Mgr. Simona Hevešiová, PhD.
Abstract:
The paper discusses two selected literary works written by prominent Nigerian authors both of whom employ ambiguity as the key concept of their work. Because of the ambiguous endings and ideas presented in the texts, they leave the readers with feelings of confusion and thus excite their curiosity that might lead to further investigation. The selected novels portray life in African villages in transformation, both social and cultural, as a consequence of colonial era. People are forced to come into terms with social changes and thus need to reconsider their cultural practices and systems of beliefs. The ambiguous motif of self-sacrifice, whose meaning is highly ambivalent in Igbo culture, is of profound significance and crucial to the understanding of the books’ message. Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart concludes with the image of the novel’s protagonist hanging from a tree which seemingly creates the feeling of personal defeat and failure. Gabriel Okara’s experimental novel The Voice employs ambiguity in an even more intriguing way. Structuring the whole novel around an ambiguous concept of it, the theme of Okara’s novel becomes more universal and understandable even to non-African readership. The paper illustrates how the device of ambiguity provides the authors with a possibility to engage their readers in a vigorous dialogue.
At the end of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, John Fowles’ narrator offers the reader two different endings – a romantic reunion of Charles and Sarah and a non-happy ending where they take different paths (not to mention the traditional Victorian ending he provides in the middle of the book). The reader is encouraged to choose whatever ending s/he likes best and is thus entrusted with an illusionary power to determine the course of events. David Lodge’s novel Changing Places freezes one of the main characters in mid-gesture without giving him the opportunity to finish his sentence. Thus, one of the main conflicts of the novel, i.e. the marital problems of the two professors, is not resolved at all and as Lodge admitted some of his readers “have complained […] that they felt cheated by it.” (1992, p. 229) Joyce’s masterpiece Finnegan’s Wake, on the other hand, concludes with an unclosed statement that “floats” directly into the opening sentence of the novel and establishes a never-ending reading circle. In the Victorian era, the writers usually preferred to resolve the conflicts in a rather exhausting manner, leaving no space for the reader to participate in this part of the creative process. The modern era, however, with its open endings and unfinished statements provides the readership with new challenges. Apparently, the representatives of postcolonial literature did not fail to take this chance either.
At first sight, Chinua Achebe’s most discussed novel Things Fall Apart concludes, in words of Richard Bergam, “with the least ambiguous of all endings, the death of the hero” (1997). The book centers on the story of a great warrior and a respected man Okonkwo living in the village of Umuofia that has been transformed by the arrival of European missionaries. There is almost nothing left to say about the book since it has been analyzed and interpreted endlessly. Yet, the ending of the novel, despite Bergam’s seemingly straightforward statement, still posits numerous questions and therefore challenges the readers’ understanding of the whole text.
Without going deep into the well-known plot, one has to state the obvious facts that are crucial to the comprehension of the novel’s ending. Okonkwo’s rise and reputation that is “associated with the supernatural” (Friesen, 2006) and celebrated in the opening passages of the novel would not be possible without his hard work, ambition and strong will. Since “his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe, 2006, p13), his path to prosperity and social recognition was not easy; yet Okonkwo’s determination paid off.
Despite his personal achievements, it is crucial to situate the main protagonist in the social context. Even though he is a strong-minded and ambitious individual, the necessity of communal life and collective well-being, as established by the traditions and customs of his tribe, are of utter importance to Okonkwo. One cannot dissociate him from the life and people living in his village; even during his forced exile, Okonkwo’s connection to and his honest interest in Umuofia is indisputable. So when the peaceful, almost idyllic, life of his community is disrupted by the arrival of European missionaries, Okonkwo acts without hesitation and attempts “to rouse his people to action” (Begam, 1997).
It is precisely the presence of the Europeans in Umuofia that stirs the calm waters of the whole community and inevitably leads to Okonkwo’s downfall. Needless to say, Achebe’s novel represents a direct response to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and is therefore concerned with the damaging effects of European colonialism on indigenous African communities. There is a clear dividing line between the protagonist and the antagonist leaving no space for confusions. Despite Okonkwo’s fiery temper and occasional aggressiveness, his leadership and heroic attributes are never questioned; his positive qualities seem to prevail while the Europeans appear as flat, schematic characters. Moreover, the narrative strategy, focusing on the story from Okonkwo’s perspective, establishes his dominant position in the text quite obviously. (It was one of Achebe’s main aims to write the book from African point of view, of course.)
The clash between European and African perspectives and the “civilizing mission” that the colonialists attempt to impose upon the people of Umuofia inevitably lead to Okonkwo’s tragic death. The consequent rejection of local customs and traditions by certain parts of the community, so valued and respected by the main hero, threatens its whole existence and slowly leads to its disintegration. Okonkwo “mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women.” (Achebe, 2006, p173) Obierika’s statement explaining the desperate situation to Okonkwo after his arrival from exile seems to acquire, in terms of what is going to happen, a more profound meaning.
“Our own men and our sons have joined the ranks of the stranger. […] he says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us?” (ibid., p166-7)
Okonkwo’s suicide that concludes the novel will definitely come as shock to some readers. In most of the European countries, this act of desperation is somehow attributed to weaker, mentally unstable individuals what is, evidently, not Okonkwo’s case as I have demonstrated earlier. There seem to be no hints in the text either (concerning Okonkwo’s behavior or potential suicidal thoughts) that would prepare the reader for such a dramatic turn. That is why it is so difficult to interpret this enigmatic conclusion since there are several possibilities how to read it. The novel’s ambiguity resides then specifically in its enigmatic ending.
Most critics associate Okonkwo’s decision to end his life with personal defeat, frustration and failure and regard it as a natural consequence of his tragic fate. Yet, there are voices which call for a different reading of the conclusion and point to other interpretative possibilities. One of them belongs to Richard Begam who, in his essay Achebe’s sense of an ending: history and tragedy in Things Fall Apart, provides even three distinct endings or “three different ways of reading the events that conclude the novel.” (1997). The first possible reading is derived “from an African perspective, equating Okonkwo’s demise with the collapse of Igbo culture.” (ibid.) In this case, the main protagonist “has come to personify the destiny of his community” (ibid.) and acquires a mythical quality. His death then symbolizes the collective suicide of the Igbo people who refused to protect their own culture and submitted to the influence of the British.
Secondly, Okonkwo’s suicide is commented on by the District Commissioner whose perspective on these events is utterly external. The suicide is heavily ironized by this character since he summarizes this tragic event – a story of a man “who had killed a messenger and hanged himself” (Achebe, 3006, p197) - in few words that would, in his opinion, create “a reasonable paragraph” (ibid.) in the book he intends to write. Even though the Commissioner has no knowledge of the Igbo community and its culture, he believes that his authority and power entitle him to make judgments about it that he assumes are correct. In this view, Okonkwo, the hero and great leader, transforms into an insignificant nonentity. The third reading is related to Achebe’s novel No longer at ease which Begam takes as a sequel to Things Fall Apart but which is outside our scope in this paper.
Nevertheless, Begam’s analysis, which follows the mode of tragedy as its point of departure, seems to overlook the cultural context, i.e. cultural implications of suicide that are valid in Igbo culture. He asserts that suicide is “a profound violation of Igbo law, which strictly prohibits acts of self-destruction” (Begam, 1997), but he does not develop the thought further. Yet this very idea may again lead to another interpretation. Alan R Friesen claims that “Okonkwo’s suicide was an affirmative act, that is, a conscious decision to promote a positive ideal instead of an act of failure.” (2006) This thesis opens up a completely different reading of the whole novel which, in fact, seems to be more compatible with the heroic characteristics that are attributed to the main protagonist in the course of the story.
Simply said, “Okonkwo’s suicide can be seen as his last attempt to remind the Igbo people of their culture and values in the face of impending colonization.” (ibid.) Friesen supports his thesis with a detailed analysis of the concept of fate or chi as it manifests itself in Okonkwo’s life. By making it clear that suicide represents the worst act in Igbo culture and is considered not only a crime against the individual but a crime against the village as well, Friesen’s arguments demonstrate that Okonkwo “is lamenting the village’s turn away from their traditional customs” (ibid.) His hope was probably to provoke discussion among his people about their traditions, customs and their importance. In this view then, Okonkwo’s voluntary death may be regarded as an act of self-sacrifice “designed to immortalize the traditions that his people are so close to throwing away.” (ibid.)
Whatever author’s intention, it is clear that by interweaving this ambiguous action into the story, Achebe succeeded in arousing a vivid discussion among his readers. The novel gains a new dimension since it lives its own life (or lives) in the mind of the reader after s/he finishes the book. The uncertainty related to Okonkwo’s personal victory or defeat, two diametrically different readings of the story, forces the readers to investigate textual and cultural territories that might hold some answers to their questions. Thus, the novel and the characters it has produced live on outside the book.
Likewise, the motif of self-sacrifice appears in the experimental novel of another Nigerian writer Gabriel Okara who is more known for his fine poetry. The main protagonist of his novel The Voice, Okolo (translated, it means ‘the voice’), returns to his native town of Amatu after completing his studies. Yet what he finds there does not correspond to his idea of a well-functioning community. Okara depicts an African society in transformation; the transformation again caused by the influence of European colonialists that endangers genuine African heritage. The Europeans are, however, not present in the story; it is merely what they have left behind that causes the tension among the inhabitants.
Similarly to Achebe’s novel, the leaders of Okolo’s town (personified by Chief Izongo) have submitted to European values, materialism and hypocrisy which Okolo attempts to fight with his voice and his words. He boldly questions the principles according to which his neighbors live and, similarly to Okonkwo, he is trying to arouse people from passivity and lethargy. Threatening thus the position of the elders, he endangers their authority and therefore becomes a social outcast, an unwanted citizen whom Izongo discredits whenever possible. Rumors spread saying that something is wrong with him, that his “chest was not strong and he had no shadow.” (Okara, 1986, p. 23) But unlike in Okonkwo’s case, Okolo’s self-sacrifice that concludes the novel may be perceived rather as a conscious act which the reader anticipates to certain extent. The mood of the novel and a number of hints interwoven into the text clearly foreshadow this tragic ending.
The most noticeable aspect of the novel is definitely the language that it is written in. The disrupted syntax, unusual word formation and word order strike the reader immediately. Okara “draws upon some of the linguistic characteristics of Ijaw” in order to “break into the inner consciousness of his characters” (Ravenscroft, p14, 17). Such a subtle handling of language helps readers to step into the characters’ minds and follow their thinking process as if expressed in their native language. What is, however, more interesting is Okara’s ambiguous usage of certain words and expressions. The word inside (or insides), for example, is probably the most frequently used word in the text and it becomes quite obvious that its meaning changes due to the context it is used in. Ashcroft et al. name only few possibilities of the word’s understanding, i.e. self-referentiality, outlook on life, personality, intellectual perception, understanding, intellectuality, heart, mind, etc. (2005, p42) Okara does not provide any clues nor does he explain the meaning of this word directly; so it is upon the reader to decipher it from the context using his/her intuition primarily.
Nevertheless, the most ambiguous aspect of the novel is Okolo’s search for something that he simply names it. The desire to find it becomes Okolo’s main goal so it seems rather surprising that Okara does not specify what that it is. This ambiguous concept lies at the core of the whole novel. As the chapters unfold, however, the reader eventually comes to realize that Okolo’s concept of it stands for the meaning of life. Nonetheless, no other specifications as to what the meaning of life might be are provided. Okolo’s quest may seem a little bit vague and strange, yet there is a good reason for this conscious obscurity. As the main protagonist states in one part of the novel: “Names bring divisions and divisions, strife. So let it be without a name; let it be nameless…” (Okara, 1986, p112) Or in the words of Arthur Ravenscroft: “To name your ‘meaning of life’ too specifically is to mark it off from other ‘meanings’ which have much in common with it, and so to create divisions and strife.” (p8.)
By acknowledging that everyone “has a meaning of life to himself” (Okara, 1986, p111), Okolo situates the root of the conflict not in the diversity of peoples’ ideas and desires but in the way people pursue them. He does not intend to persuade everyone that his way of life is the best one; he is rather advocating a forbearing approach that would simply accept and tolerate this natural inclination of people to different things. Despite these clashes, what seem to be of great importance to him are the quality, determination and zealousness with which people follow their ideals. “[…] those who are earnest in their adherence to a morally valuable way of life, however much it may differ in outward shape from others’ ways, have a good deal in common with the others.” (Ravenscroft, p8)
In this view, the ambiguous it transforms into a universal concept that is shared by all people and all nations; it simply differs in its form. At the end of the novel, the reader thus realizes that despite different social and cultural background and a potentially exotic setting of the novel, s/he can easily identify with Okolo’s struggles and persuasion. There are no exclusions or limitations. It is only then that one may appreciate the real profit of Okara’s narrative strategy. This ambiguous concept that is located at the core of the novel functions as a unifying element that engages readers from different cultural or social spectrums alike.
In conclusion, both novels exemplify that the usage of ambiguous motifs or concepts prove to be vitalizing for the whole text. The interpretative possibilities that are offered in this way only activate the reader and force him/her into further analysis or investigation of the textual material. Instead of direct explanations or straightforward plot development, an intricate yet rewarding web of diverse paths is created. Moreover, these ambiguous concepts prove to enlarge the novels’ scope by not limiting its message or audience in a particular way and thus contribute to the effectiveness of the work.
Bibliography:
Achebe, Ch. 2006. Things Fall Apart. London: Penguin Books.
Ashcroft, B. et al. 2005. The Empire Writes Back. London/New York: Routledge
Begam, R. 1997. Achebe's sense of an ending: history and tragedy in 'Things Fall Apart.'. Studies in the Novel. FindArticles.com. Retrieved 14 Aug, 2009.
Friesen, A.R. 2006. Okonkwo’s Suicide as an Affirmative Act: Do Things Really Fall Apart? In: Postcolonial Text. Vol. 2, No. 4, 2006. Available at:
Lodge, D. 1992. The Art of Fiction. London: Penguin Books.
Okara, G. 1986. The Voice. New York: Africana Publishing Company.
Ravenscroft, A. Introduction. In: Okara, G. 1986. The Voice. New York: Africana Publishing Company, pp1-21
