THINGS FALL APART
ABOUT ALBERT CHINUALUMOGO ACHEBE (CHINUA ACHEBE)
- Born November 16, 1930.
- He was born in the Igbo town of Ogidi in south-eastern Nigeria.
- He attended secondary school at the Government College in Umuahia.
- He attended University College, now called University of Ibadan.
- He taught for a brief period.
- Worked at the Nigerian Broadcasting Union (NBS) for several years.
- More ...
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CHINUA ACHEBE'S NOVELS
SETTING
THEME
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The Second Coming
Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loose, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The second coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? - William Butler Yeats http://www.shmoop.com/things-fall-apart/epigraph.html http://www.studymode.com/essays/Second-Coming-Vs-Things-Fall-Apart-13920.html |
CONTEXT
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Historical Context
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Social Context
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Economic Context
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Religious Context
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Political Context
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SUMMARY
The book is about the warrior Okonkwo, from the village of Umuofia. The reader learns, from the very beginning, that Okonkwo had great disdain for a father who was title-less and, in his eyes, lazy. He did not inherit a barn from his calm, music-loving father, so he had to sharecrop in order to start his life as an adult. He ended up taking care of his father's family, as well as his own growing family, from an early age. Despite these challenges, however, he gained many titles and barns, and became wealthy enough to acquire, and support, three wives and the resultant children. The legacy of his father, however, was an intolerance for weakness in any form. As a result, Okonkwo was perceived by many as very brusque. Okonkwo's story unfolds in three sections; life in Umuofia - his father's homeland -, life in Mbanta - his mother's homeland- and life in Umuofia, after the infiltration of the missionaries. The first section, life in Umuofia, showcases the rich traditions and heritage of Nigeria, while the second section - life in Mbanta - highlights the initial coming of the missionaries, along with Okonkwo's reluctance to assimilate in his new, and temporary, community. The final section - life in Umuofia - after the infiltration of the missionaries - emphasizes an unhappy Okonkwo who tries to regain the power that characterized Umuofia, prior to the missionaries. The result of this attempt, however, is a lack of support from the villagers of Umuofia, as well as Okonkwo's suicide.
The book is about the warrior Okonkwo, from the village of Umuofia. The reader learns, from the very beginning, that Okonkwo had great disdain for a father who was title-less and, in his eyes, lazy. He did not inherit a barn from his calm, music-loving father, so he had to sharecrop in order to start his life as an adult. He ended up taking care of his father's family, as well as his own growing family, from an early age. Despite these challenges, however, he gained many titles and barns, and became wealthy enough to acquire, and support, three wives and the resultant children. The legacy of his father, however, was an intolerance for weakness in any form. As a result, Okonkwo was perceived by many as very brusque. Okonkwo's story unfolds in three sections; life in Umuofia - his father's homeland -, life in Mbanta - his mother's homeland- and life in Umuofia, after the infiltration of the missionaries. The first section, life in Umuofia, showcases the rich traditions and heritage of Nigeria, while the second section - life in Mbanta - highlights the initial coming of the missionaries, along with Okonkwo's reluctance to assimilate in his new, and temporary, community. The final section - life in Umuofia - after the infiltration of the missionaries - emphasizes an unhappy Okonkwo who tries to regain the power that characterized Umuofia, prior to the missionaries. The result of this attempt, however, is a lack of support from the villagers of Umuofia, as well as Okonkwo's suicide.
CHARACTERS
Part 1: Umuofia
Okonkwo
Part 1: Umuofia
Okonkwo
- A physical description of Okonkwo is that he is tall, and huge, has bushy eyebrows, a wide nose, and a fierce look.
- He is described as very impatient and has a slight stammer.
- He is very brave. This is seen in the five human heads that he has in his possession, as well as his participation in two inter-tribal battles.
- He is a self-made man who got his financial start through sharecropping. He did not inherit a barn.
- He grew to be a wealthy farmer who acquired two titles three wives and eight children.
- He resented his father for his weakness and 'femininity'.
- This resentment of his father's weakness translates to a resentment of all weak men.
- His fear of being considered weak makes him very brusque with the members of his family, and people in general.
- Okonkwo is a man of action who dislikes laziness.
- He is famous for beating a famous wrestler, Amalinze, in his youth.
- He is highly respected, hence he was sent to negotiate with Mbaino and accorded the privilege of fostering the clans hostage, Ikemefuna..
- He has the honour of representing one of the egwugwu.
- He is very ambitious.
- This ambition was thwarted when he accidentally killed a clansman and was exiled from Umuofia for seven years.
- Okonkwo's father.
- Okonkwo believes that he is weak and womanish because he died without titles and was denied burial due to an illness that was considered to be taboo in the clan.
- He was a musician.
- He was constantly in debt.
- He informed Okonkwo's world view; hatred for all things weak.
- He is a reflective and thoughtful person, unlike his friend Okonkwo, the man of action.
- He is the only one that Okonkwo speaks to about Ikemefuna's death.
- He is a strong individual who refused to participate in Ikemefuna's death.
- He questions the taboo that is placed on twins, which leads to their ultimate abandonment in the 'evil forest'.
- Loyal friend who took care of Okonkwo's yams, and financial interests, during his seven-year exile from Umuofia.
- He acts as Okonkwo's eyes, in Umuofia, during Okonkwo's exile by visiting him in Mbanta and giving him news of the missionary's growing influence in that village, as well as the neighbouring villages.
- A young boy, from the village of Mbaino, who was a prisoner that was used to satisfy the blood death owed by his village.
- He became like a son to Okonkwo.
- He loved Okonkwo like a father, in fact, he called Okonkwo 'father' before he struck the child's death blow.
- He was like a brother to Nwoye, Okonkwo's son.
- He assimilated seamlessly into the daily life of Okonkwo's compound.
- He was a victim of the seeming 'randomness' of the Oracle.
- Okonkwo's eldest son, by his first wife.
- Okonkwo feared that Nwoye was as lazy and weak as his grandfather, Unoka.
- Nwoye was a gentle soul who loved the stories that the women told.
- He loved Ikemefuna like a brother and was severely traumatized by his death.
- He, like Obierika, had questions about the act of leaving twins in the 'evil forest'.
- He rejects Okonkwo, just as Okonkwo rejected Unoka, by becoming a Christian.
- Okonkwo's second wife.
- She was impressed by Okonkwo when he won his wrestling match with Amalinze.
- Okonkwo was too poor, at that point in time, to marry her, so she ran away from her husband to be with him.
- She had three children who all died in their infancy.
- Their names were; Onwumbiko - Death I implore you -, Ozoemena - May it not happen again - and Onwuma - Death may please himself.
- Medicine-men diagnosed the problem as an ogbanje, a child who dies and re-enters his /her mother's womb in order to be reborn.
- Ezinma was the only child who lived beyond her toddler years.
- She went into a frenzy of worry if Ezinma got sick.
- She shared an uncommonly close relationship with her only living daughter, so much so that she followed Chielo, a priestess when she took Ezinma with her to counsel with Agbala.
- Okonkwo and Ekwefi's daughter.
- The only child that did not die, for Ekwefi, when she was a toddler.
- Okonkwo's favourite child, he wishes she were a boy.
- She is a widow with two children.
- She is also the Oracle priestess.
- She woke Ezinma from sleep to take her to the Oracle.
- Everyone listens to her when she speaks as a priestess of the Oracle.
- He was a wealthy man in Umuofia when Okonkwo was young.
- He had three huge barns, nine wives, and thirty children.
- He assisted Okonkwo by giving him yam seeds and sharecropping, to plant his first crop.
- The oldest man in Umuofia.
- He advised Okonkwo not to get involved in Ikemefuna's death.
- Okonkwo accidentally shot Ogbuefi Ezeudu's son, during his farewell dance to his father, and was exiled from Umuofia for seven years as result of this action.
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Abiageli
Agbala Akueke Anasi Ezeani Igwelo Mgbafo Maduka Nkechi Obiako Odukwe Ogbuefi Ezeugo Ojiugo Okafu Okazbu Uyanwa Okoye |
Okonkwo's first wife's daughter.
The Oracle of Umuofia. Obierika's daughter, the bride to be. The first wife of Nwakibie. Priest of the earth goddess. Nwakibie's first son who had recently married his first wife. He was, therefore, given the honour of drinking the dregs of the wine because it was particularly potent. The abused woman that was brought before the egwugwu. Obierika's son. He wrestled in the 15-16 year old division and won. Okonkwo's third wife's daughter. Palm wine tapper. The brother who returned his abused sister to her husband. Umuofia's orator. Okonkwo's youngest wife Winner of the wrestling match between the leaders of the teams. Medicine man who helped Ekwefi to discover that she had a problem with an ogbanje. One of the men that Unoka owed money. He was told that he would be paid after bigger debts were settled. The abusive husband who was brought before the egwugwu. He wanted his bride-price returned because his wife's brothers removed her from his household. |
Part 2: Mbanta
Uchendu
- The youngest brother of Okonkwo's mother.
- He received the body of Okonkwo's mother when she died.
- He is the eldest surviving member of Okonkwo's family, on his mother's side.
- He welcomed Okonkwo into his motherland after his exile from Umuofia.
- He organized the other family members, enabling them to assist Okonkwo in getting his new life started.
- He spoke to Okonkwo and advised him to not succumb to depression during his exile from Umuofia.
- The white missionary.
- He asked for a plot of land to build the Christian church and was given the 'evil forest'.
- The missionaries actually won converts because they managed to survive in the 'evil forest'.
- He accepted anyone who wanted to convert, even the osu, or a person or thing set apart and dedicated to a god, a taboo.
- He was firm and unshakable in his faith.
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Akueni
Amikwu Njide Nneka Okoli |
Okonkwo's cousin. She has had countless twins and had to discard them.
Uchendu's youngest son. Uchendu's eldest daughter. The first female convert in Mbanta. She had many twins and had to discard them. Alleged killer of the sacred python. He fell sick and died. |
Part 3: Umuofia
Mr. Brown
- A white missionary in Umuofia.
- He was very calm and ensured that the locals were not provoked.
- He would engage in religious debates, and discussions, with the locals.
- The white missionary who replaced Mr. Brown.
- He was intolerant of local customs.
- The extremists among the converts flourished under his administration.
- The church was burnt down, by the egwugu because he did not restrain his congregation.
- Dispensed justice to all, even if they were not recognized by the indigenous population.
- He fined the leaders of the clan for burning down the church.
- He used stealth to get them to a meeting, then confined them until their fines were paid.
- Employed by the court to deliver official messages from the court.
- They were corrupt. They added fifty bags of cowries, to the original fine of two hundred cowries that the Commissioner said, in order to fatten their own pockets.
- They were depicted as drunk with their own power.
- A titled man of Umuofia.
- He surprised the clan by converting to Christianity.
- He was one of the first men to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion in Ibo.
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Chukwu
Egonwanne Enoch |
The supreme god of the Igbo people.
Okonkwo feared that this person would convince Umuofia not to fight. A zealous convert who was believed to have killed the sacred snake. His perceived actions sparked the altercation between the Christians and the clan. |
PLOT
Part 1:
Chapter 1
Okonkwo was known throughout the nine villages and beyond. This fame came from defeating Amalinze the cat. Amalinze was called the cat because, prior to Okonkwo, he was an unbeaten wrestler for seven years. His back never touched the ground. Okonkwo had beaten Amalinze twenty years ago, but his fame had spread exponentially since then. Okonkwo is described as tall and huge, with bushy eyebrows and a wide nose. These features, put together, gave him a fierce look, with a fierce personality as accompaniment. He is said to be the opposite of his father, who is described as a mild-mannered musician, a failure in Okonkwo's eyes. Unoka owed people money, he constantly borrowed and increased his debt and he had no titles. Oknonkwo, on the other hand, was a wealthy farmer with three wives, and two titles and had shown prowess in inter-tribal wars. He was judged on his own worth and not according to the worth of his father. His achievements were revered and that allowed him to become the foster parent of Ikemefuna.
Chapter 2
The town crier issued a message that all the men of Umuofia must gather in the marketplace in the morning. Okonkwo believed that the message meant that Umuofa must be going to war. He was the first to bring back a human head in the last war, making it five heads in his possession. At the meeting, the clan is told that a woman of the clan was killed in Mbaino's market. Okonkwo was sent with an ultimatum to the village of Mbaino: Give Umuofia a female virgin and a young man as compensation, or the villages will go to war. Mbaino chose not to go to war, for Umuofia was a feared village. The virgin went to the husband of the murder victim, and the boy, Ikemefuna, was fostered by Okonkwo. The reader learns that Okonkwo ruled his compound with an iron fist and everyone feared him. His greatest fear was being like his father, hence he despised failure, idleness, and weakness and could not be gentle. This fear is manifested in Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who he nagged and beat constantly because he thought that he was lazy.
Chapter 3
Okonkwo did not have a good start in life because his father was not prosperous, hence, he did not inherit a barn to start his adult life. The story is told of Unoka's visit to the Oracle to find out why he was not prosperous. The Oracle's response was that his hoe and machete were weak and that he should go home and work like a man. We learn that Unoka later died of an illness called the swelling, which was an abomination, so he was denied a burial. Based on his father's history, Okonkwo had to literally forge a path for himself. He approached Nwakibie, a wealthy man in the village at the time of Okonkwo's youth, who helped him by giving him seeds to sharecrop. Unfortunately for Okonkwo, the season was an unpredictable one; where there should have been rain, there was drought and where there should have been regular rain, there was flooding. Needless to say, his first crop failed. Unoka, then an elderly man, tried to console Okonkwo, but this was met with inpatients. Okonkwo, therefore, had a triple disadvantage; he did not inherit a barn, sharecropping meant that he was receiving only half the crops that he produced, and he was supporting two households, his father's and his own.
Chapter 4
Okonkwo's impatience with unsuccessful men is seen in his treatment of Osugo. He calls him a woman because a man with no titles dared to contradict him. The general consensus, for Okonkwo's actions, was that he was being ungrateful. This was considered to be the case because someone showed kindness to him, which enabled his success. The reader learns about the fact that Ikemefuna adapted well to Okonkwo's family unit, even Okonkwo liked him. The story is then told about how Okonkwo broke the week of peace. Okonkwo broke the peace by beating his wife because she got home too late, from combing her hair, and did not prepare his dinner. Breaking the peace was a significant breach because the week was in honour of the great goddess of the earth, without whose blessing crops would not grow. The clan was shocked because they could not even remember such a breach. Okonkwo was inwardly repentant and took his punishment, but this was not reflected outwardly, so people thought that he was arrogant. The family planted after the week of peace, but they were met with a deluge of rain. Ikemefuna's acceptance, and joy, in Okonkwo's household, were then reiterated.
Chapter 5
The feast of the new yam was approaching. The relatives of Okonkwo's wives were invited to celebrate and yam foo foo and vegetable soup were the celebratory dishes. Okonkwo, however, was uncomfortable in this setting and preferred to be working. This discomfort was expressed in the beating and attempted shooting, of his second wife. The second day brought the beating of the drums to indicate the upcoming wrestling match. The reader learns that Okonkwo's second wife, Ekwefi, had run away from her husband in order to be with Okonkwo after he had beaten Amalinze. The wives cooked hastily in order to attend the wrestling match on time. Each wife sent a daughter to Okonkwo's obi with their particular dish. The children stay until Okonkwo finishes his meal, then they take the empty receptacle back to their respective mothers.
Chapter 6
The highly anticipated wrestling match occurred on the playground and all the village gathered to watch. The drumming reached a crescendo and everyone was excited. The fifteen and sixteen-year-old boys started the match and Maduka, Obierika's son, won that division. Chielo and Ekwefi discuss the fact that Ezinma has decided to stay, and then the leaders of the team wrestle. It was a very exciting match that culminated in Okafu winning the match.
Chapter 7
Ikemefuna loved his new family and they responded in kind. Ikemefuna and Nwoye would eat with Okonkwo and listen to masculine stories of violence and bloodshed, despite the fact that Nwoye preferred the women's stories. One day, Okonkwo and the boys were working on their wall, when a swarm of locusts was spotted in the sky. People rejoiced and wished that they would stay. They did, and people ate locusts to their hearts' content. It was on the heels of these happy times that Ogbuefi Ezeudo delivered the news that the Oracle declared that Ikemefuna must die. He told Okonkwo not to have a hand in his death. Ikemefuna was taken into the bushes by a group of men, Okonkwo included and was killed. Okonkwo struck the death blow.
Chapter 8
Okonkwo is haunted by Ikemefuna's death and, as a result, he cannot eat or sleep. One day he goes to visit his friend Obierika and gets invited to attend the negotiations of his daughter's bride price. They discuss Ikemfuna's death, but they are interrupted by Ofoedu. He shares the story of Ogbbuefi Nelulue's death. They then discuss the state of the Ozo title in depth. The negotiation of the bride price occurs and is set at twenty bags of cowries. A discussion of the customs of different villages, regarding the negotiation of the bride-price, then occurs.
Chapter 9
Okonkwo had his first good night's sleep but was awakened by Ekwefi with the news that Ezinma was sick. We learn that her panic over the illness stems from the fact that she had lost three children, prior to Ezinma. The reader learns of the unsuccessful attempts, by medicine-men, to solve the problem of her ogbanje. Ekwefi thought Ezinma would live because they found her iyi-uwa, but she still panicked when the child got sick. Okonkwo boils some bushes and creates a steam bath for Ezinma and the child soon falls asleep.
Chapter 10
The egwugwu try the case of an abused woman. Her brothers took her, and her two children, away from her husband and refused to return the bride price that the husband requested. The egwugwu, with much fanfare, decides that the husband should beg his wife to return, and the brothers should return her to her husband.
Chapter 11
It is night and the women and children tell stories. In Okonkwo's compound, Ezinma tells her mother the story of why the tortoise has a cracked shell. Just as Ekwefi is about to start her own story, Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, delivers the message that Agbala wants to speak to Ezinma at the cave, alone. She leaves with the child, but Ekwefi follows. She remains at the foot of the cave and Okonkwo joins her on her vigil early in the morning.
Chapter 12
The women and children go to Obierika's compound to help the bride and her mother. Ekwefi and Ezinma are late, due to their ordeal the night before, and Ekwefi sends her apologies to Ojiugo. The reader learns that Okonkwo is also tired because he had made several trips to the cave before Ekwefi finally arrived, and he could wait with her. Obierika's compound was full of activity. The activity, however, is interrupted by a cow that has gotten loose. All the women, with the exclusion of four, herded the cow back to its compound. The groom's family arrived shortly after, and the bride was escorted away after much pomp and circumstance.
Chapter 13
The drums told the tale that someone had died. It was Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village. Everyone attended the pre-funeral ceremony and even the ancestral spirits paid their respects. Unfortunately, Okonkwo fired a shot and the bullet found an unintended victim, one of Ezeudu's sons, who had been dancing the traditional farewell dance to his father. Despite the fact that the death was accidental, Okonkwo was exiled from Umuofia for seven years. His friends collected his yams to store in Obierika's barns and, before the cock crowed the next morning, Okonkwo and his family fled to his motherland, Mbanta, just beyond the borders of Mbaino.
Part 2:
Chapter 14
Okonkwo was well-received in his mother's homeland. However, he succumbed to depression and was, initially, not as productive as he was in Umuofia. His uncle, Uchendu, noted his depression and, after his daughter's final ceremony of confession, called a family meeting. He told Okonkwo that he is not the only man who has suffered and gave examples of suffering in his own life, as well as his daughter's life. He told Okonkwo that he could not show his mother a sad face in her homeland. Okonkwo will displease the dead if he does not appreciate the protection that is offered.
Chapter 15
Obierika came to visit Okonkwo two years into his exile. He brought the sad news of the destruction of Abame by white men. He also gives Okonkwo a report of how he has protected, and grown his financial interests. Okonkwo is grateful.
Chapter 16
Obierika pays another visit to Okonkwo after seeing Nwoye among the missionaries in Umuofia. Okonkwo does not want to talk about it, but Nwoye's mother tells him the story. The missionaries came to Mbanta and Nwoye listened to them. He was able to find peace and comfort in Christianity, and so he converted to this new religion.
Chapter 17
The missionaries asked for land to build their church and the elders decided to give them a piece of the 'evil forest'. They built the church and survived, to the surprise of the inhabitants. It is this very fact that allowed them to win converts. Some of these converts include Nneka, a woman cursed with twins, and Nwoye, who was beaten by his father for showing an interest in Christianity. Based on his father's response, Nwoye asked the missionaries to send him to Umuofia to learn to read and write. He planned to return to convert his mother and siblings.
Chapter 18
The converts and the clan clash every now and again, and there are rumours that the Christians have established a government. The converted began to grow in numbers and even accepted outcasts. One of these outcasts, Okoli, supposedly killed a sacred python. This created a great stir, with Okonkwo proposing that the clan chase them from the village. They decided, instead, to outlaw them. Okoli, however, died of an illness and the clan was appeased because it meant that the gods were still able to fight their battles.
Chapter 19
Okonkwo's last year in Mbanta was spent in anxious preparation to return to Umuofia. Okonkwo sent money to Obierika to build two huts in his old compound and he had a huge feast to thank his kinsmen for their support. This feast elicited a speech from the oldest member of the Umunna. He indicated his fear for the young people because they did not understand the bond of kinship.
Part 3:
Chapter 20
Okonkwo was determined to return home with a flourish. He started planning his victorious return to Umuofia within the first year of his exile and even asked his daughters to not marry anyone in Mbanta. When Okonkwo finally returns to Umuofia, however, it is greatly changed by the coming of the missionaries. Even a titled man had been converted and Okonkwo learned that the Christians had established a system of government that superseded tribal ones. Obierika placed things in perspective when he stated that the clan's own brothers have turned against them because they have bought into the theory their customs are bad. The white man came quietly and in peace, and the clan's amusement with them allowed them to view him as harmless. He then placed a knife in the things that held them together and the clan has fallen apart.
Chapter 21
Along with a new religion, the white man also introduced a booming economy. The result of this fact was that people were more accepting of them. This acceptance was exacerbated by the tolerant nature of the missionary, Mr. Brown. He was very careful to trod softly on the clan's faith and enjoyed debating on the topic of religion with the great men of the village. He, therefore, wooed the clan through his tolerance of their religious beliefs and by offering educational opportunities. When Mr. Brown heard of Okonkwo's return, he went to greet him with the happy news that Nwoye (who took the Christian name Isaac) was sent to the new training college for teachers in Umuofia. Okonkwo responded by running him out of his compound.
Chapter 22
Reverend James Smith replaced Mr. Brown, but his approach to the clan was the opposite of his predecessor's. He was very militant in protecting Christian values and, as a result, extremist personalities, who were once tied down by Mr. Brown, flourished under the reverend's regime. It is one such extremist, Enoch, who set off the conflict between the Christians and the clan. Enoch unmasked an egwugwu and they burnt the church in retaliation.
Chapter 23
Okonkwo was happy because action had finally been taken. However, this happiness was dashed when the clan leaders were tricked and captured. They were called to a meeting to discuss the burning of the church but were captured and imprisoned instead. The District Commissioner decided that they would pay a fine of two hundred bags of cowries for the crime that they committed. The court messengers, in turn, told Umuofia that the fine was two hundred and fifty bags. The clan held a town meeting and decided to pay.
Chapter 24
The leaders return to the village, after a lecture about the queen, peace, and good government. The town crier alerted the clan to a meeting the following morning. Okika spoke of going to war, but they were interrupted by the court messengers who told them to disband. Okonkwo responded by killing one of them and the others ran away.
Chapter 25
The District Commissioner arrived to collect Okonkwo but was led to a swinging body. The villagers ask him to help them to take the body down and bury it. The Commissioner orders the court messengers to cut the body down and take it, and the people, to court. The District Commissioner finds Okonkwo interesting and decides to give him a paragraph in his book titled: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.
Part 1:
Chapter 1
Okonkwo was known throughout the nine villages and beyond. This fame came from defeating Amalinze the cat. Amalinze was called the cat because, prior to Okonkwo, he was an unbeaten wrestler for seven years. His back never touched the ground. Okonkwo had beaten Amalinze twenty years ago, but his fame had spread exponentially since then. Okonkwo is described as tall and huge, with bushy eyebrows and a wide nose. These features, put together, gave him a fierce look, with a fierce personality as accompaniment. He is said to be the opposite of his father, who is described as a mild-mannered musician, a failure in Okonkwo's eyes. Unoka owed people money, he constantly borrowed and increased his debt and he had no titles. Oknonkwo, on the other hand, was a wealthy farmer with three wives, and two titles and had shown prowess in inter-tribal wars. He was judged on his own worth and not according to the worth of his father. His achievements were revered and that allowed him to become the foster parent of Ikemefuna.
Chapter 2
The town crier issued a message that all the men of Umuofia must gather in the marketplace in the morning. Okonkwo believed that the message meant that Umuofa must be going to war. He was the first to bring back a human head in the last war, making it five heads in his possession. At the meeting, the clan is told that a woman of the clan was killed in Mbaino's market. Okonkwo was sent with an ultimatum to the village of Mbaino: Give Umuofia a female virgin and a young man as compensation, or the villages will go to war. Mbaino chose not to go to war, for Umuofia was a feared village. The virgin went to the husband of the murder victim, and the boy, Ikemefuna, was fostered by Okonkwo. The reader learns that Okonkwo ruled his compound with an iron fist and everyone feared him. His greatest fear was being like his father, hence he despised failure, idleness, and weakness and could not be gentle. This fear is manifested in Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who he nagged and beat constantly because he thought that he was lazy.
Chapter 3
Okonkwo did not have a good start in life because his father was not prosperous, hence, he did not inherit a barn to start his adult life. The story is told of Unoka's visit to the Oracle to find out why he was not prosperous. The Oracle's response was that his hoe and machete were weak and that he should go home and work like a man. We learn that Unoka later died of an illness called the swelling, which was an abomination, so he was denied a burial. Based on his father's history, Okonkwo had to literally forge a path for himself. He approached Nwakibie, a wealthy man in the village at the time of Okonkwo's youth, who helped him by giving him seeds to sharecrop. Unfortunately for Okonkwo, the season was an unpredictable one; where there should have been rain, there was drought and where there should have been regular rain, there was flooding. Needless to say, his first crop failed. Unoka, then an elderly man, tried to console Okonkwo, but this was met with inpatients. Okonkwo, therefore, had a triple disadvantage; he did not inherit a barn, sharecropping meant that he was receiving only half the crops that he produced, and he was supporting two households, his father's and his own.
Chapter 4
Okonkwo's impatience with unsuccessful men is seen in his treatment of Osugo. He calls him a woman because a man with no titles dared to contradict him. The general consensus, for Okonkwo's actions, was that he was being ungrateful. This was considered to be the case because someone showed kindness to him, which enabled his success. The reader learns about the fact that Ikemefuna adapted well to Okonkwo's family unit, even Okonkwo liked him. The story is then told about how Okonkwo broke the week of peace. Okonkwo broke the peace by beating his wife because she got home too late, from combing her hair, and did not prepare his dinner. Breaking the peace was a significant breach because the week was in honour of the great goddess of the earth, without whose blessing crops would not grow. The clan was shocked because they could not even remember such a breach. Okonkwo was inwardly repentant and took his punishment, but this was not reflected outwardly, so people thought that he was arrogant. The family planted after the week of peace, but they were met with a deluge of rain. Ikemefuna's acceptance, and joy, in Okonkwo's household, were then reiterated.
Chapter 5
The feast of the new yam was approaching. The relatives of Okonkwo's wives were invited to celebrate and yam foo foo and vegetable soup were the celebratory dishes. Okonkwo, however, was uncomfortable in this setting and preferred to be working. This discomfort was expressed in the beating and attempted shooting, of his second wife. The second day brought the beating of the drums to indicate the upcoming wrestling match. The reader learns that Okonkwo's second wife, Ekwefi, had run away from her husband in order to be with Okonkwo after he had beaten Amalinze. The wives cooked hastily in order to attend the wrestling match on time. Each wife sent a daughter to Okonkwo's obi with their particular dish. The children stay until Okonkwo finishes his meal, then they take the empty receptacle back to their respective mothers.
Chapter 6
The highly anticipated wrestling match occurred on the playground and all the village gathered to watch. The drumming reached a crescendo and everyone was excited. The fifteen and sixteen-year-old boys started the match and Maduka, Obierika's son, won that division. Chielo and Ekwefi discuss the fact that Ezinma has decided to stay, and then the leaders of the team wrestle. It was a very exciting match that culminated in Okafu winning the match.
Chapter 7
Ikemefuna loved his new family and they responded in kind. Ikemefuna and Nwoye would eat with Okonkwo and listen to masculine stories of violence and bloodshed, despite the fact that Nwoye preferred the women's stories. One day, Okonkwo and the boys were working on their wall, when a swarm of locusts was spotted in the sky. People rejoiced and wished that they would stay. They did, and people ate locusts to their hearts' content. It was on the heels of these happy times that Ogbuefi Ezeudo delivered the news that the Oracle declared that Ikemefuna must die. He told Okonkwo not to have a hand in his death. Ikemefuna was taken into the bushes by a group of men, Okonkwo included and was killed. Okonkwo struck the death blow.
Chapter 8
Okonkwo is haunted by Ikemefuna's death and, as a result, he cannot eat or sleep. One day he goes to visit his friend Obierika and gets invited to attend the negotiations of his daughter's bride price. They discuss Ikemfuna's death, but they are interrupted by Ofoedu. He shares the story of Ogbbuefi Nelulue's death. They then discuss the state of the Ozo title in depth. The negotiation of the bride price occurs and is set at twenty bags of cowries. A discussion of the customs of different villages, regarding the negotiation of the bride-price, then occurs.
Chapter 9
Okonkwo had his first good night's sleep but was awakened by Ekwefi with the news that Ezinma was sick. We learn that her panic over the illness stems from the fact that she had lost three children, prior to Ezinma. The reader learns of the unsuccessful attempts, by medicine-men, to solve the problem of her ogbanje. Ekwefi thought Ezinma would live because they found her iyi-uwa, but she still panicked when the child got sick. Okonkwo boils some bushes and creates a steam bath for Ezinma and the child soon falls asleep.
Chapter 10
The egwugwu try the case of an abused woman. Her brothers took her, and her two children, away from her husband and refused to return the bride price that the husband requested. The egwugwu, with much fanfare, decides that the husband should beg his wife to return, and the brothers should return her to her husband.
Chapter 11
It is night and the women and children tell stories. In Okonkwo's compound, Ezinma tells her mother the story of why the tortoise has a cracked shell. Just as Ekwefi is about to start her own story, Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, delivers the message that Agbala wants to speak to Ezinma at the cave, alone. She leaves with the child, but Ekwefi follows. She remains at the foot of the cave and Okonkwo joins her on her vigil early in the morning.
Chapter 12
The women and children go to Obierika's compound to help the bride and her mother. Ekwefi and Ezinma are late, due to their ordeal the night before, and Ekwefi sends her apologies to Ojiugo. The reader learns that Okonkwo is also tired because he had made several trips to the cave before Ekwefi finally arrived, and he could wait with her. Obierika's compound was full of activity. The activity, however, is interrupted by a cow that has gotten loose. All the women, with the exclusion of four, herded the cow back to its compound. The groom's family arrived shortly after, and the bride was escorted away after much pomp and circumstance.
Chapter 13
The drums told the tale that someone had died. It was Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village. Everyone attended the pre-funeral ceremony and even the ancestral spirits paid their respects. Unfortunately, Okonkwo fired a shot and the bullet found an unintended victim, one of Ezeudu's sons, who had been dancing the traditional farewell dance to his father. Despite the fact that the death was accidental, Okonkwo was exiled from Umuofia for seven years. His friends collected his yams to store in Obierika's barns and, before the cock crowed the next morning, Okonkwo and his family fled to his motherland, Mbanta, just beyond the borders of Mbaino.
Part 2:
Chapter 14
Okonkwo was well-received in his mother's homeland. However, he succumbed to depression and was, initially, not as productive as he was in Umuofia. His uncle, Uchendu, noted his depression and, after his daughter's final ceremony of confession, called a family meeting. He told Okonkwo that he is not the only man who has suffered and gave examples of suffering in his own life, as well as his daughter's life. He told Okonkwo that he could not show his mother a sad face in her homeland. Okonkwo will displease the dead if he does not appreciate the protection that is offered.
Chapter 15
Obierika came to visit Okonkwo two years into his exile. He brought the sad news of the destruction of Abame by white men. He also gives Okonkwo a report of how he has protected, and grown his financial interests. Okonkwo is grateful.
Chapter 16
Obierika pays another visit to Okonkwo after seeing Nwoye among the missionaries in Umuofia. Okonkwo does not want to talk about it, but Nwoye's mother tells him the story. The missionaries came to Mbanta and Nwoye listened to them. He was able to find peace and comfort in Christianity, and so he converted to this new religion.
Chapter 17
The missionaries asked for land to build their church and the elders decided to give them a piece of the 'evil forest'. They built the church and survived, to the surprise of the inhabitants. It is this very fact that allowed them to win converts. Some of these converts include Nneka, a woman cursed with twins, and Nwoye, who was beaten by his father for showing an interest in Christianity. Based on his father's response, Nwoye asked the missionaries to send him to Umuofia to learn to read and write. He planned to return to convert his mother and siblings.
Chapter 18
The converts and the clan clash every now and again, and there are rumours that the Christians have established a government. The converted began to grow in numbers and even accepted outcasts. One of these outcasts, Okoli, supposedly killed a sacred python. This created a great stir, with Okonkwo proposing that the clan chase them from the village. They decided, instead, to outlaw them. Okoli, however, died of an illness and the clan was appeased because it meant that the gods were still able to fight their battles.
Chapter 19
Okonkwo's last year in Mbanta was spent in anxious preparation to return to Umuofia. Okonkwo sent money to Obierika to build two huts in his old compound and he had a huge feast to thank his kinsmen for their support. This feast elicited a speech from the oldest member of the Umunna. He indicated his fear for the young people because they did not understand the bond of kinship.
Part 3:
Chapter 20
Okonkwo was determined to return home with a flourish. He started planning his victorious return to Umuofia within the first year of his exile and even asked his daughters to not marry anyone in Mbanta. When Okonkwo finally returns to Umuofia, however, it is greatly changed by the coming of the missionaries. Even a titled man had been converted and Okonkwo learned that the Christians had established a system of government that superseded tribal ones. Obierika placed things in perspective when he stated that the clan's own brothers have turned against them because they have bought into the theory their customs are bad. The white man came quietly and in peace, and the clan's amusement with them allowed them to view him as harmless. He then placed a knife in the things that held them together and the clan has fallen apart.
Chapter 21
Along with a new religion, the white man also introduced a booming economy. The result of this fact was that people were more accepting of them. This acceptance was exacerbated by the tolerant nature of the missionary, Mr. Brown. He was very careful to trod softly on the clan's faith and enjoyed debating on the topic of religion with the great men of the village. He, therefore, wooed the clan through his tolerance of their religious beliefs and by offering educational opportunities. When Mr. Brown heard of Okonkwo's return, he went to greet him with the happy news that Nwoye (who took the Christian name Isaac) was sent to the new training college for teachers in Umuofia. Okonkwo responded by running him out of his compound.
Chapter 22
Reverend James Smith replaced Mr. Brown, but his approach to the clan was the opposite of his predecessor's. He was very militant in protecting Christian values and, as a result, extremist personalities, who were once tied down by Mr. Brown, flourished under the reverend's regime. It is one such extremist, Enoch, who set off the conflict between the Christians and the clan. Enoch unmasked an egwugwu and they burnt the church in retaliation.
Chapter 23
Okonkwo was happy because action had finally been taken. However, this happiness was dashed when the clan leaders were tricked and captured. They were called to a meeting to discuss the burning of the church but were captured and imprisoned instead. The District Commissioner decided that they would pay a fine of two hundred bags of cowries for the crime that they committed. The court messengers, in turn, told Umuofia that the fine was two hundred and fifty bags. The clan held a town meeting and decided to pay.
Chapter 24
The leaders return to the village, after a lecture about the queen, peace, and good government. The town crier alerted the clan to a meeting the following morning. Okika spoke of going to war, but they were interrupted by the court messengers who told them to disband. Okonkwo responded by killing one of them and the others ran away.
Chapter 25
The District Commissioner arrived to collect Okonkwo but was led to a swinging body. The villagers ask him to help them to take the body down and bury it. The Commissioner orders the court messengers to cut the body down and take it, and the people, to court. The District Commissioner finds Okonkwo interesting and decides to give him a paragraph in his book titled: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.
Contributor: Leisa Samuels-Thomas
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited, 2011.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited, 2011.
