Things Fall Apart

“Things Fall Apart” is a bildungsroman novel by one of Africa’s most affluent authors, Chinua
Achebe. The book is centred on a powerful tribesman, Okonkwo. Born into a family that’s
greatest achievement is its massive debt and idleness; from an early age Okonkwo excels at
wrestling, becomes a clan hero through victorious inter-tribal wars and manages to
eradicate the family tradition of debt through confident assertion and absolution of
promises kept. However his success begins to decay, through poor luck (resulting in exile)
his position worsens and proves ultimately fatal as the white colonisation of the 19 th century
engages. Anarchy uproots, hell is released.

At the start of the novel, Okonkwo is characterised as being as being successful,

wealthy, titled and brave. He was an important man who often asserted himself with violent
outbursts. Okonkwo was a man “[whose] fame rested on solid personal achievements”,
everything he was, has been spawned through the invigorating palms of his hands.
Confirmed with use of the “personal”. “Solid” is used to enhance the quality of his
achievements, but also to make clear that they were his achievements, with the
connotations of solid in context suggesting that validity of them. Truly this was fame due to
triumphs that no one could take away from him. His temper sometimes consumed him as
“he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody”. This attitude
was common to Okonkwo, with various repeating scenarios leading to this. His apparent
inability to convey his feelings through speech often led to him violently striking out to
better and faster convey these feelings. The quite literal simile is used to better portray how
alert and almost ready for a rammy he is. He is a man ready to fight for what he believes in
and to protect his honour.

The main event in the plot that brings change for Okonkwo is the arrival of white
men in Umuofia, who introduce their own religion and government to the people.
Importantly, this happens at a time when Okonkwo is exile for the accidental killing of a
tribe member. When he returns, he is shocked. He changes; he is no longer as confident or
comfortable in his surroundings. “The elders consulted their oracle and it told them that the
strange man would break their clan and spread destruction among them”. This puts
Okonkwo in a state of great fractious duality. One part of him wants to go back to Umuofia
to protect his clan from this “destruction”, however he honours the traditions of the clan
and wishes to serve his sentence to its end. Moreover he has his own troubles in his (exiled)
motherland as the white settlers have come there also. When he had returned from exile
“the clan had undergone such profound change during his exile that it was barely
recognisable”. Okonkwo’s time away had led to many changes within the clan. He is deeply
grieved for the clan as it is changing and not in his vision. He is also disappointed that his
return was not greeted with as much splendour as it should have been, he feels as if he has
been forgotten. With his word imploding on him Okonkwo’s chances of his life remaining
unchanged are slimming.

Another important event in the plot that leads to change for Okonkwo happens
when a convert to the new religion unmasks a clan member who is masked to represent an
ancestral spirit. This is deemed a great sin in the village and as revenge Okonkwo supports
and is involved in the burning of the Christian church. This leads to Okonkwo’s arrest and
torture. He changes in that he suffers a loss of dignity and becomes obsessed with thoughts
of revenge. The tribe believes that “one of the greatest crimes a man could commit was to
unmask an egwugwu in public”. This recent convert committed the most unspeakable crime
within the tribe, so unheard of that no punishment was even thought of for this. Okonkwo is
enraged by the disregard for his clan’s beliefs and is strongly for reaction by action. This
leads to the burning of the Christian church. “The red-earth church… was a pile of earth and
ashes. And for a moment the spirit of the clan was pacified”. They had burnt the church as
retribution for the pain caused in unmasking the egwugwu, reducing it to all but “ashes”.
And for a short time this kept the people, however this was flawed as it was to be “for a
moment”. There would be repercussions of their actions, so extreme it proved the
inevitable pointlessness of their escapade tenfold. This also foreshadows the inevitable
future of the clan. This leads to Okonkwo’s capture and torture, and when he begins to
doubt if his life will ever be the same.

The key incident that leads to Okonkwo’s death is his killing of a court messenger.
This brings about a final change when he realises the weakness of the clan; regardless of
Okonkwo’s actions, they still refuse to wage war. Okonkwo has changed from being a proud
leader of his village to someone who has suffered a loss of personal status and self-worth.
He knows this change cannot be rectified unless he goes to war; which he cannot do alone.
Through frustration and anger Okonkwo retaliated “[his] matchet descended twice and the
man’s head lay beside his uniformed body”.