Novel: William Butler Yeats: "The Second Coming" and Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart

Essay Instructions:

Criteria for This Assignment - 20 In-text citations from "Things Fall Apart" and from "The Second Coming" - Six pages - Works Cited page Reading Considerations and Literary Elements As you read the selections to follow, consider how the poem, The Second Coming sets the tone and inspiration for the book Things Fall Apart. The book Things Fall Apart can be divided into three sections: 1. The protagonist has a life before his world "falls apart" because of outside forces. 2. The outside forces change his life. 3. The protagonist responds to the situation: Does he stay the same (remain a static character) or change (become a dynamic character)? Think about these sections as you read the whole novel. Instructions Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, titled his book using a line from "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats: "Things fall apart; the center cannot hold." After reading "The Second Coming" and the full text of Things Fall Apart, write an essay about the influence of outside forces and changing events on the life of the protagonist in the novel. Use the following questions to formulate your essay: 1. What was life like for the protagonist before the changes in his village? 2. How did things fall apart in his world? 3. Was the outcome predictable? 4. How did you feel about the outcome? 5. What is the impact of outside forces on the protagonist? Reading Selection: Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart (the writer will have to find and read the whole book, if the writer can't get the book, then an address can be given to me to post the book). William Butler Yeats: "The Second Coming" Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Essay Sample Content Preview:

Things Fall Apart and The Second Coming: Analysis of the Role of External Factors Author’s Name The Institutional Affiliation Course Number and Name Instructor Name Assignment Due Date Introduction In his iconoclast poem “The Second Coming”, along with elaborating on the theme of destruction and chaos, Yeats highlights the instability of Christian ideals as they fail to provide solace and comfort in times of chaos (Yeats, n.d.). By replacing the second coming of Christ with a grotesque and merciless figure, Yeats’ poem turns the prevalent ideals of Christianity upside down. He further accentuates the merciless and uncontrollable nature of the forces of the universe and their inevitable role in destroying and ruining a person or a social group’s life. Extrapolating the themes of chaos and uncontrollable destruction and the role of destructive forces of nature in this turmoil on the protagonist of Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart” reveals striking thematic similarities between the two works. The analysis of the novel’s story reveals that Yeats’ poem inspires Chinua Achebe, who wrote the novel “Things Fall Apart” to elaborate on the role of external factors in a person’s life. Throughout the three phases of his life, the protagonist Okonkwo goes through regressive metamorphosis due to the destructive influence of uncontrollable external forces and life events. In the first phase, the introduction of Ikemefuna brings about devastating changes in his life (Achebe, 2010). Likewise, Okonkwo’s deportation to his motherland further aggravates his belief in himself. Finally, Okonkwo’s encounter with Christian missionaries and his ultimate devastation marks the ultimate result of the devastating outside sources and life events (Achebe, 2010). In this way, Achebe’s novel represents the themes of death, chaos, and destruction, as well as the hollowness of the moral ideals of Christianity (Achebe, 2010). This fact verifies the notion that this novel draws significant inspiration from Yeats’ poem. Okonkwo’s Perception of Life Before the Changes Evaluation of the first phase of the novel reveals that in the heydays of his life in the village, Okonkwo enjoys a prestigious life as the successful and respective warrior of the Umuofia clan, located in a remote region of Nigeria. However, even with all its masculine vigour and higher social status, one may observe that Okonkwo holds a rather queer fear of effeminacy (Achebe, 2010). This fear is mainly due to the cowardly life that his father Unoka lived, and to avoid being labelled as effeminate like his father, Okonkwo holds a highly stern and aggressive view of life. Even in the first phase of his life, Okonkwo shows remarkable influence of invisible forces. For instance, to assert his masculinity, Okonkwo beats up his wife, Ojiugo, and lets his community in shock and grievance (Achebe, 2010; Jweid & Abdalhadi, 2016). This example explains how Okonkwo's life views under the influence of the haunting apparition of his father, Unoka, subtly but significantly undergoes downward transformation. By excessively emphasizing developing masculinity, Okonkwo loses the milk of human kindness and respect from his tribe. This aspect of Okonkwo’s life coincides with a crucial aspect of Yeats’ poem The Second Coming. Based on a scholarly opinion, throughout the poem, Yeats represents the apocalypse, not a visible and resounding event; instead, it is a quitter and understated event (Abdul-Razzaq, 2008; Yeats, n.d.). How Things Fall Apart in Okonkwo’s Life Understanding and summarizing these events from the novel facilitates making a clear and orderly picture of Okonkwo’s character transformation (Kenalemang, 2013; Achebe, 2010). As discussed above, Okonkwo enjoys a reputable social life, and his beliefs in masculinity shape his stance toward women. However, the significance of an external event turned his life’s direction in the downward course (Cowlin, 2011; Achebe, 2010). This event is the entry of Ikemefuna as Okonkwo’s foster child (Achebe, 2010). Critics are unanimous about the importance of this event in Okonkwo's character transformation. Moreover, Ikemefuna’s entrance into the protagonist’s life triggers a chain of events leading to his ultimate downfall (Subekti et al., 2020). However, Ikemefuna’s presence and role in Okonkwo’s life in the beginning created a positive influence in his life as Ikemefuna’s friendly association with Okonkwo’s son Nwoye induces masculine characteristics in Nwoye that Okonkwo desires (Strong-Leek, 2001). The presence of Ikemefuna in Okonkwo’s life reinforced his obsession with masculinity. However, this flared-up masculinity becomes the driving force behind Okonkwo’s ultimate downfall, as this heightened sense of masculinity compels Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna despite admonition from Ezeudu (Achebe, 2010; Buier, 2020). The killing of Ikemefuna by the hands of his foster father, Okonkwo, creates a link between the novel’s story and the major theme of the poem The Second Coming in that its first stanza highlights how humanity is drenched in blood (Yeats, n.d.). The following verse from the poem signifies this correlation: “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere” (Yeats, n.d.) The subsequent exile of Okonkwo’s family to his motherland further...

Updated on August 4, 2024

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