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Things Fall Apart


       "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe describes how the coming of the white man changed forever the nature of Ibo culture.  Presented are the conflict between the old and the new and the resultant loss of tribal identity and cultural values in Ibo after European colonization.  The narrator of the story is a third person, not one of the actual characters.  The story takes place at the end of the 19th century, early 20th century in the village of Umuofia, Africa.  The form of conflict presented in this work is man vs. self as Okonkwo's hamartia leads to his death.

        Ogbuefi Okonkwo is the main character of the novel.  Okonkwo embodies heroic characteristics and demonstrates many elements of tragic heroes.  Okonkwo's tragic flaw is his fear of personal weakness and failure.  Okonkwo grew up in impoverished conditions brought about by his father's laziness and inability to plan ahead which resulted in Okonkwo's fear of those qualities that he saw in his father.  Okonkwo's strength of character develops from his father's weakness of character which ironically is the surface of his downfall and death.  Words spoken in the story that help us understand Okonkwo are "We should have killed the white man if you had listened to me."  These words illustrate his quick temper and determinism to preserve African culture and tradition rather than giving up and drowning without a struggle from the white colonists.  By the end of the story Okonkwo gives up and hangs himself.  He's the man who more than anyone else in the novel is concerned with preserving the customs of his gods.  I feel pity toward Okonkwo's character because his motivation was his father's cruel personality which unfortunately is the source of his catastrophe.  I feel that Okonkwo's actions are not justifiable but can be related to a lack of father figure and despair of loss of power in his tribe.

        Unoka is Okonkwo's father.  He is a lazy man incapable of providing for himself or his family.  He becomes a debtor and drunkard.  Unoka plays an extremely important role in Okonkwo's character and indirectly Okonkwo's hamartia.  Unoka's failures are important in the development of his son's character because they provide a standard against which Okonkwo measures himself.  Words spoken in the story which help us understand Unoka are "incapable of thinking of tomorrow."  This describes his irresponsible, carefree lifestyle.  Although Unoka had been dead for 10 years when the novel begins, he greatly influences Okonkwo's character.  I dislike Unoka's character because he did not play a father role in Okonkwo's life.  Unoka's failures were Okonkwo's motivation to fear failure, his fatal flaw.
 

         Obierika is Okonkwo’s best friend.  Both characters shared a similar cultural background and equal success.  Obierika ia a reasonable and thinking person.  However, their reactions toward the coming of the white man differ greatly.  He has an open mind about changing values and foreign culture.  When Okonkwo was exiled from the village for seven years, Obierika was the one who told him when the first white man appeared on a bicycle and destroyed the village of Abame.  Since the Oracle warned the clan of the white man's power, they killed the white man.  The villagers thought that by killing the white man they could avoid the foretold destruction.  Words spoken in the story by Obierika which help us understand his character are “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia.  You drove him to kill himself and now he will be buried like a dog.”  Obierika said these words to the white men at the end of the novel when Okonkwo hangs himself.  By the end of the novel Obierika has not changed his good personality.  Like everyone else he has been captured into the white man's way of life.  I greatly like Obierika’s character because he was a loyal friend to Okonkwo.  He was a loyal friend to Okonkwo.  He was a good man who tried to save his people.

        A scene that expresses the major conflict in the book is when Okonkwo is exiled from Umuofia for seven years.  This scene leads to further complications because with Okonkwo away from the village, the white men come and take over.  The scene begins with a funeral for Ezeudu.  As a funeral ritual, the warriors fire their guns into the air.  Okonkwo’s rifle explodes and a piece of iron pierces the heart of Ezeudu’s son.  Although an accident, the clan laws dictate exilation as punishment.  Okonkwo returns to his mother's homeland for his sentenced years.

       A second scene that expresses the major conflict in the novel is when Okonkwo learns that Nwoye, his son, has converted to Christian and renamed Isaac.  In adopting a new name, Nwoye has demonstrated rejection of his father’s beliefs.  This scene leads to further complications because gradually Okonkwo’s clan is deteriorating and he is unable to do anything about it.  Okonkwo has fought to preserve the traditions of his clan and family and eventually leaves those he was trying to protect by hanging himself.

       The scene that involves the point of greatest tension in the novel is the unmasking of an egwugwu, secret members of the nine villages who wear masks during certain rituals and speak on behalf of the spirits, during the annual ceremony held in honor of the earth deity.  Such an action is a symbolic killing of the ancestral spirit.  Reverend Smith’s presence lead to such an event against tribal belief.  As punishment  to the Christians, the church was destroyed.  The villagers of Umuofia still had a bit of loyalty to their religion, illustrating in Okonkwo’s eyes a regain in the clan’s traditional lifestyle.  However, using trickery the District Commissioner holds captive Okonkwo and the village's five other leaders.  This scene leads to the resolution of the conflict because the degrading treatment Okonkwo received from the white men when held captive  provides a motive for his later actions.  Okonkwo realizes that his villagers are no longer willing to protect themselves from outsiders and that he is alone in this struggle.  With feelings of despair and defeat Okonkwo commits suicide.  Everything has fallen apart for him.

        The novel ends as the District Commissioner arrives demanding to see Okonkwo.  Obierika leads the Commissioner to where Okonkwo’s body is hanging lifeless from a tree .  Okwonkwo achieves heroic status when he chooses death at his own hands rather than life in a world that has lost its way.  The author’s message is the power of fate or destiny.  Because of Okonkwo’s instinctive nature, he seems destined for self destruction, even before the arrival of the European colonizers.  The arrival of the new culture only added an extra factor to his tragic fate. Okonkwo’s character deteriorated with an increase in a incompatible environment.  In the novel, “chi” was an individual’s personal god as well as his ultimata capability and destiny.  Like Okonkwo said, “When a man says yes, his chi also says yes.  However, a man cannot rise beyond the destiny of his chi.”  The theme applies to people in general because it illustrates how a person’s character can be the cause of their own downfall.  The theme applies to me personally because if you believe in fate, then you must live life to its fullest and try to make wise decisions.

        I greatly enjoyed reading “Things Fall Apart.”  Achebe’s descriptive illustrations of the complex Ibo society- their family rituals, marriage customs, codes of justice, religious beliefs and practices, and leadership introduced me an entirely new form of lifestyle.  I felt sad at the events which occurred as the clan gradually deteriorated and transformed into the European ways they were exposed to.  Not just Okonkwo’s honor and life had been destroyed by the invading colonists.  The villagers of Umuofia were no longer a tribe.  I recommend this novel to others because it is a great novel depicting the hardships of a tribe struggling to overcome civilization.