Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart initially seemed to be a drastic transition from the poetic works of Dickinson and Susan Howe’s novel. Achebe’s presentation of Okonkwo’s story is in a much more straightforward manner. There less of this need to dig through the meanings to uncover the message of the underlying text. Achebe does, however, present the details of his story very poetically. He paints these vivid pictures of the African culture and accompanies them with various poetic versus and traditional chants and songs. I look forward to reading the remaining two parts to see where Achebe takes us in Okonkwo’s journey of self-discovery and whether or not he sticks to his traditional beliefs or works to adapt the beliefs in the surrounding culture.