Things Fall Apart

Jarvis McCall

 Afas 160A1

Professor Dr.Ijagbemi

October 12, 2014

“Things Fall Apart”

 Things Fall Apart was a powerful novel but it made me feel angry by the end of the book. This book was written by an African and looks at the Igbo culture through the eyes of a non-European. What made me angry was when the Europeans came to their village to basically tell the Igbo people they were living a lie spiritually and what they believed was not real. The Igbo were told that what they worshipped was” just wood and stone of your fake God and spirits” (Achebe). The European colonizer came to this village trying to enforce their religion on those who only knew their own God and alter their way of living life. I feel that the white man was taking advantage of them and denying them of their beliefs that were passed down to them for many generations prior to their arrival. The European missionaries and the government they brought in destroyed a culture that had been there for generations. Things Fall Apart focuses on a central character, Okonkwo, whose life ends in tragedy, and he is a metaphor for the colonization of Africa and his culture reflecting how their way of life was changed as a result of the Europeans imposing their values on the Igbo people.

The books main character was a prosperous leader and skillful man named Okonkwo. Okonkwo lived in a village that contrary to what the Europeans believed, was a civilized and organized community. The nine villages that surrounded Okonkwo’s home were led by elders who made decisions for the good of the villages. They held kindred meetings to discuss important issues that would impact their crops or how they protected the villages from enemies. For example, during the “Week of Peace” the people of the village are not supposed to speak harshly to each other or their neighbor in other to show respect for the Gods of the village. Okonkwo violated this tradition by putting his hands on his wife and was visited by the priest of the earth Goddess: “the evil you have done can ruin a whole clan”(Achebe 30). Here you can see that the village has rules and traditions that are punishable by priests and elders. In addition, the villages have a hierarchy that seems to be based on lineage, skills, and strength. Okonkwo earned his status by showing he was the very best wrestler and warrior of the Igbo (Umuofia clan). He was a provider for his family, a wealthy man, and he was well known and respected. Their economic system was based on their crops and more specifically yams.