13. Things Fall Apart ( 1958 )- for TSPSC JL/DL

 

13. Things Fall Apart ( 1958 )- for TSPSC JL/DL

Biography of Chinua Achebe

Poet and novelist Chinua Achebe was one of the most important African writers. He was also considered by many to be one of the most original literary artists writing in English during his lifetime. He is best known for his novel Things Fall Apart (1958).

Born Albert Chinualumogo Achebe, Chinua Achebe was raised by Christian evangelical parents in the large village Ogidi, in Igboland, Eastern Nigeria. He received an early education in English, but grew up surrounded by a complex fusion of Igbo traditions and colonial legacy. He studied literature and medicine at the University of Ibadan; after graduating, he went to work for the Nigerian Broadcasting Company in Lagos and later studied at the British Broadcasting Corporation staff school in London.

During this time, Achebe was developing work as a writer. Starting in the 1950s, he was central to a new Nigerian literary movement that drew on the oral traditions of Nigeria's indigenous tribes. Although Achebe wrote in English, he attempted to incorporate Igbo vocabulary and narratives.

Things Fall Apart (1958) was his first novel, and remains his best-known work. It has been translated into at least forty-five languages, and has sold eight million copies worldwide. Other novels include: No Longer At Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), and A Man of the People (1966).

Achebe left his career in radio in 1966, during the national unrest and violence that led to the Biafran War. He narrowly escaped harm at the hands of soldiers who believed that his novel, A Man of the People, implicated him in the country's first military coup.

He began an academic career the next year, taking a position as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Nigeria. That same year, he co-founded a publishing company with Nigerian poet Christopher Okigbo. In 1971, he became an editor for Okike, a prestigious Nigerian literary magazine. In 1984, he founded Iwa ndi Ibo, a bilingual publication dedicated to Igbo cultural life.

Achebe's university career was extremely successful: he was made Emeritus Professor at the University of Nigeria in 1985; he taught at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Connecticut; and he received over twenty honorary doctorates from universities around the world. He also received Nigeria's highest honor for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award, in 1987. His novel Anthills of the Savannah was shortlisted for the Booker McConnell Prize that same year.

Achebe became active in Nigerian politics in the 1960s. Many of his novels dealt with the social and political problems facing his country, including the difficulties of the post-colonial legacy. When Biafra, an Eastern region in Nigeria, declared independence in 1967, Achebe put aside writing long fiction in order to spend thirty months traveling Europe and the United States advocating for the new country. During this period, he produced several short stories dealing with the complex realities of the Nigerian Civil War; the best known of these stories is "Civil Peace". Several decades later, in 1994, Achebe was forced to flee Nigeria after the repressive regime threatened to imprison him for his political stances and activism.

Achebe was married and had four children. He last lived in the United States, where he held a teaching position at Bard College until 2009, when he joined Brown University as a professor of Africana Studies. In his later years, he also served as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund. He continued writing throughout his life, producing both fiction and non-fiction, and winning awards like the Man Booker International Prize in 2007. His final published work was the literary autobiography There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra.

Chinua Achebe died in 2013, of an undisclosed illness in Boston.

Introduction:

Chinua Achebe's college work sharpened his interest in indigenous Nigerian cultures. He had grown up in Ogidi, a large village in Nigeria. His father taught at the missionary school, and Achebe witnessed firsthand the complex mix of benefit and catastrophe that the Christian religion had brought to the Igbo people. In the 1950s, an exciting new literary movement grew in strength. Drawing on indigenous Nigerian oral traditions, this movement enriched European literary forms in hopes of creating a new literature, in English but unmistakably African. Published in 1958, Things Fall Apart is one of the masterpieces of 20th century African fiction.

Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s, during the coming of the white man to Nigeria. In part, the novel is a response and antidote to a large tradition of European literature in which Africans are depicted as primitive and mindless savages. The attitudes present in colonial literature are so ingrained into our perception of Africa that the District Commissioner, who appears at the end of the novel, strikes a chord of familiarity with most readers. He is arrogant, dismissive of African "savages," and totally ignorant of the complexity and richness of Igbo life. Yet his attitude echoes so much of the depiction of Africa; this attitude, following Achebe's depiction of the Igbo, seems hollow and savage.

Digression is one of Achebe's most important tools. Although the novel's central story is the tragedy of Okonkwo, Achebe takes any opportunity he can to digress and relate anecdotes and tertiary incidents. The novel is part documentary, but the liveliness of Achebe's narrative protects the book from reading like an anthropology text. We are allowed to see the Igbo through their own eyes, as they celebrate the various rituals and holidays that mark important moments in the year and in the people's live.

Achebe depicts the Igbo as a people with great social institutions. Their culture is rich and impressively civilized, with traditions and laws that place great emphasis on justice and fairness. The people are ruled not by a king or chief but by a kind of simple democracy, in which all males gather and make decisions by consensus. Ironically, it is the Europeans, who often boast of bringing democratic institutions to the rest of the world, who try to suppress these clan meetings in Umuofia. The Igbo also boast a high degree of social mobility. Men are not judged by the wealth of their fathers, and Achebe emphasizes that high rank is attainable for all freeborn Igbo.

He does not shy from depicting the injustices of Igbo society. No more or less than Victorian England of the same era, the Igbo are deeply patriarchal. They also have a great fear of twins, who are abandoned immediately after birth to a death by exposure. Violence is not unknown to them, although warfare on a European scale is something of which they have no comprehension.

The novel attempts to repair some of the damage done by earlier European depictions of Africans. But this recuperation must necessarily come in the form of memory; by the time Achebe was born, the coming of the white man had already destroyed many aspects of indigenous culture.

Things Fall Apart Summary

The bulk of the novel takes place in Umuofia, a cluster of nine villages on the lower Niger. Umuofia is a powerful clan, skilled in war and with a great population, with proud traditions and advanced social institutions.

Okonkwo has risen from nothing to a high position. Through hard work, he has become a great man among his people. He has taken three wives and his barn is full of yams, the staple crop. He rules his family with an iron fist.

 

One day, a neighboring clan commits an offense against Umuofia. To avoid war, the offending clan gives Umuofia one virgin and one young boy. The girl is to become the offended party's new wife. The boy, whose name is Ikemefuna, is to be sacrificed, but not immediately. He lives in Umuofia for three years, and during that time he lives under Okonkwo's roof. He becomes like a part of Okonkwo's family. In particular, Nwoye, Okonkwo's oldest son, loves Ikemefuna like a brother. But eventually the Oracle calls for the boy's death, and a group of men take Ikemefuna away to kill him in the forest. Okonkwo, fearful of being perceived as soft-hearted and weak, participates in the boy's death. He does so despite the advice of the clan elders. Nwoye is spiritually broken by the event.

Okonkwo is shaken as well, but he continues with his drive to become a lord of his clan. He is constantly disappointed by Nwoye, but he has great love for his daughter Ezinma, his child by his second wife Ekwefi. Ekwefi has born ten children, but only Ezinma has survived. She loves the girl fiercely. Ezinma is sickly, and sometimes Ekwefi fears that Ezinma, too, will die. Late one night, the powerful Oracle of Umuofia brings Ezinma with her for a spiritual encounter with the earth goddess. Terrified, Ekwefi follows the Oracle at a distance, fearing harm might come to her child. Okonkwo follows, too.

Later, during a funeral for one of the great men of the clan, Okonkwo's gun explodes, killing a boy. In accordance with Umuofia's law, Okonkwo and his family must be exiled for seven years.

Okonkwo bears the exile bitterly. Central to his beliefs is faith that a man masters his own destiny. But the accident and exile are proof that at times man cannot control his own fate, and Okonkwo is forced to start over again without the strength and energy of his youth. He flees with his family to Mbanto, his mother's homeland. There they are received by his mother's family, who treat them generously. His mother's family is headed by Uchendu, Okonkwo's uncle, a generous and wise old man.

During Okonkwo's exile, the white man comes to both Umuofia and Mbanto. The missionaries arrive first, preaching a religion that seems mad to the Igbo people. They win converts, but generally the converts are men of low rank or outcasts. However, with time, the new religion gains momentum. Nwoye becomes a convert. When Okonkwo learns of Nwoye's conversion, he beats the boy. Nwoye leaves home.

Okonkwo returns to Umuofia to find the clan sadly changed. The church has won some converts, some of whom are fanatical and disrespectful of clan custom. Worse, the white man's government has come to Umuofia. The clan is no longer free to judge its own; a District Commissioner judges cases in ignorance. He is backed by armed power.

During a religious gathering, a convert unmasks one of the clan spirits. The offense is grave, and in response the clan decides that the church will no longer be allowed in Umuofia. They tear the building down. Soon afterward, the District Commissioner asks the leaders of the clan, Okonkwo among them, to come see him for a peaceful meeting. The leaders arrive, and are quickly seized. In prison, they are humiliated and beaten, and they are held until the clan pays a heavy fine.

After a release of the men, the clan calls a meeting to decide whether they will fight or try to live peacefully with the whites. Okonkwo wants war. During the meeting, court messengers come to order the men to break up their gathering. The clan meetings are the heart of Umuofia's government; all decisions are reached democratically, and an interference with this institution means the end of the last vestiges of Umuofia's independence. Enraged, Okonkwo kills the court messenger. The other court messengers escape, and because the other people of his clan did not seize them, Okonkwo knows that his people will not choose war. His act of resistance will not be followed by others. Embittered and grieving for the destruction of his people's independence, and fearing the humiliation of dying under white law, Okonkwo returns home and hangs himself.

 

CHARACHTERS LIST

Okonkwo

Proud, ambitious, and ill-tempered, Okonkwo is the tragic hero of things pall apart. An ambitious man who has risen from nothing to a man of importance in his tribe, Okonkwo rules his family with an iron fist.He is deeply dedicated to the traditions and social hierarchies of his people, and he is determined that his sons and daughters follow his demanding example. The indignities forced on him and his people by the British eventually prove to be too much for him. After an act of defiance which goes unsupported by his people, Okonkwo gives in to despair. He kills himself, partly so that he will not be executed under the white man's laws and partly because he is grieving for the death of his people.

Unoka

Okonkwo's father. He died when Okonkwo was very young, and he was a failure. Shame for Unoka drives Okonkwo to work tirelessly. Unoka died in debt and humiliation; the memory of him gives Okonkwo a terrible fear of failure.

Ikemefuna

A young boy given to Umuofia by a neighboring village as tribute. Ikemefuna is sacrificed to prevent a war. He lives in Umuofia for three years, under Okonkwo's roof; Okonkwo looks at him as a son, and to Nwoye he becomes best friend and brother. He is killed by the tribe; out of fear that otherwise people will think him weak, Okonkwo participates in the boy's death.

Nwoye

Okonkwo's son. Nwoye is sensitive and thoughtful, but he is also somewhat lazy and sulky. Okonkwo is harsh with the boy, fearing that he will become like Unoka. After the death of Ikemefuna, something breaks in Nwoye. Later, he converts to Christianity, in part to escape his father. His betrayal embitters and outrages Okonkwo.

Ogbuefi Ezeudu

One of the oldest men in Umuofia. He warns Okonkwo not to participate in Ikemefuna's death. Later, at Ezeudu's funeral, Okonkwo's gun explodes and kills a boy, which leads to Okonkwo's exile.

Nwoye's mother

Never named, Nwoye's mother is Okonkwo's first wife. She is a generous woman, and she has been fortunate in the number of children she has had.

Ojiugo

Okonkwo's third and youngest wife. Okonkwo beats her savagely during the Week of Peace, and must pay a heavy fine to the earth goddess.

Ekwefi

Okonkwo's second wife. In her youth, she was one of the great beauties of Umuofia. She has had ten children, but only one has survived. She is a formidable and brave woman, devoted to her surviving daughter, Ezinma.

Ezinma

Clever and brave, Ezinma starts as a precocious but sickly child. She is Okonkwo's favorite daughter, and seems to understand his moods. His attitude toward her shows the more tender side of his character. She grows into a beautiful and strong young woman.

Obierika

Okonkwo's great friend, and another prosperous and powerful man in the tribe. Obierika is also thoughtful. He is less misogynistic than Okonkwo, and he has no love for unnecessary violence. He is a compassionate and just man.

Chielo/ Priestess of Agbala (Oracle of the Hills and the Caves)

In normal life, Chielo is a widow and an ordinary woman. But she is also the Priestess of Agbala, and when the power of prophecy comes to her she is possessed by the godhead. She is one of the most powerful figures of the clan; now important decision can be made without her approval.

Okagbue, the Medicine Man

The Medicine Man helps Ekwefi to try and make Ezinma "stay." They fear that she will die like the earlier children, but the Medicine Man succeeds in finding the supernatural cause of her sickliness.

Uchendu

Okonkwo's uncle. Elderly and wise, Uchendu is an impressive but gentle patriarch. Even Okonkwo submits to his authority.

Akwiku

Okonkwo's cousin. He informs Okonkwo that Nwoye is among the Christians.

Mr. Kiaga

A Christian African, Mr. Kiaga heads the congregation in Mbanto. He is a gentle and wise man, full of unshakeable faith.

Mr. Brown

A white man and missionary. He strives to compromise with the clan; though he is determined to win converts, he restrains the excessive and violent zeal of some of the converts. He eventually falls ill due to overwork.

Mr. Smith

Mr. Brown's replacement. Mr. Smith is neither wise nor compromising. Under him, the fanatics flourish. His foolishness brings the Christians of Umuofia into direct conflict with the clan.

District Commisioner

The head of British government in Umuofia. He dispenses justice in total ignorance of local circumstances, and his attitude is arrogant and hypocritical.

 

Things Fall Apart Themes

Memory/Documentary

Digression is one of Achebe's main tools. The novel is the story of Okonkwo's tragedy, but it is also a record of Igbo life before the coming of the white man. The novel documents what the white man destroyed. The reader learns much about Igbo customs and traditions; depicting this world is a central part of the novel.

Social disintegration

Towards the end of the novel, we witness the events by which Igbo society begins to fall apart. Religion is threatened, Umuofia loses its self-determination, and the very centers of tribal life are threatened. These events are all the more painful for the reader because so much time has been spent in sympathetic description of Igbo life; the reader realizes that he has been learning about a way of life that no longer exists.

Greatness and ambition

Okonkwo is determined to be a lord of his clan. He rises from humble beginnings to a position of leadership, and he is a wealthy man. He is driven and determined, but his greatness comes from the same traits that are the source of his weaknesses. He is often too harsh with his family, and he is haunted by a fear of failure.

Fate and free will

There is an Igbo saying that when a man says yes, his chi, or spirit, says yes also. The belief that he controls his own destiny is of central importance to Okonkwo. Later, several events occur to undermine this belief, and Okonkwo is embittered by the experience. As often happens with tragedy, the catastrophe comes through a complex mix of external forces and the character's choices.

Masculinity

Masculinity is one of Okonkwo's obsessions, and he defines masculinity quite narrowly. For him, any kind of tenderness is a sign of weakness and effeminacy. Male power lies in authority and brute force. But throughout the novel, we are shown men with more sophisticated understanding of masculinity. Okonkwo's harshness drives Nwoye away from the family and into the arms of the new religion.

Fear

For all of his desire to be strong, Okonkwo is haunted by fear. He is profoundly afraid of failure, and he is afraid of being considered weak. This fear drives him to rashness, and in the end contributes to his death.

Tribal belief

Particularly since one of the threats to Igbo life is the coming of the new religion, tribal belief is a theme of some importance. Igbo religious beliefs explain and provide meaning to the world; the religion is also inextricable from social and political institutions. Achebe also shows that Igbo religious authorities, such as the Oracle, seem to possess uncanny insights. He approaches the matter of Igbo religion with a sense of wonder.

Justice

Justice is another powerful preoccupation of the novel. For the Igbo, justice and fairness are matters of great importance. They have complex social institutions that administer justice in fair and rational ways. But the coming of the British upsets that balance. Although the British claim that local laws are barbaric, and use this claim as an excuse to impose their own laws, we soon see that British law is hypocritical and inhumane. The final events leading up to Okonkwo's death concern the miscarriage of Justice under the British District Commissioner.

 

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 1

Summary:

We are introduced to Okonkwo, a great man among the Igbo tribe, well known in the nine villages and beyond. In his youth, he became famous when he defeated Amilinze the Cat, a great wrester. He is a formidable man, stern and intimidating in appearance; when angry, he stammers. The stammer makes him angrier, and he uses his fists. He has a hot temper. He has no patience for unsuccessful men; his father had been such a man. His father, a man by the name of Unoka, was a lazy do-nothing, who has died deep in debt. The narrator digresses to tell us about Unoka. Unoka was a great flute player in his youth, but he became a failure as an adult. He was constantly borrowing from his friends and neighbors, and his children and wife did not have enough to eat.

One day, a neighbor of Unoka, a man named Okoye, came to discuss the money Unoka owed him. The rituals of hospitality are described: the guest brings kola, a kind of food eaten during visits, and the men often speak in proverbs. Okoye was about take the third-highest title in the land, and he needed to collect resources. Unoka laughed him off, telling him that he had many other debts he needed to pay first.

Unoka dies deep in debt. But Okonkwo, though young, is already a great man. He has two barns full of yams, and he has fought bravely in two inter-tribal wars. He has taken two titles already. He has three wives. The narrator tells us that his high standing was the reason he was trusted to watch over the doomed boy who was sacrificed to Umuofia to avoid war. The doomed boy was named Ikemefuna.

Analysis:

Things Fall Apart is part tragedy and part documentary. It is the story of Okonkwo and his tragic death after the coming of the white man; it is also a piece of fiction that documents the world that the white man destroyed. Structure is important to tragedy, and by Aristotle's rules of tragedy all that is inessential to the central action should be removed. However, the tragedy of Okonkwo's death is seen as part of a greater tragedy: the defeat and forced transformation of a great people. Achebe's novel is both tragedy and memory. The narrative tends to digress; to understand the gravity of Okonkwo's tragedy, the reader must see him within the context of his world.

Achebe gives us detailed descriptions of Igbo traditions, customs, and beliefs. Memory is an important theme; here, this study guide uses memory as a broad term covering all documentary-style descriptions of Igbo life. By the end of the novel, the reader realizes that the account he has just read is the story of a culture that has been irrevocably transformed. Another part of Achebe's project is to give a balanced and sensitive portrait of Igbo culture, as African tribal cultures were long dismissed by white scholars as barbaric and evil.

Digression is one of Achebe's most important tools. He takes any opportunity he can to tell us about a past incident which is only indirectly connected to his central story. These digressions allow him to flesh out his portrait of tribal life.

Ambition and greatness are two closely connected themes. Okonkwo is determined to be the opposite of his father. He has already taken two titles (honorary titles that give a man status in the tribe) and he is quite rich. Success and honor are very important to Okonkwo. He has worked his whole life to win the respect of his people. His work ethic and his ambition also give rise to his faults: he is a harsh man, quick to anger and without humility.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 2

Summary:

One night as Okonkwo prepares for bed, he hears the town crier, beating on his hollow instrument and calling all the men of Umuofia to a meeting early tomorrow morning. The night is dark and moonless, and the narrator explains that darkness was frightening even for the bravest of the Igbo. The forest is a sinister place at night. Okonkwo suspects that a war might be brewing: he's a distinguished warrior, and war gives him a chance to win greater esteem.

The next morning, the ten thousand men of Umuofia gather in the marketplace. Ogbuefi Ezuogo, a powerful orator, gives the traditional opening: he faces four different directions, raising a clenched fist, and cries "Umuofia kwenu," to which the men all cry "Yaa!" He greets them this way a fifth time, and then he tells them that men from the neighboring village of Mbaino have killed a girl from Umuofia. The men discuss the situation, and decide to follow the normal course of action: the will issue an ultimatum, demanding a boy and a virgin as compensation. The neighboring villages fear Umuofia, because its warriors and medicine-men are powerful. It's most powerful war medicine (magic) is agadi-nwayi, a magic enforced by the spirit of an old woman with one leg. The narrator tells us that in fairness to Umuofia, it should be said that the village never went to war without first trying a peaceful settlement, and even then it only went if the war was approved by the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. And the Oracle often forbade war.

Okonkwo is chosen as emissary. He goes and is treated with respect, and he returns with the young boy and the virgin girl. The girl goes to the man whose wife was murdered. As for the boy, the village is in no hurry to decide his fate. His name is Ikemefuna. He goes to live with Okonkwo and his family.

The narrator describes Okonkwo and his family, as well as their living situation. Okonkwo has a separate hut, or obi, at the heart of their family compound. Each wife has her own hut. All is enclosed by a large red wall. Yams are the main crop for the Igbo, and the compound includes a barn for yam-storage. There is also a shrine, or "medicine house." Okonkwo is quick to anger. He rules his family like a tyrant. He fears failure, and hates the memory of his idle father; his oldest son Nwoye, shows signs of being like Okonkwo's father, and so Okonkwo is very hard on him. Ikemefuna is brought home with Okonkwo and given to Nwoye's mother. The boy is homesick and does not understand why he has been taken from his family.

Analysis:

Achebe gives us a concise portrait of the social organization of the Igbo, on several levels. We see that the town is not ruled by a chief, but by a general assembly of all the men. In effect, the Igbo have a primitive democracy. We learn that yams are a staple, and a large store of yams indicates prosperity. We also learn that Umuofia prizes justice, and does not wage wars of conquest. There is also a high level of social mobility. Note that while Unoka was a failure, Okonkwo has risen to become a great man among his people.

Okonkwo fears failure. The theme of ambition has its converse, and it is Okonkwo's fear of failure that makes him a harsh man. He is strong, but he fails to see that his wives and children are not as physically strong as he. Yet he drives them to work as hard as he does. All of his wives and children fear him. Okonkwo tries to help his son, Nwoye, by being doubly harsh on him. But this approach is turning Nwoye into a sad and resentful youth.

 

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 3

Summary:

When Okonkwo was young, his father Unoka went to Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. He asked why he always had a miserable harvest, despite his prayers and offerings to the gods. The Oracle told him that the fault lay not in the gods, but in his laziness. Unoka died of swelling that the Igbo believe is an abomination to the earth goddess. Like others who died badly, he was left in the Evil Forest. Okonkwo lives in fear of the kind of failure and sad end that met his father.

Okonkwo did not inherit a barn full of seed yams. He had to start out as a sharecropper for a rich man named Nwakibie. Nwakibie was generous, but the first year Okonkwo planted was the worst planting year in Umuofia's living memory. Okonkwo, with superhuman determination, survived. His father was in his last days then. He gave Okonkwo encouraging praise, but it only tried Okonkwo's patience.

Analysis:

Okonkwo has overcome incredible diversity. His father's pathetic end and death tainted him with shame, and left him without inheritance. His rise to social power and wealth has been a triumph of stubbornness and will. Sharecropping is a difficult way to begin; moreover, the first year Okonkwo planted was a terrible harvest year. But Okonkwo was young and strong, and he was able to survive. The experience has been essential to the formation of his character. Central to Okonkwo's beliefs is not only a work ethic but a faith in the ability of the will to overcome adversity. He is confident that he can master his environment; he rules as a man, and he is fiercely proud of his people. Understanding these beliefs is key to understanding the tragedy that strikes Okonkwo later, after the coming of the white man.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 4

Summary:

Okonkwo shows few emotions openly, none of them tender ones. He once insulted a man at a town meeting, implying that the man was a woman. The man had no titles. Okonkwo was reprimanded, and a village elder said that the fortunate should show humility; yet Okonkwo has never been fortunate. Everything he has he has earned himself.

Ikemefuna is terribly homesick, but in time he finds a place among Okonkwo's family. Nwoye, two years younger, is inseparable from him; even Okonkwo grows fond of the boy, although he doesn't show it openly. Ikemefuna is a clever boy; he knows how to make flutes and traps for rodents. He begins to call Okonkwo "father."

During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo's youngest wife, Ojiugo, goes out to plait her hair and neglects to cook afternoon meal for him. When she returns, Okonkwo beats her savagely. This act is an abomination to the Igbo. No one is allowed even to speak unkindly to another during the Week of Peace; Okonkwo's transgression threatens the harvest of the whole clan. Ezeani, priest of the earth goddess, arrives before dusk. He scorns Okonkwo's traditional offer of kola nut and demands a stiff fine of goods and money from Okonkwo. Okonkwo pays it, inwardly repentant, but he is too proud to admit openly to his neighbors that he is in error. His neighbors begin to say he has grown to proud.

 

It is soon time to plant; as they prepare the seed yams, Okonkwo is very harsh to Nwoye and Ikemefuna. Yam is a man's crop, and Okonkwo is very demanding. Yams, too, are a difficult crop to raise, sensitive and labor-intensive. The rainy season comes, during which children huddle by fires indoors, resting. With planting season over, the Igbo enjoy a resting period before the work of the harvest.

Ikemefuna and Nwoye have become very close; Nwoye loves the older boy, who is now like a brother to him. Ikemefuna has an endless supply of folktales, and hearing them makes Nwoye see the world in a new light.

Analysis:

Maculinity is one of Okonkwo's obsessions. He sees any tender emotion as feminine and therefore weak. His culture is as patriarchal as any other, but in his need to be strong Okonkwo carries the preoccupation with manliness to an extreme. He has not learned restraint. His beating of Ojiugo is the first concrete incident in the book during which we watch Okonkwo lose control. Although he begins the beating having forgotten that it is the Week of Peace, when reminded he does not stop. He is not a man to do anything half-way, even if he knows there are consequences. Later, this hubris destroys him. His neighbors notice his pride. Even when Okonkwo feels penitent, he takes great pains to hide it. This drive and fierce pride have made him a great man, but they are also the source of all of his faults.

In his sincere desire to see his son Nwoye become great, he has made the boy extremely unhappy. Okonkwo is not exactly a typical Igbo male: though Achebe sets up Okonkwo's fall as parallel to the fall of his people, he also shows us that Okonkwo is an extraordinary man among the Igbo, in ways both good and bad. In other men of the village, we see restraint and humility. We see in Ikemefuna a role model that Nwoye has lacked. Fearful of his brutal father, Nwoye now has a kind older brother to look up to. We also see that Nwoye is a thoughtful boy: his responses to Ikemefuna's folktales are imaginative and beautiful.

 

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 5

Summary:

The Feast of the New Yam approaches. It marks the beginning of harvest season. All old yams are disposed of, and new and tasty yams are eaten for the feasts. The New Yam marks the start of a new year, and the beginning of a season of plenty.

Okonkwo, like all rich men, always invites a huge number of guests for the feast. But he himself is rather impatient with holidays, and would prefer to be working on his farm. Preparation for the festival makes him testy. Three days before the festival, he becomes furious when he sees that a few leaves have been cut from the banana tree (banana leaves are used to wrap food in many tropical countries). When his second wife admits to the act, he beats her brutally. He then decides to go hunting. Though a great man, Okonkwo is not a great hunter. The wife who was just beaten makes a snide comment about guns that never shoot, and he tries to shoot her. He misses. Despite these disturbances, the festival is celebrated happily.

The second day of the new year is the day for wrestling. Ekwefi, Okonkwo's second wife, loves the wrestling matches. It was watching Okonkwo defeat the Cat that she fell in love with him. She married another man, but a few years after that she ran away from him and came to live with Okonkwo. In those days, she was the great beauty of the village. That was thirty years ago. Ekwefi has only had one child, her daughter Ezinma. Ezinma is a charming, pretty, and clever young girl, one of her father's favorites, though he rarely shows it. We see her helping the other wives, doing chores for her mother, and bringing Okonkwo his food.

Analysis:

Chapter 5 fleshes out the portrait of Okonkwo's family life. His three wives live together peacefully, and seem to have great affection for one another. Ezinma is well-beloved, not only by Ekwefi and Okonkwo, but by the other wives as well. The children live together as brothers and sisters. Ikemefuna has been fully absorbed into the family.

But Okonkwo rules with fear. His anger over the banana tree is completely unfounded; he uses it as an excuse to beat someone. He is madly self-absorbed, and does not see fit to learn constraint for the sake of his family.

Igbo society is patriarchal, but this chapter focuses on female characters. Ekwefi is far from timid: fresh from a beating, she makes fun of her husband. We also meet her daughter Ezinma, one of book's most likable characters. Okonkwo's treatment of her humanizes him, balancing his harsh treatment of Nwoye. One of the reasons for his gentleness with Ezinma is her gender: as a girl, the expectations on her are different. Okonkwo often wishes that she were a boy, but the wish seems benign next to his merciless treatment of Nwoye. We see that Okonkwo is at least capable of tenderness. Because he does not have the same terrible expectations of a girl as he does of his son, he can treat her with at least a little gentleness.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 6

Summary:

A huge crowd gathers to watch the wrestling matches. Ekwefi finds herself next to Chielo, a widow with two children. Chielo is quite an ordinary woman in ordinary life. But she occupies a position of great power in the village: she is also the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. She is considered a different person when the spirit of the goddess enters her. Chielo is very fond of Ezinma. She often gives the girl sweets. The two women talk, and we infer that Ekwefi has had many children, and that many of them have died. Ezinma is now ten years old. Ekwefi prays that she stays; her children's deaths have been cause of great sadness for her.

The matches are exciting, and the great wrestlers all of have their fans. As the main event of the evening, Ikezue and Okafo, the two greatest wrestlers of Umuofia, square off in a fierce bout. Okafo wins, and is carried home on the shoulder's of his enthusiastic supporters, while the young women sing songs of praise.

Analysis:

We learn the greatest cause of Ekwefi's sadness, which was only hinted at in the last chapter. From her conversation with Chielo, we learn that she has had children other than Ezinma, but that they have died. In Chielo, we see an example of a powerful woman among the Igbo. Her orders supersede even those of the council of men; no great decision is made without her. Yet the two women discuss Okonkwo's recent attack against Ekwefi. Even as we see examples of women in power, we are reminded that Igbo women are vulnerable to their husbands' rages.

The wrestling matches are more of Achebe's documentation of Igbo life. From the large amount of exposition and commentary, it is clear that Things Fall Apart is not a book meant for Igbo readers. In fact, Achebe seems to assume that the reader has little or no knowledge of Igbo culture. We see the joy of festival time, and the excitement of the Igbo New Year. Achebe wants us to appreciate the beauty and strength of the Igbo people; sympathy and respect for the Igbo makes the end of the novel all the more painful.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 7

Summary:

Three years pass, and Ikemefuna matures into an adolescent in Okonkwo's household. Ikemefuna and Nwoye are as inseparable as ever, and because Ikemefuna treats Nwoye with respect, Nwoye is developing into a more confident and hard-working young man. Okonkwo is pleased by the change, and he knows it is due to Ikemefuna. He often eats with the two boys. (Typically, the man of the house eats separately in his central hut, or obi, while the women and children eat in their respective parts of the compound.) Nwoye seems to be pleasing his father more and more. To make him happy, he grumbles about women and pretends to scorn his mother's folktales (although in truth he still loves them). Instead, he listens to Okonkwo's stories of war and violence.

The locusts come. They are not a threat to Umuofia's staple crops, as they come after harvest, during the cold harmattan season. First, a small swarm of scouts comes, and then a larger group arrives. Their coming fills the Igbo with joy, because the locusts come only once every seven years, and they are delicious to eat.

Okonkwo is enjoying locust when Ogbuefi Ezeudu enters. He is a great village elder, and he has come to inform Okonkwo that the time has come for Ikemefuna's death. They tell Okonkwo not to bear a hand in the child's execution. The next day, a large group of elders comes to Okonkwo to discuss it more fully with him. Later that day, Okonkwo tells Ikemefuna that he is to be sent home. Nwoye hears, and begins to cry; his father beats him heavily.

A group of men brings Ikemefuna deep into the forest. The boy thinks about how strange it will be to see his family again; he is excited to see them, but also said to be leaving his new family. They walk for hours. The other men attack Ikemefuna with hatchets. He runs to Okonkwo, calling him father, begging for help. Afraid of being thought weak, and full of a terrible fear, Okonkwo uses his matchet to strike the boy down.

When Okonkwo returns later that night, Nwoye knows that Ikemefuna has been killed. A terrible sadness comes to him. He does not cry, but something in him has been broken. The last time he felt this way was during the last harvest season. He had been in the forest with his family, bringing back yams from the harvest. They heard an infant crying. The women fell silent and walked faster. Nwoye had heard that twins, considered evil by the Igbo, were left to die in the forest. He had never come across any. A great sickness and sorrow came over him. He has that feeling again now.

Analysis:

Ikemefuna is depicted as a perfect son and brother. He succeeds where Okonkwo cannot: he helps Nwoye to be more self-assured and confident. The exaggerated shows of masculinity Nwoye begins to make are contrived and for the pleasure of his father, but Nwoye is becoming more comfortable and confident. Ikemefuna's, with his gentleness and his love of folktales, has provided Nwoye with the positive male role model that he needed. Ikemefuna is also something of a Christ figure. He dies as a sacrifice for the good of the many; it is no coincidence that Nwoye later converts to Christianity. Nwoye is disturbed by some of the practices of his own people. They fill him with a vague fear and sorrow, and he will later seek solace in a foreign religion.

 

The arrival of the locusts might initially worry the reader who knows that locusts are often disastrous for a community of farmers. These locusts pose no threat to the Igbo. However, they foreshadow a more dangerous swarm that will arrive later. Like the white man, they send scouts first and then arrive with overwhelming numbers and force.

We see again Okonkwo's terrible fear of failure, which includes a fear of being thought weak. Despite sorrow and terror, he goes with the men when they kill Ikemefuna. He himself delivers the killing blow, even as the boy calls him "Father" and asks for his help. He was advised by the elders to stay home; to kill kin is considered a terrible offense to the Igbo. But Okonkwo is determined to prove himself unshakeable. In the proving, he does damage to himself and creates a rift between him and Nwoye that will never be healed.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 8

Summary:

Okonkwo does not touch food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna. He drinks, and though he calls Nwoye into his obi to be with him, the boy is scared of him and steals away when Okonkwo is dozing. He is weak and listless. On the third day, he asks his second wife, Ekwefi, to prepare some food for him. Ezinma brings out, encouraging him to eat. As she takes care of him, Okonkwo thinks repeatedly that she should have been born a boy. Okonkwo is ashamed that he has been affected by Ikemefuna's death.

He goes to speak with his good friend, Obeirika. Obeirika invites Okonkwo to be with him later while he negotiates the bride price for his daughter. Okonkwo criticizes Obeirika for not coming to kill Ikemefuna. Obeirika responds in turn that Okonkwo should not have gone; the act that Okonkwo committed is the kind of deed the gods punish.

Okonkwo is present for the negotiation of the bride price. There is polite negotiation, as the two families strive to reach a settlement that will be honorable for both groups. Many men from both families are present. Okonkwo enjoys himself. The talk turns to different customs, and they discuss rumors of the traditions in distant lands. Obeirika speaks of a particularly ridiculous story he heard: far away, the story goes, tribes have been visited by men with white skin.

Analysis:

Okonkwo's fear of effeminacy and weakness drives him to actions and emotions that do not always come naturally to him. He is disturbed by the death of Ikemefuna, but he is even more disturbed that he is disturbed. Any emotion approaching tenderness or softness must be suppressed.

Obeirika, Okonkwo's good friend, shows that Okonkwo's attitudes, though influenced by culture, are not exactly typical for an Igbo man. Okonkwo, along the model of the tragic hero, is an extreme example of his people. He carries their traits to excess. Obeirika, on the other hand, is a rich man and a man of sensitivity. He was not present at the Ikemefuna's death, nor does he approve of Okonkwo's participation in the act.

There is much digression in this chapter, as we witness the Igbo customs or courtship. The negotiations are civil and even joyous, as the men drink great quantities of palm wine. At the close of the chapter, we are given an ominous foreshadowing of what is to come. The men all dismiss the stories of approaching white men as patently ridiculous. Their reaction to the rumor shows how unready the Africans were for the coming of the European colonial powers. Everything we have learned about the Igbo shows that their concept of war and conquest is quite different from that of the European invaders: war is fought over questions of honor rather than a desire for material gain. And European military technology is beyond anything the Igbo have. The stories of white men seem so fantastic, so far outside of anything the Igbo have experienced, that they are immediately dismissed as myth.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 9

Summary:

Okonkwo sleeps well for the first time in three nights. He is woken in the morning by Ekwefi banging on the door: Ezinma is dying.

Ekwefi has had ten children. Nine have died. The medicine man has said that she has given birth to an ogbanje, a wicked child who, after dying, returns to its mother's womb to be reborn and die again. Ezinma has always been a sickly child, prone to swing between periods of great vivacity and darker times when she seems near death. A year ago, Okagbue, the medicine man, found Ezinma's iyi-uwa, her supposed link to the world of the ogbanje. So the girl should not die again.

But Ekwefi, fearful that she might lose the child that is the center of her life, is terrified. Okonkwo believes it is iba sickness, and he gathers herbs and begins to prepare a medicine for Ezinma. The girl is held over a concoction of herbs and hot water, and forced to breathe in the steam.

Analysis:

Igbo beliefs constitute one of the forces that holds their society together. Remember the title: we are reading about the disintegration of an old way of life and the end of autonomy for a great people. High infant mortality is one of the unfortunate truths of Igbo life. Their religion attempts to find meaning in this tragedy.

And although nothing supernatural happens in the novel, there are certain things in the Igbo religion that Achebe depicts as uncanny. When Okagbue searches for Ezinma's iyi-uwa, the girl seems to go into a strange, trance-like state: she cooperates with the medicine man as if the iyi-uwa is real, and indeed, he does find a strange object in the location that she indicates. Achebe does not depict the superstitions of the Igbo as being necessarily true, but he does show that their religious beliefs often contain uncanny insights. Later, the Oracle will predict with uncanny accuracy the methods of the white man.

 

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 10

Summary:

Umuofia has a great clan gathering. Nine men in the cult of the egwugwu impersonate the nine founders of the villages of Umuofia. During the ceremony, the men are considered to be the spirits of the clan. The transformation is spiritual and complete, in the same way that Catholics believe that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ.

The ceremony is for the administration of justice. Families with disputes come forward to have their cases tried publicly. The first case involves a woman who has left her husband. He wants her to return, along with her two children. The woman's family claims that her husband was abusive. Evil Forest, the egwugwu who listens to the case, decides that the husband must bear gifts to his in-laws and beg his wife's forgiveness. She will return, but he should not beat her again.

Analysis:

 

The ceremony of the egwugwu is clearly one dominated by men. Only men are in the cult of the egwugwu, and so only men are involved in the administration of justice. But for the first case of the ceremony, Achebe chooses a case involving a woman's well-being. Here and elsewhere, he tries to show that a woman's place in Igbo society, though vulnerable, is not unappreciated. Mgbafo, the abused bride, is protected by her brothers. Her case is viewed favorably by the judge. Although Achebe shows us that the Igbo society is deeply patriarchal, he also strives to show that Igbo woman, in at least a limited capacity, are respected and protected. There is an interest in justice and fairness. And to keep perspective on the issue, the reader should remember that women in 19th century England and America did not enjoy any more freedom than their counterparts in Nigeria.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 11

Summary:

Ezinma and Ekwefi are spending a peaceful night telling folktales to each other. They are interrupted by Agbala, the Oracle, who has come for Ezinma. She takes Ezinma onto her back and carries her away, strictly forbidding the girl's parents from following. Ekwefi hesitates only a moment, and then secretly follows anyway.

The Oracle takes a long walk, going all the way around the nine villages. Despite the fact that she carries the child on her back, she moves at an astonishing speed; Ekwefi can barely keep up. The Oracle finally returns to her sacred cave. She disappears inside. Terrified, Ekwefi waits outside the cave: she resolves to enter if she hears her daughter crying. To save her child, she will fight the gods if necessary. Ekwefi is startled by Okonkwo, who has also followed the Oracle. The two of them wait for the priestess of Agbala to emerge again. Standing in the dark with him, she remembers when she first came to him. She was young, and she had been married off to another man. Two years into the marriage, she went to Okonkwo. Without speaking, he carried her to his bed and began to undress her.

Analysis:

The priestess of Agbala is a mysterious and frightening figure. Remember that in normal life she is Chielo, a widow who is slight and getting on in years. Yet even with a large child on her back, as the Oracle she moves at an astonishing rate.

Ekwefi's love for Ezinma is touching. She is determined to protect her child. The relationship between them is special, almost a bond between equals. Unlike Okonkwo, who constantly wishes that Ezinma had been born a boy, Ekwefi seems grateful for the female companionship her daughter provides. Igbo society may be patriarchal, but Achebe is determined to show the relationships between women as central to Igbo life. The wives of Okonkwo, for example, do not seem to compete with one another. Rather, they support and comfort each other; in this chapter, Okonkwo's first wife tries to reassure Ekwefi when the priestess takes Ezinma away.

And the relationship between Chielo and Ekwefi also seems important here. The Oracle's interest in Ezinma turns out to be benevolent. Remember that Chielo is a friend of Ekwefi, and the old widow is also particularly fond of Ezinma. Given Ezinma's health troubles, we can infer that the priestess is seeking some kind of spiritual protection for the child. And indeed, in later chapters we learn that Ezinma ceases to be a sickly child after this strange night with the Oracle.

Ezinma is loved by her father, also. Okonkwo follows the priestess, too, as determined as Ekwefi to protect the child if need be. But on his appearance outside the cave, we are reminded of Okonkwo's character and limitations: he is carrying a matchet, as if a mortal weapon could protect him against gods and spirits. Okonkwo approach to problems never varies. He has one set of reactions: willpower and the strength of his muscles are his only weapons. Later, this single-minded approach will cost him his life.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 12

Summary:

The next day is the uri of Obeirika's daughter. It is a woman's celebration, centering on the bride-to-be and her mother. Okonkwo's first and third wive's prepare their gifts. Ekwefi, exhausted by the ordeal of waiting for Ezinma and the Oracle, waits for Ezinma to wake and asks the other wives to explain her tardiness. No one besides Ekwefi knows that Okonkwo also followed the Oracle. He waited a suitable "manly" interval first before going straight to the cave. Finding no one there, he left, but he returned when worry seized him once again. All in all, he returned to the cave four times before he met Ekwefi there.

Obierika's compound is full of activity, as many people in the village are helping to prepare for the great feast. While the women are preparing food, they notice a cow has gotten loose in a neighbor's crops. The women all hurry to push the cow back home; its owner immediately pays the heavy fine for letting a cow loose in a neighbor's fields. The cow's release was an accident.

The feast is lively, full of gift-giving, dance, and song. The new in-laws exchange gifts and praise with Obierika's family, and before living the village they pay respects to the housed of high-ranking men. Among these men is Okonkwo. He gives them a gift of two cocks.

Analysis:

Okonkwo considers any show of feeling to be a weakness. He did not follow the Oracle immediately, but instead waited for a suitable "manly" interval. But his feelings for Ezinma are strong: despite his desire to appear manly and detached, he returns to the cave four times, gravely worried for his favorite daughter.

The festival illustrates the bonds of Umuofia's community. The gift-giving is generous, on both sides. Even the interruptive incident of the loose cow is resolved quickly and peaceful. Achebe emphasizes the strength of the social fabric of Umuofia. The social organization and customs of the tribe are not the barbaric practices of a primitive people, but rather a rich system of tradition and wisdom that preserves peace and harmony between the people of Umuofia. Potential sources of conflict (loose cows, runaway brides) are resolved rationally and fairly. The Igbo delight in festivals and generous gift-giving. Holidays like the uri involve the whole community.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 13

Summary:

The village crier announces the death of Ezeudu, one of the great elders of the clan. It was Ezeudu who first told Okonkwo that Ikemefuna most die. It was also Ezeudu who advised Okonkwo to take no part in it.

The funeral is a great event. The egwugwu cult is out in full force, as men embodying the gods and spirits of the clan come out to participate in the funerary rites. During the ceremony, Okonkwo's gun explodes suddenly. A piece of iron pierces the heart of one of Ezeudu's sons. Even though the death is accidental, the act is an abomination to the Igbo. Okonkwo is to be exiled for seven years. That night, Okonkwo packs up his most valuable belongings. His yams are transported to Obierika's barn. Before dawn, Okonkwo and his whole family set out for Mbanta, the home of Okonkwo's mother.

As day brokes, men come and destroy Okonkwo's home. They kill his animals and set fire to the buildings. They bear no malice to Okonkwo, but the laws of the Igbo must be obeyed. Obierika is sorry for his friend's misfortune. He is a thoughtful man, and he tries to think out why his friend should suffer. He also thinks of the twins his wife bore long ago, and how he had to abandon them to certain death. He arrives at no answers.

Analysis:

Achebe has shown the great social mobility of the Igbo. A man's worth is not at all determined by the wealth of his father: with hard work and determination, a man can rise to greatness. Okonkwo is proof of that. Consequently, one of his central belief's is faith in the fairness of the world. A man gets what he deserves.

But the beginning of Okonkwo's tragedy is a complete accident. It is a moment of blind chance that drives Okonkwo from his homeland. The greatest loss is more than material: Okonkwo's faith in the power of hard work is shaken. His will and strong arm are unable to prevent this disaster. As a middle-aged man, Okonkwo is being forced to start over again.

Although the event is an accident, it should also be remembered that Ezeudu was the man who warned Okonkwo not to take hand in Ikemefuna's death. The disaster, a seeming accident, seems to confirm the fears of Obierika, who warned Okonkwo that the earth goddess did not smile on Okonkwo's participation in Ikemefuna's murder. However, the incident here is as literary as it is mystical; the calamity taking place at Ezeudu's funeral is a kind of poetic justice more than it is an example of divine retribution. It is one of many incidents in the novel where tribal ceremonies and rites resonate with the novel's central action.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 14

Summary:

Okonkwo and his family are received by Uchendu, his mother's younger brother and the oldest living member of their family. The last time Okonkwo saw Uchendu was at the burial of Okonkwo's mother; Okonkwo was only a young boy. Uchendu is kind and generous. The kinsman of Okonkwo's mother donate some land and a modest quantity of seed yams.

But starting over is hard. Okonkwo and his wives are no longer young, and beginning all over again without the strength of youth is no easy thing. Okonkwo works hard, but it no longer gives him pleasure. He has always dreamed of being one of the lords of Umuofia, and now it seems that this setback may have shattered that dream for good. He works without joy and spends his days moping. Uchendu notices that Okonkwo has given himself over to despair.

Uchendu's youngest son is taking a new wife, and the family performs a ceremony marking her arrival. All of the daughters of the family return for this day, and remain for a few days afterward.

On the second day, Uchendu calls everyone together. He addresses Okonkwo, telling him that he must not give in to despair. A common name given to children is Nneka, "Mother is Supreme." Although their society is patriarchal, Uchendu points out that when a child is beaten by its father, it returns to its mother for comfort. In the same way, Okonkwo, exiled by his fatherland, has taken refuge in his motherland. He cannot allow himself to be bowed down by despair. Uchendu sternly reprimands him, telling him that many men have suffered more than he. He must take heart and resolve to keep on living, or his children and wives will die in exile.

Analysis:

Here as elsewhere, Achebe's digression into the rituals and celebrations of the Igbo in some way echo what is going on in the central story of the novel. In addition to fleshing out Achebe's portrait of Igbo life, the parallels here between ceremony and central action are strong. The ceremony welcoming the new bride is dominated by the women: it is the husband's sisters who subject the new bride to scrutiny, with the eldest sister taking on a protective role for her brother. Not coincidentally, Uchendu's lecture centers on the important role of a mother and maternal blood lines. Okonkwo, so proud of manhood and obsessed with masculinity, is being asked to accept a mother's comfort. He is also asked by Uchendu to be a source of tenderness and comfort to his wives; Okonkwo has always associated such behavior with weakness. Uchendu is reminding his nephew that strength is not synonymous with force and violence. He is also reminding Okonkwo that strength is not a uniquely male domain.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 15

Summary:

In the second year of Okonkwo's exile, Obierika comes to visit him. He brings two bags full of cowries; they are money he has made off of the yams Okonkwo left with him. Obierika comes with two young men as his attendants, and he and Okonkwo great each other joyfully. They eat kola with Uchendu, and Obierika shares a bit of disturbing news.

Abame, a neighboring village cluster like Umuofia, has been destroyed. Not long ago, a white man arrived in Abame on an "iron horse" (a bicycle). The people of the town did not know what to make of him. The Oracle warned them that the man was like a scout locust, a harbringer sent to explore the terrain. The other white men would follow, and when they came they were going to bring death and destruction with them. Some men killed the white man and tied up his iron horse. Not long afterward, three white men arrived with a large number of African attendants. They saw the bicycle and left. Several weeks later, three white men and a group of African subordinates came into the Abame marketplace armed with powerful guns. They shot everyone in sight. The only survivors were those who were lucky enough not to be in the market that day, and these refugees have scattered. The village of Abame is now completely empty.

Uchendu grits his teeth in anger and fear. The men of Abame were fools, he says, for killing the white man out of fear. They inadvertently brought destruction on themselves. Okonkwo says that they were fools not to prepare for an attack.

The talk turns to more pleasant conversation. Okonkwo thanks Obierika for his justness and generosity. Obierika brushes off his friend's thanks, kindly refusing to be praised for what is natural between friends.

Analysis:

This ominous chapter foreshadows the future that threatens Umuofia. The whites send a few men to explore the terrain, and on the slightest provocation retaliate with terrible force. Although the people of Abame were wrong to murder the white man (and notice that Uchendu stresses this point), the retaliation of the white man is excessive. For the ignorant and fearful murder of one man, the whites respond with a brutal massacre that destroys a whole village. Although we are not given the exact number of deaths, Abame probably had a considerable population: remember that Umuofia has some ten thousand adult males. The effects of European colonialism are finally beginning to penetrate into Nigeria. Although Obierika mentions old legends of white men who took slaves from distant parts of Africa, these stories have always been dismissed as myth.

The other ominous bit of foreshadowing comes with the two very different reactions of Uchendu and Okonkwo. Uchendu, depicted always as a wise and thoughtful man, says that the mistake was to kill the stranger. Okonkwo, characteristically, says that the mistake was failing to prepare for war. Okonkwo will later try to defy the white man, with tragic results.

Fear is one of the primary sources of tragedy in the novel. We are constantly shown how Okonkwo's fear of failure and effeminacy drives him to ill-considered acts. The village of Abame is destroyed because of fear. The men hear the prediction of the Oracle and panic. They kill the Scout,

Once again, we see the uncanny insights of the Igbo oracles. The oracle of Abame correctly predicted that the white man was the harbinger of destruction. She even accurately described the scout-and-conquer methods of the white man; remember that the Igbo have a very different concept of war. On the theme of tribal belief, Achebe is not out to prove that Igbo religion is "true." But he does show that the oracles often have uncanny insights. The use of the oracles in the novel also contributes to the theme of fate, which is always an important part of tragedy. One could argue that the Abame oracle's prophecy was self-fulfilling, which is another common aspect of tragedy: the more one tries to elude a foretold fate, the faster one reaches it. However, the Oracle's prophecy would have come true regardless of the townspeople's actions. European imperialists brought death and destruction on all of their subjects, innocent and guilty alike. In the same way, the tragedy that befalls Okonkwo is in part his own making, but also comes from predetermined forces.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 16

Summary:

Obierika comes to visit Okonkwo again two years later. Circumstances are less happy. White missionaries have come to Umuofia; they have built a church and even won converts. Obierika visits Okonkwo because in Umuofia he saw Nwoye among the Christians. When he asked Nwoye what he was doing, Nwoye responded that he had embraced the new faith. And when he asked Nwoye about Okonkwo, Nwoye responded that Okonkwo was no longer his father. Greatly disturbed, Obierika visits Okonkwo, but Okonkwo does not want to talk about Nwoye. Obierika hears the truth from Nwoye's mother.

When the missionaries first arrived in Mbanta, all of the villagers came to see them. Their leader was a white man who spoke through interpreters. He informed the people that their gods were false and only the Christian god was real. Okonkwo, after hearing the convoluted theology of the Trinity, decided that the man was clearly mad. He left and went back to work. The Christians then broke into song. Hearing the words of the song, Nwoye felt something stirring in him. In the poetry of the new religion, he found some kind of answer, some kind of comfort to soothe away the scars of Ikemefuna's death and the sound of twin children in the forest. He left the market greatly puzzled.

Analysis:

Disintegration of Igbo society is central to Things Fall Apart; the idea of collapse, on both an individual and social level, is one of the novel's central images. This image also gives the book its title. The Christians arrive and bring division to the Igbo. One of their first victims is Okonkwo's family. The new faith divides father from son, and the Christians seek to attack the very heart of Igbo belief; such an attack also attacks the core of Igbo culture, as the tribe's religious beliefs are absolutely integral to all other aspects of life. Not coincidentally, the first converts are people who stand to profit from a change in the social order. They are people who have no title in the tribe, and thus have nothing to lose.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 17

Summary:

The missionaries soon asked the village leaders to give them a space for them to build a church. The village leaders decided to give them a plot in the town's Evil Forest. Every Igbo village has an evil forest, where the undesirable dead and the powerful fetishes of medicine men are buried. The Evil Forest is believed to be full of malevolent and unpredictable magical energies. Everyone expects the Christians to die in a matter of days. When they remain alive, the people of Mbanto have to concede that the white priests command powerful magic. The Church begins to win a tiny number of converts.

Mr. Kiaga, an African convert, takes charge of the new church in Mbanto; the white priest goes to Umuofia. Initially, Nwoye does not dare to go into the church, but he listens to the men preaching the gospel in the market. He begins to learn the simple stories from the Bible. The one month mark passes, by the end of which the gods should most certainly take their revenge. The Christians remain alive. They also win their first female convert, a woman named Nneka. She is pregnant; the previous four times she has given birth, she has had twins. Following Igbo custom, the twins were abandoned to a death by exposure. She flees her family and takes refuge with the new church.

Okonkwo's cousin, Amikwu, is in the market when he sees Nwoye among the Christians. He goes and tells Okonkwo immediately. When Nwoye comes home, Okonkwo attacks him viciously. The women scream outside, afraid to enter. Finally, Uchendu sternly commands Okonkwo to stop. He does, and Nwoye leaves without a word. Nwoye tells Mr. Kiaga that he wants go to Umuofia, to attend the missionary school where he will learn to read and write.

Okonkwo is furious and bitter that his son has joined the Christians. He wonders what he did to deserve such a son.

Analysis:

In Christianity, Nwoye finds comfort for things that have long disturbed him. But the religion also provides him with a way to rebel against his father. And the social effects of Christianity will be as bad as the Igbo fear. The new religion undermines the hierarchies of the culture; Achebe also points out that the religion provides hope to those who have suffered under Igbo law. Although the men without title embracing the religion says little in favor of it (especially since Igbo society has a high degree of social mobility), Nneka's defection to the new faith is telling. She has born four pairs of twins, and has been forced to throw all of them away. Pregnant again, she is desperate to save her children. Not coincidentally, she bears the name that Uchendu mentioned earlier: "Mother Is Supreme."

But just as Igbo faith is integral to Igbo society, the new religion also comes with social and political attachments. Once land has been granted for the building of the church, the whites become difficult to dislodge. They bring their laws and their guns soon afterward, and Igbo men and women are forced to live under the colonial yoke.

Okonkwo is not a man who learns. He cannot understand that his own harshness has driven Nwoye away. The boy is terrified of him, and he has suffered greatly because of his sensitivity. We see an array of different male role models. Uchendu provides a sage counterpoint to Okonkwo's violent masculinity. Mr. Kiaga and the men of the church provide another alternative; to escape his father, Nwoye goes with them.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 18

Summary:

The church grows despite some difficulties. The Christians rescue twins from the forest, and Mr. Kiaga leads the fledgling community with strength and unshakeable conviction. Trouble rises between the church in Mbanta and the clan when three converts go into the village and say that all of the Igbo gods are false. They announce their intention to burn all the shrines. Furious, the clanspeople beat the three men severely.

 

Disturbing stories are also making their way to Mbanto. Rumor says that where the white man's religion goes, the white man's government follows. Churches arrive first, and soon after the targeted village is forced to bow under white authority.

Controversy rises in the young church over the question of admitting the osu, a caste of outcasts who are set aside in dedication to the gods. They are not allowed to use razors, and their dead are buried in the evil forest. Mr. Kiaga demands that the outcasts be accepted. The osu shave their heads, at Mr. Kiaga's encouragement, and they soon become the most faithful followers of the new faith. More trouble arises when one of these osu converts kills a python, which is a sacred animal and the emanation of the god of water.

The people of Mbanto meet to decide what to do about this new religion. Okonkwo councils war against the Christians, but cooler heads prevail. Fearing that the gods will be angry with Mbanto if the clan does nothing, the clan decides to ostracize the converts. They are no longer allowed to enjoy the privileges of clan membership. Initially, that includes not drawing water from the spring; the first day, the Christians are threatened by violence. But then Okoli, the man who killed the python, falls ill mysteriously and dies. His death proves the gods are watching; after that, the clan relaxes its stance towards the Christians.

Analysis:

Achebe's portrait of the Christians is as fair and balanced as his portrait of the Igbo; remember that his own parents were Christian missionaries. Although Christian intolerance leads to problems in the beginnings of the new community, Mr. Kiaga's wise and steady leadership is quite admirable.

We also see that the Christians fill a void in clan life; they do great good by rescuing the twins and providing comfort to outcasts. But it is also true that the Christians are the first wave of imperialism. The arrival of the missionaries is the precursor to subjugation.

Okonkwo, characteristically, calls for war. Remember that he despises the Christians because of the conversion of his son. He is disgusted when Mbanto chooses the softer penalty of ostracizing them. He believes that Umuofia would have chosen a different course. His hotheadedness and determination to fight the new faith with his fists is typical of him; we are reminded that when faced with a problem, Okonkwo only knows one way to fight back.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 19

Summary:

The seven years of exile are coming to an end. Okonkwo sends money to Obierika to build two huts where Okonkwo and his family will live until Okonkwo can build the rest of the compound. Okonkwo has prospered in Mbanto, but he knows he would have prospered more in Umuofia. These seven years have been an embittering experience.

Before Okonkwo returns to Umuofia, he hosts a magnificent feast for his mother's clan. The quality and quantity of the food rivals that of a wedding feast; Okonkwo outdoes himself to show his gratitude to his mother's clan. One of the elders gives a speech thanking and praising Okonkwo. But the speech ends on an ominous note: the elder fears for the future of their people. The new religion has come, and some people of the clan have betrayed their tribe's beliefs. He worries that the Igbo way of life is threatened.

Analysis:

 

Okonkwo's feast is in keeping with his greatness. He needs to be as generous to his mother's clan as they have been to him. He also is celebrating finally being allowed to return to his homeland. The chapter ends on an ominous note, foreshadowing the threats to the Igbo. The elder's speech, placed at the end of the chapter, which is also the end of Part Two, hints that Okonkwo's return to Umuofia may be far more difficult than he had hoped.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 20

Summary:

Okonkwo hopes to return to Umuofia with great fanfare. He has two beautiful daughters, and he has asked them, through Ezinma, to wait until the return to Umuofia to take a husband. Ezinma has become one of the great beauties of their people. She has also become a healthy, lively young woman, and none of the children understands Okonkwo's moods better than she.

The church has won a powerful foothold in Umuofia. Even several men of title have joined the new religion. The white man has also built a court house, where a district commissioner imposes white law. The DC is served by a gang of kotma, African court messengers who come from far away. They are greatly hated because they are arrogant and brutal. There is a prison as well, and even men of title are being put there. The white man says that Igbo laws are foolish, and they impose their own law on the Igbo.

Okonkwo is horrified. He and Obierika discuss what has happened. He wonders why the men of Umuofia do not rally and fight; they are a proud and strong people. But Obierika fears that if they do, the same fate will befall them as befell Abame. Resistance is now difficult, because fighting the white man would also mean going against the converts. Obierika puts it succinctly: "The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart" (126-7). They discuss the hanging of Aneto. In a land dispute, Aneto struch his neighbor Oduche; he did not mean to kill him, but he did. In accordance with Igbo custom, Aneto prepared to flee. But he was seized, with all his family, and thrown into prison. He was taken to Umuru, where the whites have a major center of government, and hanged.

Analysis:

Note that since her night with the Oracle, Ezinma has grown into a healthy, beautiful child. Her sickliness has ended.

Okonkwo had hoped to return to his fatherland with joy and celebration, but he finds Umuofia sadly changed. The Igbo are no longer free to dispense justice. For the crime of manslaughter, Igbo custom demands the relatively humane punishment of exile. The white man, in contrast, demands execution. White laws are not superior or more humane than the laws of Umuofia, yet the whites insist that Igbo laws are inferior. In building their courthouse, they rob Umuofia of its self-determination.

The religion and the new government are wreaking havoc on the harmony of Igbo life. Social instability and the threat of violence have arrived in full force, and armed resistance is impossible. The old religion is threatened; with humiliation, the Igbo are forced to bow down to white authority.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 21

Summary:

The white man brings his destructive religion and the yoke of his laws, but he also brings a trade center. The people of Umuofia begin to profit from selling local products, and so not all of the people of Umuofia oppose the whites as much as Okonkwo.

In Umuofia, the Christians are led by a kindly white man named Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown restrains the zeal of some of the fanatical converts. A convert named Enoch is particularly violent, always stirring up trouble; Brown strives to moderate Enoch's excesses. Mr. Brown is a wise and patient man; he befriends many of the local great men, and earns their affection. He spends a good deal of time with Akunna; they speak through an interpreter on the subject of religion. Neither man converts the other, but Mr. Brown learns much about the local religion and concludes that missionary work should be subtle and indirect: direct confrontation will not work. He also tries hard to get people to send their children to the Christian school. At first, people only send their lazy children. But more and more people begin to go as they realize that the ability to read and write opens up great social mobility. The DC is surrounded by Africans from Umaru; these literate subordinates earn high wages and how power in Umuofia. Mr. Brown's school begins to produce results.

Soon after Okonkwo's return, Mr. Brown pays him a visit. He has sent Nwoye, now called Isaac, to the teacher's college at Umaru; Mr. Brown hopes Okonkwo will be pleased by the news. Okonkwo chases Mr. Brown away from his house, threatening the man with violence. The first rainy season after Okonkwo returns home, Mr. Brown leaves Umuofia due to failing health from overwork.

Okonkwo's return has not been as grand an event as he had hoped. The people are troubled by the new religion and new government; they are occupied completely with these changes. Okonkwo suffers, not only for personal reasons, but because he fears the clan is dying.

Analysis:

Mr. Brown's approach to conversion helps the early church in Umuofia get along relatively peacefully with the clan. Still, he is part of the forces that are destroying clan life. British imperialism also brings benefits, which help to mask the long-term damage being done to the Igbo people. Money from the trade center, the promise of position and wages from the DC, the possibility of an education from Mr. Brown's church: these are all substantial benefits. But the clan also is losing its independence. Even the education at the church comes with the risk of indoctrination. Okonkwo's grief is based on the loss of his people's strength. He sees that they are being irrevocably changed, in many ways for the worse, by the arrival of the white man.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 22

Summary:

Mr. Brown's replacement is the Reverend James Smith, and he is not the tolerant and wise man that Mr. Brown was. Mr. Smith is fanatic and uncompromising, seeing the world entirely in terms of black and white. Under him, fanatics like Enoch flourish.

The festival of the earth goddess comes, when the egwugwu roam around the villages. It falls on a Sunday, and so the main passages are blocked by the ceremonies, especially for women, who have to maintain their distance from the masked spirits. On this occasion, the Christian women who have gone to Church cannot return home. Some of the Christian men beg the egwugwu to retire briefly, so that the women will be allowed to go home. The egwugwu agree. As they are retiring, Enoch boasts arrogantly that they would not dare to touch a Christian. One of the egwugwu strikes Enoch with a cane; Enoch unmasks him. To unmask an egwugwu is considered a terrible sin. The Igbo believe it kills the egwugwu.

 

That night, the Mother of Spirits roams the villages, weeping for the death of her son. The spectacle is terrifying. Mr. Smith hears it, and for the first time feels fear. The egwugwu approach the church. They will not harm the people, but they could no longer allow the church to work its evil among the Igbo. They destroy the building.

Analysis:

Under Mr. Smith, reason and compromise become impossible. Enoch's act is offensive in all senses. He is trying to start a holy war; when Mr. Smith hides him in the parsonage, Enoch is disappointed. He wants blood. His inflammatory comment comes right after the egwugwu have made a generous concession. Though the clan tries to compromise with the new religion and new government, it proves impossible. The white man has no respect for Igbo ways, and the new religion is intolerant and hypocritical, preaching peace out of one side of its mouth while serving an imperialistic government. It appeals to troublemakers like Enoch, who uses the new religion to goad people towards war.

And the people of Umuofia are afraid. When the Mother of Spirits roams the villages, weeping for her son's death, it seems that she is weeping for the death of the clan. The people of Umuofia are being destroyed. Yet again, the response of the clan is something of a compromise. In spite of the grave offense that has been committed, they kill no one. They simply decide to remove the source of the problem. They will destroy the building.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 23

Summary:

Okonkwo is pleased by the destruction of the church. At the clan meeting, he had urged the destruction of the church, the killing of the white man, and the exile of all the Christians. Though the clan decided only to destroy the church, Okonkwo is pleased that something was done.

Mindful of what happened in Abame, the men walk around armed. However, soon afterward the District Commissioner returns from his tour. He invites the leaders of Umuofia to come meet with him. Six men are invited, among them Okonkwo. The meeting is a trap; the six men are taking prisoner, and the DC demands the stiff fine of two hundred bags of cowries.

Ezinma, recently married, cuts short her stay with her husband to return home. She goes to see Obierika to demand what the men plan to do. Obierika is off at a secret meeting, and Ezinma is satisfied that someone is doing something.

In prison, Okonkwo and his colleagues are humiliated and beaten by the kotma, the African messengers of the court. Days pass. A clan meeting is called, and the clan decides to pay the fine of 250 bags of cowries. The fine was increased by the kotma, who will pocket the surplus.

Analysis:

The theme of justice is one of the preoccupations of the novel. Throughout the book, we have seen Igbo justice in action. Igbo laws and traditions preserve order. Justice is impossible under the new system. The DC is completely ignorant of local ways, and he has no intention of learning about them; the different ideas of justice ensure conflict.

The corruption of the system is also clear. The DC does not even speak the local language, giving the kotma ample room for trickery. Okonkwo is humiliated and "choked with hate" for the white man. The DC arrogantly speaks of the need for "good government" and "justice" under the reign of the queen. He is speaking to the Igbo like subjects of the Empire; little by little, that is what they have become.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 24

Summary:

The men are released, and they go home in silence. Okonkwo seethes with hatred. His back bears the ugly stripes of the whip. A clan meeting is planned for the morning. Okonkwo hopes that war is coming. He takes out his ceremonial war garb, and remembers the most glorious war of his youth: Umuofia killed 12 men, while the other clan only killed two.

At the meeting, Okonkwo is ready to speak. He is worried that Egonwanne, a pacifist and powerful orator, will sway the people to peace. He resolves to fight, even if he must fight alone. The first man to speak is Okika, one of the six who was imprisoned. He begins a powerful speech on the necessity of action. They must fight, even against the Christian converts. They must resist before it is too late.

Five court messengers come up the path. Okonkwo rushes to block their way. He stands before them, brimming with hatred. The court messenger tells them that the white man has commanded this meeting to stop.

Okonkwo strikes the men down with his matchet. The other four men flee. Okonkwo knows from the reaction of the clan that they will not choose war. They muttered in confusion instead of seizing the other four messengers. In disgust, Okonkwo walks away.

Analysis:

Okonkwo aches for revenge. He has lost his son, the glory of a proper homecoming, and his dignity at the hands of the white man. His people have lost their independence. They are no longer free to administer justice. The white man refuses to treat their leaders with dignity, and lectures them on good government while his own revels in hypocrisy and violence.

At the same time, Okonkwo has no inkling of real warfare as conceived of by the white man. His glorious memories of Umuofia's great war are revealing: 14 men were killed. Igbo wars are fought on a relatively tiny scale. They are not wars of conquest. Okonkwo has no way of knowing that for whites, thousands can die even in a tiny war. His rage, though justified, does not provide him with any real way of resisting the white man.

The final indignity comes at the clan meeting. The white man is no longer satisfied in taking away justice: now, he wishes to destroy Umuofia's primitive democracy. The British want to deny the people their right to assembly and group decision-making. This change would mean death for the last shreds of Umuofia's self-determination. Okonkwo reacts the only way he knows how. He strikes the man down. But from his people's reaction, he knows that they are not behind him.

Things Fall Apart Summary and Analysis of Chapter 25

Summary:

The District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo's compound. He leads a small band of soldiers and court messengers. They find Obierika and several other men gathered inside. The DC fiercely asks Okonkwo to step forward. Obierika responds that he is not there. The DC demands that they produce Okonkwo, or they will be thrown into jail. Obierika and the other men mutter amongst themselves, and Obierika says he will take the DC to where Okonkwo is. Perhaps the DC's men can help them. He leads them to a tree behind Okonkwo's compound. Okonkwo has hanged himself.

No one in the clan can touch the body. Suicide is a crime against the earth goddess, and so the body must be handled by outsiders. Obierika says bitterly to the DC that Okonkwo was one of the greatest men of Umuofia. Because of the white man, he has been driven to suicide and will be buried like an animal.

The DC is quite curious about Igbo customs. Okonkwo's death may make a lively paragraph in the book he plans to write about the British victory over the savages of Africa. He has already chosen a title: The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.

Analysis:

Okonkwo's suicide, in retrospect, seems nearly inevitable. Determined to fight the white man, alone if necessary, the betrayal by his people is more than he can bear. He realizes that he will resist alone, even after the outrage of the white man ordering a stop to the clan meeting. Okonkwo understands that his people have been broken. Instead of a war, he will have only the white man's noose; he will not even be tried under his own people's laws. He chooses suicide instead.

Long years of difficulty and disappointment have contributed to this moment. The accidental death and then exile darkened Okonkwo's view of life. The betrayal of his son was a very heavy blow. Now, the betrayal of his people, and their inevitable subjugation, pushes Okonkwo into despair. Okonkwo's central beliefs have been undermined. He believed that a man was the master of his own fate; his exile and the loss of his son challenged that belief. He also had great faith in his clan, but now his clan will be a subservient people. He cannot bear this disgrace. Parallel to Okonkwo's tragedy is the tragedy of his people's subjugation. As a final bit of bitter irony, Okonkwo's suicide violates the very traditions that are being menaced by the white man.

The DC's intrusion at the end of the novel is a commentary on a certain kind of narrative. In European conceptions of Africa, the DC's attitude is typical. Okonkwo's death, a great tragedy, is worth only one paragraph of entertaining reading. The DC also reflects on the need to cut out any unnecessary detail. The book the DC imagines is in many ways the opposite of Things Fall Apart, with its focus on a great African man, its many beautiful digressions, and its loving and sympathetic portrait of Igbo culture. The novel is in some ways a response to earlier depictions of "savage" Africa. Now that we have reached the end, the digressions pay off. In the course of following Okonkwo's tragedy, we have learned a great deal about Igbo life. Now we know that the culture depicted in the novel is a culture that in many ways no longer exists. Imperialism changed many aspects of life in Africa, and usually not for the better. The destruction of tribal social institutions and traditions led to great social and cultural voids, the negative results of which are still being felt in Africa today.