Christianity is first introduced to his village and the surrounding neighborhood by a relatively kind and understand missionary who preaches his new gospel with fervor, but approaches the Ibo with understanding and gentleness. His village is on a collision course with the western world. While Okonkwo has many fairly universally recognized virtues of honesty, hard work, loyalty to the group, courage and so on, he is also very quick to anger, a relatively brutal husband and father, a man who careful shuts up any emotions of love and care lest he show some weaknesses to his concept of virility. Achebe doesn't give us some total paragon of virtue in order to build a one-sided case. Given this boyhood experience Okonkwo rises from his status as a poor kid to become one of the strongest, wealthiest and most honored men of his village, even of the larger area. Okonkwo is the son of a lazy father whom he sees as shameful. The story takes place in a time we don't quite know, but just at the period when white Christian missionaries and British government and law are first penetrating the area of this remote tribe.Īt another level this is the story of colonialism almost anywhere at any time the brutal struggle to the death of one culture coming face to face with another in a geographic space where one or the other will dominate. This is the story of Okonkwo, prominent man in a small village of the Ibo area of Nigeria. New York: Anchor Books, 1994 (from 1959 original). THINGS FALL APART THINGS FALL APART Chinua Achebe.
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