Things Fall Apart Quote Analysis

“Let the Kite Perch and Let the Eagle Perch Too”
Chinua Achebe’s Novel, Things Fall Apart, follows an Igbo man named Okonkwo, living in West Africa shortly before, and during a time when Christian missionaries are beginning to interact with his people. Early in the Novel Okonkwo is established as being strict and at times abusive to his family, in particular his son Nwoye. Okonkwo beats Nwoye because because he wants him to be a successful man and thus make Okonkwo feel successful. Okonkwo’s emphasis on success and achievements becomes clear in the first chapter. The novel begins by listing off Okonkwo’s achievements, and later goes on to repeat them at the end of Okonkwo’s introduction, stating that he is the “greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He [is] a wealthy farmer and [has] two barns full of yams, and [has] just married his third wife...taken two titles and [has] shown

incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars” (80).

This motif of achievements and successes is continued throughout the story as every so often the narrator repeats and reminds the reader of Okonkwo’s achievements. This repetition shows the importance of achievements in the novel, and furthermore their importance to Okonkwo, as shortly after listing his achievements the narrator states that Okonkwo has “no patience with unsuccessful men” (4), which becomes quickly clear through the relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye. It is evident that Nwoye is under a lot of pressure to be a successful man when the narrator says “his father wanted him to be a man. And so he feigned that he no longer cared for women’s stories. And when he did this he saw that his father was

pleased, and no longer rebuked him or beat him” (54). Nwoye pretends to dislike children’s stories in order to live up to his father’s wishes for him “to be a prosperous man” (53), and thus avoid being beat. The reason behind these wishes is revealed upon Okonkwo’s exile. After being forced out of his clan, Okonkwo quickly makes plans for how he will regain his reputation, one of them being to initiate “his sons into the ozo society” (171). He states that “Only the really great men in the clan were able to do this. Okonkwo [sees] clearly the high esteem in which he [will] be held”(171-172). Okonkwo plans to use his sons to help regain his status and sense of achievement, which shows that he sees his sons as achievements, and takes pride in them. Thus Okonkwo beats Nwoye because he wants Nwoye to be an achievement. If Nwoye is not “a prosperous man,” he is a failure, and that makes Okonkwo a failure. Ultimately, Okonkwo’s view of Nwoye can be best summed up by a proverb he states early in the novel: “Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break” (19), or in other words, let the father be great and the son be great too. If one doesn’t hold up his part, may he be cursed.