English Blog

In the extract form 'Decolonizing the Mind' by Nguigi wa Thinong'o there were various content and themes which enriched my understanding and appreciation of Things Fall Apart. In the text, Ngugi reiterated the fact that African culture value words for their meaning and nuances. Additionally, he related to how one's aboriginal language had to be transformed into English language due to the colonizers.  From this contextual information, we can glean that the emphasis on proverbs and spoken forms of language in Things Fall Apart was a factual piece of information. Achebe's utilization of certain stylistic features and language is now more explicitly understandable after the interaction with the text as now, I have the knowledge of how the colonizers' effect on language have affected the African tribesmen. 

With reference to Things Fall Apart, show how sub-plots or secondary characters contribute to the reader’s understanding and appreciation of the work as a whole. In Things Fall Apart, sub-plots and secondary characters play a crucial role throughout the novel. Especially in this novel, the protagonist, Okonkwo, is characterized to hide his emotions. In order to relate the readers' emotions to the novel, Achebe have chosen to characterize secondary characters to be more emotional. These emotional description from the secondary character contributes to the readers' understanding of the work as it further establishes symbols and foreshadows main plot twists. Adding on, the secondary characters tend to show various foils throughout the plot of Things Fall Apart. We can glean that these foils are placed to establish a contrast of Nigerian culture before and after colonization. Furthermore, Achebe's use of sub-plots further contribute to a firm understanding of the reader.