The Thing

“Things fall apart when the center cannot longer hold” is a line from Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” written in 1919. It inspired Chinua Achebe for the title of his novel Things Fall Apart, first published in 1959. Surprisingly, we can also link this line to the atmosphere in the other novel that will be quoted in this essay, The Interpreter published in 2003 and written by Suki Kim. These two novels deal with stories and characters that are extremely different – one follows the Igbo tribe and…

English 10: 4 16 November 2017 Ekwefi’s Role of Standing Up to Okonkwo Ekwefi, Okonkwo’s second wife, and mother of Enzima, is the one with the most attitude. Her role could easily be overlooked; however she is one of the most significant characters in Things Fall Apart. Ekwefi is the only one, out of Okonkwo’s wives, who has the courage to provoke or challenge Okonkwo, and she is still able to maintain her personality even when her husband gets mad at her. So, since her personality is so well…

societal expectations that the people live up to but when they are challenged, cultures collapse. Things Fall Apart illustrates how cultures evolve when new ideas are presented, as seen in the arrival of the British or the “whites” in the novel. Achebe uses Okonkwo's two sons, Nwoye and Ikemefuna, to contrast different viewpoints on popular Igbo traditions such as gender and religious beliefs. In the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses Ikemefuna and Nwoye to challenge traditional Igbo…

The Power Struggle in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a powerful novel about the social changes that occurred when the white man first arrived on the African continent. The novel is based on a conception of humans as self-reflexive beings and a definition of culture as a set of control mechanisms. Things Fall Apart is the story of Okonkwo, an elder, in the Igbo tribe. He is a fairly successful man who earned the respect of the tribal elders. The story…

prominent problem in society. Injustice and prejudice are products of the racism against minorities. American film director, Spike Lee, displays the racism that was as prevalent in the 1980’s, as it is now, in his award-winning 1989 film Do the Right Thing. The film takes place in a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. It follows the life of a pizza delivery man who works for Italian owners of Sal’s Pizzeria. Lee successfully captures the tension and racism during the time period, but also the…

In the novel “Things Fall Apart”, our main setting is the town of Umuofia. In this community and time period, masculinity is a major part of their society. Being masculine almost immediately earns respect throughout the village. This trait is taken so seriously that it is an insult to be called an agbala, or in other words, a woman. The protagonist, Okwonko, is revered all throughout Umuofia. They respected his sense of masculinity and his great work ethic. Unfortunately the apple did indeed…

culture includes gender roles that are quite uncommon in contrast to other cultures. For example, in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the belief that men are superior to women impacts the society by portraying the idea that men must have a title and a woman is inferior to a man. The belief that men are superior to women and children causes men to have complete control over their households. In Things Fall Apart a man’s superiority is portrayed when “His [Okonkwo’s] wives, especially the…

The struggles and successes a parent has can leave a long lasting impact on the lives of their children. Children can either aspire to follow the same path as their parent or to be the complete opposite. In the novel, “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo observes all the situations his father, Unoka, goes through and decides he wants to be nothing like his father. Throughout the third and fourth chapter of book, Okonkwo detests all the struggles his father experiences and ultimately…

Things Fall Apart is a post-colonial novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe in 1958. The fictional novel of Things Fall Apart refers to the protagonist Okonkwo and how the Igbo culture collapsed. The novel paints a poignant portrait of a wellfunctioning African society that undergoes tremendous change (Hartman) Okonkwo is a respected and motivational leader within the Igbo community of Umuofia located in Eastern Nigeria. He earns fame, power, and respect when he defeats Amalinze the Cat…

a man says yes, his chi also says yes” (Achebe 27). Things Fall Apart,by Chinua Achebe, is a story set in the Igbo society of Nigeria about a man who struggles with his chi and trying to change his fate. In the Igbo society, chi is seen as a personal god, almost like karma, that helps a person make the right decisions and keeps them safe if they deserve it. Chi plays a crucial role in understanding the deeper meaning of the events in Things Fall Apart, helps to illustrate parts of the Igbo…