BOOK REVIEW

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart



Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Introduction

The novel was written in 1958 by Chinua Achebe who was a Nigerian author. This book is not only studied in the schools of Africa, but it is read in all the countries where people speak English. “Things Fall Apart” is one of the first African novels that were written in English, and it also received a global critical acclaim.

The novel talks about the life of Okonkwo who is a leader as well as a local wrestling champion in Umuofia, which is a fictional group in Nigeria and is resided by Igbo ethnic group. Moreover, the focus of the novel is also on the three wives and children of Okonkwo's. It primary influence is on British colonialism and Christian missionaries (Achebe, 1994, pp. 3).

Summary

Okonkwo's father was a lazy man who always indulged himself in drinking, he never received any titles, and he was in a lot of debt when he died. Unlike his father, Okonkwo was considered a great man in Umuofia, and he started to build his social status since he was young. He did this primarily by defeating a talented wrestler, and this enabled him to capture the attention of the society. He was a hardworking, wealthy and a courageous man and was the leader of the village he lived. Therefore, he was selected in his village to serve as a guardian of Ikemefuna who was prisoner taken in custody by the village as a peace settlement since the boy's father murdered an Umuofian woman. Ikemefuna is supposed to stay with Okonkwo until his decision took place. However, he stays with Okonkwo's family for three years and gets so much fond of him that he starts considering him as his father. Later, the elders decide to kill the boy, and Okonkwo himself stroked the killing bow (Neh.gov, 2011).

However, soon after the death of Ikemefuna's death, things started to go wrong for Okonkwo since he accidently killed a person at a ritual funeral ceremony when his gun exploded. After this incident, he was banished along with his family for seven years. During the exile when he was away, white men came to Umuofia, and introduced their religion after which many people converted, and a new government was formed.

When he returned back to his village after the exile, the place seemed to be totally different for him because of the presence of the white men. Along with the other tribal men, he tried to reclaim the hold on the village by destroying a Christian church that insulted their religion. However, they were taken by the white men as prisoners and a ransom is charged on them. Furthermore, they also humiliated and insulted the local leaders, which forced, the people of Umuofia to gather for an uprising but Okonkwo was adamant and wanted to follow his own customs and traditions. During a meeting, a messenger tried to interfere, but he was killed by Okonkwo and when a British ...