Thesis

The personal history of an author can have a significant influence on the way meaning is constructed in his/her writing. Comment on specific instances of such influence in Things Fall Apart.

Chinua Achebe’s innate cultural conflict caused him to channel himself in the novel; he portrayed his dilemma through selective representation of the Igbo culture, the characters and the structure of the novel in attempts to unravel his psychological discord.

1.  Chinua Achebe’s identity struggle led him to selectively portray aspects of both cultures in order to establish parallels between them throughout his novel and ultimately to unravel his psychological conflict.

a.     Achebe chose to explore the parts of the Igbo culture that caused him to doubt his culture, for example: the inhumane treatment of twins, the polygamous marriages, and the abuse women faced.

b.     Achebe chose to explore the parts of the Christianity culture that caused him to doubt his culture, for example: the inhumane treatment that the colonized Africans had encountered and the racial discrimination.

22. The manner in which Achebe structured the novel was strategic in that it was reflective of the approach, which he had taken to unravel his identity struggle.

33. Chinua Achebe channeled all of his different dilemmas through his characters in order to unravel them and ultimately find a solution to his skeptical doubts in regards to his contrasting cultures.