"Things Fall Apart" Writing Style

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In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe has a very unique writing style like nothing I have ever read before, well except perhaps the Bible. Something that draws me into the book is his specific way of writing and the elements he uses to create this story. Chinua Achebe uses a lot of foreshadowing in his writing,and i mean a lot! An example is when Okonkwo is describing the locust coming as individuals to survey the land, and then all the rest of them (page 48-49). This cleary forshadowed the coming of the missionaires and ultimately the clan falling apart, just like the tree braches breaking under the locusts. Another example of foreshadowing is The author’s initial description of Ikemefuna as an “ill-fated boy,” which presages his eventual murder by Okonkwo. Achebe has made this novel very unique also in the way the story is actually told. Achebe is very direct when writing and very straight to the point. He uses the element point of view and in the novel, the point of view is third person omniscient. The point of view switches between character to character, revealing the thoughts and motives of many from Okonkwo, Okonkwo's father, Ikemfuna, and the District Commisioner. An example is after Okonkwo commits suicide at the very end of the novel, we see the District Commisioners thoughts and true motives. Before Okonkwo died though, we see his thoughts and motives and many others. This elements affects the writing style in the way that it seems like the story is being passed down from person to person like the Bible(even though it really was in the Bible). Another element Achebe uses to create his story is tone, which is a very important element of writing that basically shapes the whole story. Some of the tones he uses are: irony, tragic, and fablelike. In the beginning of the novel, Unoka and Okonkwo backgrounds and lives are explained as if this was a

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