Ethics of Igbo Community in Chinua Achebe’s Novel Things Fall Apart

Author Name(s):

Dr.M.P.Ganesan¹ & Anis Fatima²

¹Assistant Professor, PG and Research Department of English, Sourashtra College, Madurai-4

²Reg. No : P4812, Part Time Research scholar, MKU, Assistant Professor of English M.S.S.Wakf Board College, Madurai

Abstract

Chinua Achebe is a writer of the Post-Colonial era. Achebe, a major exponent of African literature, has been successful in placing Africa, its culture and literature in the world map. African fiction emerges as a kind of reaction to the Eurocentric version of Africa portrayed in terms of ‘a savage’ inhabiting ‘a dark continent’. Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958) is an excellent piece of work.  In this novel, he indicates the facts that Igbo community has its own way of life, philosophy, set of values rules and beliefs. The superstition and rigidity of the Igbo people may not appeal to relevance which cannot be refuted. Okonkwo seems to be an apt example of Igbo man, he is an embodiment and staunch follower of Igbo culture, but he lacks the comprehensive understanding of its ethics. This research paper analyses how Achebe teaches us that there is a real balance between what we believe and what Igbo culture teaches. There must be some middle ground where women and men can exist and excel as equals.

Keywords: Ethics, Igbo community post-colonial, dark continent, primitivism, suppression, superstition and savage

Please cite this article as: Dr.M.P.Ganesan & Anis Fatima  (2021) Ethics of Igbo Community in Chinua Achebe’s Novel Things Fall Apart. International Journal of Recent Research and Applied Studies, 8- 5(1), 1-3