What are the post-colonial features that can be seen in Things Fall Apart?

From a post-colonial perspective, Things Fall Apart uses the English language in a rich and complex way to give authentic voice and cultural value to what would have traditionally been seen from a European perspective as a primitive culture. This can be seen during the District Commissioners response to Okonkwo’s death; “The story of this man who killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading—the title of the book: The pacification of the primitive tribes of lower Niger.” One would say that Okonkwo’s fall is partly due to colonisation along with his own lack of balance. Another way that the text can be valued by contemporary responders is through the perspective of gender. Achebe presents an authentic text in that the male and female values within the patriarchal Ibo society are depicted in a traditional context, with all their inherent flaws. From a feminist perspective, it can be seen that Okonkwo himself lacks a ‘feminine’ balance in his masculinity which brought his downfall. Through the novel it is seen that Okonkwo disregards feminine qualities, with this it can be said that this suppression of feminine qualities lead to Okonkwo’s destruction.