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IGCSE English Literature : Text Commentary: Example
Re-read Chapter One from “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages” …. to “from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts.” How does Achebe convey setting and character?
This is an extract taken from the novel Things Fall Apart written by the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. The novel is set in the nineteenth century in Nigeria and tells the story of the Igbo tribe and in particular of one man called Okonkwo. The story also depicts the arrival of the white colonialists to Africa and the consequences of this on the Igbo people. This extract is actually the opening of the novel where we are first introduced to the main character of Okonkwo. We learn about his personality, his relationship with his father Unoka, and we also begin to learn some things about Igbo culture.
One of the first things we learn about when reading this extract is Okonkwo’s past. This is presented to us in the form of a flashback to Okonkwo’s fight with the infamous Amalinze the Cat. This event explains how “Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond”. The fact that he managed to ‘throw’ Amalinze the Cat “the great wrestler, who for seven years was unbeaten” and thus very strong, clearly illustrates Okonkwo’s strength. This strength is also shown when Okonkwo is described as being “as slippery as a fish in water”. This simile, which also draws on animal imagery, suggests how hard Okonkwo was to catch and therefore a clear winner in the fight. Achebe refers to nature again when he says that “Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush fire in the harmattan”. The reader can easily visualise a fire spreading in the dry wind and therefore imagine how quickly the Igbos came to hear of Okonkwo’s feat.
Okonkwo was not only incredibly strong but also had “a severe look”. He was “tall and huge” with “bushy eyebrows”and “a wide nose”.He breathed heavily as “ his wives and children could hear him breathe whilst he slept”. This use of adjectives leads us to imagine he is an imposing character, feared by many. He is clearly very agile as “his heels would hardly touch the ground” and “he seemed to walk on springs”. This gives the impression that he flies in the air and when we learn “he did pounce on people quite often” we start to imagine an animal such as a lion or a panther.
Okonkwo was not, however,without weaknesses. He could be angry and “could use his fists” when he felt the need. He was also impatient and we can see this with the juxtaposition of the following two sentences: “Okonkwo had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had no patience with his father”. This links the character trait of being unsuccessful with Unoka, and thus introduces one of Okonkwo’s key aims in life: not to resemble his own father.
Another flashback is used to show us how Unoka lived and this allows us to contrast his life with his son’s.Unlike Okonkwo, Unoka was “lazy and improvident”and did not value hardwork like his son did. As a result, he was a “debtor” and had to rely on others to provide for him. His easygoing personality and laid-back attitude made him “incapable of thinking about tomorrow” which also shows how he lived for the moment. On the other hand, he is described as being “merry” and this is a clear contrast with his more austere son.
As far as the setting is concerned, the opening of Things Fall Apart provides us with an insight into Igbo culture. We see the importance of wrestling as a sport and form of entertainment. Music also accompanies such an event and we see that “the drums beat and the flutes sang”. Here Achebe uses personification to bring the instruments alive and to really emphasise the importance of music. There are several words relating to the lexical field of African culture: “Umuofia” “harmattan” “palm-wine” and “cowries”. The use of this specific vocabulary teaches us some of the customs in Igbo society such as the sharing of palm-wine and the use of cowries as a type of currency.Finally, we learn that Okonkwo has not just one wife but several “wives” which shows us that this is indeed a polygamous society.
To conclude, this extract is a particularly effective opening to the novel as we are plunged into a different culture and discover the key character, Okonkwo. We learn why he acts as he does through an account of his past and also that of his father, a weak man whose role is to contrast with the hero of the story.
Questions
1. Which of the following are included in the introduction? In what order to they appear?
· Description of the author’s life
· Short introduction to the novel
· Details of the whole novel
· A description of the different characters
· The text extract is situated in the whole work.
· The themes introduced in the opening extract are presented.
2. Take three different colours. Reread the commentary and highlight the points, quotes and comments in the different colours.
3. Underline any literary techniques mentioned.
4. Give a heading to each paragraph.
5. What question do you think has been answered in the conclusion?