Things Fall Apart

638 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The cultural meaning of suicide

Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe takes place in the 19th century, during the pre and post European imperial era. It is based on the Igbo civilization, traditionally known as traders, farmers and craftsmen with a great social organization. Their culture was rich with traditions with a great emphasis on justice and fairness. The story follows the tragic fall of the life of Okonkwo, a respected leader of the Igbo tribe, Umofia, located in Nigeria. Okonkwo, in response to overcoming his cowardly father, lived his life in constant approval of people; he became highly known for his actions of a wrestler, warrior, farmer, and family provider. He had three wives and a son, Nwoye, whom he controlled and dominated to prove his strength and power.
An important event starts with a man from the neighboring village, Mbaino, who was required to give up his son, due to killing a woman; Okonkwo took the son into his own family. A strong bond was developed between Okonkwo and the boy, Ikemefuna. Ogbuefi Ezeuder, an elder of the village, informed Okonkwo that Ikemefuna must be killed in revenge for the murdered woman three years earlier. Okonkwo refuses to look weak and kills Ikemefuna himself. Ogbuefi …show more content…

Court messengers were then sent to put a stop to their meeting. Outraged, Okonkwo killed one of the messengers in hope to find villagers doing the same. However, they ended up setting the messengers free. Okonkwo then realized that his people would not fight off the white men in order to obtain their old way of life. With this knowledge, he could not go on living his life; in result, Okonkwo hung himself. Suicide, according to Igbo’s traditional beliefs was forbidden, therefore it proves that Okonkwo’s true desperation of his transformed village, due to European colonization, outweighed his loyalty to the traditional views and

Show More
Related

  • Okonkwo Character Analysis

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ionaries that Okonkwo had left and that he would take the missionaries to where Okonkwo was. Obierika led them to Okonkwo’s final resting place in the forest. “We are thrust from what is figured as an intimate, insider’s view of the Igbo life to a jarringly alien one.”(Carey Snyder Things Fall Apart Blooms literature).Okonkwo felt that the Igbo people were doomed because they would not fight against the Christians so Okonkwo Hung himself from a tree. The commissioner was writing a book called “The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger(Achebe 209)” and that “One could almost write a whole chapter on him(Achebe 208)” meaning with what Okonkwo had done to the missionaries and against Christianity. Okonkwo and the missionaries both deserve part of the blame for the fall of the Igbo people and Obierika is very justified in placing blame on both of them.

    Read More

  • Adapt or Stay The Same?

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe writes how the arrival of the Christian missionaries in Umuofia intensify Okonkwo's internal conflict between changing as a new person and commit to the new changes by following the missionaries religion (which in the Igbo culture, it’s consider as being weak) vs. going his own way and follow the Igbo religion and be "manly". Okonkwo was a respected and honored man who had a lot of prosperity, but sadly his choice at the end of the book was to commit suicide. His choice had an negative impact on his clan because people look up to Okonkwo as an exemplary to the Igbo clan. Okonkwo find himself unable to adapt to the changing times as the white man comes to live among the Umuofians. As it becomes clear that you need to change to adapt to the changing society or fight for how it was before, Okonkwo realizes that he no longer can compliance the missionaries’ regulations and can’t do nothing about it, realize he can no longer can be able to function within his changing society.

    Read More

  • Changes In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    1257 Words  | 3 Pages

    “They will take him outside Umofia, as is the custom, and kill him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it. He calls you his father. (57)” This quote explains that Ogbuefi expresses concern for Okonkwo, because the Oracle explains how it would be wrongful of Okonkwo to kill Ikemefuna. “Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He was afraid of being thought weak. (61)” This quote portrays that Okonkwo completely disregarded what Ogbuefi and the Oracle cautioned him about, because he was too concerned about his status of what others thought of him. “At last the man was named and people sighed “E-u-u, Ezeudu is dead.” A cold shiver ran down Okonkwo’s back as he remembered the last time the old man had visited him. (121)” At this point in the story, it appears that Okonkwo is starting to realize his wrongdoings, primarily because he takes religion and his spiritual life very seriously, in regards towards the Oracle. Okonkwo begins to lose trust within his family, especially with Nwoye. (As mentioned in the previous paragraph.) In the beginning of the book, Okonkwo relied on Ikemefuna to help Nwoye become more masculine and tough. After Ogbuefi warns Okonkwo about taking part in the murder, Okonkwo thinks about what could happen to him once the gods find out. Once again, Okonkwo lets his emotions

    Read More

  • Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some people might say that Okonkwo was just trying to protect the tradition and cultural of his tribal village but in actuality this is far from the truth. When Okonkwo cut down the guard, he made the swift assumption that his clansmen were as passionate about fighting colonialism as him and would follow him into war. When he found otherwise, he could not understand what had happened to his village. The next place he was seen was hanging from a noose in a selfish show of hypocrisy. In the end, Okonkwo's status among his tribe counted for nothing because his own despair over the colonization of his village led him to kill himself. His whole life Okonkwo strived to not to look weak like his father, but in the end he took the cowards way out, suicide. Suicide was a great sin against the Earth. Because he took his own life, Okonkwo, a great leader of Umuofia, had to be buried by strangers. All of his work and perseverance amounted to nothing because of what he had done.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart

    1974 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... a meeting, Okonkwo, knowing that his clansmen would do nothing to drive the white men away form their villages, killed a messenger. He then went home and committed suicide.

    Read More

  • Cultural Collisions In Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    When some of the Igbo people started to convert, it also caused problems between people inside the clan itself. Okonkwo’s initial reaction is to prepare with violence and protect their land and people. This slowly changes through time as he goes from being his old self to giving in. Ironically, he who is afraid of appearing weak, gives into weakness and commits suicide. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo shows his old habits with the following statements, “He had spoken violently to his clansmen when they had met in the marketplace to decide on their action. And they listened to him with respect. It was like the good old days again, when a warrior was a warrior.”(Achebe, page 192). He had slowly started to change some of his views when Okonkwo was exiled to his motherland. This was all for nothing when he came back home to a cultural collision he could jump into. He thought he could redeem himself but got too wrapped in the mess. His identity was challenging itself seeing just how far Okonkwo would

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okonkwo is not all that he may seem; as there is more than what meets the eye. Okonkwo is the primary protagonist within the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo is a cruel yet kind man who has everything yet has nothing, which in turn creates a sympathetic character. A character such as Okonkwo has many facets; or masks if you will. Then we have his many influences: the Ibo culture; his father Unoka and of course his own personality. Then there is a staggering list of achievements. Okonkwo is a strong character but thinks only inwardly - especially towards his father - which will be discussed further in this essay.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

    2074 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...y had let the other messenger escape. They had broken into tumult instead of action" (Achebe 205). Everything he lived for and believed in was going to be taken away by the white men. They had control over everything. He did not want to see that happen so he took his own life. Yet, this is ironic because, in doing so, he was committing an act which was considered one of the worst actions a member could do in the Ibo society. Throughout the story we see how strong Okonkwo's personal beliefs were and how much they meant to him. Beliefs, both personal and those of the society someone is born into, play a major role in their life. This story is an example of what happens when those beliefs are taken away and others are forced upon a person. Everyone needs to believe in something, and things fall apart when they no longer can.

    Read More

  • Umuofia In Things Fall Apart

    1418 Words  | 3 Pages

    Okonkwo’s flawed personality sparked a divide within his people when he overcompensated for his weak father’s actions and failed to keep their interests at heart. Once he was exiled, the community underwent a drastic change when the Europeans arrived and the Igbo people lacked Okonkwo’s perspective. Even if Okonkwo was present during those seven years, the fall of Umuofia would have still been unavoidable due to the people’s disproval of Okonkwo’s actions. Because of this, they might not have taken his opinion as seriously as they once had. The colonists’ failure to immerse themselves in the native culture was another big aspect that lead to the downfall of the Igbo community.

    Read More

  • Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    826 Words  | 2 Pages

    The cultural collision caused by the western ideas in the Ibo culture took away Okonkwo’s sense of honor and pride, and because of his failure to be strong he was consumed in his weakness, thus exemplifying the devastating effects of colonialism. Okonkwo strived to be strong because his father was so weak. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was poor,a coward, and indebted to everyone. Being raised by a man like this caused Okonkwo a great deal of embarrassment as a child. For example when he was playing with a school mate and he told him his father was agabala, women; Man who has taken no title.

    Read More

  • The Power Struggle in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the end it is Okonkwo’s inability to recognize change that forces him to commit suicide. It is the white missionaries’ inability to recognize that the Africans did not wish to change which adds to his demise. The missionaries represent the ruthlessness of the white man in Africa. The native Africans were expected to accept the ways of the white culture, for their own benefit, or suffer the consequences. In this light the missionaries can only be seen as brutal, and anything but true Christians, but rather religious zealots who like Okonkwo wish to force their world view upon others.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart: Questions and Answers

    2705 Words  | 6 Pages

    Okonkwo is a self-made man. He achieves greatness through his own hard work and determination. Okonkwo started his life without the benefits that other young men had. His father, Unoka, was a lazy man. He had acquired no honorary titles. When Unoka died, Okonkwo did not inherit any barn, title, or young wife. He merely acquired his father’s debts. Therefore, Okonkwo sets about to make a name for himself and to achieve greatness in his community. He diligently plants and harvests his yams, building a farm from scratch. He builds a large commune for his family. He marries three wives; one of them was the village beauty. He acquires two titles. Okonkwo is not a failure, like is father was. In Umuofia, “achievement was revered”, and Okonkwo’s achievement was immense (8). He was “clearly cut out for great things” (8). To the Igbo people, Okonkwo epitomizes greatness and success.

    Read More

  • Things Fall Apart Okonkwo Analysis

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wanting to avoid being a failure, just as the villagers are, Okonkwo commits suicide. Here, the irony is undeniably present. To commit suicide is to offend the Earth, as believed by the people of Umuofia. It is said that killing oneself “is an abomination for a man. his body is evil, and only strangers may touch it” (207).

    Read More

  • An Identity Crisis in 'Things Fall Apart'

    1770 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...rgivable. The clan considered "it an abomination for a man to take his own life" (Achebe 207). Okonkwo went from being someone that his clansman respected to a stranger that no one cared about.

    Read More

  • Change And Tradition In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    723 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nwoye grows tired of his father and is called by the Christian faith and converts. Nwoye’s internal struggle with himself between change and tradition ultimately led him to convert against his father’s wishes. Okonkwo is extremely resistant to change, so he does everything in his power to prevent his family from converting; “‘If you turn against me when I am dead I will visit you and break your neck’” (Achebe 105). Okonkwo uses fear to keep his other children from the Igbo culture.

    Read More

More about Things Fall Apart

Open Document