Things Fall Apart: An Analysis of Pre and Post-Colonial Igbo Society

Chinua Achebe (1930- 2013) published his first novel Things Fall Apart (TFA) in 1958. Achebe wrote TFA in response to European novels that depicted Africans as savages who needed to be enlightened by the Europeans. Achebe presents to the reader his people’s history with both strengths and imperfections by describing for example, Igbo festivals, the worship of their gods and the practices in their ritual ceremonies, their rich culture and other social practices, the colonial era that was both stopping Igbo culture and also brought in some benefits to their culture. TFA therefore directs the misleading of European novels that depict Africans as savages into a whole new light with its portrayal of Igbo society, and examines the effects of European colonialism on Igbo society from an African perspective. Hence this essay is an attempt to show an insight of pre and post colonialism on Igbo society. It is argued that the interaction between the whites and the Igbo people had both negative and positive consequences. It is evident in Achebe’s novel that the Europeans greatly influenced the lifestyle of Igbo society.