The first three-quarters of Things Fall Apart is immersed in the clan culture of eastern Nigeria (we don't actually learn the specific setting - the events of the novel can presumably be transferred to any sub-Saharan pre- and post-colonial setting). The society that Achebe describes can be brutally violent and superstitious, and the protagonist, or anti-hero, Okonkwo is so single-minded and angry that it's difficult to sympathize with him. I think that Achebe chose to show the clan society with all of its flaws to counter any nationalist or tribal tendency to romanticize an idyllic past. Despite these flaws, there is a well-defined system of ethics in place that is necessary to keeping the society intact. Things do indeed fall apart when the British colonial administrators and missionaries arrive on the scene.

Achebe doesn't place judgment on either culture; the point is that whenever two systems collide and contend for power, tragedy is unavoidable.

Revised 2.3.12

After another reading, what strikes me is the juxtaposition of the two cultures. The Western reader is shocked by some of the extremes of the tribal culture, but they make sense in context. They make no sense at all when confronted with British, imperial, Christian forces.