Book Name : Things Fall Apart
Author : Achebe, Chinua
Book Name : Things Fall Apart
Author : Achebe, Chinua
Summary : (Taken from wikipedia)
The protagonist Okonkwo is
strong, hard-working, and strives to show no weakness. Although brusque with
his three wives, children, and neighbors, he is wealthy, courageous, and
powerful among the people of his village. He is a leader of his village, and he
has accomplished a position in his society for which he has striven all his
life.
Because of
the great esteem in which the village holds him, Okonkwo is selected by the
elders to be the guardian of Ikemefuna, a boy taken prisoner by the village as
a peace settlement between two villages after Ikemefuna's father killed an
Umuofian woman. The boy lives with Okonkwo's family and Okonkwo grows fond of
him. The boy looks up to Okonkwo and considers him a second father. The Oracle
of Umuofia eventually pronouces that the boy must be killed. 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. Rather than seem weak and
feminine to the other men of the village, Okonkwo participates in the murder of
the boy despite the warning from the old man. In fact, Okonkwo himself strikes
the killing blow as Ikemefuna begs his "father" for protection.
Shortly
after Ikemefuna's death, things begin to go wrong for Okonkwo. When he
accidentally kills someone at a ritual funeral ceremony when his gun explodes,
he and his family are sent into exile for seven years to appease the gods he
has offended. While Okonkwo is away, white men begin to arrive in Umuofia with
the intent of introducing their religion. As the number of converts increases,
the foothold of the white people grows and a new government is introduced. The
village is forced to respond to the imposition of the white people's nascent
society—whether by appeasement or through conflict.
Returning
from exile, Okonkwo finds his village a changed place because of the presence
of the white man. He and other tribal leaders try to reclaim their hold on
their native land by destroying a local Christian church. In return, the leader
of the white government takes them prisoner and holds them for ransom for a
short while, further humiliating and insulting the native leaders. As a result,
the people of Umuofia finally gather for what could be a great uprising.
Okonkwo, a warrior by nature and adamant about following Umuofian custom and
tradition, despises any form of cowardice and advocates for war against the
white men. When messengers of the white government try to stop the meeting,
Okonkwo kills one of them. He realizes with despair that the people of Umuofia
are not going to fight to protect themselves—his society's response to such a
conflict, so long predictable and dictated by tradition, is changing.
When the
local leader of the white government comes to Okonkwo's house to take him to
court, he finds that Okonkwo has hanged himself. Among his own people,
Okonkwo's action has ruined his reputation and status, as it is strictly
against the custom of the Igbo to commit suicide.
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