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Work #774 · Mid

Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe
1958 · English
Modern African novel · Twentieth-century anglophone African literature

Achebe's 1958 founding work of modern African literature — Okonkwo and Igbo society on the eve of British colonization

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Things Fall Apart (Mid)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Theistic
Observer · Moral Authority Tradition
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Things Fall Apart

The historical moment of British colonization.

Space

Things Fall Apart

Umuofia and the surrounding Igbo villages.

Matter

Things Fall Apart

Yams, kola nuts, palm wine, embodied ritual life.

Observer

Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo, the Igbo community, the colonial intrusion.

Energy

Things Fall Apart

Energies of traditional life and colonial disruption.

Information

Things Fall Apart

Proverbs as the palm-oil with which words are eaten.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Things Fall Apart

Achebe's Things Fall Apart: founding work of anglophone African literature; foundational for postcolonial studies and the global novel.