Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

1844 Words4 Pages

Chinua Achebe’s “Things fall apart” is a story about a man named Okonkwo who is successful and physically strong. However, Okonkwo is emotionally unavailable and afraid that he will be seen as weak and that others will compare him to his father. The book’s peak is when Okonkwo does something considered immoral by killing a boy who he had taken in and raised as his own for three years, because he did not want to be seen as weak. Okonkwo is ruled by one obsession and that is to hate everything that his father had loved. Okonkwo’s birthright was fear, fear that he would become like his father. His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. The irony in the story is that Okonkwo’s life ends much like his father’s had ended. Both father and son died in ways that were considered appalling with Unoka dying from swelling and Okonkwo taking his own life. Okonkwo struggles to do everything differently than his father which results in Okonkwo bringing pain to his family, becoming an arrogant person, and ending his life in a way that is considered an abomination to the tribe.

Okonkwo was ashamed of his father for never having taken any titles or having wealth during his lifetime. Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, was idle and careless but he was also poetic and sensitive. Unoka never thought about the future, he just thought about living in the moment. Music is what brought Unoka to life, he loved to play his flute and when he did his face beamed with blessedness and peace. Unoka was a lover of beauty and a admirer of joy, but he was well acquainted with sorrow and the contempt of his fellow clansman (Scheub, 2003.) Even as child, Okonkwo felt resentful towards his father because he was lazy and he borrowed money from ot...

... middle of paper ...

...him look down upon those who had not yet achieved the same success. He feared failure and weakness so much that it destroyed his life. He ended his life because he no longer had the will to live in a tribe that he found weak and womanly and killed himself because to him everything had fallen apart.

Works Cited

Cobham R. (2002). Modern Critical Interpretations: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Retrieved from http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/programs/great-texts/things-fall- apart/center-resources.html

Iyasere S. (1998). Understanding Things Fall Apart: Selected Essays and Criticism. Retrieved from http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/programs/great-texts/things-fall-apart/center- resources.html

Scheub H. (2003). Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Casebook. Retrieved from http://www.humanities.wisc.edu/programs/great-texts/things-fall-apart/center-resources.html

Changes In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
1257 Words | 3 Pages
“He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.” This quote by Chinua Achebe describes the self-inflictions when a person purposely goes after another. This goes hand-in-hand with the Nigerian author’s magnum opus, Things Fall Apart. For the duration of the book, Achebe uses subtle events to create amplifying changes. He uses Okonkwo’s relationship with others, his learning about the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. Achebe also uses Okonkwo’s fear of change for the Ibo regarding to the missionaries and their spread of Christianity through the region. Creating universal and relatable characters, Chinua Achebe warns people of rash actions and their effects over time.
Read More
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
1018 Words | 3 Pages
In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Obierika and Okeke bring a peace to the community and themsel and religious lives around them, while Okonkwo and Enoch strike fear and confusion into the communities around them. Okeke and Obierika are from two different worlds but their balanced character makes them similar to one another. Okeke is of Igbo descent but has begun to work as a translator for the Christians.
Read More
The Power Struggle in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
1198 Words | 3 Pages
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a powerful novel about the social changes that occurred when the white man first arrived on the African continent. The novel is based on a conception of humans as self-reflexive beings and a definition of culture as a set of control mechanisms. Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo, an elder, in the Igbo tribe. He is a fairly successful man who earned the respect of the tribal elders. The story of Okonkwo’s fall from a respected member of the tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace graphically dramatizes the struggle between the altruistic values of Christianity and the lust for power that motivated European colonialism in Africa and undermined the indigenous culture of a nation.
Read More
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
749 Words | 2 Pages
Whenever one’s religion is criticized, one instinctively become defensive, and attempts to defend their religion to the best of their ability. There are consequences, however, when one attempts to define others religions as “right” or “wrong”. Chinua Achebe, in his book Things Fall Apart, juxtaposes Christianity and the Igbo Religion to demonstrate how religion should not be judged as “right” or “wrong” because of the problems created when they are. Many instances occur in Things Fall Apart where the belief that one's religion is “right” or “correct” and other religions are “wrong” or “in-correct” creates problems for the people of the Igbo tribe, as well as the missionaries.
Read More
The Importance Of Characterism In Things Fall Apart
864 Words | 2 Pages
The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is about the tragic fall of a protagonist, Okonkwo, who is a powerful man throughout the Ibo village. What is interesting about this novel is the fact that Achebe chose Okonkwo to be his hero. This topic is significant because even though Okonkwo was a very ambitious man he was also a brutal man. Achebe chose Okonkwo as his hero because Okonkwo didn’t show weakness or emotion but showed masculinity and strength over others.
Read More
How Is Chinua Achebe's Response To Things Fall Apart
1834 Words | 4 Pages
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is about a man named Marlow who was a sailor that travelled to Africa as an agent for The Company. During his experience with the company he realized what his job was, which was to colonize the people of Africa. During his experience he saw the interaction between the whites and the African people, he finally learns the truth about the company. Along the way he meets a mysterious man called Kurtz, he idolized him and was on his side rather than the company’s. Throughout his journey the way he viewed African people was like he had never met another species of humans that looked different. Everything about the Africans amazed him, how they moved, and danced intrigued
Read More
Things Fall Apart Okonkwo Analysis
733 Words | 2 Pages
Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, follows the tragic life of Okonkwo, a man who suffers a miserable fate due to the fear of failure that controls every action he makes. Though the fear of failure acts as motivation to become a successful and respected man at first, it later cripples Okonkwo in such a way that failure ultimately defines his life. Okonkwo is constantly afraid of being a victim of weakness and desperately tries to remain a strong and unyielding man. It is his overwhelming fear of weakness that causes things to fall apart in his life, as his attempts to avoid failure and weakness eventually lead to the ultimate defeat: his shameful suicide. Fear of failure and weakness dominates Okonkwo throughout his life.
Read More
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
865 Words | 2 Pages
Planet Earth harbors seven billion independent human minds, living seven billion independent, equally complex lives. Even more impressive, each mind contains unique perspectives and opinions. With so many different minds interacting, conflict between individuals’ perspectives and opinions becomes inevitable. Unfortunately, no single perspective, held by a single mind or a group of minds, dominates as the correct perspective. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the meeting of different cultures creates conflict between perspectives, in which both parties assume righteousness but neither is entirely correct. Though Okonkwo may draw a readers’ sympathy for his role as the tragic hero, the author’s sympathy sits with Obierika, who is positioned between the missionaries and Okonkwo as the most humane balance of the two cultures.
Read More
Okonkwo’s Resistance to Change in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
1470 Words | 3 Pages
From an early age, Okonkwo was ashamed of his father, Unoka, who was unable even to feed his family. The unpredictability of receiving enough food at a young age was enough to inspire fear and embarrassment in Okonkwo who associated this embarrassment with his father and was given further justification for these feelings when he went out into Umuofia, discovering that the other villagers held similar opinions of Unoka. When he was old enough, Okonkwo began farming his own yams because “he had to support his mother and two sisters […] And supporting his mother also meant supporting his father” (25). Okonkwo’s self-reliance was admired, valued in the community where “age was respected […] but achievement was revered” (12); this admiration gave him feelings of security, and the respect of his peers pushed him towards greater self-respect, distancing him from his father. The security and respect became related in his mind as he viewed his acceptance in the community as his life’s goal and Okonk...
Read More
Okonkwo's Self-Destructive Masculinity in Things Fall Apart
2752 Words | 6 Pages
Okonkwo is known throughout Umuofia to be extremely masculine. He rarely shows signs of fear or weakness. This is because Oknokwo promised himself he would be the complete opposite of his father Unoka. Unoka had passed away ten years prior to when the story takes place but he has always been remembered as a weak, lazy, poor man who could barely provide for his family. He was always in debt and didn't care to work, he would play his flute all day everyday if he was able to. "People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back" (5). Unoka was the laugh of the town and Okonkwo would never allow himself be that.
Read More
Things Fall Apart Adapt To Change Essay
622 Words | 2 Pages
Since his childhood, Okonkwo has always been ashamed of his father, Unoka. Unoka was rarely able to feed his children, which made Okonkwo scared and embarrassed. When he went out into Umuofia, he found that the villagers had very similar opinions towards his father. As...
Read More
Tragic Hero In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
1141 Words | 3 Pages
The concept of a tragic hero is one of the most notable and widespread literary tropes, having been in existence for over some 2000 years. As defined by Aristotle in his Poetics, a tragic hero is someone who undergoes a struggle far more potent than deserved. Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, exhibits a tragic hero through its protagonist, Okonkwo. Achebe achieves this status through his tragic flaw of excessive pride, his ultimate demise caused by said pride, and his ability to evoke fear and pity within the audience.
Read More
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
904 Words | 2 Pages
In the book “Things Fall Apart”, evidence of a social structure was apparent within the Igbo community. This rigid social structure served as a purpose to balance the life of the people within the society, as well as promoting the downfall of the clan. The social structure was important in keeping a centralized society and preventing any sign of corruption within their clan. The social structure had advantages in keeping a balanced and equal society, supporting a division of labor, providing a surplus of food, individual huts, a communal society, and the development of some kind of government. In contrast, this social structure led others to reject to cooperate with the new religion and aided the lack of unity among the people. It also promoted a more patriarchal society, the inferior rank of women, and the lack of strong bonds between family members.
Read More
An Analysis of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
660 Words | 2 Pages
The Importance of Things Fall Apart & nbsp; & nbsp; The novel "Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe, was an eye-opening account of the life and eventual extinction of an African tribe called the Ibo. It focuses on one character, Okonkwo, who at a very early age set out on a quest of self-perfection. Coming from a family ruled by a man who was lazy and inconsistent with everything he did, Okonkwo vowed to never accept the fate of his father. Okonkwo and his family have suffered through many hard times in their lives, but usually managed to come out on top. Through terrible crop seasons and bad judgement calls, Okonkwo usually prevailed, until the day came when he was faced with a situation that could not be resolved by his strength and character alone.
Read More
Change And Tradition In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
723 Words | 2 Pages
Throughout history, there have been many instances of people struggling to identify and cope with change and tradition, and this is no different in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Changes In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart