Paper 2 Analytical Response

To what extent has an awareness of context enriched or enhanced your understand of Things Fall Apart?

I have read the novel Things Fall Apart,  by Chinua Achebe twice, once before i had any background knowledge on the Igbo culture and once after a thorough understanding of their history and traditions. 

We recently read an article called "Problems of Gender & History in the teaching of Things Fall Apart" that looks at how different people from different cultures view and understand the novel based on their background knowledge and tradition. It talked about the two woman's opinion, one western white woman, and another African one. The way the two perceived the text was completely contradictory. This is most likely due to the fact that the African woman is aware of all the actions and events within the novel because it is part of her personal culture, it is something she understands and can relate to, whereas the western woman was very offended and did not have an enriched understanding of the novel because the confusion of the events was preventing her to look deeper into the story and understand what Achebe was actually trying to portray throughout the novel.  


First time reading the novel, I agreed with the perspective of the western woman in the article- who argued that the book was extremely sexist and degrading to women, which is what i believe the first time i read the book, throughout the novel there has been extreme and several acts of domestic violence against women and they have been degraded and empowered throughout the entire novel by aspects such as the men being 'in control' of the households and being able to have several wives, such as Okonkwo having three wives himself, and beating them when he saw fit. 

In between the two times re reading the novel, i read several articles and texts talking about the culture, traditions and history of the Igbo people, which were being referenced throughout the novel. Knowing these facts about their tribe really impacted my understanding of the novel, for example, in the novel they describe many times where twins were sent to die in an 'evil forest', first time hearing this seemed inhumane. After understanding their culture i comprehended that it was all part of their belief systems that discusses their luck and their afterlife and constant need to obey their chosen gods, and it discusses the fact that having twins is unnatural and an unlucky event in which they can attempt to solve by letting them die in this forest, which keeps all their lives balanced.

In conclusion, after reading and understanding more about the Igbo people that are being referred to in the novel, i think that my understanding of the novel has expanded and that i am more open and apprehensive of their different traditions and beliefs.