Chapter 7 Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe’s critically acclaimed novel Things Fall Apart tells the story of a decorated and powerful chief of the Igbo village tribe named Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a strong independent man who came up from nothing in his life and refused to return to earth as the same way he started, he believed he was destined for greatness. Perhaps Okonkwo’s most driving factor for this is his father died a beggar and he became disgusted how his father went out with no achievements or accomplishments to his name. Okonkwo is very prideful as a result of his humble upbringing and believes that the only way one can be successful is through Old Ways of the Igbo Tribe. As a result, Okonkwo is hell-bent

Chapter 5 goes more in-depth in Okonkwo’s character and feelings. One thing that we see in this chapter is how Okonkwo creates the scenario where he could get rid of the anger or impatience that he has accumulated. He use the excuse that his wife killed a banana tree when actually she just took few leafs leaving the tree well and alive, just to beat her and get rid of that anger he had built inside him.

The character of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart was driven by fear, a fear of change and losing his self-worth. He needed the village of Umuofia, his home, to remain untouched by time and progress because its system and structure were the measures by which he assigned worth and meaning in his own life. Okonkwo required this external order because of his childhood and a strained relationship with his father, which was also the root of his fears and subsequent drive for success. When the structure of Umuofia changed, as happens in society, Okonkwo was unable to adapt his methods of self-evaluation and ways of functioning in the world; the life he was determined to live could not survive a new environment and collapsed around

As much as Europe’s worldwide empires had globalized the war, so too its economic linkages

19 Facilitate learning and development activities to meet individual needs and preferences (HSC 3004) Assessment of this unit This unit introduces you to the knowledge and skills that are needed to support individuals to plan, take part in and evaluate learning and development activities. It focuses on the benefits of learning and development activities to individuals, the importance of identifying individual needs and the role of the practitioner in planning, preparing, facilitating and reviewing learning and development activities. You will need to: 1.

The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, originally written in his native language Ibo, tells the tragic tale of an African pre-Christian tribe seen through the eyes of Okonkwo. Okonkwo became a very successful clan leader in his village, by working hard and refusing to be lazy like his father Unoka. Achebe uses irony to encourage character development, drive the contrast between Okonkwo’s dreams and his reality as others see him, and explain the culture’s beliefs in the way they treat women vs. the way women are revered.

2. Page #______ What is the “normal course of action” when a member of a neighboring clan

Social rank and relative wealth play great roles in determining a person’s life in Umuofia society. Sometimes a man with sheer force of will cannot change his future through hard work. One of the main conflicts in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the clash between Okonkwo’s determination to succeed, his free will, and fate – which seems to have less appealing things in mind. Okonkwo’s will plays a major factor in determining his future; he chooses to kill Ikemefuna with his own hands, he chooses to kill a government official, and in the end, he chooses to take his own life. However, the pre-destined conditions of his life, his father’s failures, and a series of unfortunate circumstances ultimately lead to Okonkwo’s downfall.

    The tragic story of Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart offers many examples of Igbo beliefs regarding free will and fate. Religious life for the Igbo was thoroughly intertwined with secular life. According to the text, the Igbo believed in fate; that nothing happened by chance as every happenstance was the result of Chukwu or God's will. Yet the Igbo also believed that ancestors, lesser gods, and their own chi or personal god also influenced the lives of the living. Thus, if an individual lived in harmony with his ancestors, lesser gods and ultimately Chukwu, that individual would be blessed with good fortune, health and an abundance of children. If,

Women are often thought of as the weaker, more vulnerable of the two sexes. Thus, women’s roles in literature are often subdued and subordinate. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, women are repressed by an entrenched structure of the social repression. Women suffer great losses in this novel but, also in certain circumstances, hold tremendous power. Achebe provides progressively changing attitudes towards women’s role. At first glance, the women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power and this characterization is true to some extent. However, this characterization of Igbo women reveals itself to be prematurely simplistic as well as limiting, once

Despair gives courage to a coward. Chinua Achebe poses this quote in his novel things fall apart. This book was set in the end of the nineteenth century in West Africa. A clan leader named Okonkwo who is leader of a village named Umuofia . He is considered to be one of the greatest men of his time. He faces a great fight with queen victoria of england which is trying to claim her land as a part of the british empire back which could change their culture, their law, their material and material goods forever. Chinua illustrates the theme how that its is possible to be courageous and cowardly at the same time. The character Okonkwo embodies the hard work pays them off. The theme hard work pays off could be defined in many different ways in

Traditions play a huge role in someones personality and life. I wouldn’t say they define us but they shift and mold who we are going to be when we grow up. If you strip away the core of traditions or activities that were considered normal, it could really affect someone. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is a perfect example of this theory. He was torn that Missionaries came into Umofia while he was gone and changed everything. Okonkwo felt betrayed by how much change took toll in Umofia. He isn’t used to the new rules and regulars given by the Christians. He was offended and didn’t agree with anything the Christian's rules. Unfortunately for Okonkwo, it was too late to change anything. It had been 7 years and the people of Umofia had already been

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe shows that your life will always change and things will get thrown in your way but the ability to grow and learn from your problems is optional is shown through Okonkwo's failure to accept a new religion and the choices made by his tribe and son, eventually leading to him deciding that he can not continue with his life. He persistently bottled up his anger and his stubbornness, eventually self-restrained his ability to grow with his clan. Any signs of weakness had always been something that made Okonkwo angry so when his clan decided not to fight against these white men, Okonkwo couldn't accept the new religious views that the foreigners brought. He wanted to fight against them, but they were converting

Fear is a powerful tool that if used incorrectly, can control how one lives. Okonkwo’s life is one that is dominated by fear. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart follows the Ibo people, set during the time of the colonization of West Africa, in the town of Umoufia. The protagonist, Okonkwo, is a strong follower of his culture’s rigid expectations and practices. While Okonkwo’s steadfast adherence earns the respect of the townsmen, many detest the cultural expectations and practices they are forced to follow. When Christian missionaries introduce Christianity to Umoufia, many of the Ibo people are quick to convert, including Okonkwo’s own son. This new religion slowly undermines the Ibo culture and religion Okonkwo firmly believes in, leading to his downfall. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo’s fear of weakness along with the arrival of Christianity causes Okonkwo’s downfall.

Things Fall Apart is an example encompasses the life, nature, and traditional culture of Africans. Chinua uses Okonkwo, a fierce and champion fighter, to show how Africans led their life with regards to the way they observed traditions, lived in harmony with each other and worked hard to provide food for their families. For instance, when the gods desire the life of Ikemefuna, the village boy whom the Umuofia village had been given in a debt settlement