Things Fall Apart

Achebe's calling as a chronologist is evident in the way he writes the novel, Things Fall Apart. In the novel, he documents all aspects of the Igbo society, providing detailed accounts of the Igbo society before, during, and after the advent of colonialism. Achbe begins the novel by providing a backdrop detailing the traditions of the Igbo people. He then moves on to chronologically detail the arrival of the outsiders... the missionaries and leaders of the colonial administration, and soon after, provides us with a picture of the conflict that ensued because of the foreign belief systems introduced and imposed upon the Igbo in order to erase and decimate their culture. By the end of the novel, Achebe has accurately portrayed the way foreign systems and control irreversibly impacted the Igbo way of life. In essence, we don't look back, we don't look forward... Achebe presents his story as it was lived.