Comparative Analysis of Yeats The Second Coming and Achebe Things Fall Apart

Comparative Analysis of Yeats The Second Coming and Achebe Things Fall Apart The poem, The Second Coming, by Yeats, and the novel Things Fall Apart, by Achebe, both describe the forceful colonization in which traditions, families, and lives fall apart. Yeats was born in Ireland and Achebe was from the Igbo culture in Nigeria. Both authors write from a perspective of the colonized and both publications are similar in their socio-cultural implications, rhetorical devices, and content. The socio-cultural implications described by both authors are similar in the chaos portrayed. The Igbo families split is summed up as, “Our own men and our sons have joined the ranks of the stranger.” (Obierka 176) They described their cultural chaos as, “He put a knife on the things that held us together.” (Okwonkwo 176) The colonization of the Irish people is described metaphorically as a falcon, “Turning and turning in the widening gyre,” (Yeats) where the “centre cannot hold.” (Yeats) Both cultures live in chaos caused by the colonizer. Families are split, divided, with their entire way of life altered. The night an egwugwu spirit was unmasked, “Mother Spirits walked the length and breadth of the clan, weeping for her murdered son” (Achebe 186) and Yeats described the negative tone of the colonized by, “Reel Shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again.” (Yeats) The clash of cultures caused conflict resulting in sadness, anger, and negativity further compounded by uncontrollable change. The colonized expressed their hope of deliverance through, “Surely the Second Coming is at hand,” (Yeats) and through the placement of the church in the Evil Forest which would “give them a real battlefield in which to show their victory.” (Mbanta Clan Leader 149) They wanted their culture to return to normal and were willing to do what it took to regain their freedom. They had hope for their lives to improve and to be better. The rhetorical devices used in The Second Coming and Things Fall Apart are very similar. Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, reflects the Igbo love of dialogue through his writing style by including many conversations between clansmen (179), family members, formal meetings (166), celebrations (166), and friends (176). Conversation was highly valued in the Igbo culture and respect was given to people who could communicate well. Meals and meetings were planned around conversations and to provide opportunities to discuss personal and clan matters. Yeats uses mystical metaphors, such as a “falcon cannot hear the falconer; things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” (Yeats) and, “A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,” (Yeats) to represent traditional Celtic folklore and magic in The Second Coming. In traditional Celtic culture, folklore was a big part of daily life. Yeats uses metaphors to represent the position of the colonized. Yeats, who quotes “The Second Coming”, and Achebe, who portrays the biblical imposition of the Christian colonizer and its beliefs, uses biblical allusions in their literature to illustrate the influence of the colonizer. Christianity is displayed in The Second Coming and Things Fall Apart by their references to the Bible. The content of both pieces are very much alike. The titles, Things Fall Apart and The Second Coming, both foreshadow endings. The conclusion of Things Fall Apart describes the Igbo culture at precipice of a steep downfall headed towards destruction. The Second Coming foreshadows the Christian concept of the return of Jesus Christ. Things Fall Apart ends in a “tree from which Okwonkwo’s body was dangling” (Achebe 207) and the commissioner stating that the title of his book in which Okwonkwo’s death would take up a “reasonable paragraph.” (Commissioner 209) The Second Coming ends in, “Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?” (Yeats) alluding to the return of Jesus Christ. Achebe does not write about what happens to the Igbo people, but with the demise of Okwonkwo taking his own life. Yeats does not describe any events of the return of Christ, but makes references and allusions. The theme of change in both literatures is one of discomfort as Obierka describes, “He has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act as one” (Obierka 176) whereas Yeats writes, “The falcon cannot hear the falconer.” (Yeats) Because the colonizers have won brothers of the clan and the clan can no longer act as a unit, discomfort and unease arise. “The falcon cannot hear the falconer” (Yeats) describes this unease as things are no longer as they should be and everything is lost. Socio-cultural implications, rhetorical devices, and content are similar in the works of literature, Things Fall Apart and The Second Coming. Both pieces of literature describe the position of the colonized and their feelings of confusion and suppression caused by the colonizer.