Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart - 1448 Words

Based on the precolonial era of Nigeria, Chinua Achebe s fictional story Things Fall Apart, shares the story of the Igbo culture through the lens of Okonkwo, a hard-nosed tribesman living in the fictional village of Umuofia. Okonkwo is a man who epitomizes masculinity and inner strength, the core values of the Ibgo culture, and shows no mercy when faced with struggle. Although Okonkwo is faced with numerous conflicts, such as the killing of the young boy whom he raised as a son (Ikemefuna) and the seven year exile from his â€Å"fatherland† tribe, the intrusion of the British missionaries and colonial administrators who later colonize Africa is the ultimate conflict in this story as it leads to the downfall of Okonkwo, whom resists the idea†¦show more content†¦For example, Okonkwo s father, Unoka, refuses to pay his debt to Okoye by asserting, â€Å"Our elders say that the sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them.† (Ach ebe 8). In other words, Unoka tells Okoye that he will pay his larger debts first before his smaller ones. Achebe continues the use of proverbs to describe the wisdom of the Igbo people by mentioning, â€Å"As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and so he ate with kings and elders.† (Achebe 8). This proverb embodies one of the core values of the Igbo villagers that through hard work even a person such as Okonkwo can overcome his father s negative past to make himself one of the village s greatest men. Despite his success and valor, some villagers often thought of Okonkwo as a brute, and is described with another proverb: â€Å"Looking at a king s mouth, said an old man, one would think he never sucked at his mother s breast.† (Achebe 26). While the Igbo people had harsh traditions within their culture, such as when they sacrificed Ikemefuna for the killling of a daughter of Umuofia, they remain ed to be harmless unless threatened. Likewise, the British colonials were viewed as harmless at first but quickly displayed their true character by controlling the people of Umuofia