‘I would be quite satisfied if my my novels… did no more than teach my readers that their past.. was not one long night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them’ - Achebe
Literary and historical context showing how Achebe wishes to dispel the rhetorics of Europeans at the time
In real life 1905, a man rode his bicycle into Ahiara, was killed by one of the natives and a massacre of the village followed
- Historical context showing that the massacre of Abame was based on real events
- It showed the violence of the colonialists
- Violence was important because if they didn’t have effective control of the country another European country could sieze the country as part of the Scramble for Africa
In 1912 the British instituted the Collective Punishment Ordinance, which stipulated punishment against an entire village or community for crimes committed by one or more persons against the white colonialists.
Historical context forming the basis of the massacres like Abame (in the novel), showing the violent control the British often had on their occupied territories
‘In my view it is the role of literature not only to tell lovely stories, but also to tell ugly stories’ - Chinua Achebe
Literary context - he doesn’t want to portray Igbo society as idyllic
The ‘Clapham Sect’ (group of social reformers from southeast London) wanted to export Christianity to ‘heathens’ who they saw as ‘backwards’ and ‘uncivilised’. They believed they were bringing light where there was darkness, and civilisation where there was savagery
Historical context representing the wider ideology of many Christian missionaries in Africa
‘The desire to become a member of European-style society has its attractions. For one, it is conveyed to the Umofia people, including Okonkwo, as a means of enjoying the spoils of twentieth century civilisation. But Okonkwo refused to endorse the appeal. He recognized that accepting the invitation is done not at the expense of the things that comprimised his indentity and defined his values’
Historical context showing how colonialism had its upsides, but Okonkwo refused to accept this
‘African people’s did not hear of civilisation for the first time from Europeans’ - Achebe
Literary and historical context - Achebes message through TFA
The Berlin Conference of 1884-85 was a meeting arranged to settle rivalries among European powers, and the British proclaimed Nigeria to be their territory
Historical context
- The Scramble for Africa, was a period of intense colonisation of Africa which took place in the late 19th and early 20th century in which Britain colonised much of Nigeria
- If a country did not have control over a country, the land could be siezed by an alternate country
Historical context
‘The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, namely that Joseph Condrad is a thoroughgoing racist’
Literary context
‘(HOD presents) Africa as a setting and backdrop which eliminates the African as human factor’
Literary context
‘I am talking about a story in which the very humanity of black people comes into question’
- Literary context to describe Heart of Darkness
- Novels such as Mister Johnson by Joyce Cary also present Africans in this way
Female characters in Heart of Darkness
- ‘Kurtz’s intended’ and the ‘African Mistress’
- One represents the politeness of European Women and another the savagery of African women
- However, in both cases they are given very shallow and superficial descriptions which is in contrast to Achebe’s presentation of Ekwefi and the adversity she faced throughout her life
‘Conrad saw and condemned the evil of imperial exploitation but was strangely unaware of the racism which sharpened its iron tooth’
Literary context
Achebe wrote in English so that his message of bringing the humanity and voice back to Africa could be widely accessible to Africans and Europeans. He also used the colonisers language against them in a sense by challenging their views yet writing in their tongue
Literary context - Despite this, he still uses many Igbo proverbs to help fully describe their culture in a way English cannot do
The cult of domesticity was system of cultural beliefs or ideals in the 19th century that governed gender roles in upper- and middle-class society
- Shows the paralells between Igbo and Western society in terms of the position of women in society -
- Achebe wished to convey this, to show that the two peoples are not drastically different, yet there are key differences which don’t in any way reduce the humanity of Africans
‘I want it (pre-colonial Igbo society) to be seen in all its grandeur and all its weakness’
Literary context - Achebe describing his presentation of Igbo society, and perhaps also colonialism
‘Thing fall apart, the centre cannot hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the world’
Literary context - ‘The second coming’ by Y.B Yeats which Achebe uses as his epigraph and for the Title. ‘Things falling apart’ is a wider theme in the novel, which sees Igbo culture and beliefs falling apart, largely due to the Christian missionaries, and Okonkwo’s world falls apart as a result and he suffers a downfall
Okonkwo was presented as a Homeric hero as part of an Aristotelian tragedy to show his heroicness while simultaneously showing his possession of fatal flaws
- Literary context
- This was done to draw paralells between acclaimed Western literature to show how African people can exhibit the same sophistication
