things fall apart quotes

“proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten”

importance of the oral culture in Igboland, Okonkwo has a stutter when he is angry so he is imperfect.

“if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings” 

Igboland has a hierarchy but even though older people are revered, young people can also be if they have achievments

“his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness […] It was the fear of himself, lest should he be found to resemble his father.”

Okonkwo did not want to be like his father so he had extreme views on masculinity and power. His hamartia is his fear of weakness and his hubris. He feared being like his father.

“’Do what you are told, woman’ Okonkwo thundered and stammered”

Hierarchy, patriarchal society, also Okonkwo has a stammer so he is not perfect.

“It never went to war unless its case was clear and just and was accepted as such by its oracle”

Igbo tradition is complicated and has a justice system. Achebe uses to show nuances of a culture portrayed as simplistic and primitive by Western authors (HEART OF DARKNESS)

“daughter of Umuofia”

the clan is a family, makes the act of colonisation more destructive and sadder

“She was full of the power of her god, and she was greatly feared.”

The women in the clan have a large role in religion.

“Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess.”

Okonkwo does not always respect religion showing that he rejects all types of femininity

“Nwoye knew it was right to be masculine and to be violent, but somehow he still preferred the stories that his mother used to tell.”

Nwoye shows discomfort with traditional ideas of masculinity. Reflects broader pressures in Igbo tradition. He wants to please his father but cannot.

““My father, they have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his matchet and struck him down. He was afraid of being thought weak.”

resorts to demonstrations of strength to repress his fear. signal of things falling apart as Nwoye becomes more distant and his disdain for Igbo practices grows. When Okonkwo is afraid he is violent. Ikemefuna represents fear and helplessness of individuals caught between the crossfires of traditional practices. Okonkwo does not listen to his elders - one told him not to have a hand in killing the boy who calls him father. This shows he also doesn’t respect the Igbo traditional hierarchy and is stubborn

“The child was an ogbanje”

shows deep rooted superstitions. fear of this unknown evil parallels fear of colonialism. also shows strength of Ekwefi as she is willing to confront the forest’s dangers.

“Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation.”

conflict of ideas of fate.

“But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland”

Exile forces Okonkwo to confront his dependence on his maternal side (he thinks it is weak). Uchendu (his mother’s brother) attempts to get Okonkwo to reflect but Okonkwo cannot do this. Uchendu is the counterpart to Okonkwo. Motherland symbolises change but Okonkwo fears change

“Even the sacred fish in their mysterious lake have fled and the lake has turned the colour of blood.”

Disruption of natural order and harmony. Violation of spiritual sanctity. Refrence to plagues of Egypt - christianity is starting to become more prominent in the novel.

“We were amused at his foolishness […] He has put a knife on the tjings that held us together and we have fallen apart.”

insiduous nature of colonisation. Obierika is able to reflect on the colonisation but Okonkwo cannot. knife is a vivid illustration of severance. addresses the impact of colonisation on society

“The white man’s court […] ’Does the white man understand our custom about land?’ ‘How can he when he does not even speak our language.’”

The colonisers don’t bother learning about the native customs. They impose their systems and beliefs. Achebe criticises colonisation and unfair portrayal of Africans in Western literature.

“Nwoye, who was now called Isaac.”

God saves Isaac (Nwoye) from Abraham (Okonkwo) - Nwoye finds refuge in Christianity. He loses trust in Okonkwo but also the Igbo religion. Also linked to Achebe’s name change from Albert to Chinua. However Achebe is the prodigal son who reconciles with his heritage. Nwoye leaves his traditions to find refuge in the foreign religion. Shows positive impacts of the colonisation too.

“He mourned for the clan…and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women.”

Okonkwo’s views do not change throughout the novel. The exile prevents him from helping his clan and on his return he finds that they have become weak

“And for the moment the spirit of the clan was pacified.”

Only temporary. The justice system of Igbo attempts to perservere but it is only able to do so temporarily

“They had broken into tumult instead of action…He wiped his matchet on the sand and went away.”

The inaction of the clan is seen as a betrayal of their culture by Okonkwo. Climax of Okonkwo’s fear and despair. Okonkwo is afraid of fear. He cannot express his fear so he becomes violent. This can also be considered okonkwo’s anagnorisis as he realises the clan has become weak causing him to kill himself.

“It is an abomination for a man to take his own life.”

Okonkwo dies without honour - it was his greatest fear. He died like Unoka. It is a symbol of his bad chi - it is fated for him, he will not be successful.

“One could almost write a whole chapter on him. Perhaps not a whole chapter but a reasonable paragraph, at any rate.”

Shows disregard for his life. Ironic since the novel is centered around Okonkwo. Okonkwo represents greater fears about colonisation and the District Commissioner’s disregard for him shows general disregard for the native people and opposition to colonisation. Also shows shift from the oral culture to the written culture of europeans as a BOOK is being written about them.

“The Commissioner did not understand.”

For the first time, showing the white man’s thoughts. Final shift from the traditional Igbo perspective to the new coloniser’s perspective. Nothing can be done now to preserve the traditions.

“Narrow is the way, and few the number.”

Shift from Igbo proverbs to Bible verses.

“Enoch had killed an ancestral spirit.”

The converts do not respect the tribe’s traditions either.

“Neither of them succeeded in converting the other but they both learnt more about their different beliefs.”

Akunna and Mr Brown are foils for Okonkwo and Rev James Smith. They are stubborn but still attempt to understand the other’s culture. Achebe describes what should be done.

“Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan for his return”

Okonkwo cannot accept change and femininity. He also is always in action as he does not want to be seen as weak. The exile makes him unable to act and provides him time to develop and reflect however he is unable to do this

“Abame has been wiped out.”

Desecration of sacred market place. Colonisers are also violent, their idea of justice is different to the Igbo just war idea.

“he came to the conclusion that a frontal attack on it would not succeed.”

Mr Brown is seen as more understanding than Rev James Smith but he uses the conversation with Akunna about their cultures to help develop the colonisers’ stratgey showing the colonisers cannot be trusted. Achebe critcises them.

“Okonkwo had committed the female, because it had been inadvertent.”

the male and female crimes shows how everything is divided by gender in Umuofia. Oknokwo commits a murder which is masculine but it is female because it was an accident. Okonkwo is obsessed with masculinity but he still cannot avoid femininity. His hamartia is his fear (especially of weakness and femininity) but his chi/fate mean that he cannot avoid it. in fact, his fear causes him to act rashly and he is violent which enables this further. it is also the peripeteia (point of no return) as the exile removes okonkwo from being able to act and he is rendered helpless.

“Evil men […] were thrown into a fire that burned like palm-oil”

showing how the western/christian beliefs are interpreted in different ways by the Igbo people. Hihglilghts how the two cultures interact and both find the other confusing and different.

“Living fire begets cold, impotent ash.”

the first instance of okonkwo using metaphorical language showing okonkwo is capable of deeper reflection and being in touch with the feminine characteristic of storytelling. however he only uses it to reinforce his beliefs about masculinty so okonkwo cannot develop anymore.

“he belonged to the clan as a whole, and there was no hurry to decide his fate.”

Ikemefuna’s fate is controlled by the ndichie (elders of the clan).

“the boy calls you father”

Okonkwo fails to listen to the elders of his clan (Ezeudu) because of his hamartia (fear of weakness). he is unable to conform to the ideals of the clan even though he wants to.

“she should have been a boy”

repeated rehetoric throughout the novel. okonkwo fails to change his views.

“he thought for a long time”

Obierika is able to reflect and criticise aspects of Igbo culture.