Synopsis
Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe
This is the story of Okonkwo, a
great man of the village of Umuofia who, by his own efforts has risen to be one
of the village’s most admired inhabitants and ‘lords of the clan’.
Part One
The novel begins with a
retrospective account of the life and character (twenty years since) of
Okonkwo’s father Unoka, whom he despised for his poverty, laziness and
weakness. The rival villagers of Mbaino settle a dispute with those of Umuofia
by giving two hostages rather than going to war. The male hostage, Ikemefuna,
becomes Okonkwo’s ward; he is eventually adopted. Okonkwo becomes increasingly
fond of him, in contrast with his feelings for his eldest son, Nwoye. He
attempts to repress these feelings as he does generally with emotions,
regarding them as a sign of weakness. Okonkwo beats his youngest wife, Ojiugo,
in the week of peace and is punished for this blasphemy; he shoots at, but
misses, his second and most beloved wife, Ekwefi. The oracle decrees the death
of Ikemefuna. Despite being told not to join the killing party, Okonkwo does so
and completes a botched killing. Nwoye is deeply upset, feeling about this as
he does over twins, who are all ogbanje children inhabited by evil spirits and
are thrown away in pots. Ekwefi’s daughter, Ezinma, is cured of malaria by
traditional medicine. At the funeral of Ezeudo, the oldest elder, the
ceremonial gunfire is punctuated by the accidental explosion of Okonkwo’s
ancient gun, which kills the man’s son. Okonkwo is banished for seven years to
Mbanta, his mother’s native village.
Part Two
At the house of his exile,
Okonkwo’s uncle Uchendu preaches the supremacy of motherhood, even in such a
male-dominated society as this. Two years later Okonkwo’s best friend Oberieka
brings news from Umuofia that white men have arrived. One has been killed on
the orders of the oracle, to deter others; but later half the tribe have been
massacred by more white men in an act of revenge. Another two years pass:
Oberieka brings news that Nwoye has become a convert to the white men’s
religion. The power of the traditional gods is challenged by the survival of
the missionary hut in the ‘evil forest’ to which the ogbanje children are
consigned. Okonkwo is devastated and advocates the violent expulsion of the
white men.
Part Three
After seven years Okonkwo plans to
re-establish himself in Umuofia. Uchendu presides over a farewell feast in
which he condemns the new religion for its destruction of the principle of
kinship and authority of tradition as the supremely cohesive forces of their
society. Okonkwo returns to a society in which some Umuofians have been
converted to Christianity and are the servants of the colonial rulers.
Resistance is not possible because it would mean civil war. There is a dramatic
contrast between the first missionary priest, Mr Brown, who appears reasonable
and respectful: and the second, Mr Smith, who is intolerant and zealous and
prompts the unmasking of an egwugwu, one of the village spirits, impersonated by
the elders. Smith’s church is burnt down. The ringleaders are arrested but are
promised release on the payment of a large fine. They are released and the
villagers meet, demanding war as an act of revenge for their humiliation. A
head messenger arrives with others to stop the meeting; Okonkwo decapitates him
with his machete, but the others are allowed to escape and he realises that
there will be no further resistance. He commits suicide: an unpardonable act.
The novel closes on the downbeat irony of the minimalisation of the incident by
the District Commissioner.
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