“Things fall apart, even when you think they’re stronger than you ever imagined.” ‘Things Fall Apart’, by Chinua Achebe is a book about about the struggles of an African man named Okonkwo and his families life falls apart right before their very eyes. It’s a son duty to carry on the families traditions in this tribe. Although in this story that’s not the case, Okonkwo struggles to get his eldest son Nwoye to act more like a man and less like a woman. Ezinma is Okonkwos favorite child and he wishes that she was a boy because she has all the traits and actions a young man should have. There was another boy named Ike that was almost a role model to Nwoye and almost had Okonkwo conviced his son was becoming a man.
Towards the end of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo decided to take his own life due to the changes in his tribe caused by the white missionaries. This makes it harder to distinguish if the colonists were responsible for Okonkwo’s death and the diminishing of the Ibo Tribe. However, these colonists are gradually pushing an agenda to the Igbo people where Okonkwo is critical against. The collision between two separate beliefs causes various conflicts occurring in Things Fall Apart that eventually causes Umuofia to fall apart. This undermines Okonkwo’s drive to succeed in traditional terms and his desire to be a leader in his tribe.
Nwoye and Okonkwo did not share a conventional father-son relationship, rather their relationship was based on superior-inferior dynamics and both of them had feelings of resentment towards each other. Instead of respect and admiration for his father, Nwoye feared Okonkwo and looked for opportunities to avoid facing him. Ikemefuna filled this emotional void that was created by the discontent relationship between Nwoye and Okonkwo. Ikemefuna fulfilled the role of both a father and brother in Nwoye’s life as a role model and as a friend with whom he could share his thoughts. It is with Ikemefuna that Nwoye realizes that he can adopt certain masculine traits which were gentler and could be utilized without being the type of man his father
Within the novel “Things Fall Apart,” the author, Chinua Achebe, explained how a warrior named Okonkwo was a victim of himself. Okonkwo was a victim of tragic events that surrounded his life. These events eventually lead him to his fate. Okonkwo had a father who was weak, and he was a failure in the eyes of the men of the village, Umuofia. Okonkwo’s worst fear was to be the kind of man his father was, so he tried his best not to let his fear become a reality.
I will further explain more about the theme. In the beginning of the story, Okonkwo was a very vigorous man who everyone loves. One day a killing happened leaving Okonkwo with a wife and a son, Ikemefuna. He grew to like the young boy, where he is different from his other children, On a fateful day, Okonkwo murders Ikemefuna. Okonkwo had a load of guilt for killing his adoptive son, Ikemefuna.
Nwoye and Okonkwo had a rocky relationship from the beginning but it only solidified once Ikemefuna was killed. Christianity being introduced to Umuofia showed Nwoye that he had a purpose in life and he didn’t have to be just like his father. Nwoye and Okonkwo had a bad relationship because they could never accept the fact that they had more differences than similarities,this caused them to separate from each other permanently. Stephen Covey said “Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.” If Nwoye and Okonkwo would have been able to set their differences aside and tried to accept each other then maybe Nwoye wouldn’t have converted to
Okonkwo is a sad character whose pride has constantly led him down the crooked path. Achebe shows that being proud isn't a constructive thing for the future. That development can only occur when pride is put aside, and people think logically instead of
The sensitive and sympathetic side of Nwoye contradicts Okonkwo’s hopes for his son, and makes Nwoye seem more indolent than he actually was. Nwoye reminds Okonkwo of his father, a disappointment to the clan, causing a tense relationship between the two because
“He is not my father,” Nwoye himself was a very sensitive boy and he felt some type of way when he found out that his father did not wish to speak about him. Okonkwo was pretty upset that once again his son was showing the same character traits as his father, Nwoye was very sensitive and weak just like Okonkwo’s father and that bothered Okonkwo because he feared to become like his father or for his son to resemble
“There is no story that is not true.” (Things Fall Apart 141). Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe, in his historical fiction text, Things Fall Apart, emphasizes that just because a culture is unique does not make it bad or wrong. Achebe wants to reduce the amount of shown ignorance to anyone different and offer insight to the Nigerian people. He assumes a sympathetic tone to Umuofia by connecting his characters to his audience, the Europeans, and Western Civilization. Achebe uses ethos, pathos, and logos to connect the themes of family and government.