Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe is an esteemed book which deals with the life and hardships of an African community trying to express their traditions in a modern, colonized world.

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Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe is an esteemed book which deals with the life and hardships of an African community trying to express their traditions in a modern, colonized world. The protagonist in the novel is a physically strong warrior, Okonkwo, who is a controlling factor in most of the communities he lives in. Themes of triumph and descent are what make up Okonkwo’s character during the course of this novel. The wider world to Okonkwo consisted of the group of nine villages which comprise Umofia and certain other villages like Mbanio. Okonkwo was born and raised in Umofia and was very well known by all of the nine villages. His courage and determination led him to earn numerous titles in both wealth and wrestling. Ever since Okonkwo was a child he had to fight for what he wanted to achieve. Okonkwo possessed an obsession to always be number one, in control, and one of the most renowned men in the clan. These traits eventually led to Okonkwo’s destruction. Once his world was taken over by British colonists Okonkwo was no longer in control of his clan, or his own life. Since he had such an impulse to gain supremacy, once this was lost, he underwent a state of confusion and a mental breakdown. Throughout the novel Okonkwo struggles through many ups and downs due to his overwhelming desire to be the best and his greatest fear of being anything like his father.

Okonkwo had to fight to gain titles when he was older, due to the fact that his youth was completely poverty stricken and degrading. His father, in Okonkwo’s eyes, had to have been one of the laziest people he had encountered. It seemed unfortunate to Okonkwo at the time, who when he was older wanted to aspire to someone, had to be stuck with a lazy father, so in return Okonkwo hated his father, and was very ashamed of him. His goal in life was to achieve everything Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, should have accomplished during his lifetime. By the time Okonkwo was a young man Unoka had died, yet Okonkwo was much respected among his clan, and washed his hands with kings. A man can become influential in this culture by earning titles, the more titles a man receives, the more wives and children they can obtain. Okonkwo led a life with four wives, and an average of three children per wife. Since Okonkwo was comprised with such a strong superiority factor, he was always putting his wives “in their place”. He constantly had to prove to them, as well as everybody else, that he was bigger and stronger then them. Such an incident occurred during one of the clan’s festivals called The Week of Peace, where men or women were not allowed to show any sort of hatred towards each other. One of Okonkwo’s early wives went to her friend’s house to plait her hair and did not return early enough to cook the afternoon meal. Her reward from Okonkwo when she returned was a beating. His obsessive need to show people his authority can take control of his actions, sometimes forgetting what he is doing.

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Not only does Okonkwo have to be above people, he also has to have sovereignty over the other villages. Umofia, in Okonkwo’s eyes, is where everything is legitimate, and very affluent. Such an instance occurs when Okonkwo is speaking to other members of the clan about the customs of the villages Abame and Annita; “All their customs are upside-down. They do not decide bride price as well as we do, with sticks. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or cow in the market” (pg. 64). This demonstrates Okonkwo’s compulsion to position people and clans below ...

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