He wants to be with the missionaries because his beliefs have changed while being introduced to Christianity by the missionary, Mr. After he is beaten by his father for the last time, he decides to leave his family behind and live independently. Okonkwo’s son Nwoye starts getting curious about the missionaries and the new religion. The village is forced to respond with either appeasement or resistance to the imposition of the white people's nascent society. As the number of converts increases, the foothold of the white people grows and a new government is introduced. While Okonkwo is away in Mbanta, he learns that white men are living in Umuofia with the intent of introducing their religion, Christianity. He and his family are exiled to his motherland, the nearby village Mbanta, for seven years to appease the gods he has offended. During a gun salute at Ezeudu's funeral, Okonkwo's gun accidentally explodes and kills Ezeudu's son. He falls into a depression and has nightmares. ![]() Shortly after Ikemefuna's death, things begin to go wrong for Okonkwo. ![]() For many days after killing Ikemefuna, Okonkwo feels guilty and saddened. Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village, warns Okonkwo that he should have nothing to do with the murder because it would be like killing his own child – but to avoid seeming weak and feminine to the other men of the village, Okonkwo disregards the warning from the old man, striking the killing blow himself. The Oracle of Umuofia eventually pronounces that the boy must be killed. The boy looks up to Okonkwo and considers him a second father. The boy lives with Okonkwo's family and Okonkwo grows fond of him, although Okonkwo does not show his fondness so as not to appear weak. Okonkwo is selected by the elders to be the guardian of Ikemefuna, a boy taken as a peace settlement between Umuofia and another clan after Ikemefuna's father killed an Umuofian woman. ![]() He is a leader of his village, Umuofia, having attained a position in his society for which he has striven all his life. However, his drive to escape the legacy of his father leads him to be wealthy, courageous, and powerful among the people of his village. As a result, he often beats his wives and children and he is unkind to his neighbours. Okonkwo is also obsessed with his masculinity, and he works hard to hide any emotion other than anger. Okonkwo therefore works to build his wealth entirely on his own from a young age, as his father had not left him any inheritance. He is characterized as being starkly different from his father, Unoka, who had been a debtor unable to support his wife or children, and who preferred playing his flute over conflict. Okonkwo is strong, hard-working, and strives to show no weakness or fear. The novel's protagonist, Okonkwo, is famous in the villages of Umuofia for being a wrestling champion. Achebe states that his two later novels A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), while not featuring Okonkwo's descendants, are spiritual successors to the previous novels in chronicling African history. Things Fall Apart was followed by a sequel, No Longer at Ease (1960), originally written as the second part of a larger work along with Arrow of God (1964). The second and third sections introduce the influence of European colonialism and Christian missionaries on Okonkwo, his family, and the wider Igbo community. The work is split into three parts, with the first describing his family, personal history, his violent exterior and tortured soul, and the customs and society of the Igbo. The novel follows the life of Okonkwo, an influential leader of the fictional Igbo ("Ibo" in the novel) clan of Umuofia, who is, among other things, a feared warrior and a local wrestling champion. The novel was first published in the United Kingdom in 1958 by William Heinemann Ltd, and became the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. ![]() It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It depicts pre-colonial life in Igboland (modern-day southeastern Nigeria) and the subsequent appearance of European missionaries and colonial forces in the late 19th century. Things Fall Apart is the debut novel of Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958.
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