Throughout the whole story, Okonkwo’s life was dominated by “the fear of failure and of weakness” (Achebe, 13). He tried so hard to become better than his father and raise his standings in the village. Spending his whole life doing this, Okonkwo could not let change occur because change meant things would no longer be […]
In the novel Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is willing to break the prohibition against suicide because he lost all hope when he realizes Umuofia will not support going to war with the missionaries. The statement that Okonkwo is making by committing suicide in the manner that he does is that he’d rather die on his […]
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Get startedThe battle of cultures is definitely one of the most universal themes seen in books. This cultural fight/disagreement can be seen throughout life and history anytime two groups of people hold different/disagreeing views that cannot live together. Even today, Western and Eastern cultures–the U.S. and China are one example; the Palestinians and Israelis are another–continue […]
A major feature of the novel Things Fall Apart is the juxtaposition of two extremes. Okonkwo and his father Unoka are diametrically opposed, and so they are pitched against each other, with Okonkwo becoming more and more aggressive, unyielding, and masculine to balance out the lazy and laid back personality with his father. Another contrast […]
The title Things Fall Apart is significant to the book because it shows that nothing ever stays the same and things are always changing. Sometimes for the better, but in this book – for the worst. The first instance of things falling apart is in the first story with the same title, “Things Fall Apart.” […]
What role or purpose does Ikemefuna serve in the story Things Fall Apart? In the novel Things Fall Apart, the author Chinua Achebe develops the story through the use of characterization. Ikemefuna, a boy sacrifice from the neighboring clan of Mbaino, kindles feelings of affection in Okonkwo and opens the door to manhood for Nwoye. […]
“I am not afraid of work.”(21) Okonkwo the protagonist demonstrates his maturity in this statement. However, even with his hard bound illusion of what a man should be, he still has his draw backs like everyone else. He is still naïve in his old age. Chinua Achebe introduces Okonkwo as a determined, strong, and dominant […]
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart provides more than a detailed account of the main character, Okonkwo’s, journey. With this text, he allows the reader to witness the difficulties placed on certain tribal African cultures during the “end of one time and the beginning of another.” (Achebe, Chinua. Interview. May 27, 2008.) Growing up with an […]
Throughout history, countries have attempted to spread their influence by establishing colonies. During the nineteenth century, many European countries began attempting to colonize Africa. These colonies did not fare too well. Africa was left in a state of devastation and it’s people’s societies in shambles. Millions of people disapprove of Europe’s imperialistic nature and the […]
Okonkwo was a fierce warrior with a short temper. He had 3 wives and 7 children, and seemed to never fully appreciate any of them. This character in the book “Things Fall Apart”, written by Chinua Achebe, lived in the small African village of Umuofia, one of the nine making up their tribe. Judging Okonkwo’s […]
Chinua Achebe in Things Fall Apart argues that Europeans and Westerners have not stopped thinking of Africa as an afterthought. They view Africa as a country that is lower than them on the totem pole. The Europeans tells stories about Africa and depicts Africa in the same way as they did during the slave trade. […]
Achebe portrays Okonkwo throughout the novel as an excessively masculine character. He is driven by his fear of being “feminine” like his father, whose lack of title caused him to be called an agbala, or woman. But in his obsessive efforts to be the antithesis of his father, Okonkwo forms an outer shell, a twisted […]
The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinau Achebe is set in Pre-colonial Nigeria, in a village named Umuofia. The village has, by today’s standards, a very misogynistic and outdated. To the Igbo, however, it is the only way they know. The village environment has very specific gender roles. Men are warriors and farmers of yams, […]
