Chinua's Pride

Elisa Garcia
Mrs. Bosch
Honors English 10
10 August 2007


Many people have pride in their heritage,memories, language, their families and the lives around them. They pride themselves in how well their families are living, in their heritage that has made them what they are. Their memories which not only supply them with experience for the future but also give them pride in what they have accomplished, they pride themselves in the language they speak which is a part of their culture and identity, in their families that grow strong and produce future generations, and in their lives and in the lives of others. The novel Things Fall Apart manages to illustrate the authors pride of various values throughout the course of Okonkwo's downfall. Achebe's pride isn't clearly stated in every passage however from the way the novel is written it is easily concluded that Achebe has pride in his ancestry and culture. It is easily concluded from the obvious pride that is exposed when explaining the customs and rituals that create and keep alive the spirit of Umuofia. And the families that support each other. Things Fall Apart manages to illustrate the authors pride in his heritage, memory, language, family, and the lives around him by showing and explaining his cultures way of life.


The novel illustrates Achebe's pride not only through the language, memories, family and lives of others but also through the heritage. During the novel there are various passages where Chinua's pride of his heritage is exposed. These passages can be about stories that explain life, of the gods and many more some passages such as this one describe how their customs unite the people " The drums were still beating, persistent and unchanging. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. It was like the pulsation of it's heart. It throbbed in the air, in the sunshine, and even in the trees, and filled the village with excitement." (44) Many of the passages concerning the authors pride are not very direct. This particular passage reveals Chinua's pride in his heritage from the way the ancient custom of the drum creates a sense of unity within the clan. Heritage not only unites the people with it's customs and traditions it also shapes boys and girls into the men and women they become. A person's heritage is like the foundation of their entire lives and their lives are always affected by their heritage.

Things Fall Apart also manages to illustrate Chinua Achebe's pride through the language and memory. the memory and language really bring out the pride in Achebe even when the memories aren't exactly pleasant for example " perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw, Okonkwo's fear was greater that these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself lest he should resemble his father, even as a little boy he had resented his father's failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was Agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that Agbala was not only another name for woman it could also mean a man who had taken no title." (13) The memories throughout this passage are not pleasant however it is a memory that shaped Okonkwo into the man he became and that is the pride that is given through this passage. Memories are what inform people how to act and what to do, they teach people of their ancestry and of themselves. language in this passage is not very obvious however there is something to be said about it. Language is another one of the values that Achebe has pride in, when spoken in a person's native tongue it can bring heart warming memories, it is also one of the values that creates a clan with unity because in a way when spoken it sets cultures apart and makes them their own which is why Achebe's pride is illustrated in the novel through the language and memory.

Inside of this novel there are many values which illustrate Achebe's pride, of these values there are a few which are illustrated throughout the novel, such as the values of a family and the lives of others that are shown in this passage " That night he collected his most valuable belongings into head loads. His wives wept bitterly and their children wept with them without knowing why. Obierka and a half a dozen other friends came to help and to console him. They each made nine or ten trips carrying Okonkwo's yams to store in Obierka's barn. And before the cock crowed Okonkwo and his family were fleeing to his motherland." (124") The values spoken of before are not exactly obvious however this passage was chosen because in spite of it's unpleasantness the family is with Okonkwo, when his clan exiled him he fled with family and to family that supported him. And for a family to always be there when a person needs them, that is something to be proud of, just as the lives of children that grow into the next generation is something to be proud of. The lives of the future are not mentioned so greatly but they are always there, the future leaders and the hope of Umuofia. They are the children who when they are converted to young men and women will lead and take care of their own and this is another one of the values Achebe takes pride in.

This novel which so greatly illustrates Achebe's pride is filled with values like the values of a person's heritage, their memories, language, a family and the lives around them. The pride that not only is visible but it shone in this novel was the pride of the heritage which gives a person their foundation, their memories which shape them into the men or women they become, their language which is what sets the cultures apart from one another and makes them their own along with their other customs,the family which gives unwavering support and the lives of others which are the hope for the future. These values are illustrated through actions, words, and the wisdom of others. Pride is not a rare feeling inside of a person, many people pride themselves in what they have done with their lives, others have no pride in what they have become but instead they have pride in their ancestors. Achebe's novel managed to capture his cultures struggle to keep their beliefs and traditions alive and that is another value he should be proud of.