Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe - Book Report/Review Example

When Things Fall Apart for a Strong Man In 1958, Nigerian Chinua Achebe published the novel Things Fall Apart. Thenovel was about the life, struggles, and triumphs of Okonkwo. Lead protagonist was a well-known wrestler or fighter in one of the fictional villages in Nigeria. It is a social fact especially in African countries and its villages that it is a male-dominated civilization. With the strength that Okonkwo possessed, fame and prestige was always just an arm-stretch away. As the village was filled with testosterone, strength and power, the author made the protagonist seem to be an untouchable and supremacy. There have been republications of the novel when it was subtitled as The Story of a Strong Man. It was not quite a shock as to why the novel was dubbed as it was since the whole story evolved narrating the life of the considered strongest man of the village. However, going through the story, it was not just the physical strength that made Okonkwo a strong man. His life was not filled with experiences served in a bed of roses. In the physical aspect, Okonkwo proved himself repeatedly not just in wrestling matches but also in the labor aspect. When the protagonist was still in the earlier years of adulthood, the author expressed that: He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife. To crown it all he had taken two titles and had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars. And so although Okonkwo was still young, he was already one of the greatest men of his time. 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. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders (5). The mental and emotional strength of Okonkwo was tested when he was exiled after accidentally killing a man during one of the village’s rituals. Though he did not intend to kill a fellow, it was said by the elders that what has occurred displeased the gods and therefore he should be in exile until the gods were appeased. While in exile, the village was penetrated by White missionary men who introduced their religion and type of government. The influence was so great that the converts increased massively. With a strong faith and belief, Okonkwo refused to embrace the new religion and leadership as he treasures the culture and tradition of the Igbo village before the missionaries came. This exhibited the strength in mind and that he will stand for what he believes in even if the odds are going against him (Achebe, 110-58). Further complementing the idea of strength as a totality in Okonkwo meaning not just physical strength but also mental, Unoka, the lead character’s father, declared while already ailing in the event of the worse month of harvest that, “Do not despair. I know you will not despair. You have a manly and a proud heart. A proud heart can survive a general failure because such failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone” (Achebe, 18). Yams are one of the prime commodities that the village cultivates. It was even pertained to as the king of the crops (Achebe, 25). Yams are not just the main food for the village but it was also their main source of income. Once properly cultivated, it will be sold in the market and that is the only time that farmers will earn for their families, though not sufficient, it was enough to get them through their daily needs. There was a point in the novel where the yams were noted to be drowned by flood. This was connoted as a very tough time for the villagers. It even came to a point that Unoka, thought that it was of great misfortune that the yams that he planted were drowned by flood water. The abundance of yams was the gauge not just of the farmers but of the entire village as to whether it will be a prosperous season or not. Abundance in life seemed to equate the abundance in life in the village of Igbo. This was expressed in the conversation that Unoka had with Okoye, “When they had eaten they talked about many things: about the heavy rains which were drowning the yams, about the next ancestral feast and about the impending war with the village of Mbaino” (Achebe, 3). The villager with the most number of barns filled with yams; the more he is successful compared to others. At first, the people of the village fought with the white missionary men who brought a foreign religion into their native land. Just like any other cultures, there are oracles and legends that are believed to be a prediction of what will happen to their village. As Obierika told Okonkwo about the destruction of Abame: In the end the fearless ones went near and even touched him. The elders consulted their Oracle and it told them that the strange man would break their clan and spread destruction among them… And so they killed the white man and tied his iron horse to their sacred tree because it looked as if it would run away to call the man's friends. I forgot to tell you another thing which the Oracle said. It said that other white men were on their way. They were locusts, it said, and that first man was their harbinger sent to explore the terrain. And so they killed him (Achebe, 108). Since the villagers were not as heavily equipped with weapons like the white men, they were forced to embrace the religion that was introduced to them. Rituals and traditions started to be buried with those people who have fought for its preservation. In search for power and influence, religion was used by the foreign men to conquer the villager’s homes and lands. It was not a pretty sight to see people covered in blood so that others can claim the power and wealth of a once peaceful village. Others may have chosen to embrace the religion which was introduced onto them, but not Okonkwo. The lead character still proved that he is strong not just physically but also mentally as he did not let any foreign people to kill the tradition that he has carried in his heart and soul since the moment he inhaled his very first breath. Okonkwo felt sad and betrayed not just for himself but for the beliefs and the culture that their forefathers have entrusted onto them. This happened as the villagers embraced the foreign religion known as Christianity. It was such a pity that even the elders and the villager’s men with titles have turned their back from their own religion to embrace the teachings of Christianity (Achebe, 115-20). As a show of strength, Okonkwo preferred to preserve the tradition within him and not mingle with the Christians. For others who have chosen the new religion, this may sound foolish. The lead protagonist have showed even in the latter portions of the novel the strength that he embodied before going into the 7 year exile. It was quite absurd that the villagers who fought war with other villagers to prove who the strongest village is gave up their culture for a new religion. The Christian community in the village has grown immensely that it was consisted of men, women, and their children. Okonkwo denounced his own son for converting to Christianity. Blood is thicker than water as people do say and the blood that ran in Okonkwo’s veins are the same blood that ran in the veins of their forefathers who have cultivated their village in a state that one could be proud of and yet it was destroyed by a flock of white missionary men who used their religion to colonize it (Achebe, 99-130). Though in the village’s tradition and anywhere else, suicide is a form of weakness, it was not for the case of Okonkwo. He would rather die than embrace a religion introduced by people who destroyed the legacy of their ancestors. Turning away from the tradition is killing the very village where he was born, where his father was born, where his children were born. Okonkwo died with the tradition in his heart yet that same tradition hinders his body to be laid properly into rest. It was a showcase of great courage that one took his own life as a sign of his refusal to accept the religion that killed the village’s tradition. Works Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York, NY: First Anchor Books. 1994. Read More