Things Fall Apart by China Achuebe

Social rank and relative wealth play great roles in determining a person’s life in Umuofia society. Sometimes a man with sheer force of will cannot change his future through hard work. One of the main conflicts in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the clash between Okonkwo’s determination to succeed, his free will, and fate – which seems to have less appealing things in mind. Okonkwo’s will plays a major factor in determining his future; he chooses to kill Ikemefuna with his own hands, he chooses to kill a government official, and in the end, he chooses to take his own life. However, the pre-destined conditions of his life, his father’s failures, and a series of unfortunate circumstances ultimately lead to Okonkwo’s downfall.



Many societies have beliefs rooted deep in ancient religion. Some beliefs include polygamy, polytheism, and patriarchy, or rule by men. One such culture is that of Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Polytheism and polygamy are custom in the clan, and the role of each family member is very defined. The men are overly domineering. The women and children are treated poorly and often beaten. Life in Achebe's Umuofia would seem very different to someone living in modern day America. So, by closely anazlyzing the relationship and societies between the Umuofian society and the Christians, both societies should be able to trade ideas and be at peace.

The topic for this essay is to describe one character's response to the cultural collision of Umuofia. The character Okonkwo in the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe responds to the cultural collision of the whites invading by calling them weak, trying to convince people to fight against them, and eventually tragedy. Okonkwo does not like the cultural collision happening between the Africans and the white missionaries. This is shown in the quote

Starting with the first effect of imperialism, the introduction of Christianity in Umuofia, Okonkwo’s fatherland. Four years into Okonkwo’s exile, his good friend Obierika payed him a visit, informing Okonkwo of the arrival of missionaries in Umuofia. The Christian followers had to come to Umuofia to build a church and to convert locals into their anomalous religion. Most importantly, “what moved Obierika to visit Okonkwo was the sudden appearance of the latter’s son, Nwoye, among the missionaries in Umuofia.” (Achebe 143) The introduction of Christianity was one of the many effects set upon the African villages. Locals were becoming

Secondly, the Christians unite the converts, but this unity does not prevent the new converts from demeaning others because of their religion or beliefs. When Mr. Kiaga, the missionaries’ interpreter, persuades the converts to accept the osu, or those who are cast out of the clan, Achebe writes, “‘Before God,’ he [Mr. Kiaga] said, ‘there is no slave or free. We are all children of God and we must receive these our brothers’”(136). The people are guided by Mr. Kiaga’s words as he teaches that they are all children of God and are, therefore, equal. One might think that converts would subsequently show the other religion in Umuofia an equal amount of respect as before, but they do not. While the church is still new to the village and does not perish in Evil Forest, Achebe says, “Three converts had gone into the village and

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people” (“Mahatma Gandhi Quotes” 1). The culture of a certain tribe, clan or group of people is not found written anywhere but it is found in the knowledge of its people because that is what they’ve grown up to learn. To them that is the only way they know. In Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, the people of Umuofia keep their culture close to what it was when it was discovered by their ancestors. The only changes that they made were made to fit the community as time had changed since their ancestors had been alive. However, their beliefs and morals remained relatively the same because that is what they have been taught for as long as the Ibo tribe has been around. These beliefs are all they know and they all live by them. Throughout Achebe’s piece, it is evident that he wants to emphasize the distinct Ibo culture in this book. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe stresses the importance of culture to a community by using cultural aspects such as, the Ibo language, their religion, and the traditions of the Ibo people.

He was tired of living like his ancestors, and was tired of the injustices that occurred within his own culture. And he wasn’t against his culture, but rather the traditions that exist. But, instead of trying to change these traditions, many Umuofians decide best to just convert to this newly introduced religion and have it solve the problems within an entire culture. If Igbo culture were to have evolved through generations, would the effects of Christianity in Umuofia still have

Once the egwugwu went to confront Mr. Smith for the killing of one of their members, Mr. Brown’s ignorance and rudeness were revealed even greater than before when he refused to leave the grounds when asked. Because of the reputation and the friendships that were built by Mr. Brown, Mr. Smith was treated with the same respect when confronted by the spirits. Unfortunately, Mr. Smith still would not go and respect the wishes of “the spirits and leaders of Umuofia” despite their kindness regarding the situation at hand. Although “Mr. Smith stood his ground… he could not save his church” (pg. 191) and the hands of the egwugwu tore apart the hard work Mr. Brown put into the church in Umuofia before having to leave both physically and

The "changing" of Umuofia can be viewed in many different ways, the most important of which are, "religion, culture, and domination through white (British) rule." The most important part of the story is when the white (British) men come to the tribe. These men, these

The fact that these missionaries have started to really make an impact was unprecedented by the Ibo people; their continuous misunderstandings of one another contribute to make this situation frustrating to both the Ibo clansmen and the Christians that view their religion as superior. Okonkwo returns back to his home village of Umuofia after his exile to Mbanta, and he arrives to see missionaries have overtaken the village, created a government, and many Umuofians have joined the church. As Okonkwo and his friend Obierika are talking, Obierika says of the missionaries and their impact, “He says that our customs are bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us?...He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart” (176). The white men and missionaries have been successful in coming in and gaining power. They believe the customs to be “bad”, showing their disregard of Ibo culture, and how their motives for infiltrating Ibo life is based off of selfish ideas- only to gain more followers to their religion. Furthermore, by actually being successful in drawing Umuofians into their religion, they have turned

This passage, found as a conclusion to a chapter in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, takes place after Okonkwo's return to Umuofia. A new English missionary has been set up in the village and has caused a great divide between the villagers. The main purpose of the section is to describe some of these events and changes that have taken place in Umuofia since Okonkwo's return. The passage is structured in three parts, each detailing about a different aspect. The first section focuses on Okonkwo's son Nwoye's conversion to Christianity and subsequent successes. The second part goes into detail about Okonkwo's arrival home to his clan and the change in the village. Finally, the last section includes Okonkwo's inner feelings and opinions

Umuofia was a known village that became feared by neighbors due to their local values. The tribe gained enemies, but were respected because they did not declare war unless invited. The smart villages were given an option of war on everyone, or just their one targeted victim, and most surrendered the one. Beheading showed strength within a warrior, violence being the foundation of their culture. In Nigeria, around the early 1900’s, a young man applying his local values to reach high ranking across many villages was done through . “The center cannot hold” when the Igbo tribe decides to withdraw from violence due to a new appealing European culture. There are instances where their culture gains control through violence and times when they limit any savagery to meet the commands of the Gods. Violence gave the Igbo tribe a lot of structure and played a great factor in

The first chapter of ‘All Things Fall Apart” by Chinas Achebe was very interesting. The book started by explaining the setting of the village then it introduced Okonkwo and his achievements as a young man that led him to be very wealthy. What caught my attention was the difference in character between Okonkwo and his father Unoka. In page four it revealed how Okonkwo felt about his father and how he disliked individuals like his father that were unsuccessful and lazy.

All over the world, cultures possess traditions that are uniquely their own. When two diverse cultures collide, there is a cultural shock that is experienced by both sides. In the novel Things Fall Apart, the colonization of Umuofia by the British created a drastic cultural clash that suppressed the Igbo tribe’s unaltered culture. The colonization influenced many people’s lives in the Igbo tribe; some members converted to Christianity, others wanted to keep the Igbo’s traditions alive, such as Okonkwo. According to Okonkwo, war was the only viable option. The British colonization fostered Okonkwo’s change to go from being a momentous man in his clan to an outcast among his village.

In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe introduces his readers to the Nigerian village Umuofia and its culture through the protagonist, Okonkwo, a well respected Umuofian leader. Umuofian culture is centered around pleasing and respecting spiritual life. Everything within this culture and religion has a specific order; however, the Umuofian culture ultimately reaches its demise when Evangelists arrive to convert the Umuofians to Christianity. As seen through the events that transpire in this novel, from Nwoye leaving his family to letting the osu have a place in society, religion has the potential to both build and break a society. Specifically, religion has the power to break apart families, introduce new ideas into society, and bring hope into one’s life.