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Things Fall Apart: Symbols
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Things Fall Apart: Symbols
By Isabel Padilla
Stories contd.
Stories
Quotes:
- Okonkwo encouraged the boys to sit with him [he] told them [...] masculine stories of violence and bloodshed. Nwoye knew it was right to be masculine stand to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell [...] she told to her younger children-stories of the tortoise and his wily ways [...] (Achebe 53)
Stories in the novel "Things Fall Apart" symbolize the separation of woman and children and men. The types of stories that are heard and told represent age and gender of the people listening to them. Stories that talked about the gods and goddesses and the creation of things and nature were associated with woman and the younger children while stories of war were reserved for men.
Achebe's use of the stories is another way to convey the prevalent separation of women and men in Nigeria's pre-colonial society.
Kola Nut
The kola nut symbolizes life and respect throughout the novel. The kola nut is brought to the important gatherings of people in Umuofia. By the repetition of the kola nut, Achebe conveys the meaningful role of respect and life in pre- colonial Nigeria.
Yams
Quotes:
- “He who brings kola brings life” (Achebe, 6)
- “ “I have brought you this little kola” As our people say, a man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness” (Achebe 19)
Achebe's repetition of yams throughout the novel, Things Fall Apart, shows that significance of their symbolism of manhood and wealth. There was a time a time in a young boy's life where they needed to plant yams; this represented the young boys becoming men. Those men that had the most yams, were the most respected throughout the village. The importance of of being a strong and wealthy man in Umuofia (Okonkwo's village) is symbolized through yams.
Quotes:
- “Yam, the king of crops, was a man's crop” (Achebe 23)
- “There was a wealthy man in Okonkwo's village [...] his name was Nwakibie and he had taken the highest but one title which a man could take in the clan. It was for this man that Okonkwo worked to earn his first seed yams” (Achebe 18-19)