Introduction

The personal history of an author can have a significant influence on the way meaning is constructed in his/her writing. Comment on specific instances of such influence in Things Fall Apart.

Chinua Achebe wrote the novel 'Things Fall Apart' in 1958, two years before the independence of Nigeria, and was a devoted member of the Nigerian independence movement. Although the British did take Nigeria for themselves by destroying the previous culture, and despite his role in the independence movement, Achebe does his best to equal the playing field, and refrains from writing the British as these monsters who ruined the utopia that was Umuofia. The reason for this is because of his personal history, living as a devoted Christian but also a proud Igbo. He uses this complex personal history to help influence meaning in his novel and therefore creates characters that are imperfect, helping to create a balance between the two sides in the novel.