Things Fall Apart

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, but since it has been on my "books-I-want-to-read" list, I was excited at the thought of finally marking it off.  I have to be honest, I frequently found myself getting caught up in the plot. However, I don't want this to sound like a book report. Okonkwo's trials and tribulations throughout the course of the story had me wondering what fate awaited him at the turn of every page. But the more I read, the more aware I became of the connections between this book and Ong's Orality and Literacy, at least in regards to the discussions we've had in class.  However, the observations made didn’t revolve around literacy.  Okonkwo and his clansmen were obviously an oral community.

The first recurring observation was the role speaking held within the community.  It is more than the reverence for the speaking elder or priestess or tribesman of high regard, it was the ceremony of orality.  Speaking seemed ceremonial in most instances either when consulting the Oracle, resolving issues put before the high council or within the communal intimacy of tribe members.  This ceremonial formality seemed to give orality a reverberating quality.  There was a lot of call and response between speaker and audience and reminded me of sitting in church as a kid participating in the liturgy.  Likewise, the formality of even asking for a woman’s hand in marriage required fellowship first: the breaking of kola nut and drinking of palm wine; getting comfortable with your neighbor and relaxing together before business is brought to the table.  Today we live in a world where such formality (fellowship) is bypassed.  We want immediacy; state your case, and get on with our lives.  In Okonkwo’s world, most everything was connected to the teachings and customs of the past as passed on from fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers.  Even the rites of the priestess of the Oracle (Chielo) seemed formal and ceremonial, calling to attention the need for reverence and honor.
 
None of this is surprising, but further reiterates how orality has been deeply rooted with peoples across the globe, of various cultures and customs and how it has called for respect.  Our class discussions in DTC 475 currently reside on virtual communities and debate of whether or not they create isolation or seek to abolish it.  I am divided.  Reading a book like Things Fall Apart and regarding the sense of community in the story makes me think that social face to face community creates stronger bonds and a sense of togetherness.  Although we are a literate group of individuals, I am drawn more to the verbal speaking culture than the virtual culture.  That’s not to say I don’t seek to evolve and find a happy medium between both real life and virtual communities, but even without written text, sometimes I take more away from a verbal conversation than I do from a book.