Things Fall Apart Analysis Essay
The world is always going through changes, some are good, and some are bad. Whether it’s new technology, scientific breakthroughs, or advances in education, it all shapes the way we live our lives. Of course, with all this new change some people are bound to want to cling on to the old traditions. Okonkwo, from the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, was one of those people that just couldn’t accept the new ways of life. These new ways of life were brought about by Christian Missionaries that arrived in Africa. When the missionaries came to Umoufia, Okonkwo, a power-hungry individual of the village, was affected by them negatively, both by his unwillingness to change and his hatred towards the Christians.
There is an old saying that goes, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” and this qualifies for Okonkwo because he is reluctant to change the only way of life he has ever known. Even as you look at the way the world of today works, old people, such as grandparents are very reluctant to accept new changes in society. Okonkwo has been raised with the same beliefs all throughout his life, so of course he is very against any new sort of religion coming into his community. Soon, people of the village begin to convert, and the warriors of Umoufia don’t do anything about it, besides say that “The white man is very clever he came quietly and peacefully with his religion now he has won our brothers and our clan can no longer act like one.” (P. 176). Okonkwo, being one of the most powerful men in the village, becomes frustrated not only with the fact that the people won’t do anything to drive the Missionaries out, but also the fact that he no longer has control over the people, and their decision to accept the new way of life into their community. He was exiled for seven years and lost all of his authority and power. He becomes very frustrated, not only with his society and the people of his village, but also with his own family. His own son, Nwoye, became fed up with how his father treated him, and how his father would beat him, and even “seized a heavy stick that lay on the dwarf wall and hit him with three savage blows” (p. 152) so he converted to the new religion. This, of course, infuriated his father, and he disowned his son for being a “traitor” and joining the Christians. After this event, Okonkwo dug his heels in even more than before. The more he stuck his heels in, the angrier he got. This leads to dramatic outbursts that further decrease his status in the village. He eventually looses everything he once had and eventually commits suicide, all because of the Christians, and his complete refusal to change, or even allow the new ways of life to exist. The people of the village used to love him because they respected him and he was very manly, which was a characteristic that was greatly valued in his village, but after beheading a guard, and having his own son leave him for the Christians, Okonkwo was no longer respected, and his sense of identity that used to be one of pride and valor, becomes one of defeat and failure.
Another reason why Okonkwo’s sense of identity changed was because of how angry he got with the missionaries. He returned home from his seven years of exile to find that not only had he missed his chance to enter his boys into “the ozo society” (p. 183) but that people were actually believing what the Christians were saying, and had accepted them into part of their trading market and even into their lives. He lashed out at his family, his fellow villagers, the Christians, and even his friends, including Obierka, who was perhaps his closest ally. He was in complete disbelief at how the village warriors did absolutely nothing to stop the conversion of the villagers. He wanted to be in charge again, and have power, and lead his people in this time when Christians
