Giving Things Fall Apart a Rhythm: Achebe’s Method and Purpose of Manipulating his Novel’s Pacing

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Giving Things Fall Apart a Rhythm: Achebe’s Method and Purpose of Manipulating his Novel’s Pacing

Josh Farr

IB2 HL English

Mr. M. Webb

Final Word Count: 1,464

The perception of time in Things Fall Apart is governed by the lives and actions of the people it affects. Only after reading all three sections of the novel do we realize the various methods in which Achebe alters time’s pace to support the tone of his narrative. As the story progresses, Achebe manipulates time with greater intensity. In doing this, he envelops his readers with a view of how quickly and easily a culture can be destroyed by Imperialism, and thus reinforces the underlying themes of this novel. Achebe meters the narrative as it would seem to Okonkwo, the story’s greatest victim of the White insurgence into Umuofia. By examining time and how it affects Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart, the novel’s title’s meaning becomes more profound than it could be without this perspective, and we reach a greater understanding of Achebe’s message.

        Part I of Things Fall Apart, arguably an extensive exposition to the book’s conflict, dominates the novel in terms of length. Surprisingly, although Part I is the longest section of the book, it does not accomplish much in terms of plot progression or character development, but rather provides the reader with a detailed overview of Igbo life. The section is peppered with long and heavily detailed stories, fables, memories, and other winding narratives. In doing this, Achebe acclimates his reader to the slow, consistent pace of Igbo existence, its unchanging traditions, and the resulting tranquility (with the exception of a few minor and inconsequential conflicts) born of these cultural features. Part I establishes the “beat” of traditional life in Umuofia. For instance, chapter five opens with a lengthy description of The Feast of the New Yam. This detailed description is sustained for almost two pages before it is finally linked to the novel’s plot, although it is unnecessary to do so. In fact, Okonkwo’s character and the germ of his self-conflict are explained fully and concisely in the first few pages of the novel. Okonkwo had “no patience with unsuccessful men… with his father.” (Achebe 3) The remainder of Part I is a slice of Igbo life written at Igbo pace. Furthermore, Part I’s emphasis on thoroughly described events and circuitous conversation – since “proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten” (Achebe 5) – establishes a link of understanding between the reader and the fictional Igbo people. This accomplishes three things. The first is that the reader becomes more comfortable with the pace of life in Umuofia. The second is that the reader better understands Okonkwo’s character and why he passionately supports the notion of constancy and tradition. The novel’s abundant descriptions of trivial events reflect the Igbos’ banal daily life, and their subsequent attention to any event, no matter how small. The third reason for slowing this section’s pace is that by beginning the novel at such a leisurely rate, the uncontrollable chaos that emerges in the book’s following sections is more apparent to the reader.

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        A change in the novel’s pace can be first observed in Part II when Okonkwo enters his exile. As this is the first disturbance of the character's sense of normalcy, the increasing rapidness of the novel’s timeframe is logical. This section of the book spans less than thirty pages (as opposed to Part I’s ninety-one pages), yet it represents seven years of Okonkwo’s life. Very few detailed internalized musings exist in this section like they did in Part I. Rather, the bulk of the narrative strictly describes the events in Mbanta, the land of Okonkwo’s banishment. Events that would have ...

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