Things Fall Apart Blog Post

Blog post – Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, is set around the year 1900; prior the arrival of the English colonial missionaries. Achebe as set the novel prior to the arrival of the colonial administration as opposed to during their colonial, is to show context and characterization of the novel’s main character, Okonkwo. Setting the book before the arrival of the missionaries gives Achebe time to fully characterize Okonkwo and fully explore and explain the social, historical and cultural context of the book.

Chinua Achebe characterizes Okonkwo as a renowned wrestler, a fierce warrior, and a successful farmer of yams (a manly crop according to his culture). Achebe makes clear that throughout his life, he has a never ending battle for status. His life is dominated by the his fear of weakness and failure (both fears because he doesn’t want to become his father; who in his eyes and the eyes of the tribe is weak and a failure). He is short-tempered, especially dealing with lazy and weak men. He does not tolerate idleness and gentleness because he sees this as weakness as well. He never outwardly shows any affection towards anyway, even if he does feel affection towards Ikemefuna and Enzinma, he never shows it clearly. He has inner-monologues stating that how he learned to love Ikemefuna and how he was distraught and lost sleep over killing him. He continuously hopes that Enzinma was a boy and expresses how she is his favorite child. But instead of showing his affection, he isolates himself by showing his anger through violent, stubborn and rather irrational behavior. Okonkwo is considred a tragic hero because at the end of the novel, he kills himself because he can’t bear to see his country going to shame. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw is his fear of weakness and failure.  

Achebe also uses the time before the missionaries come to explain the historical, cultural and social context of the tribe and “Nigeria” at that time. Examples of this by showing us the cultural and religious practices of the Igbo people. Achebe shows us the traditions and superstitions of the Igbo people such as, having multiple gods, multiple wives, throwing away twins, believing in evil and good spirits. Achebe sits this up to show how the missionaries change this culture and how different the two cultures are.