Myles Idoko Ojabo

Depression, Suicidality and Associated Factors in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Myles Idoko Ojabo

Swinburne University of Technology

mojabo@swin.edu.au

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) portrays characters who show signs of depression while navigating through a precolonial culture and discovering individual identities. Depression has five or more symptoms such as insomnia, poor appetite, low mood, anxiety and a level of physical weakness, all lasting over a two-week period. Major characters in Achebe’s work exhibit signs of depression. I draw from the ideas of Jacques Derrida, Sigmund Freud, and Anna Freud to examine the mental states of significant characters—Okonkwo, Nwoye, Ikemefuna, and Ekwefi—who each experience depressive episodes. Central to this study is Okonkwo’s depression, which culminates in his suicide. I argue that Okonkwo’s suicide has a connection to his loss of the protective factor of ‘place,’ represented by his connection to the clan, Umoufia. Some other protective factors, such as relationships, talents, and occupation, are identified in connection to respective characters. The paper also identifies a range of stressors, including domestic violence, migration, childhood adversity, and death, which contribute to the onset of depressive episodes in the characters. This paper adds to the growing body of mental health, medicine and literature, and medical humanities scholarship.

BIOGRAPHY

Myles Idoko Ojabo holds a PhD in Creative Writing from the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He also holds a Master of Nursing Science from the same University. He is currently a Lecturer in the School of Health Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.