Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart - 1410 Words

Things Fall Apart In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the reader is taken on a journey to a Nigerian tribe, Umuofia, to experience first-hand the struggles of a warrior named Okonkwo. Okonkwo showed that he had so much to live for, but as seen through the story, that quickly changed. Okonkwo was not any old village boy, he didn’t inherit a farm, nor was he from a wealthy family. Okonkwo disliked his father because he never paid his debts and was always looking to borrow money from others in the village. This left Okonkwo in a tough situation. The clash of cultures is one of the most important themes seen in book. After the Christian missionaries arrived in Umuofia, they immediately begin to alter the locals, which was ultimately the†¦show more content†¦They were 2 different sides that lived their daily lives differently. In the beginning, Okonkwo is known to be hot headed and quick to judge, therefore he was not ready to go down without a fight. There was a lot culturally that was different between the two sides that caused the feuds. Okonkwo’s role of power changed in the book many times such as when he left the village. He was forced to leave because during a funeral because his gun accidently went off and killed one of the young men of the village. The man killed was a clanman and this was a crime against the earth goddess. His family whole suffered from his accident, as they were all exiled from the village. Shortly after his departure from the village his hut was burned down. While Okonkwo was gone the Christian missionaries came to the village and converted Okonkwo’s son Nwoye into a Christian himself. Both sides had some cultural misunderstandings as the Christians arrived at the village, the Igbo people though they were missionaries. Okonkwos power was fluctuating throughout the plot, more or less at certain times. The book also has different genders with different roles such as the males apart from the females. Also the lifestyle was very different. â€Å"Okonkwo was not afraid of war. He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. In Umuofia’s latest war he was the first to bring home a human head.†(Achebe 46) Okonkwo starts out in the book in a position of