"The flaw in Achebe's vision of the past is that his protagonist is too limited to arouse the reader's concern." Discuss this view of Things Fall Apart. .
Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" achieves the paradoxical effect of enabling African tribal life to be accessible to western society while simultaneously excluding it. Brians (Washington State University, 2002) states that "its most striking feature is to create a complex and sympathetic portrait of a traditional village culture in Africa". To label the novel, or its protagonist as limited, would be to disregard the many levels on which the novel exists. On the contrary, Achebe aims to prove, among other things, that the inhabitants of Africa are not as limited as the stereotype constructed by European and other western societies. The protagonist of the story, Okonkwo, depicts the complexities and struggles that all humans must attempt to deal with, and provides a worthy and interesting account of the human psyche. .
It is important to consider that "the reader's concern" is too general; and that response to the story will be in each reader's individual perspective. The way in which readers will view Okonkwo and his tribe will depend on what level they choose to read the story at, and how they "read between the lines". An important aspect of the novel is what Achebe chooses not to say.
In "Things fall apart" Achebe aims to show that Africa is not the "uncivilised, simple country" that it may be portrayed as by other cultures. It aims to enable readers to understand the tribe and assists the reader to think about the reasoning behind the beliefs that may be viewed as odd or illogical. Okonkwo and the people of Obi are limited; but no more than the rest of the human population. We are all limited by what we know and what we perceive of everything else. What Achebe aims to do, though, is not to prove that African society makes sense and is "right", but that it is not limited in its contemplation and reasoning.
