When analysing the manner in which Achebe presents pre-colonialism and post-colonialism, one must examine how society is presented is presented in both the pre-colonial novel of “Things Fall Apart” and the post-colonial novel of “Anthills Of The Savannah”. The Ibo society presented in “Things Fall Apart” was evidently flawed. This can be deducted from various examples such as the alleged need for Okonkwo to kill his adopted son Ikemefuna due to the fact that it was decreed as necessary by the oracle. Derek Wright in: “Things Standing Together: A Retrospect”, states that the Ibo sense of justice is: “arbitrary and inadequate”. I agree with this point of view. We see many instances where the authority of Umofia is generally contemptuous of the weak and vulnerable. A prime example is where Okonkwo is remembering his father, he also recalls the tale of a man who was left in the evil forest because he was dying. The dying man crawled back to the village only to be forced back to the forest by the people and tied him to a tree, due to the fact that he was dying of swelling, a disease which is an abomination to the gods. This example is particular presents the Umofian society as quite dark, thusly forming part of the evidence that suggests that Achebe is presenting pre-colonial Africa as dark.
The Umoforian society can also be viewed as a highly conflicted society. Conflicts between modern vs traditional, individual vs community are highlighted in Obierika’s conflict of loyalties, particularly: personal vs tribal and human vs religious, this is primarily seen where he fathers twins but then has to leave them in the evil forest, also comforting Okonkwo then destroying his house. This internal conflict is symbolic of the conflicting nature of the community as a whole, and thusly presents pre-colonial Africa as dark due to the damaged nature of society. Ernest N. Emenoyu states in: “Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart; A Classic Study in Colonial Diplomatic Tactlessness that “From every indication it [conflict] destroyed total unity among the people and they could no longer fight a common enemy as before”. The view of this critic could suggest that the Umoforian society was evidently crippled and subsequently the society was in need of a change, which eventually came in the form of colonialism. This view is somewhat supported by David Carrol in: “Chinua Achebe”, who suggests that the Christian missionaries didn’t take over through force, “but by responding clearly to a need so deeply felt that it haws not been clearly formulated.” If these respective interpretation are to be taken as true, one could conclude that Achebe presents pre-colonial Africa as dark, as it was in need of a change that could only come through a complete subversion of their natural way of life. Oknonkwo is presented as a dogmatic follower of the rules (particularly when he was ordered to kill Ikemefuna who he is greatly fond of). Through Okonkwo’s rigid approach to the law, he exposes the shortcomings of the Ibo society, such as their inability to demonstrate humane and compassionate feelings. Ultimately, if the system in Umoforia was complete, then Okonkwo’s strict adherence to the law would not have led to his downfall and subsequent death. This further presents Ibo society as incomplete and in need of change, and thusly dark.
In “Anthills Of The Savannah”, society is presented as incomplete and flawed, just as is done so in similarly to “Things Fall Apart”. Achebe stated that “A leader alienated from his community” is the worst consequence of colonialism. This is seen with Sam who displays a distinct inability to understand his own people. A prime example is where the people of Abazon come to ask “His excellency” for supplies to account for a drought in their area, and he disregards them due to the fear of appearing weak. The political gap as a result of the departure of the colonial leaders quickly filled by a government dominated by a totalitarian and militant government who were equally as oppressive as the colonists. Like their former masters the socially elite leaders are contemptuous of the poor people they rule. Ikem criticizes the Africans who have ruled with policies similar to those of the colonialists, saying: “leaders who openly looted our treasury, whose effrontery soiled our national soul” Ikem refers to the corruption of those in power essentially stealing from the poor, and disgracing the nation. This paints a particularly dark image of post-colonial Africa. The Attorney General’s comments to Sam reflect the people’s inferiority complex that Achebe wished to address: “As for those like me, Your Excellency, poor dullards who went to bush grammar schools, we know our place, we know those better than ourselves when we see them. We have no problem worshipping a man like you. Honestly I don’t. You went to Lord Lugard College where half of your teachers were Englishmen.” Achebe believes that: “A writer has a responsibility to try and stop [these damaging trends] because unless our culture begins to take itself seriously it will never get off the ground.” He also states his mission in his essay “The Novelist as Teacher”: “Here is an adequate revolution for me to espouse, to help my society regain belief in itself and to put away the complexes of the years of denigration and self-abasement. And it is essentially a question of education, in the best sense of that word. Here, I think, my aims and the deepest aspirations of society meet.” It is clear that Achebe feels the approach of colonialism was highly flawed. This is further supported when Ikem says: “It [the cause of the unsuccessful government] is the failure of our rulers to re-establish vital inner links with the poor and dispossessed of this country, with the bruised heart that throbs painfully at the core of the nation’s being.” Achebe sees a need for change due in society due to the negative impacts of colonialism, this thusly presents post-colonial Africa as dark due to the way in which the leaders’ disregard and contempt for those lower in the social hierarchy than them has led to negative complexes that have in fact stopped society from progressing.
All in all it can be concluded that society is presented as dark in both respective novels, however, I believe that it was presented as darker in “Things Fall Apart”. This is due to the fact that although both societies are presented as dark and incomplete, society appears to be far more incomplete in the pre-colonial society than in the post-colonial society. This is due to the fact that there were instances that occurred in “Things Fall Apart” that were generally condoned by society that wouldn’t have been condoned in a post-colonial setting. For example, the constant beatings Okonkwo gives hid wives. It could also be argued that society is more civilised in post-colonial Africa, due to establish of a government and legal system that allegedly was based upon democracy. However, a response is that this claim is ethnocentric, as one would be judging whether or not pre-colonial Africa was civilised by western values. My response to this would be that although there is still gross inequality in “Anthills Of The Savannah”, it is far less severe than the inequality seen in “Things Fall Apart” (for example the mistreatment of Okonkwo’s father), thusly leading me to conclude that Achebe presents pre-colonial African society as darker than post-colonial African society.
The role of Igbo proverbs and traditions in “Things Fall Apart” play a vital part in analysing Achebe’s presentation of both pre-colonial and post-colonial Africa. Simon Gikandi stated in: Reading Chinua Achebe: Language and Ideology in Fiction, “The most profound and effective way to take control of someone is to control their speech. A language is not just a way to talk with another person; it reflects cultural information as well, it is the embodiment of the speakers’ point of view. “When the Ibo’s language is colonized, the function of its culture is rapidly eroded, and reflects the insignificance of the opinion of the colonised people. An evident indication of the destruction of Ibo tradition is the repression of Igbo voices at the end of the novel where the colonialists impose their language on the Ibo people and thusly presents the people as without a voice. This clearly presents post-colonial Africa as dark due to the loss of tradition in comparison to pre-colonial Africa. However, it could also be argued that due to the presence of Ibo proverbs and sayings in “Anthills of the Savannah”, society is fundamentally unchanged and simply developed. This is further supported through the significance of the yam. In “Things Fall Apart”, the yams represent three things: manhood, prosperity, and control in society. These values are not entirely different from those of post-colonial Africa seen in “Anthills of the savannah”. We see examples of Sam or “His Excellency” attempting to maintain to control by ruling with an iron fist, particularly when Chris says that “days are good or bad for us now according to how His Excellency gets out of bed in the morning”.
From the above evidence, it can be concluded that the presence of Igbo proverbs and traditions in “Things Fall Apart” presents post-colonial Africa as darker than pre-colonial Africa. This is due to the erosion of culture witnessed towards the end of the novel due to the colonialists taking control of the Igbo people’s language. However it could be argued that the fact that there is still presence of Igbo traditions and proverbs in “Anthills of the Savannah” also presents society as largely unchanged and thusly presents both respective societies as equally as dark, however due the fact that there are substantially more instances of Igbo themes in “Things Fall Apart”, it can be concluded that although there has not be a complete erosion of the culture, there has been a form of erosion nonetheless.
The concept of the treatment of women is prevalent in both respective novels, and plays a key part in accurately analysing Achebe’s portrayals of pre-colonial Africa and post-colonial Africa. Ikem says that: “The original oppression of Woman was based on crude denigration. She caused Man to fall. So she became a scapegoat.” This implies the way in which humankind has always been naturally misogynistic. This is further supported when he goes on to say: “That is Woman in the Book of Genesis. Out here, our ancestors, without the benefit of hearing about the Old Testament, made the very same story differing only in local colour.” This highlights how he certainly feels that the Igbo society was inherently misogynistic, and this is certainly supported in “Things Fall Apart”. Okonkwo sees the title of being a “woman” as the greatest insult, and creates fear in him that produces his hyper-masculinity that leads to his downfall. However, Achebe seems to condemn this misogyny through the fall of Okonkwo. The fall of Okonkwo highlights the importance of balance between masculine and feminine forces. Achebe also highlights that the Igbo give important roles to women. A prime example being how women painted the houses of the egwugwu . Also, the first wife of a man in the Ibo society is paid a degree of respect. This is emphasised by the delay in the palm wine ceremony at Nwakibie’s obi . Nwakibie’s first wife Anasi was not present and therefore “the others could not drink before her”. Furthermore, when Okonkwo is exiled to his motherland Uchendu says: “A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland.” This implies that one experiences both joy and sadness, and when the bad times come his “mother” is always there to comfort him. This gives way to the saying “Mother is supreme”. This subsequently suggests that pre-colonial Africa did not have a completely misogynistic complex. The fact that Achebe deploys Beatrice as a developed character highlights the differences in the significance of women in pre-colonial Africa and post-colonial Africa.
It can be concluded that if one was to focus on the presentation of women, pre-colonial Africa is presented as far darker than post-colonial Africa. This is due to the evidence above and primarily the emphasis in “Anthills of the Savannah” on the importance of women in the future. For example, Ikem tells Beatrice that women have a vital role in “the future of nations”. It is also significant that at the end of the novel, Beatrice carries out the naming ceremony of Ikem and Elewa’s child, as this process is usually carried out by a man. This symbolises a shift in traditional gender conformations and gives a sense of hope for the future. This shift in tradition is further reinforced by Beatrice naming the child “Amaechina”, which is typically a boy’s name. This name also evokes images of hope and the progression of women as it means: “may the path never close”.
When assessing the presentation of pre-colonial Africa, it’s worth assessing the significance of the novel being written in English. The fact that it was written in English suggests that it’s intended audience was western society. Western society’s view of Africa was that it was a land so Achebe states in “A view of Africa”: “Quite simply it is the desire- one might indeed say the need in Western psychology to set Africa up as the foil to Europe.” Fordid not that erudite British historian and regius Professor at Oxford Hugh Trevor-Roper, also pronounce that African history did not exist.” The view of Africa in western society was that it was uncivilised and its inhabitants were savages. These stereotypes were predominantly formed by novels such as “Heart Of Darkness” which is is a novel by British author Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, by the story’s narrator Marlow. Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames. Conrad describes the protagonist’s mistress as “savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent…She stood looking at us without a stir and like the wilderness itself…” The narrator also compares a native who was helping navigate the boat to a “dog in breeches.” Conrad’s biased illustration of Africans as savage and uncivilized is undoubtedly part of what pushed Achebe to write his eloquent novel. This view is mirrored by Keith M. Booker in: “The African Novel in English: An Introduction, where he states: “By situating itself in opposition to the depiction of relationships between Africa and Europe in such texts as Heart of Darkness or Mister Johnson, Things Fall Apart opens a complex literary dialogue that challenges not only the content of such texts, but also the fundamental rationalist, individualist and historicist assumption upon which those texts are constructed.” Achebe’s depiction of the highly civilized cultures and traditions of the Igbo nation were a reply to Conrad’s ignorant false portrayal. “The point of my observations should be quite clear by now, simply that Joseph Conrad was a thoroughgoing racist.”
Furthermore it can be concluded that Achebe writing “Things Fall Apart” in English was to present Africa as the binary opposite to the negative stereotypes held in western society. This thusly does not present Pre-colonial Africa as dark, due to the fact that Achebe sought to present its inhabitants as not savage and highly civilised.
Finally, in order to assess the presentation of both pre-colonial and post-colonial Africa, one must look at the significance of the endings. The ending of “Things Fall Apart” perfectly illustrates the Western ways of thinking and the inability of the colonisers to fully understand the impact of their colonialism on Africa. The District Commissioner states that the story of a once great man who had killed a messenger and later committed suicide would make an “interesting reading.” The narrator then goes on to say “One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate. There was so much else to include, and one must be firm in cutting out details. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.” The tragedy of Okonkwo is subsequently reduced to a “reasonable paragraph,” as it is not worth whole chapter. The great sadness of Okonkwo’s life is said to be “interesting reading.” This is highly ironic due to the fact that the Commissioner’s views and thoughts shows how little he understands of the culture he has apparently “pacified.” It could be argued that Achebe thusly illustrates the view that imperialism is based on the ethnocentrism of Western cultural beliefs and ways of looking at the world rather than any true understanding of other cultures. The title of the commissioner’s book has also been carefully chosen “after much thought.” Reference to the “Primitive Tribes” presents the Ibo as savages, which is evidently something that is contradictory to Achebe’s portrayal of a vibrant culture with a recognised social structure. The Commissioner’s thoughts reveal more about his ignorance than he does about the supposed ignorance of the Ibo people. This subsequently suggests that Achebe presents post-colonial Africa as dark, due to the ignorance of the colonial masters and the destruction of a functioning social structre.
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