Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Okonkwo’s father is a lazy beggar who owes the whole tribe money, but dies before paying them back. Okonkwo hates his father, which is why he wants nothing to do with him and does not want to resemble him in any way. After Okonkwo’s hard childhood, he became “well known

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe demonstrates how the integration of two different cultures can result in the destruction of one entirely. The story is centered around Umuofia, one of the 9 Ibo villages in Nigeria, Africa. It is a confined, well-structured society that is commonly viewed as a Utopia, or an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. It is a tight-knit community with little to no conflict. All inhabitants share the same cultural beliefs, the village has a well-developed justice system to keep things in order, and they even have traditions that bring them all closer together. However, it doesn't take too long for things to completely fall apart. Sooner rather than later, the village

Okonkwo faces struggles within himself his entire life. He is raised by a man known for his unreliability. Unoka, is a debtor who will forever owe others. “Okonkwo felt he must overcome this public estimation of

History is written by the winners, as it has been for a long time, but Things Fall Apart is one of the few retellings that is written from the from the losers’ point of view. In this novel, the Ibo people in Nigeria have a working society, with rules, religion, and relative peace. Then, at the turn of the 19th century, missionaries come/came to the land with their contrasting religion and Western culture. Obierika, a clan member of the village Umuofia, must decide whether to join the missionaries, or to fight against them. However, In Chinua Achebe’s Thing’s Fall Apart, Obierika responds to the collision of Western ideas into Ibo culture with cowardice, because the missionaries and their Western culture were intimidating, influential, and had

My six word story explains that no matter how you decide to carry out your life, death plays in no one’s favor and by no one’s rules. Death is inconsiderate about how you presented yourself to the world, or how you struggled to gain the fruits of your labor. You could be an eminent business man during your time, only to be the victim of a homicide conducted by your best friend. This six word story applies to ´Things Fall Apart´ by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo lived his life with a hardworking and prosperous attitude. He held many titles, had several wives and children, and abundant fields of yam. Okonkwo showed no emotion, just strength and wrath. He believed that, “To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was

The most traumatizing and destructive statement someone can say is to “Be a Man.” As Carlos Gomez once stated, “So many men in this world (are) living in this sort of quiet desperation, confined in this box of toxic masculinity.” In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, some characters are the epitome of this toxic masculinity. Things Fall Apart shows the dimension of both Igbo people and culture, while highlighting the tale of a tragic hero, Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s rise to glory was demonstrated by his humble beginnings and eye for prosperity. However, abundant cultural differences show how conflict emerges between individuals and what society expects of them. The novel also in part traces Okonkwo’s lack of emotional awareness as he murders his surrogate son while simultaneously criticizing his other biological son for being effeminate. Ultimately, Okonkwo’s obsession with masculinity sparked aggression between the white missionaries, and eventually he was driven to commit suicide. Chinua Achebe reveals that the overpowering theme of hyper masculinity portrays one as emotionally unacceptable, and although one ideal, the author demonstrates how heavy masculine qualities tear apart relationships and structure in life.

Another form of political resistance is through the characters in Achebe’s Things fall Apart. The character’s use their bodies and morals to rise against oppression. What the characters do is isolate difference or let, “Umuofia…decided to kill him… [in fear] of being thought weak” (Achebe, 1986, pp. 40-43). Through the physical act of death the end is inevitable and while the Africans decide to act upon it, the colonization is what refrains the movement of the town. There is a clash of cultural conflict because of the way societies deal with political situations. Resulting in separation in Okonkwo’s morals, especially when, “All was silent… Okonkwo’s gun had exploded and a piece pf iron… [In] the…heart… [Forced] to flee.” (Achebe, 1986,

Since the initial use of the literary device of tragic heroes, various renowned works of modern literature have implemented it. There are two types of tragic heroes Greek and Shakespearean. A Greek tragic hero is defined as a character of noble or high standing, who is destined for suffering, downfall, or defeat, due to forces outside of his control. A Shakespearean tragic hero is defined as a character of noble or high standing, who attempts to do the right thing, but in doing so “misses the mark” and does the wrong thing, ultimately bringing about his downfall. In many modern novels the existence of a tragic hero can be argued. An example is the postcolonial novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. The novel follows the struggles of a

Okonkwo is a respected leader of the Igbo tribe. He works hard and does not like to show emotion other than anger because his father, Unoka, was very lazy and not reputable. There is a dispute with another village where a woman is accidently killed, and Umuofia demands a virgin and a young man in place of a war. Okonkwo brings back Ikemefuna and takes him into his home under instructions from the village. The boy becomes like a son to him, but when it is time, Okonkwo kills him for fear of being seen as weak. Later, Okonkwo accidentally kills a young boy at a funeral, but he is exiled for seven years. While he is away in Mbanta, the Europeans arrive at Umuofia and begin to convert the Igbo people to Christianity. Just as Okonkwo returns to his village,

For the duration of the novel, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the role of religion and tradition is a very important part of the characters lives. It decides how they live their life and decides their fate. Some of the customs that are practiced in this culture may not be accepted and are frowned upon by the western cultures. One example of this is that they think that in some cases a child should be killed or that the spirits of the dead must be appeased. Thinking this could create a consequence with the white men. They feel the need to “save” the natives from themselves.

In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the Ibo culture is presented through the lives of the people and the circumstances in which the natives have to rely on their understanding of the world and life through the customary teachings and ways of their ancestors. Customs like polygamy and polytheism are deeply rooted in the Ibo culture. The communities carry out many exercises of punishment and actions to ratify any wrong done. No harm is done without retribution. As the book progresses, it becomes evident that the way of life carried out by the people has somewhat of an unmovable and unwavering presence. However, the strength of the traditions and beliefs is heavily dependent on people who haven’t seen a culture and society that is very different from theirs. This leads the people to questioning and abandonment of the ways of the people and the destruction of the fabric which makes up their culture and heritage. The European religion was first placed to control the Africans minds; making them question the Gods their people were brought up believing. After becoming followers of Christ, the Europeans were able to control the actions of the Africans by making them believe that not only was their religion right, but their way of conducting society was as well. Violence and physical force was used on those who choose to cling to their heritage and not convert to Christianity.

Okonkwo is the protagonist of Chinua Achebe’s story, Things Fall Apart. He has a calamitous flaw that dominates his life. His fear of failure and of weakness causes him to take unnecessary and destructive actions. His fear of weakness leads him to be emotionally distant from his children, beat his wives, kill Ikemefuna whom he loved, and the Commissioners messenger. His fear of failure causes him to disown his oldest son who did not meet his expectations, become well than his idle father, makes a comeback after exile, and keeps his property in check. Okonkwo needs his home, Umuofia to be untouched since its structure and system were measures that gave him worth and meaning in his life. He obligated to this purpose because his

First, the author illustrates the theme in the exposition and rising action of the plot as well as through the characterization of action. The protagonist had a choice in life pertaining to what he wanted to be, he was not “...lazy and improvident” (Achebe 4) like his father. The history of his childhood drove him to become the contrary of Unoka’s principles. He was not a person who “showed emotion openly” (Achebe 28), he was one who was detached from his emotions. He came to the conclusion that “...the only thing worth demonstrating was strength” (28) and he made the choice to be a man who shows no feelings or else, in his mind, he would consider himself weak. All of which indicate that Okonkwo took his own path in life. Many children get few choices in life, but the small choices they make ripple through their life

Main protagonists are often complicated and have a diverse history that has indeed shaped them into what they currently are, and this is no different in the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In this novel, the main character- Okonkwo- had a rough childhood as his father always struggled financially which put a lot of pressure unto Okonkwo himself. Inevitably, this ended up psychologically affecting Okonkwo well into his adulthood, greatly influencing the way he treats others.

In many societies, your gender or race would put you at a disadvantage and while we still face struggles of accepting others differences like gender today, these don’t compare to the struggles we see in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. In this book, Okonkwo’s villages in Nigeria face the struggles of European imperialism and he refuses to be pushed from his views on polygamy or where women should stand in society. He would not let go of the views he stood for and in the end, he did not want to be “pacified”, finally leading to his death. Okonkwo’s views that men are superior while degrading all women to a weak and soft category with no power in society would affect his daughter Ezinma’s and son Nwoye's lives, although his societies