Things Fall Apart Syntax Chapters 4-6

Achebe begins the book with short, simple sentences that simply get the point across without much detail. Very simple statements such as "'Take away your kola nut'" (25), are used often in chapters 4-6, but get more complex as the story goes on. Although the chapters consist of mostly short imperative sentences, there are also medium imperative sentences. The mixture of these two styles helps to convey Okonkwo's personality. He is the strong, silent type, and the use of medium and short sentences is a great way to give the reader an idea of how he would speak in person, and it gives them a sense of being close to the character.

When Okonkwo is speaking, he tends to use shorter sentences, however, when Achebe in describing a scene, he uses longer, more pulled out sentences such as , "The young men who kept order on these occasions dashed about, consulting among themselves, and with the leaders of the two wrestling teams who were still outside the circle, behind the crowd" (40). By using this sentence structure, he conveys the feeling of blissful chaos among the Ibo people. One gets a sense of the way that life moves very quickly for these people, and how much is going on at any given time.




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