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Nicole Raikin-Mejias

Ms. Yates

Pre-AP English

2 March 2017

Resolving a Nigerian Crisis

In the novel Things Fall Apart written by the Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe, readers

are introduced to the character, Okonkwo, and how he resolves problems in his everyday life.

Early on, he is seen as a very tough and brutal character because he hates showing weakness and

empathizing with others. However, it is later revealed that Okonkwo has a soft spot for his ill

daughter, Ezinma. In the Igbo culture, Ezinma is considered to be an ogbanje, a reincarnation of

an evil spirit dedicated to terrorizing its parents by constantly dying. Ezinma has somehow

survived the effects of being an ogbanje, but she still has mysterious flu-like symptoms. In order

to solve this problem, Okonkwo mainly uses two types of conflict resolution styles to help her

overcome her curse. He is mostly competitive, which means that he is uncooperative, assertive,

and pursues his own goal at the other person’s expense. He does, however, collaborate, which

means that his is both assertive and cooperative, and he attempts to work with other people to

achieve the same goal. Little does he know, Ezinma is actually suffering from the 21st century

problem of malaria. If someone were to tell Okonkwo of the true identity of his daughter’s

disease, as well as tell him that there is a cure, he would resolve the conflict by collaborating and

competing because they were his conflict resolution styles when he dealt with protecting Ezinma

and treating the symptoms of her illness.

In Africa, malaria is a disease that kills millions each year. It is transmitted through the

bites of infected mosquitoes (“Malaria”), and children are the most vulnerable to this disease
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because they have not built an immunity to it (“Impact of Malaria”). This ties into Things Fall

Apart because Ezinma suffers from malaria, but Okonkwo does not have the correct science to

diagnose or treat her. If Okonkwo were to be told that Ezinma has a treatable illness, his initial

reaction would deny it, but after a while he would take deep consideration into this possibility

and work with someone who could treat her.

Okonkwo’s first resolution style is to compete in order to get his way. For example, on

page 76 of Things Fall Apart, Ezinma suffers an illness attack from her Malaria: “Ezinma is

dying,” came her [Ekwefi, Okonkwo’s second wife] voice, and all the tragedy and sorrow of her

life were packed in those words. Okonkwo sprang from his bed...” This conflict helps prove the

statement by showing how Okonkwo was ready to spring into action and lead the way in order to

help Ezinma. In order to solve this problem, Okonkwo takes matters into his own hands: “He

took down the pot from the fire and placed it in front of the stool… Ezinma struggled to escape

from the choking and overpowering steam, but she was held down,” (86). This text also proves

the statement by showing how Okonkwo does not care about Ezinma’s protest or inability to

breath as long as it helped to treat her. The understanding behind this reaction is that Okonkwo

likes to be very controlling, and so in order for him to have peace with his daughter’s illness, he

needs to make sure that he is in charge of what kind of treatment she gets.

Another resolution style Okonkwo prefers is collaboration. For example on page 100, the

priestess, Chielo, comes to take Ezinma away for the night. “The priestess had now reached

Okonkwo’s compound and was talking with him outside his hut. She was saying again and again

that Agbala wanted to see his daughter, Ezinma.” This textual evidence proves the statement by

setting up a situation that requires Okonkwo to come together with his wife in order to deal with

the chaos that Chielo had brought to them that night. On page 108, after the priestess Chielo
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takes Ezinma away for the night, Okonkwo works with Ekwefi to make sure their daughter is

safe. “Go home and sleep,” said Okonkwo. “I shall wait here.” This textual evidence also

supports the statement by showing how when it comes of keeping Ezinma safe, he works with

those who want to help her. The understanding behind reaction is that when she was taken away,

he needed to make sure that she was unharmed, even if it meant angering Chielo and gods. This

caused him to drop his temper, and work with his wife in order to accomplish the same goal of

protecting Ezinma.

Okonkwo originally understands this issue as Ezinma being an ogbanje, or a child sent to

earth to terrorize her mother. He does not understand that Ezinma has a scientifically treatable

disease called malaria. This problem is similar to the problems the character faces in the text

because Okonkwo often deals with Ezinma’s health issues and tries to find ways to keep her

alive. This problem is different than the problems the character faces in the text because although

Okonkwo is very familiar with his culture’s beliefs, he has not been introduced to the ideas of

modern medicine.

To help Ezinma, Okonkwo would use a mix of his collaborative and competitive

resolution styles. His solution would be to gradually agree with the person who told him about

malaria and work with any doctors who could treat Ezinma, but constantly watch their every

move. Although he collaborates with those who try to help her, he would become very

competitive in terms of how the treatment is done.

All in all, malaria is a widespread disease affecting countless children, including Ezinma.

If Okonkwo were to find out that that ailments are a treatable disease, he would become both

competitive and collaborative, and work hands-on with those who could treat her.
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Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart, Anchor Books, 1959.

“Impact of Malaria.” CDC, 13 April 2016,

https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/malaria_worldwide/impact.html. 21 February 2017.

“Malaria.” World Health Organization, www.afro.who.int/en/malaria.html. 21 February 2017.