Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is about a man named Okonkwo who is respected and honored by the Ibo people, but he is afraid that he will be a coward like his father and he is often cruel. After an incident with a boy named Ikemefuna, Okonkwo’s life changes drastically. A recurring theme in Things Fall Apart is the struggle between tradition, change, and others. This theme is seen after Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo’s exile, and the invasion of the white men.
The first event is Ikemefuna’s death. Ikemefuna is a boy that moves in with Okonkwo’s family and at first they don't know what to think, but he eventually makes an impact on everyone. Ikemefuna changes Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, into the man that Okonkwo wants him to be. Nwoye was always …show more content…
He then goes to his mother’s homeland where he is accepted. After seven years of being exiled, Okonkwo returns to his clan. Nobody acknowledges his return, there was no ceremony or party or anything. In fact, the clan becomes weaker. Before the exile, the clan was always ready to fight behind the lead of Okonkwo. The clan no longer had the will to defend themselves against the white men who began to take over.
After the white men took over another clan, they began to take over others. They changed everything that the Ibo people believed in. They brought a new government and religion and convinced some Ibo people to convert, including Nwoye. Okonkwo is angry at Nwoye’s change of tradition and takes his anger out on him when he arrives with a message, Okonkwo then kills Nwoye. The day after, Okonkwo kills himself. Okonkwo was afraid of what would happen to him if he stayed. His life changed and fell apart too fast for him to handle.
Things Fall Apart shows the theme of struggling between tradition, change and others. The events of Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo’s exile and the invasion of the white men clearly illustrates this. Okonkwo struggled with the change in his life and decided it was too much so he ended his
The first event is Ikemefuna’s death. Ikemefuna is a boy that moves in with Okonkwo’s family and at first they don't know what to think, but he eventually makes an impact on everyone. Ikemefuna changes Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, into the man that Okonkwo wants him to be. Nwoye was always …show more content…
He then goes to his mother’s homeland where he is accepted. After seven years of being exiled, Okonkwo returns to his clan. Nobody acknowledges his return, there was no ceremony or party or anything. In fact, the clan becomes weaker. Before the exile, the clan was always ready to fight behind the lead of Okonkwo. The clan no longer had the will to defend themselves against the white men who began to take over.
After the white men took over another clan, they began to take over others. They changed everything that the Ibo people believed in. They brought a new government and religion and convinced some Ibo people to convert, including Nwoye. Okonkwo is angry at Nwoye’s change of tradition and takes his anger out on him when he arrives with a message, Okonkwo then kills Nwoye. The day after, Okonkwo kills himself. Okonkwo was afraid of what would happen to him if he stayed. His life changed and fell apart too fast for him to handle.
Things Fall Apart shows the theme of struggling between tradition, change and others. The events of Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo’s exile and the invasion of the white men clearly illustrates this. Okonkwo struggled with the change in his life and decided it was too much so he ended his