full title · Things Fall Apart
author · Chinua Achebe
type of work · Novel
genre · Postcolonial critique; tragedy
language · English
time and place written · 1959, Nigeria
date of first publication · 1959
publisher · Heinemann Educational Books
narrator · The narrator is anonymous but shows sympathy for the
various residents of Umuofia.
point of view · The narration is in the third person, by an omniscient
figure who focuses on Okonkwo but switches from character to character
to detail the thoughts and motives of various individuals.
tone · Ironic, tragic, satirical, fablelike
tense · Past
setting (time) · 1890s
setting (place) · Lower Nigerian villages, Iguedo and Mbanta in particular
protagonist · Okonkwo
major conflict · On one level, the conflict is between the traditional
society of Umuofia and the new customs brought by the whites, which
are in turn adopted by many of the villagers. Okonkwo also struggles
to be as different from his deceased father as possible. He believes
his father to have been weak, effeminate, lazy, ignominious, and
poor. Consequently, Okonkwo strives to be strong, masculine, industrious,
respected, and wealthy.
rising action · Enoch’s unmasking of an egwugwu, the egwugwu’s
burning of the church, and the District Commissioner’s sneaky arrest
of Umuofian leaders force the tension between Umuofia and the colonizers
to a breaking point.
climax · Okonkwo’s murder, or uchu, of a court
messenger
falling action · The villagers allow the white government’s messengers
to escape, and Okonkwo, realizing the weakness of his clan, commits
suicide.
themes · The struggle between tradition and change; varying
interpre-tations of masculinity; language as a sign of cultural
difference
motifs · Chi, animal imagery
symbols · The novel is highly symbolic, and it asks to be read
in symbolic terms. Two of the main symbols are the locusts and fire.
The locusts symbolize the white colonists descending upon the Africans,
seeming to augur good but actually portending troublesome encounters.
Fire epitomizes Okonkwo’s nature—he is fierce and destructive. A
third symbol, the drums, represents the physical connection of the
community of clansmen in Umuofia, and acts as a metaphorical heartbeat
that beats in unison, uniting all the village members.
foreshadowing · The author’s initial description of Ikemefuna as an
“ill-fated boy,” which presages his eventual murder by Okonkwo;
the arrival of the locusts, which symbolizes the eventual arrival
of the colonizers; Obierika’s suggestion that Okonkwo kill himself, which
foretells Okonkwo’s eventual suicide
