Things Fall Apart: A Novel

Native of Nigeria, Africa, Chinua Achebe wrote his own masterpiece fictional novel entitled "Things Fall Apart," which took place in his own country during the 19th century. Achebe has used his own background of an African village to create an interesting story that gives unique perspective of the African life and culture. The book is broken into three parts which describe the main character, Okonkwo, and the lifestyle in his village, the arrival of the missionaries and their actions toward the villagers, and the last year of Okonkwo's life.

The first part of "Things Fall Apart" expresses the lifestyle of the African culture in the village of Umuofia where the main character, Okonkwo, had lived. This first part consists of thirteen chapters that reveal the life in Umuofia, the wives and children of Okonkwo, the life and death of Ikemefuna, and the beginning of Okonkwo's exile. The second part of this book focuses on the life of the exile in Mbanta, the village of Okonkwo's mother. It consists of six chapters which reveal Okonkwo and his family living with his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta, the visits from Obierika, the arrival of the missionaries, the conversion of Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, and the last year of Okonkwo's exile. The final part of the novel expresses the actions of the missionaries, the return of Okonkwo to Umuofia, and the death of Okonkwo. It consists of six chapters that reveal Okonkwo's attempts to urge the villagers to fight against the missionaries after his return, Mr. James' attempt to change the belief of the villagers, and a certain death of the villager.

There is great deal of symbolism and meanings being expressed from this unique novel, and it also expresses a fascinating perspective about African life and the impact of cultural imperialism.

The novel is quite enjoyable to read and gives one a food for thought.

I'm not the biggest fan of the novel: it works better in theory than as literature for me. Still, you might get another "read" through if you have this well read version in your car.

I read "Things Fall Apart" in my school days in the then Rhodesia. I immediately fell in love with the book because I could relate a lot with tribal life in my village and the various forces that were impacting on it. The customs, rituals and beliefs were very similar. The impact of white missionaries on the lives of people in my village was also very powerful and caused a lot of clashes with the local people's way of life. Things all around us were changing, exposing the fragility of our culture, resulting in inevitable conflicts.

The main character, Okonkwo, was a respected and powerful village hero. However, as we progress with reading the book, he is struck with tragedies which ultimately consume him because of his inability to cope with change. This book had a profound influence on me and made me appreciate the intellectual talent within the continent.

The book is a must read for people on the African continent where strong traditional beliefs still have a firm hold in a time of breathtaking changes wrought about by the unstoppable globalization process. The ability of African people to stop or significantly influence the pace, direction and extend of change is very limited. The tragedies that befell Okonkwo are continuing but in different forms on the continent. This is largely due to the failure to adapt to change and failure to appreciate that, however much we firmly hold and justify some of our beliefs, we cannot force others to agree with us and if we try, we will fail anyway.

An important lesson from this book is the echoing of Charles Darwin's conclusion that it is not the strongest of the species or the most intelligent that will survive in a changing environment, but those species that can best adapt to change.

I read "Things Fall Apart" in my school days in the then Rhodesia. I immediately fell in love with the book because I could relate a lot with tribal life in my village and the various forces that were impacting on it. The customs, rituals and beliefs were very similar. The impact of white missionaries on the lives of people in my village was also very powerful and caused a lot of clashes with the local people's way of life. Things all around us were changing, exposing the fragility of our culture, resulting in inevitable conflicts.

The main character, Okonkwo, was a respected and powerful village hero. However, as we progress with reading the book, he is struck with tragedies which ultimately consume him because of his inability to cope with change. This book had a profound influence on me and made me appreciate the intellectual talent within the continent.

The book is a must read for people on the African continent where strong traditional beliefs still have a firm hold in a time of breathtaking changes wrought about by the unstoppable globalization process. The ability of African people to stop or significantly influence the pace, direction and extend of change is very limited. The tragedies that befell Okonkwo are continuing but in different forms on the continent. This is largely due to the failure to adapt to change and failure to appreciate that, however much we firmly hold and justify some of our beliefs, we cannot force others to agree with us and if we try, we will fail anyway.

An important lesson from this book is the echoing of Charles Darwin's conclusion that it is not the strongest of the species or the most intelligent that will survive in a changing environment, but those species that can best adapt to change.

This book is an excellent read. I had to read this entire book as an class assignment for my English 102 and loved it. Loved it so much that I am now reading the next novel by Achebe for pleasure. I also plan to read all of his books in order of publication. "Things Fall Apart" really enlightened my awareness of this culture. Achebe is a great story teller. Who would have thought that a simple class assignment would turn into such an area of interest.