Change in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart Essay Example

Everything alters over time; sometimes, change can be good, but some consequences come with change.

Okonkwo has lived and followed the rules and practices of his religion and is seen as fearless and not weak. In his religion, a man is someone not to show emotion, be a fearless warrior,  provide for his family and carry out the male duties in the village. He has always had this goal of being the best of the best, and he was driven by the fear of being seen as weak and useless, just like his father. Okonkwo's whole life has been dedicated to pleasing the Higher-ups, and the gods with his lack of laziness and dedication to the village and how important the life he has created for himself is. Throughout the book, things start to worsen for him because now they have new people coming in telling them what to do and what the laws are, and Things Fall Apart. The author of the novel Things Fall Apart,  Chinua Achebe, always has a strong meaning behind his novel because of what he stands for with his writing. He writes about how violent western society can be because of the effects of racism and social injustice. The novel Things Fall Apart is a cause-and-effect theme because of the events in the book. When one decision of a character is made, a staircase of events is created with no end to it. Throughout the novel, the author, Chinua Achebe, uses the central and reoccurring theme of traditi\n v.s change and how all these minor changes significantly impact Okonkwo and what he has worked to achieve in his village. The hardships he has put himself through to get where he is at are unimaginable. Some of the events in the book where Okonkwo has chosen his pride over the ones he has loved, so he does not appear as weak and emotional contradict each other because he does show he cares, but he is more worried about his place in their social ladder than doing what is right. Throughout the analysis, the topics that will be reoccurring explain why Okonkwo has risked everything for this religion and village. 

In the beginning, the first action of Okonkwo was the one he was the most hurt and dreadful about, the death of Ikemefuna. "Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna" (Achebe 63). This character's death was a crucial action in this novel because Okonkwo thought of Ikemefuna as a son and was grateful Nwoye was learning and picking up on the way of Ikemfuna. Also, how Okonkwo thought this might be a good thing to have Ikemfuna around for the sake of his son and another member of the family. However, Okonkwo will be his downfall because he gets into his head and worries about what would happen to his social status, his titles, and his pride. He has never been truly able to show his family that he does love them with all his heart. Okonkwo does care but never can show that because a man is not supposed to be emotional, their life purpose is supposed to be a fighter for his family, a provider, an overachiever, and he is not supposed to show affection to his family. The relevance of this is essential because Okonkwo felt he had to kill Ikmefuna because he did not want to be seen as weak. He did not want to change his fearlessness and emotionless self for anyone, including Ikemfuna. These are reasons Okonkwo's emotions and mental capacity continue to worsen throughout the book because he puts himself in these horrible situations to be the fearless and emotionless man he portrays himself to be.

Secondly, another key event that shows Okonkwos true self was when the white men came. The white man started to change everything the people believed in, trying to change their religion for their own sake, which caused problems and led to unexpected changes. "The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together, and we have fallen apart" (Achebe 176). This quote says Okonkwo is ranting about the white people taking their culture, changing what they believed in, and saying their customs and religion are wrong. They came onto their land, saying it was more quiet and peaceful, but they stabbed a knife into what held them together, making them fall apart. The white men who came onto the land did not feel as strongly about this situation as Okonkwo did. However, now they have made government laws and prevented them from practicing their religion 100% as they used to—continuing with the situation of the newly established government making laws that the village must follow and if not punished or brought to court by the messengers. Okonkwo does not agree nor accept that they are here and trying to force them out of their way of living. Throughout the book, the Commissioners have bullied and made the people of these villages pay for unreasonable crimes. They make it known that they are now the high people in power, which Okonkwo and some people did not agree. However,  if they challenged their authority, they would either get killed or go to prison. These events have to go with the idea and theme of Tradition v.s Change. Igbo are being forced into a new way of living because the white man disagrees with how they live. 

In conclusion, Okonkwo has been through hardships throughout the novel, some caused by him and some caused by others. Everything he has done and tried to achieve was all for nothing because he has nobody left, and he wants to be a better person than his father and go back to the way it was. Everything just fell apart.