Postcolonial irony in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Abstract

This Bachelor’s thesis examines the different varieties in which postcolonial irony appears in the Nigerian author’s Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart. The novel has been studied extensively due to its popularity and rich use of irony, but no studies have been conducted, which would have encompassed the novel in its entirety from the perspective of postcolonial irony.

Things Fall Apart is the first postcolonial novel by an African author which garnered widespread popularity in Africa as well as in western countries. The novel takes place in modern day Nigeria and describe Okonkwo the life of Okonkwo, who is a member of the Igbo tribe, in the late nineteenth century when colonialism started affecting their lives. The novel depicts the change presaged by the coming of the British.

The novel portrays the traditional way of life of the Igbo, which is contrasted with the western notion of life in black Africa and the effects of colonialism on African society. Achebe describes the tensions and changes caused by colonialism in the traditional village society. The novel challenges the depiction of primitive Africa by way of irony.

The analysis of the novel focuses on identifying postcolonial irony. The study selected the language Achebe used to write the novel as well as three scenes as representatives of postcolonial irony: the protagonist’s tale, the coming of the locusts and the building of a church in the Evil Forest. The analysis showed that postcolonial irony functions through different varieties of irony and affects the interpretation of both western and African readers.