Things Fall Apart is an unbiased fiction book that provides a great view of the Ibo culture and its interaction with the “white man.” In the beginning of the book, we take a look at the life of Okonkwo in the clan Umuofia. It is noticeable that the role of man is violent but heroic, and you must act that way or you will not be considered a man. We find Okonkwo beating his wives, which also shows that the Ibo believe in polygamy. They are also polytheistic, believing that everyone has their own god, which they call chi.
They have an oracle who is believed to be in close contact with one of the gods, and he is approached when help and advice is needed. Once in a while they have large parties, and unfortunately Okonkwo shot a woman in the clan. This is very bad for his ego because he is well known throughout Umuofia, and being sent to his mother’s clan, Mbanta, would weaken his connection with his people, and he would be forgotten. He is banished for seven years, and during this time, the white men came into Umuofia and built a Catholic Church and schools in the area. Once he returned they were already settled, and this was good news for some, like Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye. But, there are still others with Okonkwo that are upset. Okonkwo gets in trouble and is whipped by the Commissioner, and this just later angered him more. He kills one of the Commissioner’s men, and then he kills himself.
Okonkwo is a very strong representation of the Ibo culture. After seeing his father, Unoka, “fail” in life, he didn’t want that to happen to him, so he wanted to be a well-known warrior and be respected. He would constantly act violently, but violence was what he stood for. The culture accepted this attitude, but when the white man saw people acting like this, he thought it was a corrupt community. I personally do not like Okonkwo, but I respect him for his representation of his culture, and he should have the right to stand for it. The white men did bring the culture benefits, but their rules took away the purpose of the people’s lives like that of Okonkwo’s. Okonkwo commits suicide because his life vision has died, and his son went off with the Christians. His life was deeply immersed in the culture for so long, and when it was gone, he had no choice.
Here is my poem that shows what life was like for Okonkwo when the white men came:
He’s trying to be a man,
Trying to be a warrior.
Afraid of being Unoka once more.
A man from another planet,
He returns to find home inside out.
Who he knew to be Is now worth nothing.
He’s trying to find a scent that is no more.
He doesn’t understand why Nwoye has gone.
He doesn’t understand why Nwoye has gone.
His life is like a car without fuel
On a “not a through” street
That is only one way
An ape living in Antarctica.
His fright of realization
His fright of realization
That feels like extermination.
A game that no one will play.
The church devoured his title.
He can no longer live – no way.
The white men of the Catholic Church were both a positive and negative influence. Mr. Brown, for example, was a very pleasant man, and he applied what he knew about the Ibo culture to the Church, bridging connections, which resulted in followers from the clan. This decision that the people of Umuofia made only gave them opportunities, and especially for the women. However, another white man, Mr. Smith, was not compromising. He saw blacks as corrupt, evil people. His goal with the Ibo culture was more to fix them and change them from their “evil ways” instead of help them. Even though they have helped some of them, they have destroyed the Ibo culture even if they meant to or not.
This book could open the eyes of many people. History has been written in the way that gives glory to the conqueror, and doesn’t ever tell the other side of the story. Chinua Achebe wrote Things Fall Apartin the way that shows you what really happened, but never gives you his opinion. There might be many people that haven’t heard the overview of this sort of story, and might think exactly what Mr. Smith thinks – that the Ibo culture was evil and corrupt. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about the Ibo and also discover they are not cultureless. This book definitely will change the way people think for the better.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Anchor Books, New York. 1959.
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