Potrayal of Characters: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

  • T Veeraswamy Research Scholar, Department of English Osmania University
  • N Shivapavan Raj Department of English, Osmania University
Keywords: Nigeria, culture, colonial, impact, movement, tradition

Abstract

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958), certain key aspects of the novel’s meaning remain unresolved. At the heart of the problem lies the question of how to interpret the reasons for Okonkwo’s downfall or fate. The article suggests that a number of different sources of explanation appear to be plausible at various levels, but it goes on to demonstrate that at least some of these putative explanations are incompatible if not mutually exclusive. The more general difficulty arising from this is that several of these explanations are underpinned by worldviews which differ from and even conflict with each other. The article intends, therefore, through an exploration of the possible reasons for Okonkwo’s demise, to consider what worldview the novel finally supports and, indeed, whether the novel’s outlook is  coherent at all. The chief conclusion is that although the overall perspective of the novel is highly complex, it does not necessarily follow that the actual meaning of the novel itself is either illogical or self contradictory

Published
2017-12-23
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How to Cite
Veeraswamy, T., & Shivapavan Raj, N. (2017). Potrayal of Characters: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Shanlax International Journal of English, 6(1), 5-11. Retrieved from https://www.shanlaxjournals.in/journals/index.php/english/article/view/2953
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