Achebe (1) Time in Oral vs. Literate Culture

     “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe gives light to the practices and culture of an oral society, in a form true to its theme. Achebe paints a picture of what an oral culture actually looks like in terms of its relationships, the tribe’s hierarchy, and their traditions – and he does this in the form of a narrative. It seems appropriate because one of the most defining differences in the way oral (vs. literate) cultures communicate has to do with the structure of information exchange. Memory is much more important to an oral culture, since it is the only tool a person has to transfer an idea. Stories are easier to remember than bits of data, as details are easier to recall when there are contextual cues like those in a plot. In our literate society, things are much more quantified, especially with the concept of time.

     We see this in "Things Fall Apart" with Okonkwo and his tribe. The book serves me as a student in this course in a way that textbooks or academic writing simply could not. Achebe could have taught me by giving dates to an event in the context of a timeline, and explained the reactions of the tribesmen with figures. The fact that he tells the story in narrative form in itself helps me understand the oral culture just a bit more. Or perhaps just in a different way – as a story – and this has stuck with me more than a report or an analysis would.

     One stark difference between Okonkwo's tribe and the society I live in surrounds the concept of time. In his world, time functions more as a measure of other factors, like weather in the seasons or the rise of the sun and the moon. They do not look at a clock or a calendar to determine when to plant their seeds or return to the market place. They place emphasis on completely different cues that originate in the actual world, instead of running on a man-made measure of the rate at which events occur (time).

     Compared to literate cultures like ours, this method seems much more conducive to peace with the natural flow of time. Here and today, I work on a schedule that allows at most a fifteen minute margin of error (without social consequences). I check my phones to prepare for the day's weather rather than look out the window or go outside. I anticipate the end of a week not because it signals any kind of renewal, but because I get a break from the busyness of the workweek. For me, most things are quantified – nailed down to a word count, an hour's deadline, or a grade. Those are the end results, they dictate how I go about my work, and they are traits of a literate society.

     Okonkwo's oral world provides a sharp contrast. He and the people in his tribe spend time talking with words rather than emailing text, and it gives them a stronger feeling of attachment to the people and things in their lives. For another thing, the Nigerian tribe's circle encompasses a space with about a ten-mile radius. When they can focus on just their circle – rather than the 0s and 1s that tell us about things happening all over the world – we see a distinction in the attitude the respective cultures have related to we spend our time.