Breakdowns as a Theme in Things Fall Apart Essay

Things Fall Apart

The theme of the book Things Fall Apart, which focuses on the breakdown of a society as well as the main characters personal breakdown, stems from many conflicts of interests and misunderstandings throughout the book. There is not one single moment in the book where everything falls apart, but many times throughout. In the beginning a lot of problems arise from Okonkwos anger problems, and his inability to see others views. His ignorance is what ultimately leads to his exile from his clan. Its not just the fact that he accidently killed a fellow clan member, but many other events that had angered the village. One of the first problems was when he disregarded the week of peace by savagely beating his wife. Wife beating was accepted in this patriarchal society but not on this week. Things begin to fall apart when the white missionaries come into the village to convert the people to their beliefs which divides the tribe. Okonkwo is angered when he finds out about the missionaries while serving his 7 year exile period. Although the first head missionary, Mr. Brown, was an understanding man who listened to the people and accepted their cultural ways his replacement, Reverend James Smith, was not. The reverends intolerance pushes the clashing cultures to the point of no return. Ultimately things fall apart in this book because of negligence, violence and cultural misunderstandings.

The first societal breakdown comes from cultural conflicts that divide the tribe into two groups and lead to major violence and suffering. One cultural conflict, the language barrier, proves to be a catalyst that sets off major instability. When the tribe wants to perform one of its cultural acts by cleansing the village, which involved burning buildings, the villagers try to explain to Reverend James that they need to burn the church down. The language barrier that is in place requires that they speak through Mr. Kiaga, who is the interpreter between the two cultures. He fears Reverend James will not understand the burning so he tries to translate it into a less harsh version then what the villagers have said but fails to communicate the importance of the ritual, and the tribe ignores Reverend James when he tells them they cannot burn the church down. The white people act quickly in imprisoning members of the tribe who have committed the act of violence, and they are treated terribly in prison. With their spirits broken, all 9 of the tribes come together for a meeting after the prisoners are bailed out of jail, where to no ones surprise Okonkwo wants to act with violence. Once again the tribe is divided on a decision, because some of their own members have aligned with the Christians. "'The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.'" (pg. 152) When messengers arrive trying to act as mediators for the two groups, Okonkwo kills one of them to light a fire under the tribesmen and set off violence toward the missionaries. He was humiliated in jail and wants his revenge, but to his dismay the tribes allow the rest of the messengers to escape and Okonkwo realizes that they will not be going to war.

Things fell apart for Okonkwo on a personal level as well throughout the book because of his neglect of those around him and his violent actions. Okonkwo was a great warrior who feared becoming like his father, who was a weak man. Okonkwo associated weakness with being feminine which may be the source of his need to prove himself with violence. The only emotion that he ever showed was anger; he hardly ever showed compassion towards those around him, including his three wives or many children. His temper and his longing for respect from those around him get him into trouble throughout the book. The first time being when he beat his wife during their week of peace, in which no violence is supposed to take place. Okonkwo makes sacrifices, pays his debt and he feels that all is forgiven; however his pattern of violence continues. He attempts to shoot his wife Ojiubo after she makes a remark about his inability to use his gun, once again giving in to his anger and insecurity. Okonkwo sees compassion as weakness and this drives him to constantly respond to things that upset him with anger. When he is told that Ikemefuna, a young boy who was placed into the care of Okonkwos family, is to be killed, he is also told that he must not interfere or take part in the killing. But when it comes time for the boy to be killed Okonkwo is so afraid of looking weak that he himself stabs and kills Ikemefuna. Later in the book, Okonkwo accidently shoots and kills a fellow tribe member, who is a young boy. Okonkwo is then exiled from his tribe for seven years, and is overcome with depression because he can never be in a place of power in his tribe. When he realizes that he will never get the respect he deserves Okonkwo fully falls apart and takes his own life.