The Ibo Society In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe reveals the faults within the Ibo society in his novel, Things Fall Apart. The Ibo community is located in Southern Nigeria with “low-lying deltas and riverbank areas [that] are heavily inundated during the rainy season, and are very fertile” (Countries and Their Cultures 1). Okonkwo, the main protagonist in the novel, is obsessed with many things, but specifically the growing of his yams. The reader later discovers that the number of yams a man grows reflects their rank in the community and shows their power. The yams are the first demonstration of the power of a man and Achebe subtly points out the apparent power struggle. Throughout Things Fall Apart, he continues to show certain aspects of society so that the reader may get a better understanding of what is important to the clan members. Achebe successfully transports the reader to Nigeria by displaying Okonkwo’s false sense of power and exploiting the flaws, such as gender roles, in the Ibo society that end up being meaningless during the spread of their unavoidable colonization.
The Ibo community relies heavily on power or social rank, but in the end, no social status has any significant meaning because of the eventual colonization of the clan. …show more content…
He depicts Nigerian culture by illustrates the struggle for power within the clan. Okonkwo’s false sense of power used throughout his tribe and in his family do not hold any significant meaning after the tribe is colonized. Okonkwo could not cope with not having fame and it was his hubris that lead to his ultimate downfall. Achebe wants the reader to understand the importance of interpersonal relationships. Fame and status are great things to have, but in the end, it is the intangible things in life that will get one farther than any title ever