Context of Things Fall Apart

Why would Achebe choose to set his novel prior to and during the arrival of the colonial administration as opposed to during the context of composition?

The novel Things Fall Apart, written by Chiuna Achebe, was set prior to the arrival of the colonial administration of Britain, rather than during the context of production (during independence). The reasons for why Achebe chose to publish his novel in 1958, two years prior to Nigerian independence are influenced by multiple factors.

The first aspect to consider when looking at the reasons behind Achebe’s publishing and writing choice is his personal identity. As a proud Igbo, writing a story about colonization and the effect it had on his own people must have been an area of sensitivity and awareness. This was greatly influenced by Achebe interests of being embroiled within the politics of his country and is further highlighted when considering that he joined the Biafran Ministry of Information during the Biafran War (Nigerian civil war). Moreover, Achebe aimed to remind his people why they needed independence. As aforementioned, this piece of literature was composed prior to Nigerian independence and as a result, could have had a major impact of people’s attitudes at that time, as is discussed aspects regarding the current national situation.

The second aspect to consider is the objective of Achebe’s work. This reveals itself to be promoting the discussion of the hegemonic British sphere of influence over Nigeria. As a result of being oppressed and subjugated to colonial changes, Achebe endeavored to illustrate the other side of the one-sided story. As majority of people in the world have only been exposed to the winner’s side, with regards to British colonization over Nigerian, Achebe aimed to tell the story from the loser’s side. This motived him to provide an accurate representation of the complicity of his culture by utilizing Igbo language and explaining the origins of specific practices that colonial rule had denied him and his county. Additionally, by challenging the colonial mindset that world has, he strived to produce a body of literature free from the preconized notions people had on the justification of the slave trade and imperialism.

The last aspect to consider is the hybrid nature of Achebe. In fact, being raised as a Christian, with a father, who was a teacher, influenced him to write the entirety of the novel in English. This is further highlighted by Achebe’s ideology that English is the tool of colonization, and writing in it enabled his work to reach all people, by employing the instrument of colonization itself, thus taking control of his story.