purpose of showing life in Umuofia as it gives a sense of realism to it while being a fictional piece of work.

The second genre this text relates to is post-colonial literature. Achebe wrote this novel after Igboland was colonized and while he was writing this novel, he wasn’t living in Nigeria. This text has many attributes of post- colonial literature as it shows the flaws of the Western colonizers and change in society and culture however, Achebe also portrays the flaws of the society being colonized, Igboland. This portrayal of both communities in equal light demonstrates how this text doesn’t follow the conventions of post colonial literature as the purpose of postcolonial literature is to be critical of mainly colonizers. For example Okonkowo, who is from the group of people being colonized, is portrayed as tragic hero and how his own character flaws along with his fate led to his downfall. Additionally Obierka, Okonkwo’s best friend, is depicted as the wise one from the group of people being colonized. On the other hand, Mr Brown isn’t shown as an antagonist even though he is part of the colonizers because he is shown as a person sensitive to the Igbo culture whereas Mr Smith, who is also a part of colonizer, is shown as a negative character. This mixture of good and bad in the group of colonized people and in the group of colonizers makes the text less bias and more credible because in reality, no single groups is either completely good or completely bad. This deviation from the conventions of this particular genre fulfills the purpose of demonstrating a realistic version of what life was like in Igboland during that time period.

In conclusion, Achebe approaches this text from a conventional perspective in the genre of realistic fiction however he has attributes, which aren’t specific to post colonial text at the same time. The conforming and simultaneous deviation from the genres fulfills the purpose of showing Igbo life before, during and after the period of colonisation. 

Word count: 691