FREE ESSAY ON THINGS FALL APART- CHINUA ACHEBE

THINGS FALL APART- CHINUA ACHEBE

Things Fall Apart
A. Give a short summary of the book in which you tell:
- where and when the story takes place
- who the major characters are (protagonists & antagonists)
Things fall apart, is the story of an Ibo village- Umuofia , which takes place in the
late 1800s. Things Fall Apart analyzes the destruction of African culture by the
appearance of the white man (Christian Missionaries) in terms of the destruction of the
bonds between individuals and their society. Christian Missionaries try to convert the
people of the Ibo society to Christianity, and in their efforts of doing so, they bring
about a downfall in the social and cultural structure of the people in this society. Like
the title suggests 'Things fall apart' in the society largely due to the interference of
the Christian Missionaries. 
The main character in this story are Okonkwo - a "strong" man whose life are dominated by
fear and anger. 
Okonkwo was known throughout the village for his strength and valor. He was the greatest
wrestler alive! Okonkwo had achieved quite in his life, he was a wealthy farmer, a
husband with three wives, a title-holder among his people. 
However, Okonkwo's childhood was not a happy one. Okonkwo's father Unoka, was quite an
unsuccessful man. He did not hold any titles, which was considered a shame in his clan.
Unoka was lazy and improvident when he was young, he owned almost all of his neighbors
some amount of money. Probably the only thing that Unoka was good at was at his flute,
with which he wasted most of his time. Unoka was a man who didn't care much about
tomorrow. When Unoka died he was heavily in debt and had taken no title at all. 
Okonkwo had to fend for himself right from childhood. Fortunately a man in his clan was
judged on his own worth and not that of his father. Age was respected among his people
but achievement revered. And Okonkwo was a man of great achievements. 
However, such a childhood left quite some scars on Okonkwo's life. Okonkwo was scared of
failure, to be called weak. So to put up a show of his strength and manliness, he was a
very stern and aggressive when it came to treating women, because that is what was
considered to be manlike in the Ibo Society.
B. Give specific example of values of the culture described in the book and explain how
they are important to the development of the story.
Respect: 'Age was respected among his people but achievement was revered' - People of the
Ibo culture had respect for age. An old person was looked up upon, given due respect. At
the same time, a person with abilities and achievements was also honored, like in the
case of Okonkwo, whose fame rested on his solid personal achievements. He was a wealthy
farmer , a champion in wrestling and a *successful man. Similarly even the art of
conversation was rewarded very highly, a person with good conversational skills was
respected for his ability!
Success: The measure of a man's success was mainly based upon the number of wives he had,
the size of his barn and the number of titles he had taken. In all there were 4 titles,
the highest and most difficult to achieve being the fourth. A man with many titles was
looked upon with great respect in the village. 
Belief in the Supernatural: The people in this culture had firm belief in supernatural
powers. They believed that after death their ancestors became spirits called egwugwu.
They believed in the power of the Oracle (a holy spirit who preached and advised the
people), and its decisions. One who disobeyed the Oracle was punished. Okonkwo had to
goon an exile for seven years because of such laws against
Male Domination: The Ibo society showed prominent male dominance. In the Ibo society
anything strong was likened to man and anything weak to woman. The husband was the chief
of the family. Bigamy was allowed. The tribe also allowed wife beating . The novel
describes two instances when Okonkwo beats his second wife, once when she did not come
home to make his meal. He beat her severely and was punished but only because he beat her
during the Week of Peace. He beat her again when she referred to him as one of those guns
that never shot. 
Role of Women: In his novel Mr.Achebe shows that the Ibo nonetheless assigned important
roles to women. For instance, women painted the houses of the egwugwu. Furthermore, the
first wife of a man in the Ibo society is paid some respect. This deference is
illustrated by the palm wine ceremony at Nwakibie's obi . Anasi, Nwakibie's first wife,
had not yet arrived and the others [other wives] could not drink before her.
The importance of woman's role appears when Okonkwo is exiled to his motherland. His
uncle, Uchendu, noticing Okonkwo's distress, eloquently explains how Okonkwo should view
his exile: A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But
when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. A man has both joy
and sorrow in his life and when the bad times come his mother is always there to comfort
him. Thus comes the saying Mother is Supreme.
Religion: The Ibo tribe had very strong faith in their Gods. Unlike in Christianity their
Gods were represented by the forces of nature, the earth, etc. They believed that if the
law of the religion is not observed, it leads to dire consequences. The ritual where a
mother who gives birth to twins, has to leave them to die in the forest, describes the
strong influence of these laws over the people. Okonkwo had to goon an exile for seven
years because of such laws of the earth God. It is this faith draws them to rebel against
the missionaries. 
IIA -As cultures come into conflict , some individuals are invariably "caught" between
the two. Explain the nature of the conflict and the effect on the main characters. 
It is true that as cultures come into conflict, some individuals are invariable caught
between the two. In this novel, it is Okonkwo who is "caught" between the conflict of the
two cultures- his own culture and the culture that the Christian missionaries are trying
hard to incorporate into the Ibo people. 
In the story, at a funeral inadvertently the misfiring of Okonkwo's gun, results in the
death of a person from his clan. The punishment for such a crime is exile from the
village for seven years. So Okonkwo was forced to collect his family- his three wives and
their children and all his belongings and to flee from his village. Okonkwo decided to
move to his motherland, a small village called Mbanta. Life for Okonkwo in his motherland
turned out to be quite difficult. 
This phase of seven years was a very difficult phase. He and his family had to work very
hard to plant a new farm. 'Work no longer had for him the pleasure it used to have, and
when there was no work to do he sat ina silent half-asleep' (pg.131) Okonkwo had lost his
zest for life. Although he knew that these seven years had adversely affected all his
ambitions to become one of the lords of the clan (to achieve the 4th and most sought
after title ), he looked forward to returning back to his village, to restart his life in
his fatherland. 
But that was not to be. The interference of the Christian missionaries brought about a
lot of change- most of it being negative! It was because of the missionaries that
Okonkwo's fatherland was now falling apart between two groups, the new converts and the
clan of the village. It became Okonkwo's desire to get rid of the Christian
Missionaries.
He finally returned to his fatherland.. but to find a totally changed land, where the
clan was no more full of strong men and brave hearts. The people had become more passive,
they were afraid of the Christian missionaries, but Okonkwo as always wanted them out of
their way, by killing them. 
This led to a conflict between the people of his clan, the missionaries and himself,
where he was stuck in the middle. He finally decided that irrespective of the support of
his clansmen, he would avenge the Christian missionaries- who by now had totally changed
the face of the villages, by defying the religions and beliefs of the clan. 
He ended up killing one of the messengers, and then committing suicide- which was
considered an unholy thing to do in his clan. This was not a suitable end to a warrior
the caliber of Okonkwo! 
I found it to be a really touching story. Although the customs and beliefs of the Ibo
tribe seem very strange to me too, I feel that no culture should be interfered with nor
should it be tried to change it to one's satisfaction. A culture is most beautiful the
way it is- any undesired change to it, would only be a deterioration in its beauty.
Moiz S Bhinderwala
Westford, MA