Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

The notion of balance in Achebe's novel is an important theme throughout the book. Beginning with the excerpt from Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming," the concept of balance is stressed as important, for without balance, order is lost. In the novel, there are many systems of balance which the Ibo culture seems to depend upon. It is when these systems are upset that "things fall apart." Okonkwo, the Ibo religion, and ultimately, the Ibos' autonomy were brought to their demise by an extreme imbalance between their male and female aspects. These male and female aspects can be generally be described as the external, physical strength of the male; and the internal, passive, and nurturing

“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed up upon the world…” Anarchy is defined as an absence of any form of political authority or political disorder and confusion. Chinua Achebe used this quote from William Butler Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” as part of his inspiration in “Things Fall Apart” which within the book many things began to fall apart for the Igbo people as the British came to Africa trying to colonize and take over. Furthermore, while some of Achebe’s inspiration came from the poem “The Second Coming” most of his motivation for writing “Things Fall Apart” was from a book a white, British man had written describing the Africans as savages and he wanted to show people an accurate depiction of how the Igbo people really were. Okonkwo, the main character of “Things Fall Apart” comes across many challenges throughout the novel. He struggles to accept the change that happens due to the British presence, he works vigorously to be the exact opposite of his father, who he sees as weak, and later in the novel he is banished from his village,

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story about personal beliefs and customs, and also a story about conflict. There is struggle between family, culture, and the religion of the Ibo, which is all brought on by a difference in personal beliefs and customs of the Igbo and the British. There are also strong opinions of the main character, Okonkwo. We are then introduced to the views of his village, Umuofia. We see how things fall apart when these beliefs and customs are confronted by those of the white missionaries.

When comparing the novel “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe and William butler Yeats poem “The Second Coming”, at first there seem to be no similarities except for the phrase “things fall apart” which is used in both. But as one closely examinee the reasons why both authors use this sentence, one realizes that both of them try to show a great change, which, in the poem is related to reality, while in the novel is related to the story.

The novel, Things Fall Apart, takes place in a Lower Nigerian village of Iguedo and Mbanta and is centered around a man by the name of Okonkwo. Okonkwo, the protagonist, is introduced as the most renowned warrior of all tribes who brought great honor to his tribe by becoming the top wrestler of the villages. Throughout the book, Chinua Achebe expresses Okonkwo as a man whose obsession with power is what ultimately leads him to failing in attempts to obtain that power through his role as a farmer, the actions towards his family, and his actions towards the new civilization of the village. When introducing the protagonist, Achebe makes Okonkwo’s thirst for power and status very apparent not just through his

The focus of the individual is prominent in Things Fall Apart, a tale of an almost anti-social being in a world dominated by change.  Achebe's main character, Okonkwo, is the window to the dramatization of social, economic, and political change of the nation known as Nigeria.  The focus of the narrative is the struggle of a strong and well respected individual to maintain his own life course, and to differentiate this outcome from the end result of his lethargic father's life.  The story embodies the ideal of embracing the individual's goals and aspirations to yield an outcome

“Things fall apart; the center cannot hold” (“The Second Coming”). In the novel Things Fall Apart, the village’s belief system began to collapse. In “The Second Coming”, the narrator is witnessing an era coming to an end, and in “Ozymandias,” a statue of a tyrant falls apart, symbolizing the destruction of his legacy. There is a central theme shared amongst these three works. Things throughout history, good or bad, like religions, infamous leaders, or eras in history all inevitably come to an end.

Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, once said: “A man who makes trouble for others is also making troubles for himself”. This concept can be seen in the development of Okonkwo as a character throughout the book. Creating plenty of trouble for others, but ultimately creating the most trouble for himself is possibly the plot for the entire book. Generally, the creation of trouble is not a value that is appreciated in any culture, especially in Umuofia. Okonkwo breaks many of the boundaries and social norms within his culture; his tendency to be immature and unaccountable combined with being very self-concerned and the defiance of elders creates an interesting mix adjacent to the cultural standards.

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.

Things Fall Apart tells the story of Okonkwo, a tribal African yam farmer, through trials and tribulations that change both him and his tribe. The Umuofia clan values traits such as strength, confidence, crop success, and honor. Okonkwo exemplifies everything that the clan wants in a man, and he was well aware of it. He thrives on being the antithesis of the image of his father, Unoka, who was viewed as considerably more feminine and generally a failure because of his failed harvests and love of the flute. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, is also considerably more feminine, and therefore lesser, in the eyes of his father. Okonkwo compensated for the failure in his blood line by putting on a front of hyper-masculine fervor; something that leads him down many troublesome roads. While Things Fall Apart is a tale of many things, Okonkwo’s struggle with femininity causes many of the major conflicts the story. Okonkwo’s learned opposition to feminine traits causes him to project machismo in order to cover up for the underlying feminine qualities that he has and is fearful of.

     Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats have been considered literary classics. Although there may be a gap between the times of publication, the themes and connotations are strikingly similar. In both works, there is a progression of chaos in time caused by change and eventually leads to an end.

Things Fall Apart is a novel in which the main character is a tragic hero who loses everything due to his actions which are a reflection of his flawed view on strength. Okonkwo never defines himself as a character in the story as he wants self satisfaction rather than the good of those around him. The strength ideal which wholly depends on traits associated with masculinity is what leads Okonkwo to make decisions that aren’t essentially good. In Things Fall Apart Okonkwo’s individuality as well as his sense of self is lost in his constant struggle to be different than his father and fill the role of a strong man in his society.

Things fall apart, this phrase being used in both the novel title Things Fall Apart and the poem written by Yeats, “The Second Coming” keeps us wondering how both are related. Achebe uses Yeats’ poem as an epigraph to foreshadow how the events in the novel later on might occur. Reading the epigraph, we come to understand that Yeats is referring to an image of disaster and to a society that is losing control. In Things Fall Apart, the community faces some changes that affect the lives of certain main characters and leads to a very severe disaster. Achebe uses a lot of imagery and dualism in his novel to portray certain messages to the readers and to clarify his point. Also, Achebe wanted to answer back any writer who criticized the Africans and insulted them. He wanted the voice of the Africans to be heard and to take a stand when the Christians came in and tried to change a lot in the traditions that were present. Both, the poem and the novel are related in a way that shows how the downfall of the main character, Okonkwo, happened and what lead to it. Both writers have many things in common in their writings that can be compared in a social and religious way. Achebe uses double meaning in order to pass on his messages to the readers.

The Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a straight to the point story, embedded with interesting elements that capture readers’ attention. In my view, when I read the story, I found many interesting things about the theme of the book. But The Masculinity Okonkwo was what captures my attention. The story opens up to a Traditional Igbo lifestyle, a theme which is highly stylized from its ritual to the actions performed for certain ceremonies. Most of the action Igbo tribe has been an attempt to show respect to the gods, for example, when ikemefuna became sick and his stomach swelled up their traditions says that he take them to the evil forest and kill him. The story also seems to focus on gender,

In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, rising modern ideals challenge the traditional values in Ibo culture. These confronting principles influence changes formed through chaos and disarray. While some Ibo people are more welcoming to the newer concepts, Okonkwo, a strong warrior, famous wrestler and well known leader in the Umuofia clan stays true to his traditional ways. The devout man assures himself to not stray from the traditional path due to haunting memories of his lazy father Unoka. At a young age Okonkwo concluded to vigorously work on not become his disgraceful father. In the end, Okonkwo’s life becomes dictated by his conscious will to oppose to his father, contributing to several problems with his family, friends and