Fear Of Change In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Change is a powerful concept. It can make something better, or can make “things fall apart”. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses the fear of change to portray the idea that “things fall apart” in the lives of the protagonist Okonkwo and the Ibo tribe before and after the arrival of the missionaries. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe is a powerful novel about the Ibo tribe in Nigeria, and one of its toughest members, Okonkwo. It tells about the lives of the tribe, Okonkwo and his family before and during British Colonization. When the missionaries come to Nigeria, they challenge the traditional beliefs and customs of Ibo culture, leading the Ibo society to “fall apart”.
Okonkwo is a man of great power and a man who holds true to his customs and beliefs. He lived in fear his whole life, …show more content…
The Ibo tribe as a whole starts to collapse partly because of the missionaries. Before the arrival of the missionaries though, there were already conflicts in the Ibo culture. People were starting to question their beliefs and customs.
“The hymn about brothers who sat in darkness and in fear to answer a vague and persistent question that haunted his (Nwoye’s) young soul - the question of the twins crying in the bush and the question of Ikemefuna who was killed” (147).
Nwoye, the oldest son of Okonkwo, and other people of the society, especially outcasts, are starting to wonder if their violent traditions are right. The people of the Ibo society were starting to realize that there are problems with their society, but feared that if they changed the god’s ways, it may lead to destruction.
When the Ibo tribe started to fall apart, more change came and led them to even more destruction. Once the missionaries came to the Ibo tribe, they did not create conflict, but took advantage of the conflicts already extant to tear the tribe apart from their