Things Fall Apart

Wow! Things Fall Apart completely obliterated any preconceived notions I had about the book and its subject matter...it was such a unique experience to take on the perspective of a native African versus the typical colonist narrative.

First of all, I need to discuss the social structure of the Ibo tribe, although Okonkwo's father had established a bad reputation among the other tribesmen Okonkwo was still allowed to rise in the Ibo social structure which I thought to be a surprisingly modern concept; in addition to his rise in status, Onkonkwo had it all pulled out from under him as a result of ignoring the oracle to satisfy his need for status and recognition among the other villagers. So despite his best attempts to dissociate from his father he still managed to be exiled from his village and stripped of his status. Okonkwo strives to make his way in a world that seems to value manliness, and in doing so, he rejects everything for which he believes his father stood. This proves that although Okonkwo did gain temporary success, he was never himself, but rather the manifestation of everything his father was not. As a result of Okonkwo's brutish and stubborn ways, he find himself unable to adapt to changing times as the white man comes to live among his people.
Although each of the characters contribute to the complexity of this work as a whole, Okonkwo seems to personify "the tragic hero" role the best...the reader grows with Okonkwo, first seeing his status and characteristics as an example of a strong man until a variable is added and I realized that all it took was something unknown to Okonkwo to bring about the ultimate downfall of his character. His personification of manliness with rashness, anger, and violence (all things his father did not represent)—brings about his own destruction. Although at times Okonkwo is gruff, and usually unable to express his feelings; his emotions are actually quite complex, as his “manly” values conflict with his “unmanly” ones.

Since Things Fall Apart is essentially a story about a culture on the verge of change, a substantial part of this transformation is composed of this change affects the various characters present in the work. The conflict regarding whether change should take priority over tradition seems to involve questions of personal status. Okonkwo tries to resist these new political and religious orders because he feels that theyre not manly and that he will not be manly if he agrees to join or even tolerate them... and in addition to this, Okonkwo's resistance of cultural change is also due to his fear of losing societal status. His sense of self-worth is dependent upon the traditional standards by which society judges him (and since his recognition of his father as a failure, Okonkwo has never tried to model himself after anything except the exact opposite of his father).

All in all, I loved this book and I feel as though I could endlessly continue to discuss all of the intricacies and cultural complexities found in it. It not only gave me insight into a culture that I didnt know of, but it also allowed me to learn new things in a literary aspect as well. Things Fall Apart tells of the inner workings of African tribal culture while also exploring the feelings and inner conflicts of man as a result of these social expectations.