Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

The book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is a made up look at the social and cultural life of an African tribe. It depicts the everyday life of the tribe and its members. It also shows the culture and customs of the tribe. The book focuses on one of the tribe members, Okonkwo. He is a well respected member of the tribe. Okonkwo is a good example of a respected member of the tribe who also has great reputation. He is known as a great wrestler and warrior of the nine villages of the tribe. He is a very powerful and influential member. Throughout the story, certain unfortunate events occur, preventing Okonkwo’s rise to the top. Those who knew his father knew him to be lazy and unmanly. This is something that Okonkwo would spend his life trying to change. Okonkwo is shown in the story to be a very strong and fearless man while ruling his household with a firm hand. He blocks away any emotion that would make him seem weak or like a woman. He shows little affection toward his children and his wives. His greatest disappointment is the fact that his son is not turning out to be the man that Okonkwo wants him to be. He sees his father in his son, Nwoye, rather than himself. This is very annoying to Okonkwo. This might be why Nwoye’s mother is never mentioned by name, since she produced a “woman” for a son. He finds out that Ikemefuna, a boy brought into Okonkwo’s home from another village, is turning out to be a better son than Nwoye. Eventually Okonkwo realizes that the boy must die. Though it is obvious that he is disturbed by this, he does not show it, and even kills the boy himself. This is an example of Okonkwo’s character. He is willing to put aside all feelings he has for the boy in order to do what he feels must be done to get back his sense of strength. During a funeral for one of the tribesmen, Okonkwo accidentally kills the dead man’s son. The given punishment for this is exile for seven years. Okonkwo and his family then move to his mother’s old tribe to serve his exile. This accidental death is just one of many hardships Okonkwo has to deal with. He serves out his seven years as he is supposed to, with big ideas of his return to his village. When the seven years are up, Okonkwo doesn't really return back like he has achieved something. When Okonkwo returns to the village, he finds out that white men have moved in, bringing Christianity with them. This is a struggle that shows Okonkwo’s inability to change from tradition.

As Chinua Achebe points out in his book, even though there is the ambition to lend a hand, it can sometimes become deadly. Although the missionaries try to help change the Ibo village of Umuofia to Christianity, their presence in Africa is harmful to the lives and culture of the Ibo. The men that come to Umuofia destroy the cultural balance of faith and religion that encompasses the native people in Africa. People in Umuofia depend strongly on the ancestors and gods in their culture. It is their tradition and their beginning, from which they govern their lives. Without the stronghold of customs and traditions, only chaos exists. Peace, trust, and knowledge are thrown off when the new religion of Christianity