Ecocritical Analysis of Myth in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

Abstract

This research is a continuation on the works that have been done on Achebe’s Things Fall Apart as it considers the myth that are inherent there in it from an ecocritical perspective. It hopes to establish that African literary writings are rich in ecological issues and attempts to use the myths that are in Things Fall Apart to explain the relationship between nature and human culture. Ecoriticism is the theoretical approach on which this work is anchored on because it is study that moves nature from just a mere framing device and to the center as far as literary criticism is concerned. The myths that are in Things Fall Apart includes the story of the quarrel between the sky and the earth, the locust visitation every seven years etc. the significance of these myths among other things is to establish the harmony that previously exist between man and nurture; which is a furtherance of the issue that shows men indebtedness to natural praxis. Finally, this research has established the importance of nature in some of the myths in Things Fall Apart and suggested that more works should be done within the African literary culture to show how nature has been discussed or used in various literary works.