Things Fall Apart

By reading Things Fall Apart, it made me realize how much different the African culture is from the American culture. I knew the two cultures were not the same. I was very surprised at the way they perform ceremonies, and the reason they had the ceremonies, their beliefs as far as religion goes, the stories that were handed down from generation to generation that were told to taught lessons in life, and not to mention the proverbs.

The main characters in this story were Okonkwo, his wives, and children, and a very good friend to Okonkwo, Obierika. Okonkwo was a husband to three, a father of many, a wealthy farmer, and a wrestler who was well known through out the nine villages of Umuofia. Growing up, Okonkwo’s father Unoka was a failure, he was poor and he was hardly able to feed his family, he was a loafer and he never paid off his debts in fact, he when he died he still owed money. Okonkwo was not pleased with his father, and he was the opposite of him when he grew up.

In the Ibo tribe, conversation means a lot, and “proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten” (Pg. 7). They were also feared by many neighbors, they were powerful in war, magic, medicine man, and it’s priests. There most pote

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When Nwoye returned home, he saluted his father as usual and his father grabbed him by the neck and asked him where he has been, when Nwoye refused to answer him Okonkow took a stick and hit him with it two times.

A good example of the Ibo’s religious belief or ideas had to do with Ezinma, one of Okonkwo daughters she had become very ill with iba, or fever. Yam, the king of crops, was a very exacting king (pg.

Okonkwo had to start all over again in the new village Mbanta, his mother’s youngest brother Uchendu who was the eldest surviving of the family was the one who received him. Brown’s argument started to have an affect on some of the people of Umuofia started going to school to learn. It is also an abomination for a man to take his own life in the Ibo’s clan, if one was to do that his body was considered evil and he could not be buried by a clansman a stranger had to take away his body and, have him buried. The men were beaten every night by the kotma and they had to work every morning by clearing out the government compound and fetching wood for the commissioner.

Okonkwo had to flee to his motherland (Mbanta) for seven years. When someone calls another person name they always answer “Is that me” they never answer yes for fear it might be an evil spirit calling them (pg. The new yams could not be eaten until some had been offered to these powers (pg. Okonkwo’s uncle from outside told him to leave the boy alone, he let go of Nwoye who left and never returned (pg.

Approximate Word count = 2550
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

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