By Matthew F.
Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, begins with the story of Okonkwo. Okonkwo is a wealthy and well respected warrior for the Umuofia clan. Okonkwo does not want to be view by the clan as his father was viewed-- soft-hearted, effeminate, and most importantly weak. Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son, is view by his father as idle and negligent. The problems start when Okonkwo acquires a young boy from nearby village. The young boy, Ikemefuna, is the ideal son for Okonkwo. They begin to grow fond of each other and Ikemefuna eventually begins to call Okonkwo “father”. During the locust invasion three years later, the Oracle says that Ikemefuna has to be sacrificed, but Ogbuefi Ezeudu warns Okonkwo not to take part in the murder of the boy. Against the advice of the village elder, Okonkwo does help in the murder of Ikemefuna. Later, at the funeral of Ogbuefi Ezeudu, Okonkwo’s gun misfires and kills Ezeudu’s son. Due to the strict laws of the clan, Okonkwo and his family are exiled for 7 years. During the exile, Okonkwo settles in to his new life in Mbanta, his mother’s village. While there, missionaries began to move in and they convert some of the locals. Nwoye becomes a Christian, much to his father’s displeasure. After the exile, Okonkwo returns to his village and finds that the missionaries have already begun to convert most of the locals there. When Reverend Smith takes the place of the peaceful leader Mr. Brown, the methods of conversion change. When Enoch – one of the new converts – interrupts a sacred ceremony, the clan responds by killing him and burning the new Christian church. In response, the District Commissioner orders that all the leaders of the clan be arrested. After their release, the leaders hold a meeting to decide whether or not to go to war against the Christians. I will let you read the end of the book for yourself and figure out what happens next.
Overall, Things Fall Apart was not the best book I ever read, but it was also not the worst. There were a few points that I did find interesting. The first is how far Okonkwo would go to keep his masculinity. Achebe made this Okonkwo’s first priority. He jeopardized his, family, his clan, and even himself all in an effort to be seen as a strong leader. Okonkwo even took it as far as murdering his adoptive son whom came to him and begged for help. There was one thing I was sure of as I read this book – absolutely nothing would stand between Okonkwo and his desire to be seen as strong. I also found the character of Nwoye interesting. He begins the book with a fear of his father. When Ikemefuna arrives and they become closer, he does not seem to fear his father as much as he once did. After Ikemefuna’s death, Nwoye again begin to fear his father. Once Nwoye is converted to Christianity, he becomes too much for his father to handle. I found Nwoye as a child in need of proper guidance. He was willing to follow Ikemefuna and the Christians because both of them were able to show Nwoye compassion. Nwoye saw the way that his father behaved and did not want to be like him.
There were also a few things about the book that I did not like. For example, the way that Achebe depicted the Christians made them look like bad people. He does not depict the Christians as people who are genuine in their faith, but he depicts them as people who will do anything to convert the locals. The most prominent example of this would be Reverend Smith. When Reverend Smith takes control of the missionaries, he changes to more hostile methods. I did not enjoy the way that Achebe depicted the Christians.
All in all, Things Fall Apart was a moderate book for me. I defiantly think that there are better book options out there for those looking for a good read.
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