Investigating Why the Book is Entitled Things Fall Apart

Title Analysis of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

I believe that the title Things Fall Apart refers to the fact that

without proper balance, things do fall apart. The notion of balance in

the novel is an important theme throughout the book. Beginning with

the excerpt from Yeats' poem, The Second Coming, the concept of

balance is stressed as important; for without balance, order is lost.

In the novel, there is a system of balance, which the Ibo culture

seems to depend upon. It is when this system is upset that "things

fall apart." Okonkwo, the Ibo religion, and ultimately, the Ibos'

autonomy were brought to their demise by an extreme imbalance between

their male and female aspects. These male and female aspects can be

generally described as the external, physical strength of the male,

and the internal, passive and nurturing strength of the female. It was

an imbalance toward the male side that led to the destruction of the

people and their culture.

Okonkwo, the main character in the book, was the son of Unoka, who was

a loafer. Unoka was too lazy to go out and plant crops on new, fertile

land, preferring to stay at home playing his flute, drinking palm

wine, and making merry with the neighbors. He had to borrow money in

order to maintain this lifestyle, and was never able to pay it back.

Okonkwo perceived this trait as an imbalance toward the female side in

his father's character; staying at home and not using one's strength

to provide for the family is what a woman does. In reaction, Okonkwo

completely rejected his father, and also his own feminine side. It was

this deep-rooted antipathy toward anything considered weak or femini...

... middle of paper ...

...In the evening, they return home to the

comfort of their wives' cooking and their beds. In contrast, it is at

night that the priestess of Agbala is most active. The men fear the

night and all of the unknown things that dwell there, but in the night

the priestess fearlessly walks the woods, practicing her profession.

This book is aptly named, as I cannot think of a more appropriate

title for it than Things Fall Apart. The author definitely suggests

that there is a balance to all things, and that when that balance is

lost, the system is reduced to chaos. The balance in the case of the

Ibo society was one between masculine and feminine forces, with an

imbalance on the masculine side eventually turning order to entropy.

For Okonkwo, things literally fell apart: his hopes and dreams, his

family, his culture, and his life.