oleh: Tika Dian Pangastuti
I. INTRODUCTION
Postcolonial refers to a historical phase undergone by
third world countries after the decline of colonialism, for example, when
countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America separated from the European
empires and rebuild themselves. In this phase many writers attempt to create a
literary work related with the condition of culture, concept and life style
that were left by the colonizer in the ex-colonized countries. Post-colonialism realized that even though the colonial
era has finished yet, but the practices have not come to an end and now has
turned it face into neo-colonialism. Besides, Post colonial
theorist also analyzed the processes by which those who were colonized resisted
the colonizers.
Homi K Babha as one of the figure of Post colonial
theories state some theories about the post colonial. Three of them as follows :
Mimicry. Hybridity, and ambivalence. From the theory of Homi K. Bhabha, mimicry is a concept of imitating
coloniser’s behaviors intended to mock or satirize them which can appear as a
parody in literature. It’s a sort of anti-colonial movement in literature that producing social-political
works.
Then “Hybridity”, it is the fusion of two traditions to which create new
trans-cultural elements and produce a double identity that contradicted, as a
coloniser and colonised at the same
time. In literature, it causes “ambivalency”,
the situation when people have to choose whether it is oppossing or supporting
colonialism. Because for whatever, post-colonial texts suppose to
uncontaminated by the colonists’ concepts. Hybridity and ambivalence are two
theory that is used in this essay.
Things Falling Apart is the novel written by Chinua
Achebe. It is consider as the work related to postcolonial theory. the example
of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958). Achebe’s novel recounts the
rise and fall of a man called Okonkwo, and tells how Christian white men
come to colonize and largely destroy the culture and identity of the
Igbo tribe to which he belongs. Achebe’s novel, from its title onwards, is
written critically or ironically in the language of the Christian colonizer.
II. ANALYSIS
This story set in somewhere in African place, which is
called Umuofia which consist of nine villages of each tribe. This story is
dominant by description of Igbo tribe village which is the most story take
place.
Okonkwo is a respected leader in the Umuofia tribe of the Igbo
people, he lives in fear of becoming a man like his father , a man who is known
for his laziness and cowardice. Throughout his life, Okonkwo attempts to be his
father’s polar opposite. From an early age, he builds his home and reputation
as a precocious wrestler and hard-working farmer. Okonkwo’s efforts pay off big
time and he becomes wealthy through his crops and scores three wives.
Okonkwo’s life is shaken up a when an accidental his
adopting boy, named Ikemefuna, the boy that he loves him more than his natural
son, Nwoye. After three years, though, the tribe decides that Ikemefuna must
die. It described as follows:
“Ikemefuna, the boy who calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his
death.” Okonkwo was surprised, and was about to say something when the old man
continued, “yes, Umuofia has decided to kill him. The Oracle of the Hills and the caves has
pronounced it. They will take him outside Umuofia as is the custom, and kill
him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it.” (Things fall apart,
page 41)
When
the men of Umuofia take Ikemefuna into the forest to slaughter him, Okonkwo
actually participates in the murder. Although he’s just killed his adoptive
son, Okonkwo shows no emotion because he wants to be seen as Mr. Macho and not
be weak like his own father was. It is described in the situation when he
finally kill Ikemefuna.
“As the man who had cleared his throat drew
up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell
and broke in the san. He heard ikemefuna cry, “My father, they have killed me!”
as the ran towards. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down.
He was afraid of being thought weak. (Thing fall apart, page 44)
It implies how Okonkwo
finally prefer to choose kill his adoptive son in other to look no weak, to
look as a strong man, and avoid an assumption that this incident will make him
weakness before the people of Ibo. But Inside of Okonkwo soul, he feels painful
guilt and regret.
Later on, during a funeral, Okonkwo accidentally shoots
and kills a boy of one of the ibo figure as the revenge for what happen with
him and his adoptive son, Ikemefuna. For his crime, the town exiles him for
seven years to his mother’s homeland, Mbanta.
There, he learns about the coming of the white
missionaries whose arrival signals the beginning of the end for the Igbo
people. They bring Christianity and make the Igbo outcasts as their first
converts. As the Christian religion gains legitimacy, more and more Igbo people
are converted. Just when Okonkwo has finished his seven-year sentence and is
allowed to return home, his son Nwoye converts to Christianity. Okonkwo is so
bent out of shape that he disowns his son. This is become another conflict for
Okonkwo life. His tribe is on the edge
of changing ideology by the Christians illuminating by missionary.
“But stories were already gaining
ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a
government. It was said that they had built a place of judgement in Umofia to
protect the followers of their religion. It was even said that they had hanged
one man who killed a missionary.” (Things fall apart, page 116)
It is, Eventually, make
suspense of the story, it describe how the missionary arrival making the threat
for the Igbo traditional life. So some of the Igbo leaders attempt to talk to
the missionaries, but the Christians capture the Igbo leaders and jail them for
several days until the villagers cough up some ransom money.
The climax happen when as contemplating the revenge, the Igbo people hold a war
council and Okonkwo is one of the biggest advocates for aggressive action.
However, during the council, a court messenger from the missionaries arrives
and tells the men to stop the meeting. Enraged, Okonkwo kills him. Realizing
that his clan will not go to war against the white men, after an act of
defiance which goes unsupported by his people, Okonkwo gives in to despair. He
kills himself, partly so that he will not be executed under the white man's
laws and partly because he is grieving for the death of his people. Again it
show Okonkwo dignity is something that Okonkwo keep until his death. This is
become the anti-climax of the story.
There
many Character of this story, but only two has a important role, Okonkwo as the major character of this story
has proud, ambitious, and ill-tempered, Okonkwo is the tragic hero of
Things Fall Apart. An ambitious man who has risen from nothing to a man of
importance in his tribe, Okonkwo rules his family with an iron fist. He is
deeply dedicated to the traditions and social hierarchies of his people.
Second,
It is Nwoye, Okonkwo's son.
Nwoye is sensitive and thoughtful, but he is also somewhat lazy and sulky.
Okonkwo is harsh with the boy, fearing that he will become like Unoka (the
grandfather of Nwoye). After the death of Ikemefuna, something breaks in Nwoye.
Later, he converts to Christianity, in part to escape his father. His betrayal
embitters and outrages Okonkwo. There are other character that also make the
conflict in this story, Mr. Smith, a person who is neither wise nor
compromising. Under him, the fanatics flourish. His foolishness brings the
Christians of Umuofia into direct conflict with the clan. Then, District Commisioner, is The head of
British government in Umuofia. He dispenses justice in total ignorance of local
circumstances, and his attitude is arrogant and hypocritical.
The
description of post-colonial criticism to the novel can be seen by the theme, the
novel documents what the white man destroyed. The reader learns much about Igbo
customs and traditions, depicting this world is a central part of the novel but
when the arrival of the missionary, everythings is going to fall apart. Social
disintegration, towards the end of the novel, the reader witness the
events when Igbo society begins to fall apart. Religion is threatened, Umuofia
loses its self-determination, and the very centers of tribal life are
threatened.
“Although such stories were now
often told, they looked like fairytales in Mbanta and didn’t as yet affect the
relationship between the new church and the clan. There was no question of
killing a missionary here, for Mr. Kiaga, despite his madness, was quite
harmless, As for his converts the clan, for in spite of their worthless they
still belonged to the clan. And so nobody gave serious thought to the stories
about white man’s government or the consequences of killing the Christians. If
they become more troublesome than they already were, they would simply be
driven out of the clan.” (Things Fall apart, page 116)
These
events show how the people of Ibo are in the middle of situation that they get
confusion. It match with the theory of Homi, K.Babha that called this situation
as Ambivalence, that is the situation when people from original land is hang on
the middle of confusion between act in the side of origin people or act in side
of the colonizer. All are the more painful for the reader because so much time
has been spent in sympathetic description of Igbo life, the reader realizes
that he has been learning about a way of life that no longer exists.
III. CONCLUSION
Post-colonialism realized that even though the colonial
era has finished yet, but the practices have not come to an end and now has
turned it face into neo-colonialism. Post colonial theorist
also analyzed the processes by which those who were colonized resisted the
colonizers.
In post-colonial perspective,
literary works emerged to unveil subjugation, injustice, violence,
discrimination, inequality, to sound the marginal and subaltern people, so that
from post-colonial productions yielded social and political products.
Post-colonial literature is a kind of literary work which
describe realistic experience of what really happens around us and tells don’t
just shut our eyes because one voice could be lead into a betterment for our
future and society.
In the Things Fall Apart story, it show how the people of
origin tribe is get confusion by the arrival of missionary and then the
tradition is fade away by the thought of missionary, unfortunately,not all of
the arrival of missionary is good, it just then make them in the new problem
the extinction of their tradition and culture. It show how the colonizer not always
do the coloniziation by war directly, but sometimes by the extinction of
tradition and culture, it is what be analysed by post colonial critics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ashcroft, Bill, et al. (2003) The
Post-Colonial Studies Reader, London and New York: Routledge.
Habib, M.A.R, (2005) Modern Literary Criticism, Victoria:
Blackwell Publishing.
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