Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a tragic novel frequently studied as part of historical fiction. This is Chinua Achebe’s debut novel, his magnum opus, first published in 1958. Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian author and a central figure in the African literature.
Things Fall Apart is the first of The African Trilogy. The second one is “No Longer at Ease (1960)”, and the third one being “Arrow of God (1964).” It is also considered as a part of Seminal World Literature and is revered as one of the milestones of the modern African Literature. It is set in the late nineteenth century and follows the life of Okonkwo, a renowned warrior of the Igbo people of Umuofia.
Achebe wrote in the English language to respond to colonial portrayal of Africans and to provide a voice of an insider. The novel is a study of tradition, colonial disturbance and generation change that gives the readers an interesting world that was once marginalised in the western fiction.
Things Fall Apart Summary
Okonkwo is a powerful and respected member of an Igbo village of Umuofia. He turns out to be a great wrestler and warrior. He toils a lot and gets rich by farming yams which are the staple food of the Igbo people.
He does not want to be anything similar to his father, Unoka, who was poor, lazy, and preferred to listen to music and talk rather than work. Due to this fact, Okonkwo is afraid of anything that appears soft or weak.
He gets married to three wives and has numerous children. He is strict and believes in harshness. A real man to him is tough, serious and never emotional.
Such a demeanor renders him respected and feared by his clan. He observes all the traditions of his society, and honour and power are the most important to him.
And behind this success hides a man who is scared, scared of failure, and scared of being weak like his father.
Ikemefuna’s Tragedy in Umuofia
This non-violent village, Umuofia, is dragged into a war as a neighboring clan murders one of their men. The enemy village sends a virgin girl and a boy called Ikemefuna as a settlement.
Ikemefuna is put in the house of Okonkwo. He gets integrated into the family in the following three years. Nwoye, the eldest son of Okonkwo, becomes intimate to him and even Okonkwo secretly loves the boy.
Ikemefuna serves to make Nwoye more of a man, a thing that Okonkwo is pleased with. The two boys behave as brothers and life passes on peacefully for sometime.
But, one day the Oracle comes up with the idea that Ikemefuna is to be killed. One of the elders tells Okonkwo not to participate in the murder because the boy considers him as a father.
However, in order not to be perceived as weak, Okonkwo administers the final strike himself. This incident hits Nwoye hard and begins to shred his belief in his father and their traditions.
Okonkwo’s Exile for Seven Years
Soon, there is another tragedy. During the funeral of an elder in the village, the accidental discharge of Okonkwo gun kills a young boy whi turns out to be the son of the dead man.
The act was not intentional but it is regarded as a horrible sin. Okonkwo and his family are exiled and have to live in exile for seven years.
They relocate to Mbanta, the village of Okonkwo’s mother. At that point, Okonkwo is full of sorrow and disappointment. His ambitions of becoming a great man are destroyed.
Christian Missionaries in the Igbo Village
In the meantime, white Christian missionaries enter the land. Initially, they are not many and are not taken seriously. However, gradually, they begin to attract supporters, particularly, the ones who feel marginalized in Igbo customs.
Nwoye is one of the converts. He abandons his family and becomes part of the new religion. Okonkwo is appalled and disgraced. He rejects his son and thinks that he is cursed.
Okonkwo’s Return to Umuofia after Exile
Okonkwo comes back to Umuofia after seven years. He anticipates that his former life and position will be there. However, it is all different now.
The missionaries have constructed churches and schools. Respected men have joined them as well as many people. The village is torn between the ancient practices and the new religion.
Okonkwo is angry and helpless. He desires to engage in combat and send the white folks away, but the majority of the people are too scared or reluctant.
The kind old missionary, Mr Brown, is gone. Reverend Smith who takes his place is stern and cruel. He urges the converts to demean the Igbo customs.
The situation is worsened when one of the converts reveals an egwugwu which is a sacred spirit of the ancestors. The church is destroyed by the village elders out of anger.
The Final Conflict and Okonkwo’s Death
The colonial government in reaction arrests Okonkwo and other leaders of the village. They are degraded and beaten up in prison. They are set free after paying fine.
Okonkwo is hoping that the village will now rise up and fight. However, when he gathers a meeting, a government messenger comes to disperse the gathering.
He draws his machete and kills the messenger. He waits support, but no one follows him. The village is silent.
Upon recognising that the people have changed and that the battle is lost, Okonkwo walks away in desperation.
The white officers later arrive and look for him. They discover that Okonkwo has hung himself, which is a disgraceful act in the Igbo culture. None of his clansmen will touch his body.
The British officer adds a small note: he believes that the life of Okonkwo will make a good paragraph in his book about “primitive tribes.”
The Tragedy of a Man and a Culture
The death of Okonkwo is not his personal tragedy, it indicates the changes in the world around him. He had old ideals of honour, courage and strength. However, these values are not suitable in the new world.
His suicide becomes a defeat and protest. He prefers death and would not allow the white men to pass judgment on him or wipe out his identity.
The clan is also defeated. It used to be powerful and unified but it is now under the rule of foreign laws and religions. The village fails to defend itself against its ways.
It is not a violent change, it is a quiet change, and a slow one, but a complete one. The world of Igbo which Okonkwo was familiar with has been disintegrated.
Achebe demonstrates that when a culture is not able to adapt or talk in a single voice, it can be lost forever.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: A Critical Appreciation
Here’s a critical appreciation of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe in short paragraphs for an easy read:
A Groundbreaking African Novel
Things Fall Apart (1958) is one of the earliest African novels to be written in English that shows African life through an insider account. Chinua Achebe provides a voice of African people who were misinterpreted or misrepresented by colonial writings.
Achebe does not portray Africans as uncivilised or mute victims, but he describes a complex, rich society with its own customs, beliefs, and justice system. His novel transformed the perception of the world towards African literature.
A Balanced View of Igbo Culture
Achebe reveals both the beauty and the imperfection of the Igbo society. He talks of community, respect, family, story-telling and at the same time, he also presents its ugly facets, like strict gender-roles, superstitions and harsh punishments.
This candid description makes people realize that there is no ideal society and each culture should be respected. Achebe does not idealize Igbo life, yet he presents it as it is real and human.
The Impact of Colonialism
Division of African societies through colonialism is one of the central themes of the novel. Achebe demonstrates the gradual usurpation of power by European missionaries and governments without war, but through religion, education and laws.
He also indicates how this transformation brings confusion and pain. Individuals such as Okonkwo are helpless. Others such as Nwoye are attracted to the new ways. The outcome is loss of unity and identity.
Achebe does not show all Europeans as evil. Mr Brown is polite and Reverend Smith is cruel. This makes the story more realistic and fair.
Personal Struggles of the Tragic Hero
Okonkwo has been composed as a tragic hero; a powerful man who is defeated by his own weaknesses as well as the changing times. He is courageous, diligent and honored but he is also too stubborn, too cruel and fears being considered weak.
His own story is a metaphor of a larger conflict, the conflict of tradition and change. Okonkwo is not flexible, therefore, he cracks. This does not only make his downfall sad, but meaningful. He makes readers sympathize with him, although they do not support all his actions.
Novel’s Language and Style
Achebe uses simple and clear English language yet he intertwined it with African proverbs, folk stories, and words in the Igbo language. This makes the novel to have its own voice and does not lose the flavour of African oral tradition.
His use of storytelling inside the story, such as the “story of the tortoise” or the words of the elders, connects the reader to the wisdom of the culture.
The style of the novel is quiet and serious, even when he has to handle strong emotions. Achebe does not scream, he leaves the story to speak.
Things Fall Apart Characters
Here’s a detailed character sketch of the major characters of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe:
Okonkwo – The Tragic Hero
The protagonist of the novel is Okonkwo. He is a renowned warrior in Umuofia village. He is good, striving and proud of his success. He makes money by farming and acquires titles due to his courage in wars.
Nevertheless, Okonkwo is afraid that people will consider him weak like his father. This fear makes him abusive to his family, short tempered and even inhumane at times. He whips his wives and even kills Ikemefuna, a boy who referred to him as his father, just to demonstrate strength.
Okonkwo is not able to embrace change. Okonkwo is helpless and infuriated when the white men come and begin to transform the village. He is not willing to join them and when no one is on his side he commits suicide. His death demonstrates that he was not able to survive in the new world.
Unoka – The Failed Father
Unoka is the father of Okonkwo. He was easy-going, kind, fond of music and talk. Poor he was, and weak, and blood-fearing. He did not win any titles and used to take loans.
Owing to this, Okonkwo feels ashamed of him. He dedicates his entire life in trying to be the contrary of his father. However, in the process, he turns cold and stern lacking some of the gentleness of his father.
Although Unoka passes away early in the novel, his influence is felt all through the novel as he is always in the mind of Okonkwo and he fears him.
Nwoye – The Rejected Son
Nwoye is the first born son of Okonkwo. He is a quiet, gentle boy who is not interested in things that are masculine such as wrestling or fighting. Okonkwo feels that Nwoye is too tender and he will become like Unoka.
Nwoye is distanced and unhappy when he witnesses the murder of Ikemefuna by Okonkwo. He later derives solace in the message of the Christian missionaries who arrive later. He becomes a member of their religion and he abandons his father.
This is interpreted as betrayal by Okonkwo who disowns him. The character of Nwoye demonstrates how novelty can be a source of peace, and at the same time how it can also be a source of pain in families.
Ekwefi – The Faithful Wife
Ekwefi is the second wife of Okonkwo. She used to be a beauty of the village and left her first husband to marry Okonkwo. She is courageous and tells her mind even when Okonkwo is angry.
Ekwefi is a suffering individual. She gives birth to numerous children who die during the childbirth. The only child that survives is her daughter Ezinma. She cares a lot about Ezinma and does all to take care of her.
Ekwefi also demonstrates her love to Okonkwo as she accompanies him to the forest at night, worried about their daughter. She is an unforgettable character because of her devotion and silence.
Ezinma – The Precious Daughter
Ekwefi and Okonkwo have only one child called Ezinma. She is intelligent, assertive and adorable to everyone, especially her father. Okonkwo very frequently states that he would like her to be a boy since she has the courage and knowledge which he admires.
Ezinma takes care of her mother, and assists her father. She even accepts the village’s customs, like when she is taken to the priestess, without fear.
Although she is a minor character in the storyline, Ezinma is the hope, the love, and the future that may be held by the new generation.