Chinua Achebe

A detailed Summary of Chinua Achebe

In the novel, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe is trying to give an explanation of what it is like to live in an African society. The story is about a man named Okonkwo,

who was a member of the Ibo tribe. Over a period of time the Umuofia society disintegrated due to a white man that introduced a new religion, Christianity. The white man also brought along missionaries to help convert Christianity into the Umuofia society. The white man upset many of the men and women of the tribe. Especially Okonkwo who despised the white man and his missionaries. Okonkwo felt that the Umuofia society should have stood up for themselves against the white man and go to war with him.

The main character, Okonkwo, did not like the way his father lived. He believed that a man should be strong and do typical male tasks. But Okonkwo's father, Unoka, did not fit that mold according to Okonkwo. Okonkwo was ashamed of his father, and told himself that he would make a better life for himself and his family. Okonkwo accomplished this, he became very successful in the Ibo tribe and had gained a very high standing within the tribe. It was his goal to become a respected elder in the tribe, and it looked like he was going to achieve that goal. Ok

I found it ironic that both Okonkwo and his father, Unoka, ended up the same way. Both ended up being put in the evil forest after their death. It seemed the Okonkwo tried to everything different from his father. Okonkwo did not agree with the way Unoka lived, and he told himself that he was not going to follow in his footsteps. The most part Okonkwo's life was completely opposite of his father's. Even though they took completely different paths in life, their paths led them to the same place.

Okonkwo was stripped of his titles and his standing in the Ibo tribe. After the seven years had passed, Okonkwo returned to the Ibo tribe and started to rebuild his life. Over the seven years that Okonkwo was away, the Ibo tribe experienced many changes. Most of these changes were do to the white man and his missionaries. The African did not like these natives at all, but the white man insisted that he would build on their land. This didn't bother the Africans, because they thought the outcasts would only bring them bad luck. They also tried to jinx the missionaries by allowing the white man to build his church on the evil forest.

onkwo was banished from the tribe, for a seven year period, after accidentally killing a boy. Oknonkwo was then forced to live with his mother's tribe for seven years. When a man commits such a crime he is sent to his mothers c

Some common words found in the essay are:
Okonkwo Ibo, Nwoye Brown, Okonkwo Okonkwo, Okonkwo Umuofia, Overall Umuofia, Nwoye Okonkwo's, Eventually African's, Chinua Achebe, ibo tribe, Christianity Umuofia, umuofia society, Especially Okonkwo, tribe seven, evil forest, okonkwo ibo tribe, convert christianity, okonkwo despised, standing tribe, white brought, white missionaries, white man's,

Approximate Word count = 923
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels