Things Fall Apart was a famous novel, which was one of the most talked-about novels of the 19th century. This novel earned such a name at 19s that only discussed in everyone’s mouth. It was written by the famous Nigerian novelist Albert Chinualumogu Achebe and was published in English in 1958.
This novel is mainly about the Igbo Community. The specialty of the novel is; the life history of Okonkwo, a famous leader of the Igbo Community, is beautifully mentioned in this novel. The novel deals with the tragic events that occurred with Okonkwo, 7 years of exile, and the deportation of him who plotted to assassinate his descendants.
Things Fall Apart PDFthings fall apart
|Book Name||Things Fall Apart|
|Publisher||William Heinemann Ltd./Penguin Books|
Study Guide Questions for Things Fall ApartThing Fall Apart Study Guide Questions
Summary of Things Fall Apart
At a very early age, Okonkwo became one of the best fighters and became the leader of his clan. One day an older man in the village told Okonkwo that their goddess wanted to sacrifice a 15-year-old virgin boy named Ikemefuna. Okonkwo initially disagreed with this but later thought of all the people in his Clan and sacrificed Ikemefuna to protect his self-esteem.
Meanwhile, one day, Okonkwo’s gun accidentally exploded, killing his 16-year-old son, Ezeuda. Suffering the death of one of the Clans of Okonkwo, he atoned for keeping himself and his family away from the Clan for 7 years. Okonkwo received the news that some white foreigners had come to his town to take a bath. When Okonkwo came to the village and saw that nothing in his village was the same as before.
One day white people punished some people in the village of Igbo for breaking the Christian church. To get rid of the white people around this incident, the villagers sat in a meeting with Okonkwo, at which time 5 white people arrived, and they ordered the meeting to be closed. Okonkwo then beheaded the leader of the white people with his mashup.
Okonkwo thought his villagers would help him, but at that time, everyone stood silent. Okonkwo then realized that he now had to be punished by white people. But he would never accept punishment from white people, so he chose the path of suicide.
A dominant chieftain in Umuofia. From a young age, Okonkwo’s shame for his lazy, extravagant and effeminate father, Unoka, motivated him to succeed. Okonkwo’s conscientiousness and skill for war earned him a high position in the family. Okonkwo’s tragic flaw is that he is afraid of looking as weak as his father. Therefore, his reckless behavior caused him and his family great trouble and pain.
Nwoye is Okonkwo’s eldest son, and Okonkwo considers him a weak and lazy person. Under the influence of Ikemefuna, Nwoye began to display a more masculine demeanor, which made Okonkwo happy. Eventually, Nwoye converted to Christianity to escape the legal system of his nation.
Ezinma is the most favorite child of Okonkwo. She is the only child of Okonkwo’s second wife. Ezinma is a charming and brave girl. Because of her strong personality, Okonkwo always wished that Ezinma could be his perfect son if she were a boy.
Ikemefuna is a boy from Okonkwo’s neighboring village who lived with Okonkwo’s family. The boy has many talents and a good side for making people happy. Okonkwo liked Ikemefuna like his other son.
Mr. Brown was the first white missionary man who came to Umuofia. Brown was a very compromising, understanding person, and he developed inviolable policies between the herd and the Clan. He sets up a few schools and hospitals in Niumopia for the general people. He was also respectful towards the tribe’s values and respected the residents there.
Reverend James Smith
James Smith was a vulgar and strict person. He never showed any compromising attitude towards the Igbo people. He never showed respect to others’ cultures and religions and always tried to impose his opinion on others.
Uchendu is the younger brother of Okonkwo. His personality and behavior are unlike his brother. He was a very good-hearted and compromising and very supportive person towards his elder brother.
Unoka was the father of Okonkwo. He was a fragile and ill-mannered person. Okonkwo has always been very ashamed of his father’s behavior. Unoka had so many bad habits, and he never fought for his clan people. But in other people’s opinion, Unoka Was a gentle and a great musician.
Obierika was a very close friend of Okonkwo. He always helped Okonkwo during his hard times. He also helps to sell Okonkwo’s yams so that Okonkwo never had to face hardship.
Ekwefi was the second of Okonkwo. She was the most attractive girl in the village. He ran away from her first children to live with Okonkwo. Enigma is the only surviving child of her; the rest of them have died in infancy.
Enoch was a general of Umuofia who was an avid convert in the Christian church. Because of his disrespectful behavior, the whole village had to pay the price of his mistake.
He was one of the oldest clan members and also a great leader. He was a great warrior at a young age. Later he delivered messages and information from the Oracle.
Akunna is the other clan leader of Umuofia. He worked with Mr.Brown and discussed religion. He also made a structure to lead the whole ClanClan and keep everything peaceful and sound.