Raihan's DP Blog

Okonkwo is the protagonist of Things Fall Apart, which directly defines the significance of his character in the novel. In addition to that, Okonkwo has been characterized by Achebe as a heroic figure who possesses tragic flaws brought by his fear of failure and weakness, which has led to his downfall. Initially, he is a well respected man within the Igbo community, and was in fact one of the leaders of Umuofia due to his fierce character and his numerous successes. However, his status gradually shifts throughout the plot after events such as his exile, the arrival of the white missionaries, etc.  He is also significant to the reader as it allows readers to relate to Okonkwo's character, his strengths and weaknesses, providing them with guidance for them to live a better lifestyle. This also acts as the purpose of Okonkwo's character in the novel. His fear of failure and weakne ss like his father has caused his masculinity to overtake him, making him an abusive and i...

Collectively, the most important moments in Things Fall Apart have been decided to be 1. Unoka's Life and Feat of The Cat 2. Ikemefuna adopted 3. Okonkwo beating his wife and killing Ikemefuna 4. Okonkwo shoots a boy and exiled for 7 years 5. Arrival of the missionaries and building of the first church 6. Okonkwo's return and rebels against missionaries 7. Okonkwo hangs himself Out of the 7, I personally believe that the three most important of the 7 is when Ikemuna was adopted, Okonkwo's exile and the death of Okonkwo. Ikemefuna being adopted was significant because it demonstrates the values of the Igbo culture, showing the practices they perform in order to avoid conflict, which is by exchanging the death of the woman for the life of the young boy Ikemefuna. This relates to the novel's theme of the complexity of the Igbo society. Okonkwo's exile was also a significant moment in the novel because it is the bridge between the lifestyle of the Igbo...

Achebe has set the plot of his novel prior to and during the arrival of colonial administrators in Nigeria. Being a part of the movement for the independence of Nigeria, the arrival of the colonial administrators are the first thing he should be opposing of.  Achebe wanted to show the audience Nigerian life in the purest form, what life in Nigeria was like prior to its colonization. He wants to demonstrate that the colonizers has not brought civilization to the Nigerians, but that they have in fact lived under their own civil order prior to the arrival of the colonials who have caused the order to fall apart. Considering that Africa and Achebe's culture is also represented with complexity in English Literature, Achebe aims to reestablish that idea by depicting Nigerian culture in its purest form, by having the setting of the story to be prior the colonization period, since the civilization of Nigeria in the pre colonization period was not that great. As for the setting during the p...