things fall apart essay pdf

Things Fall Apart

Chinua achebe, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Things Fall Apart: Introduction

Things fall apart: plot summary, things fall apart: detailed summary & analysis, things fall apart: themes, things fall apart: quotes, things fall apart: characters, things fall apart: symbols, things fall apart: theme wheel, brief biography of chinua achebe.

Historical Context of Things Fall Apart

Other books related to things fall apart.

• Full Title: Things Fall Apart
• When Written: 1957
• Where Written: Nigeria
• When Published: 1958
• Literary Period: Post-colonialism
• Genre: Novel / Tragedy
• Setting: Pre-colonial Nigeria, 1890s
• Climax: Okonkwo's murder of a court messenger
• Antagonist: Missionaries and White Government Officials (Reverend Smith and the District Commissioner)
• Point of View: Third person omniscient

Extra Credit for Things Fall Apart

Joseph Conrad: “A Bloody Racist”. Chinua Achebe delivered a lecture and critique on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness , calling Conrad “a bloody racist” and provoking controversy among critics and readers. However, Achebe's criticism of Conrad has become a mainstream perspective on Conrad's work and was even included in the 1988 Norton critical edition of Heart of Darkness .

Achebe as Politician. Achebe expressed his political views often in writing, but he also involved himself actively in Nigerian politics when he became the People's Redemption Party's deputy national vice-president in the early 1980's. However, he soon resigned himself in frustration with the corruption he witnessed during the elections.

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Essays on Things Fall Apart

Things fall apart essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: the cultural clash in "things fall apart".

Thesis Statement: Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" explores the collision of Igbo traditional culture and European colonialism, illustrating the devastating consequences of cultural disintegration.

• Introduction
• Igbo Traditional Culture and Values
• The Arrival of European Colonists
• Conflicts and Changes in Igbo Society
• The Tragic Consequences of Cultural Clash

Essay Title 2: Character Analysis of Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart"

Thesis Statement: Okonkwo, the protagonist of "Things Fall Apart," embodies both admirable and tragic qualities, making him a complex character whose fate reflects larger themes of the novel.

• Okonkwo's Early Life and Ambitions
• Strengths and Flaws of Okonkwo's Character
• Okonkwo's Struggles and Downfall
• Okonkwo's Role in the Novel's Themes

Essay Title 3: Gender Roles and Women's Power in "Things Fall Apart"

Thesis Statement: Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" challenges traditional gender roles within the Igbo society by portraying the strength, resilience, and influence of women, particularly through the character of Ezinma.

• Igbo Gender Roles and Expectations
• Ezinma as a Symbol of Female Empowerment
• Other Strong Female Characters in the Novel
• The Evolution of Gender Dynamics

Strength and Weakness of Okonkwo in "Things Fall Apart"

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Okonkwo's Relationship with His Father: a Complex Analysis

Things fall apart: change vs tradition, the portrayal of women in things fall apart, repression and tragedy in achebe’s things fall apart, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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How Okonkwo’s Outward Conformity Hides His Personal Questioning in Things Fall Apart

The main aims of the author in "things fall apart", okonkwo's polarized concepts of femininity and masculinity in things fall apart, the importance of adapting to changes in "things fall apart" by chinua achebe, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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The Use of Proverbs in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

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1958, Chinua Achebe

Novel; Allegorical, historical fiction

Ezinma, Nwoye, Ikemefuna, Okonkwo, Mr. Brown

The European invasion and earlier colonial accounts of African history.

Colonialism, culture, family, friendship, life, struggle, politics, a cultural clash, Igbo society

While the African culture is often ignored, this particular book speaks directly about life in the Igbo society. It also tells an insider story of the African experience that becomes clear for those people who are not directly involved. It tells about the spiritual history of African people and makes a cultural aspect that is often ignored even through the lens of colonial background.

This complex, yet profound novel tells us a story of Okonkwo, a wrestling champion belonging to the Igbo community. The novel takes place among the fictional clan where we learn about family life, history of the main character, custom, society, and the usual challenges. The third part of the book deals with the Christian missionaries and the European colonialism.

The title of the book has been taken from a poem called "The Second Coming", which has been penned by W.B. Yeats. Achebe's goal has been to let the readers learn more about the African society that has been dynamic and vivid, yet completely different from the Western society. The book shows Africa as a modern and well-developed society. The "Things Fall Apart" manuscript has been lost for months until it has finally been found for publishing. Achebe has been influenced by the style of Charles Dickens. The book has given a start for the African literature all over the world. Achebe's work has helped to break down numerous stereotypes about the African society and the tribes.

“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” “A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so.” “If you don't like my story, write your own” “Then listen to me,' he said and cleared his throat. 'It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme. Is it right that you, Okonkwo, should bring your mother a heavy face and refuse to be comforted? Be careful or you may displease the dead. Your duty is to comfort your wives and children and take them back to your fatherland after seven years. But if you allow sorrow to weigh you down and kill you, they will all die in exile.” “Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered. As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings.”

The most important lesson that this book brings and a reason why it is essential for us is the socio-cultural clash that takes place as the colonial times arrive. We are given an opportunity to compare the things that were usual for Igbo community and the changes that immediately took place, mostly against a person's will.

It is an important topic that helps us to write about the culture, society, our background, history, and the changes that we have to endure when the new changes come. The book is a great example of how the old friendships and tradition vs change instantly become broken when the cultural pressure comes up. It is also a great novel that tells us about our faith and the rule of power.

Okonkwo is an element or a symbol of peripeteia or a dramatic reversal. We can follow Okonkwo's path from being a man of respect to becoming an outcast in his tribe (clan). The tragedy of his death (suicide) is what represents the downfall.

1. Rhoads, D. A. (1993). Culture in Chinua Achebe's Things fall apart. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/african-studies-review/article/abs/culture-in-chinua-achebes-things-fall-apart/D123B160B650B9BE84E6E85ACF032B9A African Studies Review, 36(2), 61-72. 2. Caldwell, R. (2005). Things fall apart? Discourses on agency and change in organizations. Human relations, 58(1), 83-114. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0018726705050937?journalCode=huma) 3. Ikuenobe, P. (2006). The idea of personhood in Chinua Achebe’s Things fall apart. Philosophia Africana, 9(2), 117-131. (https://www.pdcnet.org/philafricana/content/philafricana_2006_0009_0002_0117_0131) 4. Parmentier, M. A., & Fischer, E. (2015). Things fall apart: The dynamics of brand audience dissipation. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(5), 1228-1251. (https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/41/5/1228/2962093) 5. Nnoromele, P. C. (2000). The Plight of a Hero in Achebe s" Things Fall Apart". College Literature, 27(2), 146-156. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/25112519) 6. Shiner, M., Scourfield, J., Fincham, B., & Langer, S. (2009). When things fall apart: Gender and suicide across the life-course. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953609003670 Social Science & Medicine, 69(5), 738-746. 7. Ten Kortenaar, N. (1991). How the centre is made to hold in Things Fall Apart. ESC: English Studies in Canada, 17(3), 319-336. (https://muse.jhu.edu/article/694908) 8. McCormick, G. H., Horton, S. B., & Harrison, L. A. (2007). Things Fall Apart: the endgame dynamics of internal wars. Third World Quarterly, 28(2), 321-367. (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01436590601153721)

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Things Fall Apart summary&analysis

Related Papers

Sanjana S I N G H Rathore

African Literature has a long and rich history, dating back to ancient times when stories and myths were passed down orally from one generation to the other. In the 20th century, African literature appeared to gain recognition on a global scale, thanks to the works of writers such as Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri, Buchi Emecheta, and Wole Soyinka. One of the defining features of African literature is its focus on themes and issues that are central to African life and culture, such as colonialism, racism, identity, and post-colonialism. African literature often draws on traditional African storytelling techniques and incorporates elements of African languages and oral traditions.

Idil Journal of Art and Language

Cigdem Pala

International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation (IJLLT)

Being a postcolonial narrative, Things Fall Apart experiences a wide critical acclaim. From the pen of Chinua Achebe, the Igbo cultural complexity has come into being a theme that opens up a historical account of the clash of two cultures. Okonkwo, a very well-known public figure in his community falls under the threat of a new culture brought by the white missionaries preaching the gospels of the Christianity. After the arrival of the Christian culture, the first collision that takes place is the division at the individual, and then at the societal levels. When a number of the Igbo people, including Okonkwo's son, change their religion, it creates chaos and confusions throughout the community. Although the Igbo people have a well-established way of life, the Europeans do not understand. That is why they show no respect to the cultural practices of the Igbo people. What Achebe delivers in the novel is that Africans are not savages and their societies are not mindless. The things fall apart because Okonkwo fails at the end to take his people back to the culture they all shared once. The sentiments the whites show to the blacks regarding the Christianity clearly recap the slave treatment the blacks were used to receive from the whites in the past. Achebe shows that the picture of the Africans portrayed in literature and histories are not real, but the picture was seen through the eyes of the Europeans. Consequently, Okonkwo hangs himself when he finds his established rules and orders are completely exiled by his own people and when he sees Igbo looses its honor by falling apart.

IAEME PUBLICATION

IAEME Publication

Stories is the thing that hook up people. ‘Things Fall Apart’ is testimony of this dictum. Chinua Achebe did exactly what the people of the suppressed world expected. Igbo people of Nigeria used to talk about a myth about why and how the god decided to make men born again but in a different form. The same myth also gave another lesson to him, there as a danger in relying on someone else to speak for you: the only person you can trust is you and your message will only be communicated accurately only if you speak with your own voices. Even though many writers has written about African People and their cultures it can never be something Achebe saw and wanted to say. This inspired him to write the novel ' Things Fall apart’. The setting itself is something he made up and imagined. The fictional group of Igbo villages called Umuofia. And through the character Okonkwo. Apart from all these nothing is idyllic, cruel customs, malnourished kids, etc. But culture and tradition was the only thing that held everyone together but the same thing that tore them apart.

African Studies Review

Benjamin Ofori-Yeboah

Md. M A H B U B U L Alam

Chinua Achebe's magnum opus Things Fall Apart reflects authentic presentation of the Igbo society. Various social, political, economic, religious, psychological and personal issues of the Igbo people have been put forward by the author in this ethnographic novel. Achebe has depicted these issues from the perspective of both an observer and a critic. The ethnographic depiction of the Igbo life indicates that Chinua Achebe has tried to maintain his objective stance in the novel. He is not biased at all. It is evident in his contrastive presentation of the culture and beliefs of the Igbo; in one hand, he presents the constructive and rational side of the Igbo, on the other hand, he highlights their follies and irrational beliefs too. Achebe as an original Igbo expectedly presents the riches and potentialities of the Igbo society. But at the same time he is not uncritical of the limitations of his society where he belongs to. The present study has dealt with Achebe's audacious attempt to present the limitations and follies of Igbo life in Things Fall Apart. Abstract-Chinua Achebe's magnum opus Things Fall Apart reflects authentic presentation of the Igbo society. Various social, political, economic, religious, psychological and personal issues of the Igbo people have been put forward by the author in this ethnographic novel. Achebe has depicted these issues from the perspective of both an observer and a critic. The ethnographic depiction of the Igbo life indicates that Chinua Achebe has tried to maintain his objective stance in the novel. He is not biased at all. It is evident in his contrastive presentation of the culture and beliefs of the Igbo; in one hand, he presents the constructive and rational side of the Igbo, on the other hand, he highlights their follies and irrational beliefs too. Achebe as an original Igbo expectedly presents the riches and potentialities of the Igbo society. But at the same time he is not uncritical of the limitations of his society where he belongs to. The present study has dealt with Achebe's audacious attempt to present the limitations and follies of Igbo life in Things Fall Apart.

International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation

Literature, as an impersonation of human activity, often portrays a picture of what people think, say and do in the society. In literature, we find stories intended to depict human life and activities through some characters that, by their words, actions and responses, transmit specific messages for the purpose of education, information and stimulation. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is probably the most authentic narrative ever written about life in Nigeria at the turn of the twentieth century. When it was first published, Achebe declared that one of his motivations was to introduce a real and dynamic society to a Western audience who perceived African society as primitive, naive, and backward. Unless Africans could recount their side of their story, Achebe believed that the African experience would forever be "mistold," even by such well-disposed authors as Joyce Cary and Joseph Conrad who have described the continent as a dusky place dwelled by people with stolid, primitive minds. Achebe, perhaps the most authentic literary voice from Africa, he wrote not only to record the African, especially Nigerian, life but to analyze the reality experienced by the native people in different times and situations. The novel Things Fall Apart describes the Igbo people at a truly seminal stage in their history and culture: as colonial forces apply pressure, their entire way of life is at stake. These looming colonial forces basically declare the end of everything they know, representing huge changes to the way they exercise religion, their family unit, the roles of gender and gender relations and trade. Colonial forces don’t just mean foreign control; rather there’s an impending doom which is instantaneous and calamitous and which is something that Achebe examines head on. In this regard, the paper is an attempt to show Achebe’s endeavor to portray the post-colonial African reality in all its varied colors and textures and to find out the extent to which this novel faithfully mirrors the postcolonial impress that shadow the hopes and aspirations of the community that he belongs to.

International Journal of Development and Management Review

Uchenna Uwakwe

International Journal of Languages Education

Bülent C Tanrıtanır

Baba Jallow

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Things Fall Apart

By chinua achebe, things fall apart themes, memory/documentary.

Digression is one of Achebe's main tools. The novel is the story of Okonkwo 's tragedy, but it is also a record of Igbo life before the coming of the white man. The novel documents what the white man destroyed. The reader learns much about Igbo customs and traditions; depicting this world is a central part of the novel.

Social disintegration

Towards the end of the novel, we witness the events by which Igbo society begins to fall apart. Religion is threatened, Umuofia loses its self-determination, and the very centers of tribal life are threatened. These events are all the more painful for the reader because so much time has been spent in sympathetic description of Igbo life; the reader realizes that he has been learning about a way of life that no longer exists.

Greatness and ambition

Okonkwo is determined to be a lord of his clan. He rises from humble beginnings to a position of leadership, and he is a wealthy man. He is driven and determined, but his greatness comes from the same traits that are the source of his weaknesses. He is often too harsh with his family, and he is haunted by a fear of failure.

Fate and free will

There is an Igbo saying that when a man says yes, his chi, or spirit, says yes also. The belief that he controls his own destiny is of central importance to Okonkwo. Later, several events occur to undermine this belief, and Okonkwo is embittered by the experience. As often happens with tragedy, the catastrophe comes through a complex mix of external forces and the character's choices.

Masculinity

Masculinity is one of Okonkwo's obsessions, and he defines masculinity quite narrowly. For him, any kind of tenderness is a sign of weakness and effeminacy. Male power lies in authority and brute force. But throughout the novel, we are shown men with more sophisticated understanding of masculinity. Okonkwo's harshness drives Nwoye away from the family and into the arms of the new religion.

For all of his desire to be strong, Okonkwo is haunted by fear. He is profoundly afraid of failure, and he is afraid of being considered weak. This fear drives him to rashness, and in the end contributes to his death.

Tribal belief

Particularly since one of the threats to Igbo life is the coming of the new religion, tribal belief is a theme of some importance. Igbo religious beliefs explain and provide meaning to the world; the religion is also inextricable from social and political institutions. Achebe also shows that Igbo religious authorities, such as the Oracle, seem to possess uncanny insights. He approaches the matter of Igbo religion with a sense of wonder.

Justice is another powerful preoccupation of the novel. For the Igbo, justice and fairness are matters of great importance. They have complex social institutions that administer justice in fair and rational ways. But the coming of the British upsets that balance. Although the British claim that local laws are barbaric, and use this claim as an excuse to impose their own laws, we soon see that British law is hypocritical and inhumane. The final events leading up to Okonkwo's death concern the miscarriage of Justice under the British District Commissioner.

Things Fall Apart Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Things Fall Apart is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Summary of the novel Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe

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https://www.gradesaver.com/things-fall-apart/study-guide/summary

In Chapter 13, the village crier announces the death of Ezeudu, one of the great elders of the clan. It was Ezeudu who first told Okonkwo that Ikemefuna most die. It was also Ezeudu who advised Okonkwo to take no part in it. And yet, ironically it...

Find a present day newspaper article reporting on events out of Africa. Hypothesize how the events or people in the article would be different if Europe had not colonized the continent.

Sorry, this is only a short answer space.

Study Guide for Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart study guide contains a biography of Chinua Achebe, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Things Fall Apart
• Things Fall Apart Summary
• Character List
• Chapters 1-5 Summary and Analysis

Essays for Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

• Chinua Achebe's Portrayal of Pre-Colonial Africa:
• The Destructive Clash of Cultures
• The Role of Women
• The Comparison of One Hundred Years of Solitude with Things Fall Apart
• The Release of African Culture on the World

Lesson Plan for Things Fall Apart

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Things Fall Apart
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Things Fall Apart Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Things Fall Apart

• Introduction
• Literary significance and reception