THINGS FALL APART BY CHINUA ACHEBE

 

 THINGS FALL APART

Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe and first published on 17 June, 1958. The book sold over 10million copies and has been translated into fifty languages. An unparalleled accomplishment by any other literary work from Africa.

 

The things fall apart focused on pre-colonial typical Ibo characters, plots and value systems. It’s a novel that humanizes Africa and presents its past and culture as intriguing, profound and elaborate enough to inspire the most considered literary treatment. It’s a novel that teaches something new, each time we return to it.

 

The setting is Umuofia, present day Imo state. The principal actor is Okonkwo; who is well known throughout the nine villages and beyond. Okonkwo was very hardworking, brash, brave and titled. He represented everything that his father is not.

 

Okonkwo’s father Unoka was a lazy man, improvident and a debtor. Who owed every neighbor some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amount. Unoka died diseased and was carried into the evil forest to die as was the custom. Fortunately, among Umuofia, a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father. Okonkwo a young man, was already one of the greatest men of his time. Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered.

Okonkwo was a warrior, infact he threw Amalinze the cat; Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten from Umuofia to Mbaino. He was called the cat because his back would never touch the earth. It was this man Okonkwo threw in a fight which all the old men agreed was one of the fiercest Umuofia has ever seen.

 

The story of “things fall apart” began and ended with Okonkwo. He had a big family with three wives and eleven children and his first son was Nwoye. Okonkwo was fond of his third wife daughter - Ezinne who Okonkwo had always wished he was a boy. It happened that Okonkwo kinsman Oguefi Udo’s wife was murdered by Mbaino people for no cause, this infuriated Umuofia and Okonkwo was sent as emissary to Mbaino. The message was for Mbaino choose between war or offer a young man and a virgin as recompense for the evil act they did. Infact Oguefi Ezeugo - Umuofia powerful orator who was always chosen to speak at any public occasion referred to Mbaino people as “sons of wild animals” because of the act.

 

Mbaino people chose the latter, a young man – Ikemefuna and a virgin was given to Umuofia. The Ndiche met after Okonkwo’s return and decided that the virgin should go to Oguefi Udo to replace his murdered wife and the boy Ikemefuna should belong to the clan but live with Okonkwo. Not too long Ikemefuna began to feel like a member of Okonkwo’s family and calls Okonkwo “my father”. And he Ikemefuna was loved by every member of Okonkwo’s family, especially Nwoye Okonkwo’s first son. Ikemefuna stayed with Okonkwo for three years.

 

As the years went by Umuofia decided to kill Ikemefuna as the oracle of the Hills and the Caves has pronounced. They will take him outside Umuofia as it’s the custom and kill him there. Oguefi Ezeudu the Oldest man in Okonkwo’s quarter of Umuofia warned him not to be part of the party. He told him “have nothing to do with it, the boy calls you father”.

Okonkwo ruled by fear of being called a coward joined in the party and later killed Ikemefuna himself, even his bossom friend and warrior Obierika could not be part of it. Okonkwo was troubled after Ikemefuna death, he regretted being part of it, but dare not confess his fears for the reason of being called a coward. As soon he Nwoye Okonkwo’s first son and Ikemefuna bossom friend learnt of Ikemefuna death, something gave way inside him, that same thing later made him to abandon his father ‘s religion and way of life when the missionary colonialist invaded Umuofia.

 

At Oguefi Ezeudu burial (the man that warned Okonkwo not to be part of Ikemefuna death) Okonkwo mistakenly fired a gun at the dead man 16 years Old son who had been dancing the traditional farewell dance to his father. Okonkwo would either flee his town or be killed as it’s customary. It’s forbidden in Umuofia for a kinsman to kill another kinsman. The punishment is death.

Okonkwo had to flee with his family to his motherland – alittle village called Mbanta, just beyond the borders of Mbaino. It was while at Mbanta that missionaries invaded Umuofia and all the surrounding villages and nobody fought or resisted the missionary. An act Okonkwo saw as cowardice and he remembered the old days when men were men of war.

Okonkwo first son Nwoye had been converted by the missionaries like other young men and Okonkwo was deeply grieved. He mourned for the clan, which he saw as breaking up and things fallen apart, he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia who had so unaccountably become soft like women.

 

Okonkwo shut the court messengers who came to disturb and interrupt their gathering after some argument. Court messengers had disgraced and humiliated Okonkwo while detained at the District commissioner invitation.

His kinsmen didn’t support him instead they allowed other four messengers to escape. Okonkwo knew by that action that Umuofia would not go to war. They had broken into tumult instead of action. He discerned fright in the tumult, he heard voices asking. Why did he do it? He wiped his matchet on the sand, went away and hanged himself. The Umuofia he knew has gone. Things have fallen apart.