literature essay about things fall apart

Things Fall Apart

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Things Fall Apart: Introduction

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Historical Context of Things Fall Apart

Other books related to things fall apart.

• Full Title: Things Fall Apart
• When Written: 1957
• Where Written: Nigeria
• When Published: 1958
• Literary Period: Post-colonialism
• Genre: Novel / Tragedy
• Setting: Pre-colonial Nigeria, 1890s
• Climax: Okonkwo's murder of a court messenger
• Antagonist: Missionaries and White Government Officials (Reverend Smith and the District Commissioner)
• Point of View: Third person omniscient

Extra Credit for Things Fall Apart

Joseph Conrad: “A Bloody Racist”. Chinua Achebe delivered a lecture and critique on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness , calling Conrad “a bloody racist” and provoking controversy among critics and readers. However, Achebe's criticism of Conrad has become a mainstream perspective on Conrad's work and was even included in the 1988 Norton critical edition of Heart of Darkness .

Achebe as Politician. Achebe expressed his political views often in writing, but he also involved himself actively in Nigerian politics when he became the People's Redemption Party's deputy national vice-president in the early 1980's. However, he soon resigned himself in frustration with the corruption he witnessed during the elections.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe – Literature Analysis Essay

The population of the world exists as a series of ethnic and racial groupings. These groupings form the building blocks for communities, nations, and regions, which in many cases share a common system of knowledge that defines their way of life. Varied as they are, there is no scientific criterion of pitching one culture as being superior to others as ethnocentrism would put it. One globally acclaimed endeavor to show the sustainability of different cultures is Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart in which he depicts Africans as having been complete as pertains to the culture. This essay seeks to establish the strengths and weaknesses of the Igbo culture as portrayed in Things Fall Apart to assess the author’s success in achieving his main goal.

The story is set in an Igbo clan, Umuofia, which consists of nine villages throughout which the protagonist, Okwonkwo, is well known for his wrestling prowess. Okwonkwo is portrayed as a violent man who has a no-nonsense attitude towards matters pertaining to the Igbo culture. Okwonkwo’s violent nature is a portrayal of a typical Igbo on the view of violence. Igbo’s position is rigid on violence in the introductory parts of the novel. Achebe notes, “To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was a strength” (p. 28), and to appease Umuofia for an accidental murder, a virgin, and a young boy are given as a sacrifice by the murderers.

The same fate befalls Okwonkwo when he kills a boy accidentally at a funeral. The penalty is not compromised despite his standing in the clan. His homestead is violently brought down and animals are killed. On another occasion, Enoch, a convert to Christianity, unmasks an egwugwu in public. This action leads to the violent burning of Enoch’s homestead including the church where he fellowshipped. These examples pitch the Igbo as people whose culture took a rigid stand on culture. However, this position changes on different occasions throughout the book such as when Okwonkwo is punished due to breaking the week of peace by severely beating his wife. When the clan refuses to join Okwonkwo’s onslaught on the district commissioner’s messengers, this position is changed.

On other fronts, the Igbo are portrayed as being an organized people. There exists a well-established democratic system in Umuofia where the ndichie, elders, gather all Umuofia to make important decisions (Achebe180). Through this move, the Igbo attempt to propagate an air of equal and fair treatment of all. Everyone who has something to say is given a chance to do so in the gatherings of the clan. Achebe posits, “Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered” (8). Okwonkwo strives to amass wealth and earn a place among the mighty and be completely delinked from his father’s weakness. Umuofia encourages hard work among its people.

Contrary to popular belief that Africans were primitive and they would go to war without any reasonable cause, in Umuofia, the oracle would sometimes forbid war. War was only an option when the cause was justifiable (Achebe 16). This aspect brings about an element of a strong religious belief among the Igbo. Okwonkwo’s position pertaining to departure from one’s culture is uncompromising, and he proves this assertion by disowning his eldest son when the son converts to Christianity. Unfortunately, he holds such extreme views yet ends up much like his father when he hangs himself.

Chinua Achebe, even though he intended to depict Africans as people who were capable of taking care of themselves in their traditional settings, he still presents a balanced perspective of this culture. Despite all events in the novel, the final position is that Africans were capable in virtually all spheres of life and they would still have made progress albeit with some influence from external cultures, as is the case all around the world.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart, London: Heinemann Ltd, 1958. Print.

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Bibliography

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AP English Literature and Composition

Put words under a magnifier, things fall apart.

Click on the link for our lesson guide.

Essay prompts for Things Fall Apart  ( source)

Essential Questons

These prompts should point you in interesting directions, leaving you to chart your course, not lead you by the nose, determining your every step. Don’t feel obligated or expected to address each question or to address them in the order in which they’re posed. You’re to craft your own thesis and to make your own argument.

• What’s the novel’s view of women and their importance for the novel’s larger themes?
• Igbo proverb: “The thought that led a man to truncate his own existence was not conceived in a day.” What are the thoughts that led Okonkwo to his suicide? How were they formed over many days? Do you see his act as a cowardly one or a courageous one? (You choice needn’t be either/or.)
• Achebe has said “that African peoples did not hear of culture for the first time from Europeans; that their societies were not mindless but frequently had a philosophy of great depth and value and beauty, that they had poetry and, above all, they had dignity.” Write an essay that defines and explores that culture and reflects on its importance to the novel’s larger themes.
• Define the point of view from which the story is told and the role the narrator plays in the story. Explore the art of Achebe’s choice.
• Explain Achebe’s choice to end the novel as he does.
• How does Achebe create characters? Define his methods and means and explore their art.
• It is said of Okonkwo at one point that “Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true—that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation” (76). How should we understand the roles of fate and individual responsibility in the novel
• Okonkwo’s self-understanding is deeply bound up with his need to affirm and protect what he thinks of as his “manliness.” What are the main features of Okonkwo’s view of masculinity, and how does his view relate to that of other important characters in the novel? Do you see problems with Okonkwo’s view?
• Achebe’s style seems very simple. Is it really as simple as it seems? Define and explore the artfulness of the novel’s style. How does that style contribute to the novel’s larger meanings?
• After Okonkwo’s female killing of the boy, Obierika, the novel’s philosopher, wonders, “Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently?” The narrator tells us that “although he thought for a long time he found no answer. He was merely led into greater complexities” (74). Does the novel answer what Obierika can’t?
• Igbo culture believes “there is a fundamental justice in the universe and nothing so terrible can happen to a person for which he is not somehow responsible” (“Chi in Igbo Cosmology” 163). Explore the justice of Okonkwo’s actions and his responsibility for them. What view of justice emerges?
• How does the novel depict and treat the Christian missionaries? Do you see bias or objectivity? What role does the treatment of the missionaries play in the novel’s larger themes?

Objectives: Students will become familiar with colonial history as well as the background and context for the novel and author.

Aim: What’s the role of fiction in understanding colonial history?

Resources: About the author

Activities:

Respond to the quote,

“The last four or five hundred years of European contact with Africa produced a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad light and Africans in very lurid terms. The reason for this had to do with the need to justify the slave trade and slavery.… This continued until the Africans themselves, in the middle of the twentieth century, took into their own hands the telling of their story.” (Chinua Achebe, “An African Voice”, The Atlantic)

Discuss Preparatory Reading:

• “The Novelist as Teacher” by Chinua Achebe
• “Teaching Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
• “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness” by Chinua Achebe

http://kirbyk.net/hod/image.of.africa.htm l

Teaching Points:

• A brief history of precolonial Nigeria and the colonization of Africa • 1958, first publication of Things Fall Apart • Nigeria: British colony from end of 19th c. until 1960 • 1967‐70 Biafran War (Igbo secession) • Major ethnic groups (70% of population): Hausa‐Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo • Est. 2005 pop of Nigeria: 128 million • Tumultuous political history since independence; many of Achebe’s other books confront corruption in politics, social issues • Identify Nigeria on the map of Africa, and the approximate setting for the fictional village of Umuofia in the novel • Discuss the people, languages and religions of Nigeria today, as well as any political or popular news you feel is relevant to your course • Discuss why context is important to understanding the novel • Provide background information on Achebe and his life, other works, career, etc • Be sure to remind your students to make use of the glossary in the back of the book. • Let them know they will be responsible for the terms and concepts Achebe presents. • Discussion of the colonialist, Eurocentric representations of African history and how the novel directly confronts these. Discuss how “history” is an imperfect record of  events and is subject to the biases and perspectives of those who record it. Discuss the role of objectivity and integrity in contemporary historiography.

• This is the perfect opportunity to also set some ground rules as a class for what kind of language is and is not appropriate/respectful when talking about Africa. Using “How To Write About Africa” by Binyavanga Wainaina could be a good way to bring up the issue of stereotypes and misconceptions about Africa • Introduce the concept of understanding and analyzing fiction and using close reading to create meaning in the Wisconsin classroom • Discuss the author’s contention that his work has (at least partly) a didactic role in terms of “re‐teaching” the history of Africa in a more positive light. o Use this idea to discuss: ƒ What this means to American readers? Are we “outsiders?”The role of fiction/literature in understanding history.Whether or not fiction can “revise” history. What does this really mean?

Discussion Questions: ( Practice):

Discussion Questions: • What is fiction? • What is history? • Find Nigeria on the map of Africa. Discuss its features. • Compare contemporary, colonial and pre‐colonial maps of Africa. Discuss their features. • What does “diversity” mean in Nigeria as compared to the US? • What are stereotypes? How do certain words promote a negative impression of Africa or Africans? o What is problematic about the following terms: tribe, hut, savage, primitive, backward, timeless, primordial, (etc)? Why are these terms problematic? Why might some people find them offensive or disparaging? • Who is Chinua Achebe? • Who lives in Nigeria? • What are the official languages of Nigeria? How many languages are spoken throughout the country? How many cultural or ethnic groups can you find on the map (see supplementary materials for linguistic and ethnic maps of Nigeria)?

Homework: Do research and write an essay in which you reflect on (mis)representations of Africa in the media and popular culture. Find a movie, tv show, advertisement or song that reproduces a negative stereotype and then relate that to Achebe’s project of combating misrepresentation of African history. Think of what stereotypes or generalizations are applied to their own [ethnic, cultural, religious, family, social] group and reflect on how/why those generalizations are problematic or misleading.

Objectives: Students will be able to better understand and engage with key Igbo cultural concepts developed in the text so that they can better relate to the story and appreciate the complexity of the novel.

Aim: Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions.What particular attitudes or traditions does the author apparently wishes to modify as revealed in Things Fall Apart?

Resources: KWHL Chart

Lecture Points:

• Proverbs (“the palm‐oil with which words are eaten” 5) • Define cosmology and religion and use the Igbo Cosmology  chart to teach the Ibgo system of gods, intermediaries and humans • Chi – personal god; can be controlled by humans • Social structure and hierarchy of Igbo society o Titled and untitled citizens o Egwugwu (masquerades) – men and titled men; masks as primary visual art of   Ibo o Osu (outcasts) • Polygamy  and family structure (compound living within village system) • System of villages, shared governance, laws. Communication methods (drum, messengers, envoys) • Matriarchal or patriarchal?  Gender roles don’t necessarily correspond to Western categories. Eg: “Mother is Supreme” (133) [see gender unit for more on this]

. Drums and ogene as metaphors for the “heart” of the people – “The drums were still beating,  persistent and unchanging. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. It was like the pulsation of its heart” (44).

Do Now: Share the information you  have gathered from the following reading –

• “Talking About ‘Tribe’” Africa Action http://www.africaaction.org/bp/ethall.htm • University of Iowa’s Ibgo information page: http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Igbo.html 

Discussion Questions:

1. Who are the Igbo people? Where do they live? What is their life like? How have their  customs and traditions changed since the 1880s? Since the 1950s?

2. What do they believe? Describe their religious system and the hierarchy of Igbo cosmology.

3. What is the concept of ogbanje (77) and how is it important to the novel?

4. What other cultural concepts in the book are unique to Igbo people? Why do you think Achebe includes these? What do they tell us about Igbo people and their beliefs in the novel?

5. What are “kola nuts” and how are they used in the novel? What do they represent or symbolize?

6. Discuss the idea of “cultural tourism.” Do you feel like an outsider or voyeur when you read some of these passages? Explain.

7. What elements of Igbo culture and society are similar to your own? What elements differ?

Read the passages and write a response on how these passages reveal that Achebe tries to advocates changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions- • The ogbanje scene with Ezinma • P. 124‐125, which describe the legal ramifications for Okonkwo’s crime, and Obierika reflects on the justice of such laws. • Any of the passages that deal with the throwing out of twins into the Evil Forest

Open-Ended Essay Topics

1987.  Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel or play and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader’s or audience’s views. Avoid plot summary.

1991.  Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces or ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each place represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning of the work.

1995.  Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, class, or creed. Choose a novel or a play in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character’s alienation reveals the surrounding society’s assumptions or moral values.

1997.  Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or another novel or play of literary merit.

Descriptions: American students often have a knee jerk reaction to the way women are depicted in this novel, and see the text as sexist, and Okonkwo as the ultimate chauvinist. And it’s true: Achebe goes to great pains to demonstrate how Okonkwo’s skewed view of gender roles has an impact on both his thinking and his actions.  However, this theme is much more complex and sophisticated than being simply a matter of “male” and “female” tensions; it provokes serious discussion of how these interact, where they overlap, how both Igbo and European societies may have problematic assessments of gender roles, and so on.  One important thing to keep in mind when teaching gender in the novel is that Okonkwo’s view does not represent the “norm” of Igbo thought in this text; there are many illustrations of how his distorted interpretation of gendered roles is what leads to trouble in his life. To find and identify these moments in the text would help us understand deeply the hero’s downfall. Themes of gender and engendered meaning play an enormous role in the novel, and you could approach this theme from several perspectives: • By character, with a focus on the relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye and Okonkwo and Ezinma • By looking at language and how so many everyday things and concepts have gendered meaning for the Igbo people in the novel. You could look at traditional roles for men and women within Igbo society, and discuss what it means to be “a man” (or a woman) in the novel. Think, too, about how individual concepts and ideas are associated with gender, and what this means to the novel as a whole. • By analyzing the role of kinship, family and the role of the extended family that is central to Okonkwo’s story – as well as the disctinction between “motherland” and “fatherland” and “matriarchal” vs “patriarchal” perspectives in the text. • By analyzing Okonkwo and his deepest fear: becoming like his father, who he feels is feminine and weak. Contrast Okonkwo’s view with that of other, more moderate, characters in the novel.

Objective: To discuss and explore what gender means in the novel, and help students see how complex this theme really is, even though Okonkwo’s view seems very narrow and clear‐ cut. Students will relate this discussion to gender roles in their own cultures, and explore why/how things are not always as they seem when it comes to gender relations and assumptions.

Preparatory Reading :

• “Women in Achebe’s World: A Womanist Critique” by Rose Ure Mezu (in Chinua Achebe: The Man and His Works 2006) • “Problems of Gender and History in the Teaching of Things Fall Apart” by Rhonda Cobham (Modern Critical Interpretations: Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, ed. Harold Bloom 2002

• “Okonkwo and His Mother: Things Fall Apart and Issues of Gender in the Constitution of African Postcolonial Discourse” by Biodun Jeyifo (in Chinua Achebe’s

• Things Fall Apart: A Casebook, ed. Isidore Okpewho 2003) • “Igbo Women from 1929‐1960” by John N. Oriji (West Africa Review) http://westafricareview.com/vol2.1/oriji.html • Ngambika (excerpt)

Lecture points : In addition to addressing the ideas listed above, a lecture on gender in the text might include the following: • Explanation of the difference between sex and gender • Discussion of what gender means to culture, how language can be “gendered,” and   gendered meaning affects the way we see the world • A reminder that gender roles vary by society and what is “sexist” or inappropriate in one place might be perfectly normal somewhere else. Gender roles are not the same in all places, and based on only the fictional world of Things Fall Apart, we can’t really make blanket assessments about “all of Igbo culture” or people • Provide some background and context for gender roles in Igbo societies (then and now might be nice, but at a minimum at the time of the novel’s setting). • Masculinity/femininity, the role of a “man” in society – compare and contrast Okonkwo with his father – use this to discuss how (if at all) students have a different view of what it means to be “a real man”

• Gendered meanings (motherland, fatherland; masc/fem words) • Kinship and extended family. Define matriarchy and patriarchy and what they mean to cultural rules and norms. Ask the class to think of examples of both positive and negative effects of both matriarchal and patriarchal systems. Point out ways in which our own society is structured patriarchally. Ask students to think of other examples. • Provide some history and context for what it means to be “feminist” in Africa and how/why terms like “womanism” are preferred. You may consider discussing the debate over feminism as a Western concept, and whether or not there is a universal standard that should apply to all women when it comes to women’s rights and roles in society. • Discuss the nuances of gender in the text and how gender issues are not just male vs. female in the text. Achebe develops lots of grey area – characters with different views, male characters who “act” female or female characters who “act” male, etc.

Discussion Questions: • How does Okonkwo’s relationship with male and female characters differ? Why? • What role to women play in this novel? What is life like for Okonkwo’s wives? • Some female characters in the book don’t seem to fit the mold according to Okonkwo’s view? Who are they and why are they important to the text? • What material things can you find in the book that have a specific gender? Does their gender effect their meaning or how they are used? How or how not? • When Okonkwo is sent into exile, he is sent to Mbanta, his “motherland,” where things seem very different than life in Umuofia. How are they different? What do these differences tell us about gender? What do you make of the expression “Mother is Supreme” that is mentioned in the book? • What do the terms “patriarchy” and “matriarchy” mean? Give one example of each from the text. • How is Okonkwo’s view of gender different from other characters’ view of gender roles in the novel? Give examples. • Think about the character Ezinma. Of Ezinma, Okonkwo thinks: “She should have been a boy” (p. 64). Why is it necessary to the story that Okonkwo’s most favored child be a girl? What does it mean that she has all of the characteristics that her father finds more valuable in a son? • In the novel, there are two kinds of murder – male and female (124). What are these and what do they mean to the novel? Does it matter that Okonkwo committed the “female” kind of murder?

Suggested passages for close reading • The first paragraph on page 13 that begins “Okonkwo rules his household with a heavy hand…” In this paragraph, we learn about his fear of weakness and how he learns that agbala means both “woman” and a man who has no title. Discuss how this effect his attitude and views about gender. • “Nwoye knew that it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell, and which she no doubt still told to her younger children… […] That was the kind of story Nwoye loved. But he now knew that they were for foolish women and children, and he knew that his father wanted him to be a man. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women’s stories…” (53‐54) What does this passage tell us about the conflict between father and son? What does it tell us about what gender means in the novel? How does it foreshadow Nwoye’s later conversion? • Women “never saw the inside of the [egwugwu house]. No woman ever did. They scrubbed and painted he outside walls under the supervision of men. If they imagined what was inside, they kept their imagination to themselves. No woman ever asked questions about the most powerful and the most secret cult in the clan” (89). This is a good example of how women and men have different social roles in Igbo society. Discuss this passage and what it means to the novel. • The discussion of motherland and “mother is supreme” on p. 133‐135

• The very important passage in which Okonkwo’s friend Ofoedu discusses the relationship of a well‐known couple, Ndulue and Ozoemena, who have both died at the same time. Obierika says “It was always said that Ndulue and Ozoemena had one mind. ..He could not do anything without telling her.” To which Okonkwo replied, “I did not know that. I thought he was a strong man in his youth.” And Ofoedu says, “He was indeed.” (68) This is a key passage as it shows that other esteemed elders in the village do not share Okonkwo’s view that warriors cannot be loving or gentle or close to others; it demonstrates that his rigid position on what constitutes strong masculine behavior is not shared by all Igbo men.

Assignment Ideas( Select one assignment to do) • Okonkwo’s view does not represent the “norm” of Igbo thought in this text; there are many illustrations of how his distorted interpretation of gendered roles is what leads to trouble in his life.  Find at least three passages in the text where Okonkwo’s view is challenged or contradicted in the novel.  Use the list to discuss the larger role gender plays in the novel, and what it means to the story. What is the message that these contradictions reveal? • Compare and contrast the relationships Okonkwo has with his son Nwoye and his daughter, Ezinma. • Choose one character an write an essay on why gender matters to this person. • Compare/contrast two characters in a two‐page essay which evaluates how gender meaning differs for each of them. Suggested pairs (Okonkwo/Nwoye, Okonkwo/Obierka, Nwoye/Ezinma, Ezinma/Okonkwo).

Lesson 4: Character Study-: Psychology, Relationships and Meaning

• Okonkwo: Villain, Victim or Tragic Hero?
• Okonkwo and his family: the role of his wives and children
• Ezinma ‐ Fathers, sons and daughters: key relationships in the novel
•  Obierika, Voice of Reason
• Outsiders: The role of missionaries and colonial administrators

Character development is central to the development of a wide range of issues in the novel, such as  family, friendships and identity.  Okonkwo himself is such a complex character, and most of the other themes in the novel are developed by exploring the relationships between Okonkwo and other characters.

Objective: To perform close readings of specific characters, assess their relationships, anddetermine how characterization relates to other major themes in the novel to create meaning.

Preparatory Reading:  • “For Chinua Achebe: The Resilience and the Predicament of Obierika” from  Chinua Achebe: A Celebration by Biodun Jeyifo

Character List-

• Okonkwo protagonist
• Unoka    his shiftless, title‐less father
• Okonkwo’s wives: (1) Nwoye’s mother, the senior wife
• Children: Nwoye [Isaac] (m), Obiageli (f), Nneka, Nwofia    (“begotten in the wilderness” 45, should’ve been a boy), and the  “adopted son” Ikemefuna (m) who is killed by Okonkwo

(2) Ekwefi Child: Ezinma (f) (3) Ojiugo  Children: Nkechi (f), Obiageli (f) * Note: # of children here incomplete.  Text says he has 11 children before  the exile; 2 (?) born in exile; 5 sons Ikemefuna young boy captured in revenge for death of a daughter of Umuofia

• Obierka friend of Okonkwo
• Ndulue and Ozoemena couple known for their close relationship (68)
• Ofoedu Friend of Okonkwo and Obierika
• Agbala    Oracle of the Hills & the Caves
• Chika    Priestess of Agbala
• Chielo    Priestess of Agbala
• Ani    Earth godess
• Ezeani    Priest of Ani
• Uchendu Okonkwo’s mother’s brother in Mbanta (exile)
• Mr. Kiaga missionary interpreter/teacher Mr. Brown white missionary – compromise and accommodation policy
• Mr. Smith white missionary (Brown’s replacement); no compromise policy
• Nneka     first convert; mother of twins
• Okoli    man “accused”/presumed/rumored to have killed sacred python (dies 114)
• Enoch    priest of the snake cult District Commissioner Unnamed British colonial administrator who famously appears to pronounce Okonkwo’s story “interesting reading” for a paragraph in his memoir: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the
• Lower Niger

Lecture points: • Begin with a discussion of character analysis – what is is, how to do it, how characters work together to create meaning, etc. • Discuss the role of the PROTAGONIST and minor or supporting characters. • Discuss Okonkwo’s role as protagonist. Is he a hero? A victim? A villain? • Use passages from the text to explorerelationships between characters o Okonkwo and Unoka o Okonkwo and Obierika o Okonkwo and his children o Okonkwo’s wives and their children etc • Show how most of the themes in the novel depend on character development to make sense. Use this to demonstrate how novels/fiction work – show how Okonkwo (and the other characters) act out the drama to produce meaning and allow us different points of view to consider as we interpret the novel • Remind the class that Okonkwo, though esteemed and in a position of authority in his village, is a bit of an anomaly. Others do not share his views on many things. • You might also consider spending entire days on individual characters to explore how they relate to specific themes/issues • Nwoye and religion/conversion • The missionaries vs. the rest of the characters; how do they differ? • Ezinma and gender roles, Ezinma and Igbo customs/belief • Ikemefuna and his symbolic death; also what his presence in the novel teaches us about how this society works, its rules and norms

Discussion Questions: • What is “characterization?” How are characters created in a text? • What does the term “protagonist” mean? What happens when our protagonist is kind of antagonistic? Is Okonkwo a sympathetic character? How can we relate to him? Does he remind you of anyone you know? • Do a close reading of the descriptions of Okonkwo and Unoka in chapter one.  How do these two characters differ? What kind of language is used to describe each of  them? What proverbs are associated with each? What does this contrast foreshadow?

• Discuss specific characters/pairs of characters and what they mean to the rest of the text. • What is the significance of the child Ikemefuna to the novel? Why does Okonkwo kill him? What can be learned from this episode?

Assignment and Project Ideas: • Make a list of characters or character pairs for the students and write down the major theme or issue associated with that character/pair of characters. Find one example of this, with a quote, to present to the rest of the class. • Write a one‐page character analysis of the character of your choice. Be sure to include: a description of the character, his/her relationship to the protagonist and his/her main function in the novel. Support your response with quotes from the book. • Compare and contrast Unoka and Okonkwo. Make a chart or graph of all of their differences. • Do role play. Get in character and enact specific parts of the book, or answer questions “in character” • Think about the character of Nwoye. Why does he convert to Christianity? Write an essay in which you discuss the factors that led to his transformation, and how they relate to his relationship with his father. •  Is Okonkwo a tragic hero? Argue and support it with textual evidence.

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Things Fall Apart

Introduction to things fall apart.

Things Fall Apart is Chinua Achebe ’s acclaimed masterpiece. It narrates life in Nigeria at the turn of the 20th century during the rise of the colonial era. It was first published in 1958 and immediately became one of the favorite books to the readers. Things Fall Apart has multiple translations, offering access to the outside world to pre-colonial Nigerian culture and the traumatic changes people faced during the start of the colonization. The novel chronicles the clash between the traditional norms of the Igbo tribe and the white colonial government of that time, concluding that the divided nature of the indigenous Igbo tribe and the flaws in their native social structure led to the disintegration and ultimately fall off the Umuofia community .

Summary of Things Fall Apart

The protagonist of the story , Okonkwo, is a Nigerian leader of the Igbo community. He seems a self-made man who earns distinction and glory and brings honor to his people after he defeats an undefeatable wrestler, Amalinze the Cat who earned the nickname because he never lands on his back in a wrestling contest. Okonkwo’s deceased father, Unoka, motivates his victory as a wrestler and his success as a leader. As Unoka’s flaws, cowardice, unpaid debts, and wrong policies cost the family a fortune, Okonkwo resents and despises his father’s harmful practices and runs his family under his strict command displaying an enormous amount of masculinity by beating up his wives and children.

As a leader, the test for Okonkwo emerges when a man from a neighboring village kills a woman from Okonkwo’s village, inviting the tribal wrath. To dispense justice to avoid the protracted tribal feud, Umuofia village takes the son of the murderer, Ikemefuna as a peace offering in revenge for that killing. The boy, Ikemefuna, is to be sacrificed, but not immediately. As a leader, Okonkwo takes the boy home, where he receives the love and care of Okonkwo’s family. Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, too, becomes fond of the new member and the boy’s influence over the family touches Okonkwo’s heart. On the other hand, Ikemefuna also respects Okonkwo as his ‘second father’

Over the years, Okonkwo’s anger doubles up owing to multiple factors. It becomes the reason for violating the celebrated customs of the tribe. He violates the Peace Week by beating his third wife, Ojiugo, who forgets to prepare meals, leading to another awful incident when he hits and shoots his second wife on a trivial issue but misses the shot. Later, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, the oldest man of the village meets Okonkwo to deliver a private message that the oracle demands the death of the Ikemefuna, whom he is treating as a family member. Keeping the boy’s attachment with his family in his mind, Ezeudu also stops him from taking part in his killing. But Okonkwo does not want to showcase his weakness and come out too feminine so he not only participates in the killing of the boy but also delivers the final blow with his machete. Sink in depression, Okonkwo visits his friend Obierika and starts feeling somewhat relieved. Meanwhile, the news of his daughter’s illness arises a sense of fear; he begins thinking that the tragedy has befallen his daughter for defying the oracle. However, the child recovers after the visit of Agbala, the prophet.

Although her recovery relieves Okonkwo, the death of one of the clan’s leaders, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, adds to his woes. He recalls his last meeting with Ezeudu in which he warns him against taking part in Ikemefuna’s death, but he ignores it. While attending the leader’s funeral, the tragedy compounds Okonkwo’s woes when his gun accidentally explodes and kills Ezeudu’s son. This heinous crime leads him to his seven-year exile . Following the punishment, he settles in his native village, Mbanta, where he reconciles his life, throwing his disappointment away.

During his second year of exile, Obierika, his best friend, visits him with money the villagers earned by selling Okonkwo’s yams and promises to deliver his share by building huts for him and his family until he returns to Umuofia. Obierika also tells him about the unjust approach of the white missionaries. Soon after Obierika’s departure, six missionaries, including a white man, Mr. Brown, arrive in their village. Mr. Brown’s Christian ideas seem nonsense to the naïve villagers, but Okonkwo’s son finds attraction toward Christianity. Horrified by this from his own son Okonkwo beats him up which leads to Nwoye leave the house and live independently. When the missionaries decide to build a church on the land, the natives resent. Yet the church witnesses completion despite this resentment. Soon the people start believing in Christianity’s power and many of them converted to Christianity.

Following their success in Mbanta, the white men travel and establish a school in Umuofia. On the other hand, during the same time, Okonkwo’s exile ends, but his return to Umuofia brings a great shock to him as he notices various radical changes. Many clan leaders have converted to Christianity. These unexpected changes numb his senses. He notices Mr. Brown’s active role in this transformation, encouraging the villagers to educate themselves. The major clash between the clans and white authorities arrives when Reverend James replaces Mr. Brown. The new head shows no mercy and disrespects their old traditions, too. The situation reaches the boiling point when Enoch, a newly converted man, unmasks an Egwugwu. Being revengeful, Egwugwu burns his compound and destroys the church because the new setup has cost his tribe a fortune.

Upon knowing this, the District Commissioner interns six village leaders, including Okonkwo. Despite the District Commissioner’s instructions to treat the leaders with respect, the court messengers humiliate them by shaving their heads and whipping them. Following their release, clansmen call for a meeting to establish a workable agreement on whether they should live in collaboration with the whites or opt for war. During the negotiation, five court messengers arrive and try to dismiss their gathering. Enraged by the missionaries’ growing influence, Okonkwo steps forward and beheads one of the messengers with his machete, hoping his clansmen will join him. The remaining hope of Okonkwo dies when his fellow leaders allow the other messengers to escape. This indifferent approach of clansmen makes Okonkwo realize that things have already fallen apart, and people will never enter the war against white supremacy, which is contrary to the age-old tradition.

When the District Commissioner, Gregory comes to take Okonkwo to the court, embittered on his people’s choices and fearing the humiliation of dying under white law, Okonkwo reaches home to commit suicide. Okonkwo’s action of committing suicide receives backlash amongst his own tribe since it’s against the teaching out Igbo. Gregory feels that the life of Okonkwo would make a reasonable paragraph for his book.

Major Themes in Things Fall Apart

• Tribal Belief and Traditions: Tribal belief marks the center of the text but unfortunately they suffer a decline with the arrival of the new religion of Christianity. However, some locals, including Okonkwo, refuse to accept this new change that is going to devastate the old structure. At first, they stand with Okonkwo to fight against the setup that appears inhumane to them, but they give up their old customs and turn toward prosperous Christianity, leaving Okonkwo in a state of extreme distress. This demonstrates how tribal beliefs and traditions have been deliberately belittled before western culture’s influence.
• Masculinity:  In African tradition, masculinity is regarded as one of the greatest virtues .   Okonkwo, the protagonist ,  values this trait and tries to exhibit it at various places. However, he despises his father for having feministic qualities. He dislikes his son’s passive nature as well who takes after his grandfather. Okonkwo’s masculinity becomes other people’s problems on various occasions, especially for his family, which suffers due to his violence and cruelty. For example, despite possessing a soft corner for Ikemefuna, he kills him with his machete and beheads the messenger who tries to violate their private meeting. He also criticizes his people for avoiding war against white supremacy and choose peace.
• Destructive Impacts of Colonialism: Colonialism is one of the major themes in the novel that appears in the second part of the book. When Okonkwo returns to his village after the exile, he notices the arrival of Christianity. The entire tribe is enduring the pain of newly established laws and government. Despite knowing the influence and cleverness of the white men, he goes against them to maintain their tribe’s laws and freedom. He notices how Mr. Brown is changing the minds of the people by equipping them with the knowledge that is resulting in changes in their traditional norms. People begin to question their ancient traditions, calling them savage practices. Although this cultural onslaught disturbs the locals, some of them join this new shift. This transformation of the people leads to the pulverization of the indigenous culture and cultural setting .
• Social and Cultural Transformation:  The novel fictionalizes the clash between ancient traditions of the Igbo tribes and the progressive social development. The arrival of British missionaries divides the Igbo community into two different parts. While some of them refuse to accept the newly established social order and religion, some others whole-heartedly embrace it. However, for some, it becomes difficult to decide whether they should accept the new faith or go with their old practices. Their choices become clear when Okonkwo kills a messenger and people remain silent, which shows that they are willing to surrender to the British.
• The Superiority of Whites:  The novel revolves around the Igbo traditions, their language, and culture but Achebe has used English to present it to the world. He has also used traditional proverbs in English to clarify implicitly that the native Igbo language cannot be translated into any other language. However, when Christian missionaries establish their religion and administrative machinery, many locals throw away their old customs and embrace the newly established structure. The superiority of the white culture is shown through the character of Mr. Brown and other missionaries, who reshape the locality by preaching religion and education.
• Fate and free will:  According to an Igbo saying, a human’s chi or spirit is aligned to his free will. In other words, a person can control his free will as Okonkwo tries to do so. He ascends to his society and attains the position of chief. However, once things start getting astray, it appears that he is capable of using his free will but incapable of exercising the right choice as his fate directs him to perform heinous crimes like killing and committing suicide. His spectacular rise and tragic fall show that the Igbo society believes in the concept of free will.
• Justice :  Justice and its dispensation is a powerful preoccupation presented in the novel. The Igbo people have established their institutions and administration to administer justice in their social structure. Okonkwo’s exile and Ikemefuna’s death provide insight into their system. However, when white men arrive with their institutionalized religion and government, local culture and laws appear vicious to them. That is why Okonkwo’s death at the end leads to the fact that hypocritical and inhumane British law slaughters the sense of justice once seems rooted deep in the Igbo tradition.
• Ambition:  Ambition also plays a crucial role. Okonkwo’s strong determination along with his discontent with his father’s idle ways leads him to assume the leadership of his clan. However, his strict and narrow approach in life makes him rigid and ruthless ending with his tragic crimes and death.

 Major Characters in Things Fall Apart

• Okonkwo : The central figure and protagonist, Okonkwo, is a strong-headed man, wrestler, and leader, who attains greatness overshadowing his inherited laziness. Okonkwo believes that his father is unmanly or weak in nature. Therefore, he adopts opposite ideals and becomes brave, wealthy, violent, and tries to be productive. He marries three times and runs his family ruthlessly. However, he gets caught in the vicious circle of his own rules and goes against the norms. After killing Ezeudo’s son, he goes into exile for seven years. When he returns, he finds vast changes in his community, where most of the villagers have abandoned their old customs and converted to Christianity. He resists the arrival of the white people and even kills their messenger. Thus, his obsession with masculinity, anger, and the tragic flaw of his character makes him reach the point where he takes his own life with guilt and failure before being punished for his crimes by the British.
• Nwoye:   Okonkwo’s only son who shares his grandfather’s characteristics that often invite his father’s wrath, Nwoye receives a heavy thrashing to get rid of his flaws and weaknesses. When Ikemefuna comes to stay with Okonkwo’s family, he sometimes seems to align with his father’s desires. However, when he comes to know about the boy’s death and his father’s role in it, he hates his ruthlessness. This hatred leads him to accept the English civilization when the British arrive. This change brings comfort to his subjugated life.
• Ezinma:  Okonkwo’s daughter, Ezinma is from his second wife, Ekwefi. Okonkwo loves his daughter because of her fearlessness and bold character. Her courage and boldness win both his father’s appraisal and respect in that Okonkwo wish her to be a boy.
• Ikemefuna: Ikemefuna is the boy Mbaino clan hands over to Umuofia to settle a dispute. He becomes the adopted son of Okonkwo and wins his heart, showing the strong and courageous side of his character. Although the boy secures a special place in Okonkwo’s family, he kills the boy with his machete to prove his masculinity.
• Unoka:  Okonkwo’s father, Unoka’s cowardice and recklessness bring shame to his son, Okonkwo. He loves to spend time singing. Moreover, he remains under debt that even after his death, the family carries the burden. Thus, his idle ways of living and indifferent life choices downgrade his status in the tribe where traits like courage and masculinity automatically get an upper hand over the person.
• Brown:  Mr. Brown is another important character in the novel. He is the representative of the Christian religion, preaches Christianity to the locals, and motivates them to get educated. He is a kind and God-fearing man. Although he is set to change the local social fabric, he hates the use of unnecessary power or barbaric approach. He helps them establish their school and hospital and wins many hearts by adoring the ancient local system.
• Reverend James Smith:  Reverend James Smith comes to Umuofia when Mr. Brown is sent back home due to health issues. However, he proves his opposite. His arrival in Umuofia introduces people to the chaotic side of the new culture. He criticizes the old customs and wants the villagers to embrace the new laws. He also intends to establish the dominance of the colonial beliefs for which he suspends a local woman from the church. He soon faces the local wrath for his arrogance.
• Ogbuefi Ezeudu:  As one of the oldest men of Umuofia who visits Okonkwo and warns him not to participate in Ikemefuna’s killing, Ezeudu’s role is of a tribal elder who visits others to convey some important social message.

Writing Style of Things Fall Apart

The writing style of the novel, Things Fall Apart , shows the straightforward and simple approach of the writer, Chinua Achebe, in that he fictionalizes the historical narrative from an omniscient point of view . He tries to show the factual representation of the events and incidents that seem to have become the reason for the collapse and disintegration of the ancient Igbo society. The use of Igbo oral traditions such as proverbs, idioms , and folk stories show the reason for his use of the English language that he has adapted to reflect his culture. Although the diction is formal, the sentence structure is simple and the tone is serious and somber, Achebe has shown that local cultures can be reflected through the English language.

Analysis of Literary Devices in Things Fall Apart

• Allegory : Achebe presents locusts as an allegorical representation of the colonial era who was invading the country to disrupt normal life and destroy the culture.
• Action: The main action of the novel comprises the tribal feud, the arrival of colonialism in Nigeria, and Okonkwo’s response. The rising action occurs when Okonkwo kills the messenger and invites the wrath of the colonizers. The falling action occurs when he commits suicide as nobody from his own tribe sides him against the British.
• Climax :  The climax occurs when Igbo leaders gather to discuss the issue of the crime of the missionaries and Okonkwo ends up killing one of the messengers. It leads Okonkwo to understand that things have turned worse and that he may not be spared anymore.
• Conflict :  There are various conflicts in the novel,  Things Fall Apart.  The first one is the internal conflict of Okonkwo, who tries to mask himself multiple times to maintain his position in the tribe. The second conflict involves the traditions of Umuofia and the new laws brought by the British; old culture versus new culture and tradition versus modernity.
• Characters:   Things Fall Apart presents both static as well as dynamic characters. Okonkwo is a major character, while Nwoye, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Smith are the minor characters. However, it is Nwoye who struggles to shape and reshape his beliefs and undergoes changes. Therefore, he is a dynamic character , while Okonkwo remains the same throughout, the reason that he is a static character along with various other characters.
• Foreshadowing : Foreshadowing in the novel begins with the title which indicates that there might be no happy ending. The second example of foreshadowing in the novel occurs when the first swarm of locusts arrives in the village, which prefigures the arrival of the missionaries.
• Imagery :   Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, i. Just then the distant beating of drums began to reach them. It came from the direction of the ilo , the village playground. Every village had its own ilo which was as old as the village itself and where all the great ceremonies and dances took place. The drums beat the unmistakable wrestling dance – quick, light and gay, and it came floating on the wind. (Chapter-1) ii. In this way the moons and the seasons passed. And then the locusts came. It had not happened for many a long year. The elders said locusts came once in a generation, reappeared every year for seven years and then disappeared for another lifetime. (Chapter-7) iii. The crowd roared with laughter. Evil Forest rose to his feet and order was immediately restored. A steady cloud of smoke rose from his head. He sat down again and called two witnesses. They were both Uzowulu’s neighbors, and they agreed about the beating. Evil Forest then stood up, pulled out his staff and thrust it into the earth again. (Chapter-10) The first example shows the images used for sound, the second for seasons and colors, and the third again for sound and colors.
• Irony : Things Fall Apart shows tragic irony as the proud, arrogant, successful, and ambitious man, Okonkwo, ends up hanging himself.
• Metaphor : Things Fall Apart shows good use of various metaphors . For example, i. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. It was like the pulsation of its heart. It throbbed in the air, in the sunshine, and even in the trees , and filled the village with excitement. (Chapter-5). ii. Dusk was already approaching when their contest began. The drums went mad and the crowds also. They surged forward as the two young men danced into the circle. The palm fronds were helpless in keeping them back. (Chapter-6) The first metaphor compares the sound to a thing and the second drums to mad people.
• Mood : The novel shows a joyous and celebrating mood in the beginning but turns tragic and gloomy as soon as the Okonkwo faces an exile and white missionaries arrive to change the tribal beliefs.
• Motif :  The most important motifs of the novel are chi , animal images, fire, locusts, and yams.
• Personification : The novel shows the use of personifications at several places. For example, i. The night was very quiet. It was always quiet except on moonlight nights. Darkness held a vague terror for these people, even the bravest among them. (Chapter-1) ii. Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan. (Chapter-1) iii. The sun breaking through their leaves and branches threw a pattern of light and shade on the sandy footway. (Chapter-5) These examples show that the night, darkness, fame, and sun as having human attributes.
• Point of View :  Things Fall Apart is narrated in a third-person or omniscient point of view that is the author’s own point of view.
• Protagonist : Okonkwo is the protagonist of the novel. The novel starts with his grand introduction and involves various tragic incidents that become the reason for his tragic death.
• Resolution : Resolution is when all the mysteries , conflicts, and problems reach a conclusion . Things Fall Apart ends with Commissioner’s plan who decides to write a book in which little importance will be given to Okonkwo’s tragedy.
• Rhetorical Question : A rhetorical question is a question that is not asked in order to receive an answer from the audience . Some of the rhetorical questions used in the text are, i. When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was heavily in debt. Any wonder then that his son Okonkwo was ashamed of him?  (Chapter-1) ii. Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offence he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time he found no answer. He was merely led into greater complexities. He remembered his wife’s twin children, whom he had thrown away. What crime had they committed? (Chapter 13) These two examples show that the rhetorical questions posed do not need answers. They only stress the main point.
• Setting : The setting of the novel is the Umuofia and Mbanta villages of the Igbo tribe in Nigeria.
• Simile : The novel shows good use of various similes. For example, i. Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water. (Chapter-1) ii. The earth burned like hot coals and roasted all the yams that had been sown. Like all good farmers, Okonkwo had begun to sow with the first rains . (Chapter-3) iii. You drove him to kill himself and now he will be buried like a dog. (Second Book, Chapter-25) The first simile compares Okonkwo with a fish, the second the earth with coals, and the third a corpse with a dog.
• Symbol :  Things Fall Apart shows that the symbols of fire, yams, and locusts. Whereas the fire represents Okonkwo’s rage, locusts show the white settlement, and yams represent masculinity.
• Theme :  The novel shows a clash of cultures along with human’s adaptive nature, their desire for change, and the influence of the new religion.

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• Things Fall Apart Characters
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• Things Fall Apart Themes
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• Chinua Achebe

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Themes and Analysis

Things fall apart, by chinua achebe.

Chinua Achebe sought to rediscover pride and dignity among Africans by rehabilitating their image damaged by the humiliating effect of racist portrayals. In 'Things Fall Apart' he does this with grace and clarity.

About the Book

Written by Israel Njoku

Degree in M.C.M with focus on Literature from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

In ‘Things Fall Apart ,’ Achebe details Western colonialists’ impact on African societies. This impact is outlined in a very simple manner, but within this simplicity, there is a rich and inventive use of language. The plot might move irregularly for large sections of the book, but this pacing represents a deliberate attempt to conform to an essentially African literary tradition and style. ‘Things Fall Apart ‘ contains themes that reflect the richness and sophistication of African cultures as well as the debilitating impact of outsiders on this culture.

Themes in Things Fall Apart

The humanity of african societies.

Achebe was motivated to write ‘Things Fall Apart’ because he wanted to re-tell the story of the Africans who European imperialists and their enablers in the arts had depicted in unfair one-dimensional representations. Achebe creates a fairly sophisticated and self-sufficient society with organized institutions. His aim was not to create a perfect society, but one more true to the facts of the situation. In Umuofia, we see disputes settled between members fairly, as seen in the case between Mgbafo’s brothers and husband before the Egwugwu . The temperaments of people in the community are not uniformly animalistic or primitive as depicted in the works of Joseph Conrad. Rather, there is a wide range of personality types, ranging from the extremely chauvinistic and aggressive Okonkwo to the sentimental and gentle Unoka and Nwoye. In between them, we have the likes of Obiereka and Ogbuefi Ezeudo, who do not lose their sense of sentiment and passion while subscribing to the patriarchal tenets of their society. Within individuals, there is much complexity, as Okonkwo himself isn’t innately evil but rather forced into that way as a result of childhood trauma and pressure to meet the expectations of society. This complexity of the African individual and society marks them out as ordinary, rather than exciting or exotic.

Clash of Cultures

‘Things Fall Apart’ chronicles the great tragedy of the displacement of traditional African societies by encroaching Westerners with imperialist ambitions. The community of Umuofia had ruled itself and observed its customs, and preserved its institutions for years. The worldview every community member learned from birth, all systems and institutions they came to accept without question, were suddenly threatened by the arrival of the white man with his religion and political system. The British came with a fundamentally different value system, power structure, and religion. Disputes were no longer solved the old way, under the overarching goal of maintaining communal cohesion over everything else. The people of Umuofia, who had lived without rulers, now have to deal with colonialists exerting uncommon power and authority over them. With the coming of the Whiteman with his process and sense of justice that took no cognizance of the customs of the people, the people of Umuofia essentially faced the erosion of their traditions and values.

Umuofia’s society is highly patriarchal, and Okonkwo’s behaviors and motivations are, in part, informed by his society’s gender roles and expectations. Okonkwo measures his success according to the fulfillment of his society’s ideal of masculinity. He strove to be a valiant wrestler and a hard physical laborer on his farm because these activities represent peak male performance and demonstration of physical strength. Okonkwo’s desire for an unquestionably dominant status in his family often motivates his physical violence when he perceives some challenge to his authority from his wives. The patriarchal ordering and gender expectations in the community extend into farming, with Okonkwo focusing on cultivating the supposedly manly yam while leaving other less important crops like cocoyam to his wives to cultivate. Women also have some importance in society. For example, the goddess Ani is one of the most powerful and important deities within the Umuofia religious system. She has a huge influence in day-to-day life as the goddess of fertility and has an entire week devoted to honoring her, within which feminine attributes like peace and tolerance are encouraged. 

Class Struggle

‘Things Fall Apart’ sees the construction of Igbo society in a pristine and undisturbed form, including its class system. As is typical of the Igbos, the Umuofians valued and respected wealth, placing the wealthy firmly at the top of the social hierarchy even though theirs was essentially a democratic system without clear rulers. 

Titles, number of wives, number of yams, and size of one’s compound, as well as the number of huts inside, are some of the physical and symbolic evidence of wealth, and the absence of all these was clear evidence of an individual’s failure in life. The less fortunate are not exactly marginalized or excluded, they are still carried along, and we see evidence of this when public opinion swung against Okonkwo when he tried to shut a fellow villager up in a meeting by implying this individual’s opinions weren’t needed as he has not taken any title. Nevertheless, the people of Umuofia valued wealth and thought of the wealthy as better than the poor. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was derided in the village for his poverty, and the existence of the insult of ‘Agbaya’ and the popularity of its usage suggests the presence of societal consequences of poverty in this society. 

Wealth is also not the only marker of status. Within Umuofia’s religious system, there are two classes of people; the freeborn and the Osu . The Osu are descendants of people who have been dedicated to the lifetime service to the gods of the land. This permanently separates them in many ways from the freeborn, and they are thus seen as an inferior stock. With the coming of the Christian missionaries and British overlordship, these marginalized groups were accepted by the church and consequently gained a gradual ascendancy in society, upturning Umuofia’s normal hierarchy.

Within the inclusive tenet of Christianity, the Osu were judged to be equal to all other humans in Christ.  The “poor” and otherwise “worthless” gained a new sense of purpose and importance. The church’s propagation of supposedly “feminine” qualities like love, tolerance, and acceptance stands at variance with traditional patriarchal Umuofia values. Meanwhile, the stock of those who hold uncompromisingly to traditional Umuofia values continues to fall. Powerful villagers, including Okonkwo, were captured and humiliated by the British when they tried to challenge the growing boldness and authority of those elements of the community who had joined the church. The failure of the Umuofians to stamp authority on this group of people who would have been powerless before them before the arrival of the missionaries and colonialists signified a demolishment of traditional Umuofia systems and a transfer of power away from the usual power brokers. Those who still further resist this new state of affairs meet an ignominious end, like Okonkwo, who was forced into suicide. So, throughout the novel, we see the colonialists function as both oppressors and liberators of certain groups within Umuofia’s society. 

Analysis of Key events in Things Fall Apart

• Okonkwo throws Amalinze the Cat and establishes himself as a man of talent and strength.
• Okonkwo comes to care for Ikemefuna, the gesture marking his status as one of the leading men of the community.
• Okonkwo participates in the killing of Ikemefuna, demonstrating his fear of being seen as weak.
• Okonkwo is banished from Umuofia after accidentally killing the son of Ezeudo.
• Obierika visits Okonkwo in exile and informs him about the arrival of the White men.
• Nwoye leaves his father’s hut to join the Christians in Umuofia.
• Okonkwo returns from exile with his family to meet a much-changed Umuofia.
• Men of Umuofia destroy the church building in retaliation after Enoch commits a sacrilege.
• The District Commissioner arrests Okonkwo and other leaders of the clan as punishment for destroying the church and forces the community to pay a fine for their release.
• Okonkwo beheads the chief messenger and commits suicide afterward

Style, Tone, and Figurative Language of Things Fall Apart

‘Things Fall Apart’ is divided into three parts, with the first part being much longer and slower-paced than the remaining two parts. The first part employs a circumlocutory narrative technique that shifts between the present and the past. This represents the Igbo rhetorical technique of initially skirting around a subject before directly addressing it.

The progression of the plot is often halted to regale us with bits of Okonkwo’s backstory and information on Umuofia culture. This arrangement lacks the narrative linearity that is typical of classical European fiction.  The structure helps in portraying African culture as comparatively developed, sophisticated, and self-sufficient. The considerable treatment of crops, the festivals attached to them, marriage and funeral ceremonies as well as the convening of the Egwugwu judicial process are not necessarily central to the immediate plot but exist to paint a rich cultural texture around the story.  All these gradually build up a picture of the culture in which Okonkwo inhabits as well as illuminate Okonkwo’s character.

By the second part of the novel, when the White missionaries and colonizers had arrived in the picture, the novel picks up the pace and continues with the plot almost without interruptions.

‘ Things Fall Apart’ is written in a very accessible manner. The sentences are simple enough, and the words are uncomplicated, save for a couple of Igbo words that warrant translations. Achebe’s writing is very effective. The sprinkling of Igbo proverbs all around the work helps to enrich the narrative and dialogues as well as accord them a measure of authenticity. Although written in English, Achebe maintains a strong local cultural flavor in the language. When we read the dialogues or follow the narrative, the English language used does not interfere with the authenticity of the dialogues and narrative because Achebe’s writing transmits as accurately as possible the original Igbo contexts. 

Achebe can induce great emotions through seemingly innocuous actions. For example, before Ikemefuna was killed, as he walked in front of the Umuofians who had been tasked with this job, Achebe chose this time to write about Ikemefuna’s excitement and hope at seeing his mother again. Achebe sets up a powerful moment when Ikemefuna breaks into a childhood song and walks in sync with the rhythm, deciding that if the song ends on his right leg, it will mean his mother was still alive, but that if it ends on his left, his mother would be dead or ill. This mood of great optimism and innocence sets up a stark contrast with the horrific murder that follows. Ikemefuna’s death, just at the point when we are getting to know him far more and relate with his hopes and fears and even root for him, makes the entire scene all the more powerful and emotional. Ikemefuna’s superstitions are only part of a large corpus of myths or other religious injunctions or ancient wisdom preserved through songs, folklores, mythologies, legends, aphorisms, and proverbs, which constitutes an important part of Umuofia culture. Achebe utilizes all these to great effect through the interlaying of these cultural vestiges and artifacts within the narrative to provide a rich texture and foundation.

All these properly secure the novel’s ties to Igbo culture and leave no one in doubt as to its authenticity and status as a legitimate representation of Igbo sensibilities.  ‘Things Fall Apart’ utilizes the Third Person’s point of view, but this narrator’s perspective switches between a participating actor and an external observer, a “we” and a “them” at different points in the story. Sometimes the narrator seems to be intimately in the know and involved with the actions and the customs of the people, other times he seems like a detached observer.

Analysis of Key Symbols in Things Fall Apart

Yam is the primary crop in Umuofia society. Called the king of crops, it is associated with manliness and is an important status symbol. Okonkwo considers yams to be the only crop worth personally growing, leaving the other crops for his wives and children. The number of yams in a man’s barn is a definitive indicator of his level of success in life. Yams symbolize wealth and abundance.

Egwugwu Masks

The Egwugwu masks symbolize the villagers’ ties to the spirit realm, or rather to the land of their ancestors. The scary nature of the designs and carvings on the masks as well as the secrecy and anonymity with which its wearers operate, allows certain individuals to act on behalf of or with the unquestionable authority of the clan’s gods or ancestors.

What does Okonkwo’s death symbolize in ‘Things Fall Apart?’

Okonkwo’s death in ‘Things Fall Apart’ symbolizes the futility of the struggle against change as brought about by European colonizers. The moment the British came to their doorstep, the people of Umuofia were fated to lose their independence and way of life.

Why did Chinua Achebe write ‘Things Fall Apart’?

Achebe wrote ‘ Things Fall Apart’ mainly to challenge racist and uncomplimentary portrayals of African societies at the point of contact with colonizing Europeans.

Did Chinua Achebe present a perfect traditional African society in ‘Things Fall Apart?’

Although Chinua Achebe sought to challenge racist portrayals of traditional African society with ‘Things Fall Apart,’ he did not go the other extreme by presenting a perfect society. Instead, he presented an African society with all of its strengths and faults, asking not that people idolize or dismiss these societies, but instead view them as essentially human.

Is ‘Things Fall Apart’ popular internationally?

‘Things Fall Apart’ has sold over 20 million copies all over the world, making it one of the most popular African novels of all time. It is used widely in schools across the world.

About Israel Njoku

Israel loves to delve into rigorous analysis of themes with broader implications. As a passionate book lover and reviewer, Israel aims to contribute meaningful insights into broader discussions.

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Njoku, Israel " Things Fall Apart Themes and Analysis 📖 " Book Analysis , https://bookanalysis.com/chinua-achebe/things-fall-apart/themes-analysis/ . Accessed 2 April 2024.

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Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe

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Things Fall Apart Essays

Both friend and foil: how the characterization of obierika conveys human truths and social concerns anonymous 10th grade, things fall apart.

In his novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe masterfully uses his characters to convey larger human truths as well as to drive his plot. Things Fall Apart is about the colonialization of a Nigerian tribe called the Igbo, following the characters...

The portrayal of Umuofia as a contact zone Salindri Dulara Rajakaruna College

Chinua Achebe’s autoethnographic novel “Things Fall Apart “written in 1958 can be viewed as an attempt to destroy the misleading conceptions about Igbo culture that were given to the world by European writers. The way novel presents the arrival of...

Theme Of Superstition Expressed In Things Fall Apart Praket Venkatasai Akshantala 10th Grade

“What the mind doesn't understand, it worships or fears” (Alice Walker). This quote by Alice Walker, a prominent writer, delineates how ideologies and beliefs are often created with a lack of evidence - commonly referred to by the term...

Chinua Achebe's Portrayal of Pre-Colonial Africa: Anonymous

The concept of balance in Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart, is an important theme throughout the book. Achebe introduces this idea with an excerpt from William Butler Yeats's poem, "The Second Coming." The notion of balance is stressed here as...

The Destructive Clash of Cultures Jennifer Chiu

In their respective works Things Fall Apart and The Joys of Motherhood, both Chinua Achebe and Buchi Emecheta depict the effects of colonialism on Igbo society.

While Achebe demonstrates the gradual process of colonial imposition, Buchi Emecheta...

The Role of Women Annie White

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart explores the struggle between old traditions within the Igbo community as well as Christianity and "the second coming" it brings forth. While on the surface, it appears the novel narrows its focus to a single...

The Comparison of One Hundred Years of Solitude with Things Fall Apart Justin J.R.K. Kirkey

By Justin J.R.K. Kirkey

An Involved Essay: The Comparison of

One Hundred Years of Solitude with Things Fall Apart

Things - and societies - fall apart. Societies are born; they grow, thrive, decline, and finally perish. Their procession through...

The Release of African Culture on the World Michael Alexander MacGill

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses Okonkwo's story to elaborate a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the cultural values of African tribes. Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart as a rebuttal to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness....

Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart: Complements, or Contrasts? Audrey Fisher

When the Europeans arrived in Nigeria to harvest ivory and spread their religious ideals, many Africans were exploited and their cultures were irreversibly changed. Two novels, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Things Fall Apart by Chinua...

Portraits of Nigeria in Two Novels Timothy Sexton

The novels Things Fall Apart and The Joys of Motherhood both present Nigeria as a competitive, consumption-crazed country. Each novel, therefore, also creates a parallel between Nigeria and capitalist, Western societies--yet each one shows that...

Why Things Fall Apart Anonymous

“The white man is very clever…He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”

Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is a prime example of African literature that demonstrates the clash between cultures and...

The Story of Okonkwo: A Fine Balance of Hope and Tragedy Joshua Nobleman

The South African Igbo tribe of Umuofia, as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” (1958) encompasses layer upon complex layer of social order. From birth to death, every aspect of Umuofian culture is defined by an intricate balance of...

Family Relationships in White Teeth, Disgrace and Things Fall Apart Anonymous

By comparing White Teeth with at least one other appropriate text, explore the presentation of family and family relationships in postcolonial literature.

The ‘metanarrative’ of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth differs from the direct linear narrative of...

Sexism In Things Fall Apart Stephen Harris

The presence of sexism, both individual and institutional, runs rampant in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. It is the most constant theme in the story, more intrinsic in the plotline than even racism, and certainly more deep-rooted. The...

The Culmination of Tragedy: Tradition and Change in Things Fall Apart Anonymous College

Tradition and change are as much at war as the people are in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart. The events that define this war are centered on and around the main character, Okonkwo, who finds himself unable to adapt to the changes taking...

Proverb Symbolism for the Clan Anonymous 12th Grade

In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe introduces the ideas of maturity/reputation, respect, and communication as Umuofian cultural values. The success of its citizens when it comes to their social standing is dependent on their abilities...

Fathers and Sons in Purple Hibiscus and Things Fall Apart Anonymous 11th Grade

Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart both emphasize the complexities of father-son relationships. The major theme of parental conflict is developed throughout the course of both texts and serves to illustrate...

The European and African Narrative Techniques used in 'Things Fall Apart' and 'Petals of Blood' Diana Grech College

The structure of the African novel is seen to be made up from two different frameworks, the external, or international, and the indigenous “mode of discourse and artistic expression.” 1 Therefore, the typical African novel contains elements in its...

Murder and Repression in Things Fall Apart Leah Kristine Smith College

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a novel full of individuals, within a tribe, as they deal with the frequently tragic and disappointing events of their lives. Okonkwo, the protagonist, and his son, Nwoye, are two of these individuals who must...

Misconception of the Generation Gap Anonymous College

Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart , is set in Nigeria; the novel examines the clash between traditional African culture, and western ideals by the Igbo tribe, through the protagonist, Okonkwo. Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s...

Setting in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" Anonymous 11th Grade

Perhaps one of the most influential elements of literature, a setting may potentially dictate the plotline of a story, establishing culture, tradition, and a backstory. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart sees an African world that largely revolves...

Globalization in Things Fall Apart and Gods Without Men: A Challenge to Spirituality? Anonymous College

After conducting extensive research studying cultures around the world, theorist and social anthropologist Peter Van Der Veer remarked that "the critical elements, like those to be found in the spiritual ideas at the beginning of the 20th century,...

The Process of Colonialism: Narratives from Achebe and Boyden Anonymous 12th Grade

The process of colonialism is the ongoing eradication of old practices and the exploitation of new practices, and often entails settlement into a foreign land, the introduction of new cultural practices, and the enforcement of religious practices....

The Importance of Setting in Ethan Frome and Things Fall Apart Anonymous College

Ethan Frome and Things Fall Apart are found in two dramatically different settings, with each plot relying heavily on the setting of the novel to tell its story. The setting of a story is a broad term and can contain many layers. While each story...

• Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

• Literature Notes
• Essay Questions
• Book Summary
• About Things Fall Apart
• Character List
• Summary and Analysis
• Part 1: Chapter 1
• Part 1: Chapter 2
• Part 1: Chapter 3
• Part 1: Chapter 4
• Part 1: Chapter 5
• Part 1: Chapter 6
• Part 1: Chapter 7
• Part 1: Chapter 8
• Part 1: Chapter 9
• Part 1: Chapter 10
• Part 1: Chapter 11
• Part 1: Chapter 12
• Part 1: Chapter 13
• Part 2: Chapter 14
• Part 2: Chapter 15
• Part 2: Chapter 16
• Part 2: Chapter 17
• Part 2: Chapter 18
• Part 2: Chapter 19
• Part 3: Chapter 20
• Part 3: Chapter 21
• Part 3: Chapter 22
• Part 3: Chapter 23
• Part 3: Chapter 24
• Part 3: Chapter 25
• Character Analysis
• Reverend James Smith
• Character Map
• Chinua Achebe Biography
• Critical Essays
• Major Themes in Things Fall Apart
• Use of Language in Things Fall Apart
• Full Glossary for Things Fall Apart
• Cite this Literature Note

Study Help Essay Questions

1. Why did Achebe choose to take the title of his novel, Things Fall Apart , from William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming"?

2. What is the narrator's point of view and what values are important to the narrator?

3. Achebe presents details of daily village life in Umuofia, as well as details concerning the Igbo culture. Describe the setting of the novel.

4. What is chi ? Explain the importance of chi in shaping Okonkwo's destiny.

5. Obierika is a foil for Okonkwo. That is, when compared to Okonkwo, the contrast between the two characters emphasizes the distinctive characteristics of Okonkwo. Compare the two characters — Obierika and Okonkwo.

6. Achebe suggests that Igbo culture is dynamic (constantly changing). Find evidence in the novel to support this notion.

7. What is the significance of Nwoye's Christian name, Isaac?

8. In Things Fall Apart , Achebe includes stories from Igbo culture and tradition, proverbs, and parables. What is the significance of Achebe's integration of African literary forms with that of Western literary forms?

9. Achebe resents the stereotype of African cultures that is presented in literature, such as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Identify instances in Things Fall Apart that portray variations in African cultures.

10. What is the role of women in the novel?

11. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the social structure portrayed in Things Fall Apart . For example, the culture is polygamous ; the husband, wives, and children live in their own compound; children are cared for communally.

12. Explain why you think Okonkwo kills himself.

13. In your opinion, what contributes most to things falling apart in Umuofia? Explain.

14. How are the womanly or feminine qualities of the Igbo culture important to its survival?

15. Compare Mr. Brown and Reverend Smith. How does the black and white thinking of Reverend Smith contribute to Umuofia's downfall? What would have prevented Umuofia's downfall?

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Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart

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