Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a post-colonial novel that was published in 1958.

The novel is set in pre-colonial times, and it explores how the white people came to take
over areas of Africa. In the novel we see a representation of Africa before and after
colonialism that took place in Umuofia and Umbanta. It also exposes the culture of
these villages through words like “Chi”, which means a person’s personal guardian. The
novel delves into themes such as colonialism. Okonkwo is the protagonist in this novel,
he goes through experiences that define him as a tragic hero. I am going to discuss how
Okonkwo’s fear of failure led to his downfall.

Okonkwo was highly recognized for being successful only at the age of eighteen, he
had won over Amalinze the Cat who was one of the greatest wrestlers who had been
undefeated for 7 years, having done that, Okonkwo gained his fame. Considering the
fact that Okonkwo’s father Unoka was a failure and a man who was indebted to the
whole village, Okonkwo’s ability to farm a large number of yams also earns him respect
from the people around him, he was able to take care of his 3 wives and children. When
Okonkwo was young, he obtained his first human head. Being able to achieve so many
things especially as a young boy made Okonkwo look extraordinary, he was therefore
respected. The village trusted Okonkwo with Ikemufuna, a boy who was traded for the
sake of peace. He treated the boy like one of his own. More than anything, Okonkwo
was afraid of failure, he was scared of being exactly like his father, he had seen failure
at first hand through his own father. He was all about masculinity because a man who
was a failure was equated to a woman or and “Agbali” (Achebe, 1958: 7). “If Ezinma
had been a boy, I would have been happier. She has the rights spirit” (Achebe, 1958:
29). Okonkwo valued masculinity so much that he often wished that Ezinma, who was
her daughter, was a boy instead. When a man could not do anything for his family like
Unoka, he was considered as a woman, I suggest that this brings about the notion that
women are weak, and they cannot do anything solid. “But he was struck, as most
people were, by Okonkwo’s brusqueness in dealing with less successful men” (Achebe,
1958: 12). He even hated anything and anyone that reminded him of his father, that is
how much he was repulsed by failure. And the village people liked him for his
determination.
His fear of failure led him to ill treat the people around him, he abused his wives and
children, both physically and emotionally. He beats his wife Ojiugo during the week of
peace and the goddess punishes him. He even attempts to shoot her which elaborates
how much of a violent person he was. So, his fear of failure made him to become a
violent person, of which violent led to his tragedy as I am going to discuss going
forward. “Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and
her only daughter weeping” (Achebe, 1958: 17). Okonkwo wanted to feel in control as it
was said that a man who could not control his wives was not man enough. Okonkwo’s
desire to be seen as a strong man and his stubbornness pushes him to take part in
Ikemufuna’s death, a young boy who had considered him as a father, after being
warned by his friend, Obierika to not part in it, I suggest that Okonkwo’s fear of failure
supressed the bond that he had developed with Ikemufuna, and the reason why it
haunted him is because he was starting to be fond Ikemufuna but he did not want to risk
his reputation. He cared more about what people saw in him, he did not express his
emotions, he was not a man of affection because even though he had become fond of
Ikemufuna, he never expressed it vocally, Okonkwo wanted nothing to do with
femininity. Okonkwo’s last straw was accidentally shooting a boy in a funeral, a killing
was taboo in the community, regardless of whether it was intentional or not, I believe
that this is where things started going south, Okonkwo’s absence summons a great
dilemma in the community.

A lot happens in Umuofia during Okonkwo’s arrest, the colonialists take over Umuofia
and introduce the people to Christianity. What makes the people of Umuofia believe that
the white man has power is that they survived twenty-eight day in the Evil Forest,
without anything bad to them as they had anticipated, this is where they believed them
and more people started to join the Christians. Okonkwo is not pleased with what is
happening and wishes to get rid of the white man. Before Okonkwo went back to
Umuofia, his son Nwoye, had left him to become part of Christianity, the boy has been
drawn to this faith, he fell in love with the poetry, this makes Okonkwo dislike
Christianity even more and I suggest that this is where Okonkwo could have figured out
that the white men are very strong in their persuasion, because they were able to lure
Nwoye in such a way that he did not stop when his father disowned him, instead he
went to stay in the convert. Little did Okonkwo know that it has dominated Umuofia and
little did he know that his presence will not be able to change anything because he had
a plan to get rid of the white men. The word grieves suggests that Umuofia is dead,
things have fallen apart. We mourn for the death of our loved ones, so did Okonkwo
mourn for the village that he has loved, the village that he had led to war, he mourned
because that same village could no longer go into war, it allowed outsiders to take over.

After 7 years of exile, this is where Okonkwo comes into realization that things are not
the same anymore, people have been lured to join Christianity. Okonkwo had hope in
the people of Umuofia, this is evident when he blames the people of Abame for not
preparing for the white men, he somehow thinks that the Umuofia people are up to that,
of which to his surprise, they are not. I suggest that as a person who feels superior,
Okonkwo hates the white men for the invasion and being in control, as a violent person ,
this upsets him and he takes a decision that further leads to his downfall. Okonkwo also
disliked Christianity for the fact that it persuaded people to desert their ancestral gods,
as he was a man who was . This where Okonkwo’s isolation enters, he cannot
comprehend how his people have decided to allow the white men take over. Because
Okonkwo was strong headed man of action, him and the other clansman plotted to
destroy the church. Okonkwo believes that this violent action will bring about a change,
he is unaware of the fact that the white people have persuaded almost everyone.
Okonkwo fails to adapt to the situation, Okonkwo’s braveness leads to his downfall, he
becomes brave enough to kill one of the commissioners. This is the part where it
becomes clear that the community no longer worships Okonkwo, instead of
congratulating him for killing one of the people who have brought destruction in the
village, the people question his action. “Why did he do it?” (Achebe, 1985: 85). In the
old days, Umuofia would have rejoiced at the killing of an intruder, they would have
went to war as Okonkwo had anticipated, but unfortunately for him, that was no longer
the case. Wiping out the white men who had taken over Umuofia could have been easy
but changing the minds of the people of Umuofia seemed impossible since a great
number of them had fallen into Christianity. Some even deserted their ancestral gods. In
my opinion, Okonkwo does not become the complete opposite of his father, unlike his
father, he did have his peak. But in the end, he has failed to get rid of the white man,
just like his father had failure to get rid of the hunger that hung over their family. He had
been buried in the Evil Forest because of his suicide, which was considered as an
abomination in the village. Unoka was also taken to the Evil Forest. The irony is that this
was one of the things that made Okonkwo feel ashamed of his father.

In conclusion, Okonkwo is recognized for his achievements in the beginning of the

novel, he is afraid of failure because he had seen it through his father, he always
wanted to be seen as masculine and therefore he is a violent man and his violence. He
fails to accept that Umuofia is different from what he left it, and as a violent man, this
leads to him making decisions that lead to his downfall.
REFERENCES

Achebe, C. (1958). Things Fall Apart. London: Heinemann