Sunday, February 1, 2015
Things Fall Apart Part II
As I am reading Things Fall Apart I continue to be interested by the differences in the Ibo culture and my own, as well as the way Achebe chooses to portray the difference. As far as I knew, everything Achebe writes could be entirely made up, but the way he includes an in depth spectrum of positive and negative cultural details makes me feel that the Ibo people are very real. Also, it never feels like I am being told about them, but instead that I am observing and learning. For example, there is never a direct explanation behind certain traditions, just the context it occurs in. Achebe also never draws parallels to western culture, everything is framed from the point of view of the Ibo people. It is left to the reader to draw connections between the two cultures, and I believe that this helps the reader understand the new culture even more fully.
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The point you raise about learning instead of being told is very interesting, I had never really considered that until now. When we analyze literature in class, there is always the "the syntax makes the reader feel like he/she is really there in the story." But for this it is more of an experience of learning rather than an experience of experiencing. I also found your post interesting because it is what I wrote my first post on. Isn't it cool to think how far we have come as a species?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you brought up the fact that everything Achebe writes about the Ibo culture could be untrue. We really do not know what is true and what is false in this work of fiction, but it does indeed seem to be true. Before reading this post, I did not realize that there were no comparisons to western culture within the story, but I agree that it helps the reader understand the Ibo culture better.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet we have so much farther to go.
ReplyDeleteEven though parallels are never drawn to western culture, I can help but attempt to do so for myself anyway. More abusatory attitudes taken in the culture portrayed lead us to admonish them but it takes place even in western culture, albeit behind doors that are sometimes ajar. Put lightly, we can say this is something we would like to not condone, especially as presented in the novel. But western culture has those who would rather quietly close the door and lock it.
Honestly, I couldn't agree more with your post John. Actually I probably could but it would take a lot. Anyway, learning about different cultures is a very fascinating thing to me. I love to go beyond my own, and learn of others that have similar aspects, and different aspects at the same time. I bet if we met Mr. Achebe, we could probably get a first hand experience of that kind of culture, however, through his literature I feel like it is actually him sharing it with me because of the in-depth cultural details you mentioned that he includes in the book.
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