Things Fall Apart Book Report

1. First Entry Things Fall Apart, a story by Chinua Achebe, is about a man named Okonkwo who has many achievements and lives in an Ibo village in Umfuona, Nigeria. The beginning of the book introduces the main characters including Okonkwo and his household. He has three wives and children with each of them. Okonkwo gained fame in his village from a wrestling match, respect from his titles in war, and money from farming; he is a leader in his Ibo clan. His success is driven out of his hatred toward his father who was not a strong man or a good farmer. This causes him great anger and makes him despise all things that his father stood for. The beginning of the novel is rather slow due to much detail written about day-to-day life in the clan although …show more content…
Although Okonkwo is a talented farmer, has a growing family, and is known widely as a fearless warrior he is so greatly distressed by the change that it ultimately causes him to end his life. He can not stand that the white men have brought their own religion taking some of his brothers and most definitely hates that they brought their own judicial system to judge the people of the native land. Things Fall Apart compares to most historical fiction works because the author uses interesting characters and stories to convey a message to the readers. The story can relate to the colonists treatment of Native Americans during the exploration of the American continent and manifest destiny. The colonists believed that it was their land to take and the native people should be judged by the American laws. It is also the same with the treatment of Native Californian people when the missions were built and the Indians were expected to change their lifestyle and religious beliefs. Even though the story is presented slowly I found the presentation of the Umuofian culture interesting and I am more likely now to further read stories by this