The Final Third of Things Fall Apart

[Ms.Clapp]

What observation on the human experience is Achebe making through the tragic conclusion of the novel? Do things have to fall apart? What makes the center come undone?

[Andy]

Some Observations on the human experience that Achebe is making through the tragic conclusion is that there is not always a happy ending. When a human experiences large amounts of depression or change it can lead to them becoming unstable in a sense. Things don't necessary have to fall apart. To keep something from falling apart ex such as a building, you would keep updating it as time goes on. If you aren't willing to change in the face of time then that what causes collapse. The center becomes undone by not being able to change or adept to the new changing environment.

[Sam]

I agree with Andy. You almost expect there to be a different ending, where Okonkwo is able to fight against the Europeans. The remarks being made about the human experience are that sometimes you need to change, like Nwoye/Isaac did, to survive.

Also, slightly off topic, but I noticed similarities between Isaac and Okonkwo. Both of them have fathers who died in a way which was considered shameful to the people, and both tried to live their lives differently from their fathers'. With Okonkwo it was by being a great warrior, something his father never was, and with Isaac, it was by converting to Christianity, something his father would never do.

[Stanley]

I agree with Sam. The ending of the book was extremely depressing in my view. Okonkwo was a man of so much pride and honor and for him to go against his own culture, which taboos hanging/suicide, is certain a way to end the book on a bad note. I really did wish that Okonkwo had gone out in a more fashionable way; per se, dying in a fight against the missionaries.

As for Achebe, he highlights the black, white, and gray of human choice in a way. In an impossible decision of either remaining steadfast or conversion, one has to be able to choose one or the other; Nwoye/Isaac chose to convert and live, others chose to remain true to their heritage and died. But the gray in which I mentioned would be Okonkwo. Towards the end, he stuck with everything he prided himself off of - the glory of his tradition, culture, and Umuofia - but yet at the end, he discarded it and committed suicide. If anything, I believe, Achebe is trying to reinforce is that when one is forced to give up everything he's ever believed in or to die for it, the choice is left to the strength of the will of that person and his course of action from their is that of his choice. Okonkwo chose to protect then suicide; Isaac/Nwoye chose to convert; the rest is yet another story of its own.

Things don't have to fall apart, but once started, it's hard to stop. Taking from the end of the second third, the speech by Uchendu's kinsmen about the importance of family and staying together, everything about the tribes and villages was about unity. The rules and tribal laws were very unforgiving and unwavering when it came to dismantling trenched unity. However, the coming of the white men, the European missionaries, was something that so easily took root and uprooted the heavily based unity. Should Umuofia revolted together, the European missionaries could have been removed and the unity could have lasted. But like a web spun by a spider, every thread of silk is only strong as the other; together they hold, separated they fall. With more and more people of Umuofia converting and the tribal laws forbidding murder of clansmen, what could the people of Umuofia do? The threads that held that village together were being undone and by the time they had chose to act, it was all too late.

The center, again, can only becoming undone when unity is lost. Like the defense and offense of any team - lacrosse and football in my experiences - every player on the field has a purpose and unified they win yet if one even fails to uphold their part, it all breaks down. The center, which is the team, is only as strong as the unity of each individual that composes it. If one string begins to break, it must be replaced before it causes another to snap with it. If done so, the center preserves; if ignored, the center will unravel.

[Sarah]

What do you guys think about the purpose of the last sentence - the title of The Commissioner's book?
"The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger"

Personally, I was disgusted, and I think that's what Achebe wanted. He ends a beautifully-written piece of authentically African literature, complete with indigenous words and folk tales, with this condescending title. It's clear that we're meant to see that now things have truly, fully fallen apart. The once-mighty tribe, as Okonkwo spotted earlier on, has become "pacified", or feminine as he would say. The proud tribesmen have fallen, to outsiders who saw them as savages worth saving. As Stanley said, all semblance of unity has been lost, after much struggle and angst and bloodshed. Yet it all shrinks up into one succinct cover-worthy phrase. Rather than all the themes Ochebe touched on - family, duty, masculinity, tradition, and more - the Commissioner sees only how he triumphed over primitive tribespeople. He sees only a "reasonable paragraph" - not even a whole chapter - to describe the downfall of both Okonkwo and the tribe. He is selfish, and prejudiced, and cold. But he has won out. Thus, the ending, as others have said, is unfathomably bleak.

[Xuan]

Talk about a twist! The burning question is why? Why did Okonkwo kill himself? "Depression" has been mentioned quite a few times but I am pondering the nature of it all. Throughout the book, Okonkwo has again again talked about masculinity and strength and when he acted out on these "virtues," he found that the clan was too far changed to see it as an act of courage and loyalty. They asked "why did he do that." Achebe ended that chapter with that question to show that the ways of the tribe has truly changed. Did Okonkwo kill himself out of shame? Why? I just don't understand. Did he not want to deal with the consequences? (Maybe i just didn't understand the ending and someone will clarify, ha!)

As for the question on human experiences, i think Achebe is trying to say that despite everything that a person may deeply and faithfully believe in, one's experiences can completely uproot and destroy those things. Okonkwo believed in his clan, his traditions, masculinity; he believed in his success and prosperity and then he went against all of those things and killed himself.

As for the novel as a whole, things did fall apart in Africa due to the settlement of the white men and establishment of Christianity. But i also noticed that Achebe made conscious choices to somewhat uplift the popular opinions of African tribes. The word "tribe" sounds so negative in the book title in the ending. The consistent use of metaphors and figurative language shows that they are actually more civilized than many thought at the time. The prose somewhat disproves the stereotypical image of barbarism in relations to tribal Africa.

[Alex]

Like Andy said, the human experience does not always yield a “happy ending”. We see this in life, when a person dies of a fatal illness, or tragic accident. Achebe, through the Okonkwo’s death, illustrates that expectation usually far exceeds reality. Upon his return to Umuofia, he expects his clan to have driven away the white man, and eradicated this Christian nuisance, but to his surprise, he finds the church coexisting with the villagers. He was “deeply grieved” by his clan, who “had so unaccountably become soft like women” (183). Upon his arrival, he also discovers that his son has just gone to “the new training college for teachers in Umuru” (182). It’s as if the villagers’ conversion to Christianity isn’t bad enough, Okonkwo finds that his son has also become feminine. He thought he could mold his son into a masculine figure, but again, he is disappointed. I could’ve almost predicted something bad happening to Okonkwo, due to all the disappointment that surrounded him, but nothing as extreme as suicide. I think it’s ironic how he tried so hard to improve his social status, and to be opposite of his father, but in the end, he suffers the same fate, becoming penniless and title-less, with his authority within his tribe being undermined by the presence of the white man.

Another factor that contributed to his death was the fact that he was a man of action. He couldn’t stand not being in control, and with the arrival of the white men, that control shifted from him, to the missionaries and the new faith, Christianity. I feel as though his suicide was an act of defiance, in that if he could not wield control of the village, he’d rather not be a part of it. It also appeared as if he had nothing else to live for; the village was no longer under his command, his son has become, what he considers, emasculated, and even his daughters aren’t able to attract worthy suitors from within the clan. Nothing went the way Okonkwo expected, and he no longer possessed power. He’d much rather die for something he believed in, than to conform to Christianity.

The title, “Things Fall Apart,” pretty much summed up the entire novel. Things, in the case of the African tribal system, did fall apart, and it seemed inevitable. It was either to resist the change, like Okonkwo attempted to do, and drive out the white missionaries, or to do what Nwoye did, and convert, change names, and follow this new way of life. With the European encroachment, I think it was impossible for the tribal system to coexist with Christianity. Christianity violated the Igbo traditions, like the church’s acceptance of those in low-caste. This disrupted the Igbo hierarchy, and resulted in leaders, like Okonkwo’s loss of power. Even throughout history, we witness the disappearance of certain cultures as a result of encroachment, imperialism, and spread of different religions like Christianity that supplemented the culture.

Referring back to what Stanley said, the center is like a “team,” with the team being the tribe. The center becomes undone when members of the tribe stop cooperating, and stop working harmoniously. This was exhibited through the arrival of the white men, and some of the tribes’ conversion to Christianity, and Obierika asks, “How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us?” (176). Obierika is basically asking how the clan can oppose this threat of Christianity, when their own people have converted. This seems like an act of treachery, and manipulation by the white men. The white men have “put a knife on the things that held us together” and severed the uniting force, the Igbo culture, that once bound the clan together, and thus, they no longer work as a “team”. To supplement this center, would be a new center, possibly forged by Christianity.

[Terry]

In my opinion (In response to Xuan's Question), I believe Okonkwo had an ulterior motive for committing suicide, one that Achebe may have only hinted at. While I will take into consideration that Okonkwo may have just killed himself in a childish temper-tantrum because he couldn't be in control (as Alex seemed to suggest) or simply out of shame (as Xuan suggested), I don't think that this is representative of the whole picture.

As I said in a previous post, conflicts in the second part of the novel seemed to focus increasingly upon Man Vs. God style conflict. However, it's important to take into account Okonkwo's increasing religious fervor as the events of the plot unfold as he ages. In the first section, Okonkwo believes that hard work is the answer to all problems (being that luck so often failed him, for example during his first few harvests while he was Sharecropping) and has stated several times his distrust of the Chi and the actions of the Gods. However, when faced with the seemingly unstoppable dismantling of his tribe and culture, Okonkwo begins thinking about his afterlife, and trusting more to the Gods of his ancestors (as seen in the dismantling of the Christian church by the masked spirits). Despite this, Okonkwo seems defiant to the very last (not necessarily of the village, as Alex suggested, but of the white man), determined "[to] fight alone if [he should] choose"(p.201) and to " avenge himself" (p.199), which makes no sense in the context of his rather pitiful death by hanging.In my mind, Okonkwo killed himself as a final curse upon the white man (perhaps hoping to rouse the Gods of the Umuofia or even his fellow kinsmen to anger). Okonkwo's corpse is treated by his fellow villagers as a curse, with even his best friend Obierika stating that "His body is ... abomination. Only strangers may touch it."(p.207) juxtaposed to Okonkwo's belief that Christianity is an abomination leading to the splintering of the clan's values. Perhaps Okonkwo saw fit to "fight fire with fire" so to speak, severing himself from the clan that his very soul might haunt the white man in death (he cannot be buried with the Umuofia and thus would likely be buried in the Evil Forest, which houses the Christian church). For these reasons, I feel Okonkwo's suicide was an expression of his resolution to fight the white man and his God directly , given the other option (a murderous rampage would leave him to be put through the white man's justice system, or executed outright, and buried only Gods know where) would be far less effective from a spiritual standpoint.

In direct response to the ending, I felt Okonkwo's death was a little rushed, and the cohesive nature of the end-plot was mismatched in comparison to Achebe's previous vignette style( and thus can empathize with Xuan's confusion). I feel it would've been much more effective to (as Stanley said) have Okonkwo go out in a blaze of glory fighting against the Europeans as he swore to do.However, in my opinion, Okonkwo's death wasn't all that emotionally moving because it (due to the nature of suicide) was rather easily preventable, and it was quite predictable (as the previous posts indicated, I was pretty much set on the idea of Okonkwo dying by the end);Combined with his naturally abrasive and extreme personality, I found it difficult to feel an emotional attachment to his character, even if Achebe's narrative comes off as more sympathetic to Okonkwo than to Nwoye or the other characters. So, my main point is that while it may be inspired by ancient Greek "Tragic Hero" plot-lines (as Alex mentioned in an earlier post), I find the tragedy aspect sort of underwhelming, as it focuses more on Okonkwo's loss than the terrifying realities of war and the colonization.

Speaking of which, did anyone else notice this parallelism/allusion? Nwoye's Christianized name is Isaac, who had a similar issue with his father Abraham in The Bible (albeit, God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, rather than an adopted brother), and severely distrusts his father for the rest of his life (for good reason).In the Qur'an however, Isaac had a brother Ishmael, who was to be sacrificed instead (which is closer to the events of the book).

To discuss, Obierika's character and role for a brief moment:

Throughout the book, Obierika seems to be a reflection of Okonkwo's life gone right via moderation, exemplifying the tribal standards of manliness without being abrasive and developing emotional issues. It is Obierika who best exemplifies the elder's speech at the end of the second section about the unity and camraderie of a tribe, remaining a true friend to Okonkwo despite the latter being in exile. The fact that he is the only tribesman to make direct comment on Okonkwo's death, as well as the one who is most visibly upset (expression of emotions) further stengthens the juxtaposition between them.

To answer Sarah : I feel that the fact that the narrative changes to follow the district Commissioner in the last chapter, as well as the ending quotation "The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger" seems to support the idea that history is told by whomever wins. However, perhaps Achebe is trying to inspire a more in depth study of human history, being that (from the sound of most comments) the readers and the narrator indubitably side with Okonkwo and the native tribes, rather than the commonly known white history of colonization. Maybe Achebe used this perspective switch to make the point that there is always a new perspective to be taken into account, an untold story to be unearthed, etc... and that history, as is true with all human experience, should never be taken in simple black and white.

Looking ahead, I wonder just what relevance this novel may have in the context of Heart of Darkness, which is also about the colonization of Africa. There obviously has to be a reason we were assigned both stories which center in Africa, around the same time period, with the same overall pretense, etc... I'm interested in hearing your opinions as a class (once finished with HoD).

To answer Ms. Clapp more directly: I feel that things do not have to fall apart, and in general human life is full of uncertainty. To answer with a rather famous quotation from John Lennon, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans". I think in Okonkwo's case, I feel that had he spent less time planning his triumphant return to Umuofia and stroking his own ego, initiating his sons into Ozo society, marrying off his daughters, etc (living out his dreams and restoring his honor)... and seen the Christians as more of a threat (interacting more in the real world), perhaps he could have roused the Umuofia to war before it was too late. At a certain point, attempting to keep things from falling apart is just fighting the inevitable, and one can only start over and rebuild. From the point of view of an architect, it is often more applicable to level and destroy the old, in order to bring in the new and start again, which can be viewed as a metaphor for the colonization which occurs in the novel.

[Medjine]

Concerning the human experience Achebe's observation is that all good things come to an end for example Okonkwo's popularity within the village was not as strong at it was after he returned from exile. As well as the beliefs of the people in Umuofia, before the missionaries everyone was living well because everyone believed in the same gods so life was good, but after the missionaries came the group divided. At some point I think things do have to fall apart because life or anything for that matter can never be perfect and there will always be a flaw. I guess what makes the center come undone is a flaw whether it is within a person or within a group of people and in Okonkwo's case to me it seemed more like his pride got in the way of his judgement.

[Vivian]

I agree with Andy. The world evolves everyday and we, as its inhabitants, must adapt to the changes as they come. Things don’t always have to fall apart. Things can be changes or updated to prevent failure and collapse. These white men come in questioning their belief, I mean, who wouldn’t? They act and kill without reason. In the novel, certain people were submitting themselves to this new religion that was being introduced to them. This provided conflict between the old and the new. The center has to work as one, they need to learn to cooperate or else everything will fall apart. It’s survival of the fittest, which in this case, the new and improved come out on top.

[Clarissa]

The ending of this book, although morbid, is strangly satisfying for me. With all Okonkwo has done, since the beginning, in his child hood when he swore to himself he would not be as his father was, which in his eyes was weak and worthless. He grew up striving to better himself, becoming the center of it all. Essentially where he wanted to be. But in his experience he never payed attention to what truly is important in human life. Emotion and morality. The decisions we make effect us, it is just human nature.The choices Okonkwo made throughout life, turned him into a hard shell. He knew nothing but to fight for what he wanted. But when he lost control, everything began to spiral, he saw "his world" crumbling before him, all that he had worked so hard to gain just disapear in a matter of moments. So when he took his own life, which was said to be the worst a man could do in his clan, I couldn't help but think to myself, "got what was coming." Seems horrid to think but really, what did he have besides his own ego? I think the only time I even slightly felt Okonkwo showing the slightest bit of compassion was when he went to the caves looking for his second wife Ekwefi when Chielo the priestess of Agbala took her daughter Ezinma.Other than that his cold heart did not win me, and so after his rebellion against the church and everything coming to an end, his life was just one more.

The very last couple of paragraphs even almost agree with me. Okonkowos life was only worthy of "a resonable paragraph." How ironic that that is stated at the end of a 209 page book with him in it. The Title of the book the Commissioner thought of gave me a weird feeling however. Perhaps the use of the foul word was it, but the significance of it I thought was to show how cultures view one another. Essentially they both see each other in the same light, unable to understand. I personally see them both the same, "primitive" and "savage". They both took lives, so really where was the right?

[Daniel]

Agreeing with a few of the above, Achebe's point in creating this ending was to prove that, there isn't always a Disney style happy ending. Sometimes, "Things Fall Apart." The irony of it all is that looking back, Okonkwo was determined to be the exact opposite of his father in order to be successful and happy. But throughout his trials, the reader learns that his father was the one who actually had it right all along. Granted he wasn't successful, or wealthy, he was happy, he did what he loved. (Playing his music.) He was satisfied with his life, which should have been Okonkwo's real goal. He should have strove to be like his father in the sense that he was content. In Okonkwo's quest he had become cold, and hard. And in agreeing with Clarissa, the only time I even slightly felt Okonkwo showing the slightest bit of compassion was when he went to the caves looking for his second wife Ekwefi when Chielo the priestess of Agbala took her daughter Ezinma. Other than that, he lived his life miserably. So though the ending was "brutal" and "savage"-like, it seemed appropriate, it seemed like it's what should of happened, opposed to the nonsensical "happy ending" style.

[Jessica]

Achebe's choice to write the last chapter in the perspective of the District Comissioner is absolutely perfect. Pride is ultimately what makes the center come undone. Okonkwo's pride leads to his suicide. The white men, who believe they must be superior to these tribes, unravel the essence of community of the Ibo tribes when they begin to introduce their religion and dismiss that of the tribes. Their pride breaks the bond the villages have, which is essentially their religion, and the beliefs they hold about life. Things begin to fall apart when Mr. Brown, the insistent but peaceful missionary has to return home, and his respectful practices are replace by Smith's aggressive ones. Smith isn't looking to respect the native religion, only to have it and its followers silenced. His pride in his religion and his beliefs is what begins the momentous unraveling of the "center."

There is an interesting conversation that I would like to point out. It happens on page 142:

Obierika: "...perhaps green men will come to our clan and shoot us."

"God will not permit it," said Okonkwo. "I do not know how to thank you."

"I can tell you," said Obierika. "Kill one of your sons for me."

"That will not be enough," said Okonkwo.

"Then kill yourself," said Obierika.

"Forgive me," said Okonkwo, smiling. "I shall not talk about thanking you anymore.

At first I though it was strange that Okonkwo refer to a single god. Then I realized that perhaps the two men are making a play at the white man's religion, i.e. "kill one of your sons." Just as Jesus died to absolve humanity of their sins, Obierika suggests that Okonkwo kills one of his sons to pay for something. The conversation gets even more interesting when Obierika suggests suicide, and then Okonkwo smiles and say he will stop thanking him. Obierika was essentially saying, "be a man, have some pride, don't grovel," in a much nicer and friendlier way, and Okonkwo eventually agrees with him, that it would be foolish to be overly emotional about the situation. Obierika's suggestion that Okonkwo kill himself rather than live at the mercy of another man is foreshadowing, of course, but the way Achebe achieves it says a lot about the Ibo people. Perhaps they were already doomed, having leaders with so much invested in pride and self-image that they rather die than exist in another way. It may be a stretch, but it's something to consider. 

[Grace]

I was completey shocked by Okonkwo's suicide! I felt like he would be the last person to "give up" on life by ending his own. It is so depressing to see Okonkwo sink so low after having so much stride, respect and determination in himself as a man at the beginning of the book.

Like Jessica, I also immediately thought of Obierika and and Okonkwo's conversation about Okonkwo killing himself to repay Obierika. When I read that conversation i had no idea that Okonkwo would literally kill himself! Talk about foreshadowing..

It is clear that Things Fall Apart couldn't have a better title to go with the story in this book. Things Fall Apart for Okonkwo very quickly in this book. First with having to kill his "son", being exiled, learning of the invasion of the tribe by white man, and the result of his own death, which leaves him to have no proper burial, which is must be shameful to Okonkwo.

[Immaculate]

To some extent, I agree with Sarah that Okonkwo's once mighty tribe fell apart, as its people gave into colonial power:"outsiders who saw them as savages worth saving", as stated by Sarah. And indeed, the commissioner's title of his book, The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger is very demeaning and condescending. However, throughout the eventful period of turmoil, the only person that seemed to want to rid of the commissioner and his men at any cost(even if it meant violence) was Okonkwo. His clan's fear of the commissioner's wrath, led them to refrain from standing up against an arbitrary power. So in a sense, the tribe brought that title given to them by the commissioner, upon themselves. They could have banded together to fight for the preservation of their way of life, but they didn't. This is why Okonkwo was very much disappointed in his people when they refused to join him in the killing of the messengers who had come to put an end to the clan's meeting. As a result, he hanged himself because he saw no other reason to live, considering everything he valued was taken away from him. The center had become undone, simply because unity, like Stanley mentions, was lost. Okonkwo saw no other choice but to take his life, probably due to the belief that he'd much rather die for something he valued and believed in, like Alex states, than live a way of life with which he found himself at odds.

Moreover, the extinction of the tribe and Okonkwo's suicide were very much the perfect ending to this story, like Clarissa mentions. Much like the traditions and customs he and his tribal members once held dear ceased to exist, so did he. Considering that he valued and fought very hard for, more than anyone else, the preservation of his tribe and customs, those same customs took him with them, in extinction. So in a sense, it's almost like he WAS the center of it all; almost like he WAS the tribe, and everything it represented. Well, not entirely, but at least to some degree.

[Harris]

I agree with Andy, things don’t necessarily need to fall apart if one keeps updating as time goes on. Okonkwo, who tried his best to fight against the white men, couldn’t bare to live anymore because there is nothing to live for. For someone who dedicated his whole life to being so much better than his father, to gain all four titles, to have a family who would give him glory, he just couldn’t live anymore. There was nothing left, and thus his center was no more. It’s might be true, he could have stayed a living man, if during his childhood he had learned to adapt and go along with the flow sometimes, instead of fighting against those who don’t make sense to his culture. But this was his pride. And he has the right to fight for it.

“Things don’t have to fall apart, but once started, it’s hard to stop.” Does that mean one should stop trying though? If something is too hard to stop, does one give up? For Okonkwo, that was a no and a yes. He questions the new authority by pummeling the church into a “pile of earth and ashes” and by murdering one of the messengers. I believe that to an extent, one must never give up without putting up an amazing fight. Does Achebe emphasize that though, I do not know, but what I believe he is trying to say through Okonkwo’s death is that when things fall apart, the center will crumble. We can see, as Grace pointed out, that many of the things surrounding Okonkwo has given way. Him killing his son, him being exiled, his Umofia being detained and turning in cowards, Nwoye converting, and in the end because these things have fallen, he couldn’t keep himself up any longer and also falls. As human beings we too are that delicate. When we lose the people and the home that surrounds us, we go into a state of depression. We can avoid that though, if we don’t let the things most important to us go away.

[Jaclyn]

I found Achebe's way of introducing Christianity very interesting. A white man entering a tribe and sharing the ideas of God and grabbing followers by preaching of the true and false gods. I was surprised that the clan of Okonkwo's tribe let the white man in a sense, walk all over them. In a seemingly savage and strong tribe, I found it hard to believe that they didn't fight for their religious beliefs. It seemed that throughout the story, everyone a part of the clan followed the rituals and cultural ways with a strong following, so to let a random man share his outside beliefs was unexpected.

Referring to the title, I think "things fall apart" wasn't necessarily pertaining to Okonkwo, but to the village and its people. Uchendu revealed his fear for the "young people"(167) because they are unable to "speak with one voice"(167). I think he is predicting the village to fall apart and never be as he once knew it as. I feel as though Okonkwo may have been the last of the strong-willed people in the clan because he, like Immaculate said, "fought very hard" while the others sat back and let it happen.

I was also surprised that he ended up killing himself because with his strong personality and spirit, I would have assumed he would have continued fighting until someone else had killed him.

[Brittany]

I agree with Jaclyn's statement that the title was refering to the village, people, and Okonkwo. With the introduction of Christianity into their culture, the culture of their father's began to diminish. People began to convert to this new and unfamiliar faith, causing tensions amoungst one another, sometimes even within families themselves, such as Okonkwo's son Nwoye who converted to the new faith. This was obviously hard for people such as Okonkwo to grasp and accept.

I think what makes the center come undone is when new ideas and concepts are brought into a traditional society. When new ideas and customs are brought into a new place, they are sometimes accepted, sometimes they are not, therefore causing divides within one's society. Some people, like Okonkwo, are not lieniant in their beliefs. They follow what they know, and refuse to try anything else, frowning upon others who do not follow their same pattern. A lot of it too is the fact that they think they would be traiting their gods and they are afraid of the consequences that would accompany their conversion. I do respect Okonkwo's beliefs and his efforts to stand up for what he believes in, but I think at points he tries too hard to impress everyone, especially by murdering one their messengers. Which leads me to his shocking death. I was utterly shocked that Okonkwo would commit such an act. This whole time I viewed him as a warrior, someone who will fight to the death for what he believes in, but he just simiply gives up in his efforts. I expected him to go out in some blaze of glory while fighting against the missionaries.

[Emily]

I think that the idea that Achebe is expressing about the human experience is that, in life, bad things are going to happen. However, the effects of such disasters are only as horrific as we make them. For example, when the white men came and colonized the village and introduces missionaries and Christianity, there were mixed reactions among the villages inhabitants. Okonkwo was outraged, however, he was exiled and there was nothing much that he could do about it until 7 years had passed. But Nwoye reacted quite differently. He questioned the culture change and eventually learned to accept Christianity, something that Okonkwo could never do judging by the fact that he took his own life. Like everyone has said, things certainly do fall apart. But that doesn't mean things won't eventually fall back into place; it might just take some time. It takes mental toughness to accept this fact of life and, in my opinion, Okonkwo simply didn't have that mental toughness.

I agree with what Clarissa is saying about the ending and how it was strangely satisfying to her. Not that I expected Okonkwo to kill himself, I just couldn't imagine another ending; I thought the way Achebe ended "Things Fall Apart" made complete sense. As this book progressed, I feel as though we have watched Okonkwo's life go completely downhill, losing so much in the process. He really did have nothing else besides his ego, which to me, was an extremely sad thing to see.

[Haley]

I believe that this book has a strong "life is what you make it" type of feel behind it. Okonkwo, right from the start of the book, could not accept anything outside of his own belief system. I think he killed himself out of exhaustion from constantly being something he truly wasn't. Also, I think he was very shameful and it was just building up in him.

Stanley took the words right out of head when he said, "Things don't have to fall apart, but once started, it's hard to stop. Taking from the end of the second third, the speech by Uchendu's kinsmen about the importance of family and staying together, everything about the tribes and villages was about unity. The rules and tribal laws were very unforgiving and unwavering when it came to dismantling trenched unity. However, the coming of the white men, the European missionaries, was something that so easily took root and uprooted the heavily based unity." It seems as if once something small goes wrong, everything starts to fall apart and the center gets looser and more unstable each time. I also believe the center could not hold because the new ways of living were thrown into such a traditional society that some like Okonkwo couldn't handle.