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wombat929 's review for:
Things Fall Apart
by Chinua Achebe
I re-read this book in preparing to teach it for my New Millennium Studies class this semester and enjoyed it still. I’m most interested here, however, to talk about the role of the title in shaping the book. Unlike many books I read, whose titles are more prosaic in describing the shape and action of the work (such as the other book I just finished, Endurance), Things Fall Apart creates a distinct environment for the novel. It’s a sense of dread and foreboding that might not exist were the book titled The Life of Okwonko or something similar.
I think this title stuff will be one way into the book for my class discussion. I’ve talked with my students of the new millennium about the value of titles in shaping the viewer/reader’s understanding of the work. In particular, when a student creates a piece of art with a more obscure pedigree, I push her/him to use a title that will help the viewer to leap the gap between the aesthetic experience of the project and the often complex set of associations and ideas the student is trying to convey. It’s Barthes’ lesson on photo captions — also taught by the associated press during Hurricane Katrina.
The book’s also really powerful for its mixed message about its protagonist. I dislike Okwonko quite a bit. He beats his wives and children and fears the world because he’s so afraid of failing. But at the same time, as the Europeans showed up and began running their kangaroo courts for a people they were suddenly governing, I would certainly have enjoyed a little vicarious thrill at violence against that unjust colonization–nevermind that my people directly benefitted from that colonization and the gathered wealth of that period still powers our cars and buys our lattes.
I think this title stuff will be one way into the book for my class discussion. I’ve talked with my students of the new millennium about the value of titles in shaping the viewer/reader’s understanding of the work. In particular, when a student creates a piece of art with a more obscure pedigree, I push her/him to use a title that will help the viewer to leap the gap between the aesthetic experience of the project and the often complex set of associations and ideas the student is trying to convey. It’s Barthes’ lesson on photo captions — also taught by the associated press during Hurricane Katrina.
The book’s also really powerful for its mixed message about its protagonist. I dislike Okwonko quite a bit. He beats his wives and children and fears the world because he’s so afraid of failing. But at the same time, as the Europeans showed up and began running their kangaroo courts for a people they were suddenly governing, I would certainly have enjoyed a little vicarious thrill at violence against that unjust colonization–nevermind that my people directly benefitted from that colonization and the gathered wealth of that period still powers our cars and buys our lattes.