Message vs. Style in Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe Essay

The subject is more weighty than the bolt. I all in all disagree with this statement in the context of Things Fall Apart as I believe that in this particular work, the contentedness is of equivalent splendour to the room to hurt a particular report manner whose sole purpose is found in informing reviewers as to the purpose to the meat, and accordingly to NOT hurt a nitty-gritty, would be useless, whereas having a message to regularize readers, WITHOUT much(prenominal) a piece of music style as is necessary to bequeath them to absorb the purpose, would again be useless- wherefore the message and musical composition styles be matchly important in this story, as one cannot do with extinct the other. In this case, the primal message of Things Fall Apart, that African flori market-gardening is hard, can and be absorbed by readers if Achebes writing style, which incorporates the use of conference, conflict, proverbs, wording and panorama, allows them to develo p such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) recognition of heathenish complexness- the pen cannot merely appreciate the reader to believe that the culture is indeed complex, and still expect the reader to believe as such without question.Firstly, Achebe makes ample use of dialogue as a division of his writing style to carry forth the message of a heathenly complex auberge. For utilization, Okonkwos conversation with Obierika as to the prophets desires in Chapter Eight introduces significant cultural elements to the readers. Okonkwo argues that his participation in the murder of Ikemefuna was justified, but Obierika contends otherwise, declaring that Okonkwos actions be of the kind for which the earth goddess, Ani, wipes out whole families. In the conflict between their different views we see the immobile influence exerted by their religion on each person, and also hit recognition of significant religious elements, namely the Oracle and the earth goddess. That Okonkwo and Obierika should have differing opinions about the Oracles religious intentions indicates the presence of complex perceptions of the similar religion.This complexity in religious perceptions hence implicitly suggests to readers an inherent complexity in the religion itself, for without such complexity differing religious perceptions would not occur. organized religion is a core component of culture, as clearly the culture of a society must not contradict the religious views held by that alike society, and having a complex religion as a component of culture in turn suggests that the culture of the society must be complex as well. Dialogue so serves to carry forth Achebes message that African culture is complex. At the same time, in the suggestions of complex culture found in dialogue, we see how Achebes style of writing encourages readers to stepwise reach a perception of his central message on their own, which is important in that the readers must themselves perceive such cultur al complexity by means of development of their own thoughts on the issue- exactly as Achebe intended.To have a dialogue without any inherent message would also make such dialogue purposeless, as Achebe could not possibly describe an overarching purpose to that conversation. This shows how dialogue as a component of the writing style gives such a writing style an importance equal to that of the message without dialogue be employed as such, readers cannot acquire knowledge of the message, whereas if there was no message, then dialogue would have no purpose. Dialogue as a component of the writing style thus creates a situation where the style is of equal importance to the message.Secondly, traditional African proverbs, a significant element of Achebes writing style, are used to highlight cultural complexity. An example would be Okonkwos declaring that a childs fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm in defense reaction of his participating i n the murder of Ikemefuna. He argues that he did as such due to the Oracle declaring that Ikemefuna would have to be killed. That proverbs can be casually used in dialogue to illustrate various points, such as the above proverb serving as a defence for ones actions, is an indication of a super-developed language. A societys culture is based upon its language, for language serves as the primary intermediate of communication between humans in a society, and as such readers recognize that language is an important component of culture, therefore having a super-developed language would thus suggest that society is culturally complex.Proverbs being thus used in Achebes writing style have therefore led to the subtle formation of such a suggestion to readers, which in turn allows readers to follow finished on that suggestion, and thereby reach the coating that African culture is complex is nature- this being the exact message which Achebe is essay to impart across to readers. Proverb s being a component of Achebes writing style, we can see how they contribute to the carrying the message of cultural complexity across. However, such a writing style also finds its primary purpose in carrying a message therefore without such a message of cultural complexity, the proverbs would lose their meaning. In this sense, we can safely state that the writing style, through its encompassing the use of proverbs, is of equal importance to the message.Thirdly, Achebes choice of verbiage also plays a very large role in his writing style. Throughout the story, the narrator refers to the housing for Okonkwos wives as Obi, court messengers as Kotma, and characters use traditional welcomes such as Nno. That such traditional African manner of speaking should appear throughout the story, interspersed with all the side words, gives readers the impression that such words cannot be simply translated into English. This then suggests to us that language in the society must be very highly de veloped, for such words do not have a counterpart in the English language, despite the vast vocabulary of the latter(prenominal). Indeed, I had to refer to the glossary in the book for the English translations of such words.When readers make such inferences, they cannot help but come to the conclusion that the Africans cannot be culturally primitive- to have such a highly-developed language must in turn suggest a highly developed culture, which is exactly the message Achebe is trying to bring across. gum olibanum Achebes choice of diction greatly aids his writing style in carrying the message across to readers, who realize from such implicit suggestions the central message of this work. Indeed, if Achebe did not wish to have a message of cultural complexity, it is plausible that such traditional African words would not appear. hence we can see how the success in carrying the message across is highly dependent on the writing style, and the formative of the writing style itself is highly dependent on the type of message being carried across the message and the style are equally important.Lastly, Achebes description of the various circumstances in which events take place play a part in shaping his particular writing style. The setting of Ezeudus funeral in Chapter Thirteen is an example of how the setting as a component of Achebes writing style serves to carry forth the message of cultural complexity. Ezeudus funeral was a warriors funeral, and now and then an ancestral spirit, or egwugwu, would appear from the nether region. From the description of this setting, readers are able to more readily appreciate the complexities of traditional African culture that their culture incorporates a strong, pagan belief in the earthly concern of supernatural beings, the egwugwu, and a similar belief in the existence of an underworld.This places emphasis on a major religious component in their culture. Ezeudus funeral being considered as a warriors funeral also allows us to acquire insights into the importance of a particular friendly class, the warrior class, in their society. The setting has thus contributed to readers being able to recognize two major components in African culture, the former being religion, the latter being a social component. That these two different components should become so elaborately intertwined in this one ceremony is evidence of a complex culture.The reader, in reviewing the description of the setting, thereby acquires knowledge of the central message of cultural complexity which Achebe is trying to bring across, without Achebe having to explicitly declare as such this clearly shows how Achebes writing style of placing information from which readers have to make their own inferences has led to our pinch the message of the novel. Without such a description of the setting, readers might not have been able to absorb this message. On the other hand, without a message, the description of the setting would be useless, as t he purpose of such a writing style would be to enlighten readers as to a particular message the author wishes to convey. Therefore I believe that writing style and the message are of equal importance.In conclusion, I believe that the writing style and the message are of equal importance, as the former serves as the vehicle for the latter, whereas the latter exists to give the former purpose. Neither can do without the other, and therefore their mutualness lends them equal importance.