I recently finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The first time I read it was in high school, and I think I missed some of the meaning. His contrast of the clash between tradition and change, and its effect on a society is enthralling. He writes in a short, minimalist style, allowing the reader to add in meaning on their own. This book explores the difficulties of the human condition without apology.

His story explored conflicted and deep characters that spoke to me. Both were compelling as they exposed our universally shared struggle against our own flaws. The ending is simultaneously heart wrenching and thought-provoking.

It’s my kind of story.

The Hugo-ness of Things Fall Apart

I have written about Les Misérables before, and it is without a doubt my favorite piece of literature. Things Fall Apart is not Les Mis, neither in style nor scope, and wasn’t intended to be. But I was reminded throughout of one of my favorite Hugo characters: Javert.

Javert is often considered a villain, but I don’t agree with that. The main character in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo, is just like him. In Hugo’s novel, Javert is a fatalistic and deterministic police officer trapped between the incongruity of his worldview and the actions of his adversary, Jean Val Jean. He battles with a deep and protracted conflict within himself because of his firmly held belief that people cannot change and cannot escape their inborn evil (or goodness). Jean Val Jean consistently disproves Javert’s beliefs, and the police officer is never able to completely reconcile these two things.

Jean Val Jean behaves in ways that do not match Javert’s preconceived notions of him. In the end, Javert, unable to live with this dichotomy, especially because he finds himself beginning to disbelieve his own tenets, ends his own life.

Okonkwo, by comparison, is a powerful and respected member of a tribal group of the Igbo people of lower Nigeria. He fiercely follows and upholds the traditional laws of his tribe without pause or remorse. Even when he is subjected to one of their laws, he does not attempt to evade it or plead for a reprieve. Instead, he submits to the punishment with the internal conviction that this is the way things are and should be. Obedience is his way of life, and he expects conformity from everyone else as well. Javert would have been proud.

A Tragic Flaw

What makes Okonkwo most like Javert is his inability to understand a different point of view, his complete devotion to his own way of thinking, and his uncompromising approach to all conflicts, even internal ones. Okonkwo and Javert share a bond in strict discipline, absolute adherence to their worldview, and profound stubbornness.  For both, this code is their greatest strength as well as the cause of their ultimate downfall.

Okonkwo’s ultimate fear, and his tragic flaw in the classical sense, is to appear weak. He differs from Javert in this respect. Everyone in Okonkwo’s village knows he is a strong, ambitious, and respectable leader of their community. He represents the strength and history of their people. And yet Okonkwo is internally haunted by the fear of losing any piece of his image or standing.

To preserve his façade, he abandons any kind of behavior that he perceives as weak, such as mercy, compassion, or patience. And ironically, these holes in his character ultimately make him weak and fallible.

Okonkwo works hard, both on his farm, and for his community. These are strengths. Okonkwo follows the traditions of his people, which he believes in. And in his own eyes, he is the strongest of all those in his world. But the empty spots in his makeup can not be filled by increasing physical strength or acquiring more wealth.

For a period of time, Okonkwo’s tribe exiles him, and he lives with his father-in-law, Uchendu, in a neighboring village. Uchendu’s experience and wisdom could have helped Okonkwo, but he is too proud to listen.

While Okonkwo stews in his own despair at having lost his position in his tribe, Uchendu says: “You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world? … For whom is it well, for whom is it well? There is no one for whom it is well.”

Something Uchendu understood that Okonkwo did not is that life is difficult for everyone. Part of all lives is learning to continue onward amidst difficulties without abandoning our core values and beliefs.

Tradition as Weakness

Achebe’s novel explores the effects of European colonization on a “primitive” African tribe. But in his allegory, he represents a timeless conflict between the “old days” (tradition) and the “new ways” (changes). We see this same, never-ending debate today.

One question that came to me while reading this book was this: “Does every generation feel like the next generation is destroying the ‘good old days’?” I think the answer to that question is ‘yes’ but what I wanted to understand is why.

The colonists attacked, mocked, and attempted to destroy the superstitious and brutal ways of Okonkwo’s people. What Achebe leaves to the reader is the analysis of whether the tribe’s traditions ought to have changed or not. And then, the reader must also determine if the colonists are any better than the “primitives” who they have supposedly civilized.

As I mentioned, and as is presented unapologetically by Achebe, is that some of the tribal traditions in Okonkwo’s village are simply terrible. They treat women as property with few rights. Family matters are handled entirely by the patriarch, including corporal punishment or even execution.

Many of the tribe’s traditions included superstitious beliefs in evil spirits and trickster gods who punish mortals in various ways. Traditions stemming from these beliefs lead to killing all infant twins, extreme punishments, banishment, and mutilating corpses.

For Okonkwo, however, all of these things are right, because that is how things have always been. But with the coming of the Europeans, and their subversion of his own son to Christianity, things begin to change. He cannot see his traditions objectively enough to separate those that can endure the changes forced upon him, and those which probably ought to be let go.

And at that point, Okonkwo’s world begins to fall apart.

Tradition as Strength

My thoughts as I read this book were not judgmental about the tribal people or the colonists represented in the writing. Instead, I was impressed by the skill with which the author showed both sides of the story, and I was drawn to consider the question of why change feels so scary.

Were Okonkwo’s traditions primitive and brutal? Some were, but not all. Others were admirable. Okonkwo and his people loved their families, watched over and cared for their neighbors and friends, and shared important occasions with those they loved. People in their tribe worked hard, built good relationships, and trusted one another. They lacked education about some things, like weather and death, but they were well educated in other ways, like how to farm and maximize their resources.

Overall they were good people trying to make good lives for themselves. This is probably true of almost any group of people in history.

Their traditions helped strengthen their values and teach their children the way to live and be. I think this is the real reason change is frightening for all people. When we perceive what might be a truly life-altering change approaching, deep down we worry that this new thing will take away the most valuable components of our identity.

I think we cling to our traditions as symbols of the strength of our identity. And we are probably mostly right to do so. There are things that are too valuable to let go.

This reminds me of Tevye’s words from Fiddler on the Roof:

“Because of our traditions…Every one of us knows who he is and what God expects him to do.”

Tevye’s traditions kept him safe and secure during turbulent times. Everyone in Anatevka knew what it meant to be a Jew. Every person in Okonkwo’s village knew what it meant to be Igbo.

Traditions help us maintain our identity, and keep us from constantly shifting our values and beliefs to follow the latest, hottest fad. If we don’t have that kind of anchor, we can lose hold on the things that really matter most.

The Balance

But there is a timeless and true adage.

“The only constant is change.”

We all know that the world, our situation, our thoughts, and what we know are constantly changing. Technological advances, scientific discoveries, new paradigms, unique experiences, and many other things are continuously influencing our circumstances, our opinions, and our views of the world. Most of these are beyond our sphere of control, and there is no escape from that.

Some of Okonkwo’s traditions were horrible and based in ignorance. Simultaneously, others of his traditions were important, valuable and founded in love, hard work and integrity. Our traditions are also likely a mix of both types, important and unimportant, even perhaps “good” and “evil”.

So, the challenge is to be adaptable in the areas that are not critical to who we are and to be steadfast in those that are our core values. We must be equally willing to give up things that really aren’t right morally. The only way to do this is to know what your core values are. If we don’t know that, the loudest and most insistent voices will divert us, regardless of what is right.

Core values worth keeping stem from a moral code that is founded on correct principles of action and belief. We must set our most important anchors in ethical, right behavior. If we can do that, the ever-changing opinions around us will not sway us when it matters most. All the ideas and concepts we hear will not necessarily change us. Then, we will not fear the change. We will not negatively view the next generation that is supposedly ruining everything.

Traditions, founded on a strong and right moral code, are essential to maintaining our own identity, integrity, and standards.

Real Strength

Okonkwo and Javert both lacked the same thing: a belief that people can really change. They both adhered to core values, but they lacked critical and fundamental values, such as mercy and forgiveness. Because of that, they could not withstand the storms of change.

But it did not have to be that way for them. And it does not have to be that way for us. Although change will come, we can maintain our identity and our values.

As I have written before, one of our main purposes in life is to become better than we are. Anyone can change their life for the better, but not on their own. Okonkwo had strong family ties and a united and powerful community to turn to in his despair and difficulty, but he ignored them. He thought asking for help would make him appear weak.

But none of us is strong enough to make it alone. I love this quote from Andrea del Sarto by Robert Browning:

“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”

We need help beyond our own abilities from time to time. It is not a weakness to need help. Real strength comes from being united with those around us, maintaining our core values, and holding fast to them when life becomes difficult.

If we can do that, our lives will not ever fall apart.

 

 

 

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Also, you might like to read my post entitled All the Light.

 

 

 

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