Reflective Essay Things Fall Apart

Throughout the course of this semester I can say that I have gained a lot of knowledge that I would have probably not have learned if I did not take this class. I think it also helped out that I had already had some sort of interest in Africa, Africans, and Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart; since I had already taken British Literary Traditions and got a sample of Achebe in his infamous response to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Another thing that also was another plus was the size of the class. When looking back through the worksheet we completed at the beginning of the semester I almost thought that I was not the person that completed it.

Although my impressions and ideas about Africa have changed quite a bit and also became accustomed to lengthy literature, the question that stuck out to me the most was question number 7 which stated “What would you like to gain out of taking this class?”. My reply was, to “See things through Achebe’s eyes (the text) & (the world)”. Going into the class I think that I had sort of an infatuation with Achebe and the want to learn more about him. To a certain extent this is not bad, but after watching the video The Danger of a Single Story this sort of changed. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie which gave a speech talking about only being told a single story as a child. She discusses how this narrow vision can cause you to potentially put a label on everyone and everything before learning about them or it. My answer seems similar to the single story. It is almost like I wanted to know the single story and only that. I think that my obsession with Achebe blinded me from seeing things other than the way he would see something. I sort of contradicted myself because I did not want anyone to look at who I am through the lens of a single story, but yet I was willing to go through the entirety of the semester wanting to gain only the perspective of Achebe. That being said, one way I battled this was through communication and/or discussion.

The main thing that guided me through the semester as a reader of literature was our daily discussions. Since we only had 4 people in the class, it forced everyone to tell how they felt about the readings, assignments, or other ideas or concepts that may have pertained to our coursework. Through discussion I have gotten an opportunity to hear what everyone has to say. This especially worked well with Things Fall Apart. After reading the portion that we were assigned I would come to class thinking one thing, then leave thinking another due to something another cadet in our class contributed to the conversation. This worked out well for me because every time I went to the book, I read it with those thoughts in the back of my mind which in turn helped me create thoughts about the book. For example, a certain cadet disagreeing with the actions of Okonkwo at the very end of the story and forcing me to rethink everything that I have read and thought about this book. As far as being a student of culture, the links that were sent via email pertaining to things that are going on now helped. This helped me realize just how diverse culture is and how fun it can be to learn about.

I think that that I have taken from this course the exact opposite of what I wanted according to the beginning of the semester worksheet that we filled out. I have gained a variety of different perspectives from reading critiques on top of critiques in the Norton critical edition and everything in between. I have gained a knowledge and basic understanding of the igbo culture. This includes things like the hard-to-pronounce words that they use to why they kill twin babies. Through my presentation that I was assigned I have discovered why the African Writer’s Series was needed and with the absence of it literature about Africa would be a little bit different. Lastly, I think that this course more than any other course has taught me the value of coming to class prepared/having done the assigned readings. When you complete the readings, it allows you to build upon a foundation; being able to ask the question “what did you think about the reading” rather than “tell me what the reading was about”. This course was sort of a “single you out” type course in a good way because this was a tool to milk all the information out you already know or have recently learned.

For a cadet taking this course I would say do not shy away from the course because it is a 400 level English course; it is just a number. I would tell them to read the book. Don’t spark note, don’t shmoop, or don’t just scan it, read it word for word. Since this is a one text class, reading the book word for word not only gives you more to discuss the next day, but it really gives you a chance to dive deep into the book to discover theories. My last suggestion would be to be ready to be uncomfortable. Race as we know today is a very hard topic to talk about, but at the end of the day change will not happen unless it is talked about. In addition to this, we talked about a lot of different cultures, so you might need to be prepared to step outside of the box.