There are very few works not associated with the Western canon to have received as much attention as Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart (Ogbaa 1). However, contrary to the many post-colonial interpretations of this novel, this essay employs a psychoanalytical literary approach to discuss the cause of the protagonist’s eventual demise, based on the premise that human behaviour is driven by an unconscious process. Consequently, this essay argues that following the ego’s inability to repress the infantile demands of the unconscious, the preconscious and the conscious self, ever more compulsive, repetitive and neurotic behaviours are displayed. Furthermore, this essay argues that Okonkwo’s relationship to his mother plays a significant role in explaining the tense relationship with his own father and sons. Subsequently, the protagonist’s self-confidence turns to pride and his masculinity develops into totalitarian rule leading to uncontrollable rage, Okonkwo’s world literally falls apart.

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Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Things Fall Apart is an unsentimental novel which appeared in 1958 as Chinua Achebe's first novel. It is regarded as a classic of world literature. It is deemed vital that such rich literature as the one of Achebe, be made accessible to readers in as many language communities as possible. It is through the vehicle of translation that a multitude of readers are endowed with the power to make some form of contact with much of the world's great writings. But translation of literature is a very complex process, which poses some difficult yet interesting problems that demand particular notice and specific attention. In translation of literature one is not just dealing with words written in a certain. time, space and sociopolitical situation, most importantly it is the cultural aspect of the text that should be taken into account. Therefore, translation of literature is not just the transfer of information between languages, but the transfer of one culture to another. Literary texts in isiXhosa and English, which are not only written in different languages but also represent different cultures, differ greatly in terms of linguistic, literary and cultural-social conventions. Challenges such as these make it difficult for a translator, in this case K.S. Bongela, to render the source language text flawlessly in the target language. This study thus investigates how Bongela coped with transmitting the cultural issues in Things Fall Apart into Lwadilik'udonga. It will highlight the various problems the translator encountered in search for equivalence and adequacy, and also analyse the strategies he has employed in this transference of cultural elements to the target text. As will be seen, it is possible to relate the translation of this text to the six general rules mentioned by Bassnett-MacGuire (1988: 116- 117) for the translator. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Things Fall Apart is 'n onsentimentele roman wat in 1958 as Chinua Achebe se eerste roman verskyn het. Dit word beskou as fn klassieke werk in die wêreld van letterkunde. Dit is ook belangrik dat letterkunde wat so ryk is soos dié van Achebe aan soveel verskillende taalgemeenskappe as moontlik bekend gestel word. Dit is as gevolg van vertaling dat fn verskeidenheid lesers die geleentheid het om kontak te maak met die wêreld se beste geskrewe werke. Letterkundige vertaling is fn baie komplekse proses waar uitdagende maar interessante probleme voorkom, en dit verg besondere en spesifieke aandag. Met die vertaling van letterkunde word daar nie net gebruik gemaak van woorde in fn sekere tyd, plek en sosio-politieke situasie nie, maar belangriker is die kulturele aspek van die teks waarmee rekening gehou moet word. Daarom is vertaling van letterkunde nie net fn oordra van informasie tussen tale nie, maar fn verplasing van een kultuur na fn ander. Letterkundige teks in isiXhosa en Engels is nie net in verskillende tale geskryf nie, maar verteenwoordig ook verskillende kulture wat baie verskil in terme van taalkunde, letterkunde en kultureel-sosiale gebruike. Sulke uitdagings maak dit baie moeilik vir die vertaler, in hierdie geval K.S. Bongela, om die brontaal foutloos in die teikentaal te vertaal. Die studie gaan oor hoe Bongela met die vertaling van Things Fall Apart na Lwadilik'udonga, die kuturele uitdagings gehanteer het. Die verskillende probleme waarmee fn vertaler met die soeke na gelykwaardigheid en geskiktheid in aanraking kom, asook die analise van strategieë wat gebruik word in die oorskakeling van die kulturele elemente in die teikenteks, word aan die lig gebring. In die studie sal daar aan die lig gebring word dat dit moontlik is om fn verband tussen die vertaling van die teks en die ses algemene reëls wat deur Bassnett-MacGuire (1988:116-117) aangegee word, te sien.

The enjoyment of any form of literature presupposes, in the reader, an understanding of the subject matter and a fundamental inclination to identify with the characters, to empathize with them and to appreciate varying perspectives. It follows that the choice of text is an important consideration especially, when the reader is not reading in the mother tongue. The choice of novel prescribed by the DET for Second Language, non-White, non-English-speaking, Ciskeian pupils poses many problems which lead to poor examination results. The increasing unpopularity of English Literature among Ciskeian pupils and teachers appears to stem largely from the predominance of works selected from the Great Tradition. To determine how far the choice of texts is responsible for the lack of success of literature teaching in Ciskei is the aim of this investigation. The DET syllabus for Black schools and the set books prescribed for Stds. 9 and 10 between 1980 and 1990 are examined to expose their Euro-centric focus. The effects of the DET examinations on literature study in Ciskei are also considered to show how examinations complicate the situation further. The aims of teaching literature to Second Language pupils are reviewed. Literary merit, relevance, aesthetic value and scope for moral seriousness, skill development are suggested as criteria suitable for an appropriate choice of literary texts for Second Language pupils. A comparative study of the prescribed novel, Silas Marner and an alternative African novel in English, Things Fall Apart has been attempted to find out whether Things Fall Apart is of equal literary value to Silas Marner and, perhaps, more relevant than Silas Marner to the experience of Black pupils. Six teachers have been interviewed for their opinions of the books prescribed. A miniature survey also has been conducted among pupils of Stds. 9 and 10 from selected schools to verify general attitudes to the study of literature. The findings indicate a dire need to make the syllabus more flexible and more open to include good African writing in English, such as Things Fall Apart.

This thesis aims to explore how a critical reading of the novel Things Fall Apart (1958) can provide valuable perspective for educators and students when examining socio-economic issues in  a colonial context in the ESL classroom. The main issues being analysed are how the novel reveals and explores socio-economic forms of exploitation under colonialism, and how a critical reading of the novel can be used in teaching to inform and persuade learners about social injustices. To show this, the essay examines the novel from a marxist perspective, and more specifically by drawing on the concept of primitive accumulation to understand and explain the changes brought about by the introduction of colonial rule. The changes in this context include the Igbo community's relation to land, its socio-economic and cultural aspects as well as the introduction of trade. The discussion and analysis of the novel centre on social injustices due to land expropriation, breakdown of traditional values and customs, and economic changes brought about by the arrival of Europeans in the context of colonialism. Expanding on this, the essay also reflects on the pedagogical implications of its arguments by showing how a critical reading of Things Fall Apart might provide an opportunity for teachers to underline issues of social injustice, material, and economic forms of exploitation under colonialism and beyond. This literary analysis also discusses and reflects on the practical challenges and possibilities of teaching such issues in the ESL classroom by using the concept of critical literacy.