EngL1401W - Spring 2007: Introduction to "Third World" Literature

I think "there is no story that is not true" is Uchendu saying that the world is large and that there is more to understand and more to learn in it always, the invading presence is new and maybe not totally understood it represents this almost chaotic element of life, Uchendu is articulating that these things seem unbelievable but are true and this element exists in life. I pick up a slight undertone of fear of this invading presence
The Uso seem to be a way for Achebe to explain that this group was easily attracted by the missionaries. I think he waited because they had no place in the first half, It was effective to introduce them at that time because they suddenly have importance and a voice through the "new religion", they also have a generalized motive, i.e. they have grievences against the "old ways"
The command of language and the perspective change happen kind of at the same time. This was an effective tool in showing the split between the colonizers and the effects they were having, and the Igbo people who have a different language and different ideology. I think what I'm saying is that the divergence gets clearer at the very end. The Igbo voices are reflecting their ideology, i.e., Okika's speech p203 and Obeirika's last lines. The Commissioner has a British grammar, and the messengers have a mixed grammar ("yes sah"p208) and the christian converts have an almost artificial grammar that is pulled from the bible, like when they say, "And bless thine inheritance"p188
There is something profound about languages, I have a hard time articulating what it means but I have heard a lot about it lately in reference to many Native American languages that are in danger of becoming extinct (namely Dakotah). Communication in general and the oral histories have a deeper meaning in the original tongue that is lost in translation. Achebe is kind of showing this melting of language or some kind of shift happening in it there at the end of the book.
I liked the book a lot, I was moved by the ending (and surprised) I was wondering where it was going to go, there was a shift in the book. I am still wondering what the section about the oracle taking Ezinma in the night, and into the cave was all about. What does it mean?!? I also feel like Ikemefuna was never really touched upon again, I was expecting something because of the warning that was given to Okonkwo.

I think that the destruction of Abame is simply a picture of what is to come. It is foreshadowing what is going to happen throughout different villages in the area. The "white men" are moving in and taking over. They are bringing their technologies, their language, their religion, their traditions, their government, their diseases, and their weapons. The presence of the missionaries is going to bring great joy to some (the converts) and will cause others great turmoil. The presence of the white men will divide villages and turn neighbors and friends against each other.

I think that Achebe had the colonizer in mind the entire time he wrote this book. That's what he's been building up to. Based on our reading of Conrad to Achebe's interpretation of his works, the end of this book makes perfect sense. Achebe shifting gears and telling the story from the colonizer's point of view shows the colonizer's ignorance. This ignorance had been growing ever since Mr. Brown showed up. It greatly accelerated with the arrival of Reverend Smith. By telling the story from the Nigerians point of view, the reader can fully understand the actions of the Nigerians and sees how their culture works. Rituals are done with reason and have long seeded roots in history. For the white person to come in and try to suddenly change this is ignorant. Achebe shows this especially when the six men of Umuofia are tricked into being held prisoner. The white man is depicted as evil and deceitful. Achebe's great end epitomizes all of this and is a back-handed insult to all writings by white colonists who express what they've seen in Africa.

The Osu added an interesting contrast to the book. They are the "untouchables" of the tribe, yet they end up being the "essentials" to Christianity. I think that Achebe waited to introduce them because they were essential to the colonizer's story. The colonizers didn't come until later in the story either. I think Achebe wanted to develop the story without them because he wanted us to the see the dynamics of of the tribe as they saw it. Since the Osu are left alone they really aren't part of the dynamics of the tribe.
The whole concept of them being "accepted" by the Christians was made more dramatic because they went from nothing to something. I think Achebe wanted us to see how the Christians "swooped" in and tried to look like the good guys.

The plight of the osu is confusing to me, I’m not entirely sure why they are being outcast. It says in the book that an osu is “a person dedicated to a god, a thing set apart.” Does this mean that he is outcast because he does not believe in all the gods of the clansmen, or that he believes in a god completely different from that of the clansmen? Either way, it seems a bit extreme for them to be so shunned that they cannot shave their hair and that they are completely ignored by their fellow clansmen, and not allowed to marry – this seems pretty harsh for dedicating oneself to a god. Achebe’s decision to mention them this late in the story, was made to show the intents and effects of Christianity in the villages of Africa. Christianity accepts every human being and gives them all the same titles under God – this would be very appealing to individuals who, like the osu, are treated like garbage, and once these people gain respect, and are considered equal to all in the church, they have a greater tendency to act out against their old clansmen – as Enoch does during his act against the egwugwu. In the beginning of the book, their existence was inconsequential, but Achebe’s decision to reveal their existence as he does gives them a place in the story and shows their importance in the changing world that the clansmen are living in.

I perceived Achebe saying "There is no story that is not true" to be his way of showing that, although this book if fiction, it is based on common occurances of the time. What happens to Okonkwo and Umuofia is a representation of what happened to Africa during this era. I think Achebe was trying to cement that idea.
I saw the situation with Abame to be a sort of storm on the horizon. Achebe was probably forshadowing the disintergration of Umuofia. Although I also think Achebe was doing this with the killing of Ikemefuna.
I was wondering what people thought of the part when Chielo takes Ezinma to the cave. What was Achebe trying to do here? I perceived it as his way of countering the sexism in the book by having the point of view switch to that of Ekwefi.

First off, the shift of voice in the last page of the book was extremely clever. Here was the Distrct commisioner, looking at the dead body of a man who killed one of his own and all he can think about is a stupid book that he hasn't written yet. I think Achebe did this to show the ignorance and selfishness of the west. "The west/first world" witnesses horros committed like this everyday but yet we can only think of ourselves in the end. It is also interesting to note that the only one in the whole group that wasn't thinking/acting for himself was Obierika, the wisest cat in the book.

In reference to "there is no story that is not true," I think he was saying that whether or not you want to believe a story, there is still truth in it. An example of this is the story of Abame, which, to the many of the men sounds impossible. Okonkwo even goes as far as to say that the men of Abame were foolish for not being ready to defend themselves.

The osu in this story represent the cultural blindness of the clan. They had outcasted these people, for whatever reason, thinking that they weren't important and there beliefs/religion/traditions/ancestors would not allow them to ever have any power or say in what happens to the village. However, the osu had a huge hand in what started the s**t storm that ultimately ends the book. These men were numbers to the missionaries/colonizers. The osu, because they weren't accepted, were ready to tack themselves onto any group of people that would allow them to live there lives like humans should. This is what gave the missionaries those initial "numbers" to build a church, school and eventually a government.

The destruction of Abame was definitely foreshadowing for what would happen later on in the book. Also, it worried me that the Umuofians took the news so lightly. If that was my neighboring village I think I would have a LOT more concern about the safety of my family and village. Achebe was obviously doing this on purpose but it was still quite worrisome. Why did Achebe go about this news in a laid back tone? It surely has some kind of link to the fact that Umuofia basically ignored the white men when they arrived and very highly underestimated them. They should have taken greater concern when these strangers arrived but they didn’t and in the end, they paid the price of colonialism.

I don’t/didn’t really understand the significance of the osu at first. It was awkward that they did just appear from nowhere, but I didn’t really think much of them until reading the blogs here. I agree with Lauren about them being very important even though they obviously weren’t important to start out. Maybe Achebe is pointing out that even though you need to look after tradition and your own beliefs, you still need to keep yourself in check. You need to be sure things are fair, people aren’t neglected, and you/your beliefs are open to change (for the better).

I think the destruction of Abame is a faint picture of what is to come on all the other tribes. It was almost hard to read because only Okonkwo could see what was really going to happen. He saw all the white men moving in and he was angry. He tried telling the others that they should do something about it but no one really listened to him. In the last town meeting it was too late for them to do anything. In the end, Umoufia had lost a good man and they were now loosing thier culture as well.

I think that "there is no story that is not a true story" can have a complex meaning. First, I think it is referring to the stories about white men taking slaves to America that nobody believed. Some stories, even though they may seem so incomprehensible have truths in them. I think that Uchendu is saying this so that people pay closer attention to stories and use them to carry on their peoples' history and traditions. Stories have played a huge role in Achebe's book. When the main character's talk together and when a leader talks to the clan, they usually talk through the use of stories to illustrate their ideas. Since oral tradition is so important in this culture, I think Uchendu is saying that "there is no story that is not true" because that is how they communicate (through stories) and even though the stories may have been altered as they have been passed down from generation to generation, they still are of value and importance to their culture in telling them about their past and how to live in the present and future.

I think that the meaning behind "there is no story that is not true" is that the different interpretations of the facts are derived as true by the person who speaks them. What I mean is, that 2 people can come out of the same situation and experience different things. Neither of these people are lying because they are telling the truth interpreted by themselves.

I believe the sudden shift from natives to colonizers is an intentional jab by Achebe towards novels that describe Africans as without history and background. The commissioner, unable to understand the cultural destruction his arrival has wrought onto the village, is shown as the face of ignorance when he thinks that a paragraph will explain what over 200 pages of Achebe's novel couldn't quite explain.

Wow. That’s all I can say to the District Commissioner’s thoughts. I was appalled because there is so much more to Okonkwo than possibly a page or a paragraph. The entire book is dedicated to Okonkwo-his life, family, challenges, triumphs. He deserves more than a paragraph!

I think that Achebe ended Things Fall Apart with the thoughts of the District Commissioner to show how ridiculous it is to write about Africa and not understand it at all. After reading Conrad’s Outpost of Progress and Achebe’s response to Heart of Darkness, I think Achebe was trying to show how there is so much more to this “dark” and “savage” place and its people (as Conrad describes) than anyone gives credit. At the beginning of this story Achebe creates an individual with a history, personal achievements, and culture. These traits go against the ideas that Africa has no history and can’t be individualized. Furthermore, Achebe gets the reader to sympathize and even pity his main character. The reader gets to know Okonkwo and even if the reader does not like him, the reader enjoys the story of his life. Achebe gave Africa a voice and character through the entire book and to end it with the District Commissioner was genius.

I think the destruction of
Abame is the climax of the story. The whole book was a build up of culture and tradition. With the destruction of Abame along came western civilization which ended up in the destruction of Okonkwo and his tribe as he knew it.

I think the shift to the colonizer perspective is to show what ended up happening to the tribes of Africa. It did not happen over night but most likely has been evolving over time.

I think Achebe waited to use osu to title anyone because he meant to explain the white men and their follows. Their had been osu through out the story but they did express to the tribe their beliefs. I think osu could have describe Okonkwo's oldest son long before he actually jumped sides.

I found it very strange that the voice in the second and third parts of the book were so different from the first part. I thought that the approach was very different from anything I have ever read before. Usually, key points are spelled out in the first few chapters, but Achebe gradually developed his story. I was very surprised with lots of the things that went on in the book. The whole Uso thing threw me off a little… I thought maybe that I missed when they were mentioned earlier in the text… until we touched on the subject in Wednesday’s class. Wrapping up, I thought that it was a very unique book.

Towards the end of the book the language of the clansmen and their commanding voice became much more significant. Achebe seemed to focus on the use and magnitude of the characters words during the tense moments of rallying together against the missionaries and court messengers, more so than during any other part of the book. For example when the egwugwu gather together and move to the church to burn it Achebe writes “His voice was unmistakable and so he was able to bring immediate peace to the agitated spirits. … ‘The body of the white man, I salute you,’ using the language in which immortals spoke to men.” Here Achebe is showing how the commanding strength of one’s voice makes him highly respected in Umuofia. He is also showing how the missionary did not understand their customs and how to respond to this phrase and how much of an ignorance gap exists between the two. Later on Achebe points again and again to the strength of the voice. The men are silent when arrested which builds up the tension and anticipation of what they will do for vengeance. Also, Okwonko focuses on the power of persuasion that Egonwanne’s voice has during the marketplace meeting, and the men who quiet the crowd and the first man who speaks his thoughts on what needs to be done. The final paragraph in the book displays the District Commissioner’s value of language and how all that has occurred would become merely a paragraph in his oh so amazing book. I feel that Achebe is trying to stress to his readers the differences between the two cultures and their value of language and the ignorance of the Commissioner and people similar to him.

I think the shift to the colonizer at the end is interesting and effective in way it shows how white people portray Africa. After reading the book it seems to me the Ibo tribe had just as civilized lifestyle and culture as one could hope for. They had their own holidays, traditions, judicial system, beliefs, and economy. When the european influence comes from the outside, just because they don't understand the language and customs set forth, they automatically think that these cultures are savage. The part that sums this up the best is when the comish discovers Okonkwo's suicide. Suicide happens in all cultures and all races, but when it happens here, it onnly drives the nail of the racist view further. Civilized people don't commit suicide according to the Comish. At least they might ignore what happens in their actual society. The obsurdity of how shallow he thinks of Okonkwo's character that only a paragraph could be written about him is the most telling of why whites and americans have this predetermined view on africa. Achebe just wrote and entire book about the same guy, where as a european perspective only achieves a paragraph about him, in The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.

i think the destruction of Abame was the silence before the storm. the villagers did not pay much heed to it because of their ignorance towards the outside world. since the time of their ancestors, they have been following their own customs in their own small world which began and ended with the village of Umuofia. to them what they saw was the truth and a story which they heard third person didnt have much impact on them. when Achebe said "there is no story that is not true" i think he meant to imply that for every story to even originate, it needs a basis. there is no smoke without a fire and so we need to view every story with an open mind and not dismiss them as mere myth. Abame's destruction was a story for the other villagers as well as about the slave trade but they needed to take it as something which might have really happened. As far as the Osu were concerned, honestly speaking, i was not surprised at all about their existence. it was something which i was subconsciously expecting to come up somewhere in the book for the tradition of Umuofia had so many rules and regulations that the concept of outcasts was something which have been subtly hinted throughout the book. in the beginning when we learned about the evil forest, it was a very big hint given by Achebe as to the existance of living outcasts within the society. what i found ironical though was the fact that the villagers found it hard to believe about the slave trade which were being carried out by the white people while at the same time slavery existed in their own backyard.

The destruction of Abame was the foreshadowing of the turn of events toward the end of the story. I agree with Dorsana that it was the calm before the storm. I think that the destruction of Abame needed to happen to restore the community that Okonkwo left. Achebe does this to show that once Okonkwo left his village, things change, but once he comes back, the village may not be restore back to the victorious place it once use to be. It also lays out the plot that someone significant may be destroyed, or what not.
When Achebe said "there is no story that is not true," is simply stating that for every story we've heard in our lifetime, there's rich history and some truth of it. Any fables or proverbs we've heard has some meaning. A story is a source of a history that may have been from the building of a civilization or whatever. I think that Achebe's statement is true because a story does have truth to it.

The destruction of Abame in the story was the first reference to Europeans coming to Africa. I believe this reference was to foreshadow what would happen in the rest of the story in Umuofia. Later in the story Mbanta missionaries came and set up a Christian church, obtaining converts and rising in power. This also happened in Umuofia, where they took control of the judicial system. Abame gave an introduction to what would inevitably happen in many parts of Africa and gave an ominous prospect to what would happen to the main characters. The overthrow showed that Europeans have and would eventually take control of Africa and its culture. I believe it is very important that the story was not firsthand. Because it was not experienced firsthand, this could give the sense that what happened in Abame was not going to happen in Mbanta or Umuofia. In this way the takeover of the other villages was set up in a different way. In the other villages missionaries came and slowly built up strength through undermining many of the African’s cultural beliefs. Though Abame was violently taken control of, this did not happen in the other villages. Achebe showed that the view that cultural blind spots contributed to Europeans taking control.

Agreeing with Emily, I felt that the destruction of Abame was a precursor to what the fate of the other tribes was to be. Since we've finished reading Things Fall Apart, I can say with certainty that the destruction of Abame was critical to the story. Not just because it was the introduction of the white man, but because of the repercussion of the things he introduced, a new religion and a new way of life. It seems that the only thing going in the way of the Igbo tribes and more specifically Umuofia was that the people of the tribe were united under their beliefs and culture. The introduction of a new religion really divided people, and made people, like the Osu who weren't so important prior to the colonization of the villages, prominent.
"There is no story that is not true." These words I felt were possibly the most important in the entire book, because they really encased the future of the tribe in a few words. Like we discussed in class, I think this quote means that every story has a certain amount of truth, their disbelief in this "third-hand story" was really the cause of their destruction.
I don't know if I'm way off, but I feel that one of Achebes' main messages was that their the dependence on their tradition to take care of all their problems was unwise. This was showcased when they allowed the missionaries to build their church in the forbidden forest. Like we discussed, their cultural blind-spot also helped in their self-destruction, for example their illogical hatred for Osu, which led to their alliance with the missionaries and an advantage in numbers against their own tribes people.
I really felt for the Osu, they didn't really do anything to deserve the treatment they got, but then again when was any caste system fair? Achebe held off on their introduction because it was only in that part of the book that they became prominent characters. Achebe used the three-part scheme of the book to transition between views. We began with Okonkwo, seeing and thinking everything he saw and thought. Then moved on to a bigger scope, through the eyes of other tribes people and lastly, in contrast, looked through the very narrow scope of the Commissioner. It was in the middle that we were introduced to the Osu, because prior to that, Okonkwo could really have cared less about anyone that was beneath him, and lastly the Commissioner was quite oblivious to the culture of the Igbo.
Although Okonkwo was never much of an eloquent speaker, we were well aware that Obeirika was very well spoken. At the very end of the book, as we discussed, even Obeirika was unable to string together words. It was a symbolic way of saying that the Igbo people had been quieted.
The sudden shift in perspective, I thought, was necessary and inevitable because with the trend in the first two parts i was sure that the last part would again show another perspective of the events occurring. The Commissioner's perspective was critical to prove the ignorance of the colonizer's who were corrupting the Igbo society and it's peoples.

Although the people of Umuofia heard of the destruction of Abame they didn't prepare themselvees from the possibility that it could happen to them. This reminds me of the tortiose story. The birds represent the people of Umuofia and the tortoise represents the missionaries. The people let in the missionaries who later destory their customs and beliefs by setting up a church and a court. The destruction of Abame is important to the story because it shows how easily the people of Umuofia fall apart.

I think Achebe means there is a truth behind every story.

Okonkwo who is able to speak up, hanged himself. His friend, Obierika, was told to shut up. "That man was one of the greatest...you drove him to kill himself; and now he'll be buried like a dog..." It shows little faith of continuing their way of culture.

The sudden shift at the end of the story becomes the district commissioner's thinking because Achebe wants to show a mindless understanding of the difference of cultural customs, beliefs, and values (cultural blindsopts).

I think the book is a good portrayal of how regardless of race or even the flawlessness of men that we are still all human beings and all have feelings, goals, values, beliefs, and purpose. In the end when the role switches from Okonkwo to the Commissioner, I felt a sense of loss in the story not just because Okonkwo died but also because the Commissioner was so ignorant to whom the African people were and the depth and complexity of them. There is so much knowledge behind them that it is frustrating that the Commissioner was not sensitive or did not try to understand the people and their ways. The loss goes to the Commissioner. He had a great opportunity to learn and share experiences with the African people and instead he just tried to conform them to his ways and treated them like savages.

I get frustrated when people stereotype and generalize a group of people based on one or two experiences even though we all do it. Whether it is a racial stereotype or a religious one it does not matter. In the book the Commissioner and the new pastor were very prejudice of the tribes and their traditional customs. On the flip side many of the natives were very prejudice of the white people and their customs. I can see both sides how some of the native traditions are a little odd and in my opinion messed up but regardless that does not make them any less human just because they were brought up differently. People can learn about each other and when in conflict resolve it by compromising on both sides. Of course that is in an ideal world that does not exist but people on individual levels can decide to try overcoming this. I can also see how the natives would not like the white men who were trying to change them and basically flip their world upside down. I think the first pastor had good intentions and he seemed like her really cared for the people but did not force himself on them but the second one seemed heartless towards them and very aggressive.

I think the osu were not discussed earlier in the story because they were not part of their people meaning they did not mingle with them or have anything to do with them because they were a cursed people. They were unaffected by the osu until the missionaries came and accepted and gave hope to them which was an abomination to the natives. It was as if the missionaries had crossed the line and had gone too far. Each day brought more and more surprises to the natives and the abominations became bigger and bigger with time. It started out with the land, then accepting the osu and taking in the twins who were thrown out, then converting their own people, the snake and most importantly revealing the mask of one of the spirit fathers.

Maybe with the shift of narrator, Achebe was making a statement about how once colonialism set into Africa, even the strongest voices and stories were usurped by the voices of the European settlers and missionaries. These people had the power to craft and convey an image of Africa to folks back home, while the igbo people were largely denied any involvement in the way their culture was translated to the rest of the world. So we are left with this image of “one of the greatest men in Umuofia” being so overcome by this taking over that he felt his existence no longer was worth what it had been seven years before. Imperialism created out of the igbo people and their lives a lesser, more general and “savage” existence that was only “true” because Europeans decided to define it so. They brought these definitions back to Belgium, England, etc where there was no counter-definition and the generalizations were held as fact. I think Achebe was really disturbed by this idea that Imperialism could acceptably strip the face off of Africa and replace it with its own crude interpretation.

The switch in narration is incredibly blunt and biting, and in effect is really effective and surprising. Its harsh satire and it gets the point across very well. Despite how awful the D.C. is, one can't help but laugh at the absurdity of his statement. We as readers have just read accounts of a terribly conflicted and complicated man. The writing off of Okonkwo appears so incredibly off-base to the reader that Achebe has obviously achieved his goal. Africa is rich with history, culture and thought filled with individuals no less than any other part of the world. They are not mere colorforms, but well rounded people. The District Commisioner just reveals the absurdity of Colonialsim and the White Man's Burden as a whole

First, when Achebe says “There is no story the is not true”, he is saying how no matter how far or how long a story has traveled in time, there will always be some truth to it. There have always been many stories throughout history that have turned into tales and fantasy bedtime books. Yet, they came from somewhere and started from some amount of truth. This is what I believe Achebe is trying to get through, that with the story from the other village.
Secondly, about the osu I think that it was good to wait and introduce them at a later time in the novel. Along with the women in the book the osu were kept in the shadows until the white men came along. It really helps the reader change perspectives and views from Okonkwos to the Directors.

I think what Achebe meant by “There is no story that is not true” is that there is a little authenticity to every story told no matter how little or big. Even proverbs come from some background and history.

The switch in narraration was a very interesting decision on Achebe’s behalf. It took me a while to realize it but once I caught on I re-read it and it all made sense. I think Achebe uses this sudden turn of events to jab at Outpost of Progress and Conrad. I also think it is interesting how in Outpost of Progress the one who survives is the native and the colonizers commit suicide/die and in Things Fall Apart Okwonko commits suicide and the colonizers survive. Based on the authors, one would think it would be the other way around. But when you look deeper you realize that in the context of the entire book they are each trying to make a greater point.

The ending of the book changed dramatically and I think it was in part due to how the colonization of the white people was overtaking the osu and to get a better perspective, the way the book was writen had to be altered. Maybe Achebe wanted the reader to experience how the colonizers viewed the world. An example from the book.."When the district commissioner arrived at Okonkwo's compound at the head of an armed band of soldiers and court messengers he found a small crowd of men sitting wearily in the obi." The view from how it's being described had changed and the last chapter really represents that.

Im so HHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD i wear my pants below my waste and i never dance when im in did place cuz u and ur man is plannin to hate im offf the hoooooodddd i got these golds up in my mouth and u know wat im talkin about if u get closer to my house and if u aint from here u can walk it out and u aint hood if u dont know wat im talkin bout i off the hood