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Idioms
Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Colonialism:
For any reader aware of the often violent history of European colonialism, Things Fall Apart is a novel that hinges on tragic, dramatic irony. When the people of Umuofia and Mbanta first encounter White people, they are unaware of the violence their people will face at the hands of colonial empires. Readers, however, remain painfully aware of this future violence throughout the novel. When certain characters disregard Christian evangelism as harmless, the reader can only spectate in agony, armed with foreknowledge of the harm some Christian missionaries dealt to indigenous communities and religions.
Undoubtedly Achebe intended this novel to be a source of constructive discomfort for White, Western audiences. Things Fall Apart sheds an empathetic light on Ibo people, presenting tribal culture and tradition as worthy of the same respect afforded to Nigeria's Western counterparts. This presentation contradicts common racist generalizations made about African societies: namely, that they are less complex and produce fewer "high-value" cultural objects (important books, art, etc.). Things Fall Apart was clearly written with a Western audience in mind—very likely with the intent to alter racist Western cultural assumptions. As one of the first novels written about Africa, by an African author, in English, Things Fall Apart clearly targets Western audiences. As such, it harnesses dramatic irony to its advantage.
Chapter 23
Explanation and Analysis—Treatment in Captivity:
In Chapter 23, Achebe utilizes situational irony as a device to shed light on the White colonizers' duplicity:
[The District Commissioner] told the court messengers, when he left the guardroom, to treat the men with respect because they were the leaders of Umuofia. They said, 'Yes, sir,' and saluted. . . . The six men ate nothing throughout that day and the next. They were not even given any water to drink, and they could not go out to urinate . . . .
In this excerpt, the District Commissioner commands his men to treat Umuofia's leaders with respect following their arrest and interrogation. The narrator proceeds to describe the court messengers' actions, which are anything but respectful. The court messengers taunt the six men, shaving their heads and knocking them together, refusing them food or water or dignity. Readers might have expected that the Commissioner's words will be heeded, but the ironic and tragic reality is that White colonizers rarely treated those they colonized with respect or humanity.
Achebe utilizes situational irony in this passage for the purpose of getting readers to empathize with Umuofia's leaders. They are in an unprecedented situation, no doubt facing shock, fear, and confusion. Achebe's use of irony in this passage reproduces those feelings of misalignment, drawing readers' attention to the wide gulf between expectation and reality.
Related Themes:
