Wednesday, April 8th

Historical Context and Things Fall Apart 
Consider the following like a conversation between you and me about this device and its application. 

Historical Context- The influence of a time period on an author and the creation of their text. 

Why should we consider historical context when we read? 

Think of the art, literature, films, etc. that will be inspired by this experience of world pandemic. Think of the feelings, fears. images, practices that are all a reaction to this history that we are living right at this moment. People write, create to provide their opinion, their take on their worlds. They write and create to provide warnings and advice. They write and create to emphasize what they believe needed to be noticed and not be forgotten.  In 25-50-100 years... what will the art, literature, films, non-fiction be telling us about this time? What symbols might come out of these few months? What thematic issue might be a common thread in these works? Isolation? Suspicion? Community?

SO... acknowledging all of this... thinking from the current time and projecting how a time period WILL impact literature and art... As readers, we can USE THIS CONCEPT to help us see more and understand more of the literature we read.  Historical context can help us identify WHY an author might focus upon what he/she does.  It can help us notice things (symbols, practices, themes, diction, characterization) that we might miss.

How does this apply in Things Fall Apart? 

If I am starting to consider the historical context of this book, I first think about when it was published. Ok... 1958.  Who is writing this book and where?  Well, Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian author from the Igbo village of Ogidi.  Also, while in college, Achebe was very frustrated with the manner in which Nigerian characters were presented in literature....  Might this be important? 

He chooses to set his novel in 1890- WHY? What does he want to show us about this time period? This was a very conscious choice...  So, what does Igbo life look like at this time? What is he trying to teach us?

What does Achebe want us to know about the Igbo people? What practices, events, traditions are important for him to represent in his book?  How did they tell their stories? What can we learn? WHY DOES ACHEBE want us to learn this?

This is just the tip of the iceberg with historical context and its application... but it gives you some questions to ponder as you read.  It can help us to understand why things are happening... what is the purpose... how does this contribute to the big picture.