Exploring the Aftermaths of Colonial “ Contact Zones ” in Chinua Achebe ’ s Things Fall Apart and Buchi Emecheta ’ s The Joys of Motherhood
NATHANIEL REID
Mary Louise Pratt describes contact zones as spaces in which “ disparate cultures meet , clash and grapple with each other , often in highly asymmetrical relations of dominance and subordination ” ( Pratt , ‘ Arts of the Contact Zone ’, 1991 , p . 34 ). In the context of Things Fall Apart , Chinua Achebe depicts the ‘ clash of cultures ’ through the arrival of Christian missionaries , the aftermath of which is that preexisting tensions surrounding masculinity are exasperated , causing a generational divide . The Joys of Motherhood displays the consequences of a marriage in which a husband does not match the masculine ideal prescribed by the Ibuza village ’ s culture . Again , colonialism only increases these tensions - Buchi Emecheta ’ s narrative defies the essentialism of colonial discourse by recognising the patriarchal nature of Ibo traditions , as well as the way in which colonialism changes power relations between Ibo men and women .
Earnest A . Champion describes Things Fall Apart as a novel that “ transcends the narrow confines of a group of villages and reflects the trauma of nations that seek to expand their horizons without sacrificing cultural values ” ( Champion , p . 272 ). This is problematic on two levels , the first being that Achebe ’ s analysis of Ibo culture and its clash with Christianity is symbolic of the destructive nature of colonialism itself , it is not merely a “ narrow ” depiction of colonialism ’ s effects on one little village . In an interview with PBS NewsHour in 2008 , Achebe said of Things
“ This is an outstanding essay and an absolute pleasure to read . The central argument on colonial emasculation is thoughtful , subtly handled , nuanced and original and the extensive scholarship is exemplary for an undergraduate .” - Dr . Lucienne Loh
Fall Apart : “ I knew that I wanted the story to be true […] in the way that fiction can be true ” (“ Achebe Discusses Africa 50 Years After ' Things Fall Apart ’’, interview with Jeffrey Brown , 2008 ). The ‘ truths ’ of the novel come across in his anticolonial refusal to reduce the tribe through a positivist analysis that would reduce the characters to one-dimensional stereotypes , instead depicting Ibo tribal life with all its flaws and complexities . The novel ’ s protagonist , Okonkwo , is a hyper-masculine man of high status and pride , whose complexities as a character and his relationship with Umuofia and its neighbour ’ s are far from “ narrow ”. He is mistrustful of the missionaries from their arrival , thus also defying the implication that Umuofia is complicit with its own colonisation , that it is “ seek [ ing ] to expand ” its territory . Okonkwo ’ s resistance to Christianity partly stems from his strong attachment to Ibo culture , which he interprets as being firmly rooted in aggressive masculinity : “ Okonkwo was ruled by one passion - to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved . One of those things was gentleness and
NATHANIEL REID
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