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

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