Introduction

Things Fall Apart is a timeless story of one man's struggle against his own self-destructive tendencies. At the same time, the novel is firmly rooted in a specific era, in both its setting and the date of its composition. When it was published in 1958, Things Fall Apart achieved almost immediate international fame as the first major novel about Africa written by an African. The work was composed on the eve of decolonization, which was the achievement of independence by many African nations, including Achebe's native Nigeria, from almost a century of European colonial rule.

At its most basic, the novel challenges conventional Western perceptions of African peoples, societies, and cultures. Achebe intends to provide his readers with a clear and conscious alternative to the negative and stereotypical image of Africa constructed by European authors, such...