Comprehensive Study Guide for Things Fall Apart
Personal Achievements and Ancestry of Okonkwo
Okonkwo was renowned throughout the nine villages and beyond, a fame predicated on solid personal achievements. At the age of , he brought immense honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat in a wrestling match. Amalinze had been the great wrestler of the region, remaining unbeaten for years from Umuofia to Mbaino. He earned his moniker because his back would never touch the earth, yet Okonkwo threw him in a fight that the elders considered one of the fiercest since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for days and nights. This victory established Okonkwo’s reputation, which grew like a bush-fire in the harmattan over the following years.
Physically, Okonkwo was tall and huge, possessing bushy eyebrows and a wide nose that contributed to a severe appearance. His heavy breathing was audible to his wives and children even when he was asleep. When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground, suggesting he was on springs and prepared to pounce. He possessed a slight stammer and would resort to his fists whenever he became angry and could not articulate his words quickly. He lacked patience for unsuccessful men, and most significantly, he lacked patience for his father, Unoka.
Unoka, who had died years prior, was characterized as lazy and improvident. He was constantly in debt, owing money to nearly every neighbor, ranging from small sums of cowries to substantial amounts. Despite being a failure in worldly terms, Unoka was a talented flutist. His happiest moments occurred during the two or three moons after harvest when he would play with the village musicians. He loved the season when the rains stopped and the cold, dry harmattan wind blew from the north. However, Unoka was a coward who could not bear the sight of blood and had no interest in war.
In one instance, a neighbor named Okoye visited Unoka to collect a debt of cowries. In Ibo culture, the art of conversation is highly regarded, and proverbs are described as the palm-oil with which words are eaten. After the ritual breaking of a kola nut and the painting of a toe with white chalk, Okoye broached the subject of the debt. Unoka responded by laughing and pointing to a wall where he had drawn perpendicular lines in chalk to track his debts. There were five groups of lines, with the smallest containing lines. Each stroke represented cowries. Unoka explained that he owed one man cowries yet intended to pay his large debts before his small ones.
At the time of his death, Unoka had taken no titles and remained heavily in debt. Okonkwo was deeply ashamed of this legacy. However, within his society, a man was judged by his own worth rather than that of his father. Okonkwo had already won fame as the greatest wrestler, was a wealthy farmer with barns of yams, and had recently married his third wife. He had taken titles and demonstrated prowess in inter-tribal wars. Because he had effectively ‘washed his hands,’ he was permitted to eat with kings and elders. This elevated status led to him being chosen to look after Ikemefuna, a doomed lad sacrificed by a neighboring village to avoid war.
Social Structure and the Fear of Darkness in Umuofia
Umuofia was a society governed by tradition, religious superstition, and communal gatherings. Darkness held a vague terror for the people, and children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. Dangerous animals and even snakes were referred to by euphemisms; for example, a snake was called a ‘string’ at night to prevent it from hearing its name. In contrast, moonlight nights were occasions for celebration, leading to the saying: ‘When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.’
When the town crier hit his hollow metal ogene with the message ‘gome, gome, gome, gome,’ it signaled a mandatory meeting at the marketplace. At such a gathering of about men, Ogbuefi Ezeugo, a powerful orator, announced that a daughter of Umuofia had been murdered in Mbaino. The victim was the wife of Ogbuefi Udo. The clan decided to issue an ultimatum to Mbaino: they must provide a young man and a virgin as compensation or face war. Umuofia was feared by its neighbors because it was powerful in war and magic. Its most potent war-medicine was agadi-nwayi, or ‘old woman,’ believed to be the spirit of an old woman with one leg who hopped about a shrine in the center of the village.
Umuofia never went to war unless its case was just and accepted by the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. If the Oracle forbade a war, the clan would not fight, fearing they would be beaten in a ‘fight of blame.’ In this instance, the war was deemed just. Okonkwo served as the emissary to Mbaino and returned with a virgin, who was given to Ogbuefi Udo, and a -year-old boy named Ikemefuna. The elders, or ndichie, decided that the boy would belong to the clan and remain in Okonkwo’s care for the time being.
Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives and children lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper. His dominance was fueled by an internal fear: the fear of resembling his father. He detested gentleness and idleness, viewing them as signs of weakness. He worked his farms from cock-crow until the chickens went to roost and expected the same of his family. His eldest son, Nwoye, was years old and already caused Okonkwo anxiety due to perceived laziness, which Okonkwo tried to correct through constant nagging and beating.
Okonkwo’s household was a sign of his prosperity. His compound was enclosed by a thick wall of red earth. His own hut, the obi, stood behind the main gate, with the huts of his three wives forming a half-moon behind it. The compound included a barn for yams, a shed for goats, attachments for hens, and a ‘medicine house’ or shrine containing wooden symbols of his personal god and ancestral spirits. Here, he offered sacrifices of kola nut, food, and palm-wine.
The Struggle for Prosperity and the Disaster of the Yams
Okonkwo did not inherit a barn, titles, or a young wife from Unoka. Unoka’s failure was reinforced when he consulted the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves, known as Agbala, regarding his poor harvests. The priestess at the time, Chika, rebuked him, stating that his failure was not due to the gods but to his own laziness. She noted that while others cleared virgin forests, Unoka planted on exhausted land. Unoka died of swelling in the stomach and limbs, an affliction considered an abomination to the earth goddess, Ani. Consequently, he was not permitted a burial but was left to rot in the Evil Forest, taking his flute with him.
Determined to succeed, Okonkwo worked for a wealthy man named Nwakibie, who had barns, wives, and children. Okonkwo presented Nwakibie with palm-wine and a cock to request seed-yams. During this visit, rituals of seniority were observed; Nwakibie’s first wife, Anasi, wore the anklet of her husband’s titles and drank before the other wives. Nwakibie granted Okonkwo seed-yams, impressed by the young man’s industry. Okonkwo also obtained yams from a friend of his father in Isiuzo. Under a share-cropping agreement, Okonkwo would only keep one-third of his harvest.
The year Okonkwo planted these seeds was the worst in living memory. The first rains were late, and the subsequent sun scorched the seedlings. When the rains finally returned, they came in violent torrents that washed away the yam heaps and uprooted trees. Many farmers wept, and one even hanged himself. Okonkwo survived this tragic year through his inflexible will, though he remembered it with a cold shiver for the rest of his life. His father, Unoka, had told him that a proud heart could survive general failure because it did not prick one’s personal pride.
Social Conduct and the Week of Peace
Okonkwo’s success led to brusqueness. At a kindred meeting, he insulted a man named Osugo, who had no titles, by calling him a woman. The elders rebuked Okonkwo, reminding him that those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should remain humble. However, Okonkwo believed he had cracked his own kernels through struggle. His people believed that when a man says ‘yes,’ his chi (personal god) says ‘yes’ also.
During the Week of Peace, a sacred interval before planting, Okonkwo broke the law of the land. His youngest wife, Ojiugo, went to plait her hair and failed to return in time to cook his meal. Okonkwo beat her heavily, forgetting the sanctity of the week. Ezeani, the priest of the earth goddess, refused Okonkwo’s kola nut and scolded him, stating that the goddess might refuse to bless the soil due to his offense. Okonkwo was ordered to bring to the shrine of Ani: she-goat, hen, a length of cloth, and cowries. Although he was repentant, he did not show it openly to his neighbors, who remarked that his good fortune had gone to his head.
Following the Week of Peace, the community began the arduous task of planting. Yam, the ‘king of crops,’ was a demanding ‘man’s crop.’ Women grew ‘women’s crops’ like coco-yams, beans, and cassava. Okonkwo pushed Nwoye and Ikemefuna to learn the art of preparing seed-yams, threatening Nwoye with violence if he showed laziness. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great man and was prepared to stifle any traits that reminded him of Unoka.
Communal Festivals and the Art of Wrestling
The Feast of the New Yam was an annual celebration held to honor Ani, the earth goddess, and the ancestors before the harvest began. It marked the start of the new year. All old yams were disposed of, and cooking pots were thoroughly washed. Yam foo-foo and vegetable soup were the primary foods. Okonkwo, however, found feasts uncomfortable and preferred being on his farm. During preparations, Okonkwo became angry and beat his second wife, Ekwefi, for cutting leaves off a banana tree to wrap food. When she later murmured a remark about his poor hunting skills, he fired a rusty gun at her, though he missed.
Despite the tension, the festival proceeded. The second day was dedicated to wrestling matches at the village playground, the ilo. Ekwefi, who was now years old, had fallen in love with Okonkwo years ago when he threw Amalinze the Cat. Her only daughter, Ezinma, was years old and exceptionally wise. Ezinma called her mother by her name, Ekwefi, and they shared a bond closer to companionship. Ezinma was believed by many to be an ogbanje—a child who repeatedly dies and is reborn to torment its mother.
At the wrestling match, the whole village gathered. The drummers were ‘possessed by the spirit of the drums.’ The contest began with boys of or . Maduka, the son of Okonkwo’s friend Obierika, won his bout with incredible speed. The main event featured Okafo and Ikezue, the two best wrestlers in the nine villages. After a long and tactical struggle, Okafo threw Ikezue and was carried home on the shoulders of the crowd, who sang: ‘Has he thrown a hundred men? He has thrown four hundred men.’
The Fate of Ikemefuna and the Turning of Nwoye
Ikemefuna lived in Okonkwo’s house for years and became a central member of the family. He exerted a positive influence on Nwoye, who began to prefer masculine tasks like splitting wood. Okonkwo was pleased and told the boys stories of violence and bloodshed, though Nwoye secretly preferred his mother’s folk tales about the Tortoise or the quarrel between Earth and Sky.
A swarm of locusts, which occurred once in a generation, descended upon Umuofia. The people were joyful because locusts were a rare delicacy. They were caught at night when their wings were wet with dew and then roasted and eaten with palm-oil. During this time, Ogbuefi Ezeudu, the oldest man in the quarter, visited Okonkwo and warned him: ‘That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death.’ The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves had decreed that Ikemefuna must be killed.
Okonkwo lied to Ikemefuna, telling him he was going back to his home village. As they walked in a party of men toward the outskirts of Umuofia, Ikemefuna felt a sense of unease but trusted Okonkwo. When one of the men struck him with a machete, Ikemefuna ran to Okonkwo crying, ‘My father, they have killed me!’ To avoid appearing weak, Okonkwo drew his own machete and cut the boy down. When Okonkwo returned home and Nwoye realized what had happened, something ‘snapped’ inside him. This feeling was similar to what he felt during a previous harvest when he heard the cry of twins abandoned in the forest.
Family Lineage and the Burden of the Ogbanje
Okonkwo fell into a deep depression following Ikemefuna’s death, refusing to eat for days. He sought distraction in his work, but it was the season of rest. He visited Obierika, who criticized his involvement in the killing, saying it was the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families. During this visit, they discussed the death of Ogbuefi Ndulue and his wife Ozoemena, who were said to have ‘one mind.’ This closeness was viewed by Okonkwo as a sign of weakness.
Ezinma, Okonkwo’s favorite daughter, fell ill with iba (fever). Ekwefi had lost previous children in infancy and was desperate to save Ezinma. Ezinma was an ogbanje. To break the cycle of death, Okonkwo had previously consulted Okagbue Uyanwa, a famous medicine man. Okagbue had mutilated a previous dead child and buried it in the Evil Forest to discourage it from returning. A year prior, Okagbue had led the family to find Ezinma’s iyi-uwa, a stone that linked her to the spirit world. After digging a deep pit near an orange tree, Okagbue found the smooth, shiny pebble wrapped in a rag. This discovery gave Ekwefi hope that Ezinma would stay.
To treat Ezinma’s fever, Okonkwo gathered medicinal grasses, leaves, and barks. He prepared a ‘steam bath’ by placing Ezinma on a stool over a boiling pot of medicine and covering her with a thick mat. The intense steam eventually forced the fever to break, and she fell into a healing sleep.
The Masked Spirits and the Trials of the Egwugwu
Justice in Umuofia was administered by the egwugwu, nine masked spirits representing the nine villages founded by the sons of the first father of the clan. Their leader was Evil Forest, representing the village of Umueru. Women were forbidden from entering the egwugwu house or knowing the identities of the masqueraders. Okonkwo’s wives noticed that the second egwugwu had Okonkwo’s springy walk, but they kept this observation to themselves.
A public trial was held to settle a dispute between Uzowulu and his wife Mgbafo. Mgbafo’s brothers had taken her away after Uzowulu beat her daily for years, even causing her to miscarry. The egwugwu heard both sides. Evil Forest ruled that Uzowulu must go to his in-laws with a pot of wine and beg for his wife’s return, stating: ‘It is not bravery when a man fights with a woman.’ Odukwe, Mgbafo’s brother, was told to return the sister to her husband if he brought the wine.
The Legend of the Tortoise and the Journey to the Cave
On a very dark night, Ekwefi told Ezinma the story of how the Tortoise tricked the birds to attend a feast in the sky. The Tortoise, full of cunning, persuaded the birds to give him feathers and called himself ‘All of you.’ When the hosts of the sky invited ‘All of you’ to eat, the Tortoise ate all the best food. In retaliation, the birds took back their feathers. The Tortoise crashed to the ground, and his shell broke into pieces, which is why his shell is not smooth.
The storytelling was interrupted by Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, who was possessed by the spirit of the god. She announced that Agbala wanted to see Ezinma in his house in the hills and caves. Despite Okonkwo’s pleas that the child had been ill, Chielo took Ezinma on her back and set off into the night. Ekwefi followed them through the dark forest for many miles, eventually reaching the sacred cave. Okonkwo also appeared at the cave mouth with a machete, having made four trips to the shrine out of anxiety. They waited until dawn to ensure Ezinma’s safety.
The Betrothal Rites and the Tragedy at the Funeral
The neighborhood celebrated the uri of Obierika’s daughter, Akueke. This was a ceremony where the suitor, Ibe, brought palm-wine to the extensive group of kinsmen called umunna. Obierika’s family prepared a massive feast, slaughtering two fat goats. The market of Umuike was discussed as a place where ‘great medicine’ prompted the crowd and allowed thieves to steal through magic. The in-laws brought pots of wine, and the hosts praised their generosity. The bride, Akueke, danced for the crowd, and Okonkwo presented her with two cocks.
Shortly after, the ekwe announced the death of Ogbuefi Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village. It was a warrior’s funeral; guns were fired, and the egwugwu appeared from the underworld. During the frenzied dancing and gun firing, Okonkwo’s gun exploded. A piece of iron pierced the heart of Ezeudu’s -year-old son. Killing a clansman was an abomination to the earth goddess. Because it was inadvertent, it was a ‘female’ crime. Okonkwo was forced to flee the clan for years. He and his family sought refuge in his mother’s village, Mbanta. After they left, a crowd of men destroyed Okonkwo’s compound and killed his animals to cleanse the land he had polluted with blood.
The Period of Exile and the Lesson of Motherhood
In Mbanta, Okonkwo was received by his maternal uncle, Uchendu. Uchendu’s sons gave Okonkwo seed-yams ( from each of his five sons) to start a new farm. Okonkwo was depressed, viewing his life-spring as broken. Uchendu called a meeting of the family and taught Okonkwo why the name Nneka (‘Mother is Supreme’) was common. He explained that a man belongs to his fatherland when life is good, but in times of sorrow, he finds refuge in his motherland. Uchendu challenged Okonkwo’s self-pity, noting that he himself had buried children but did not hang himself.
In the second year of exile, Obierika visited with two bags of cowries from the sale of Okonkwo’s yams. He brought the news that the village of Abame had been destroyed. A white man had arrived on an ‘iron horse’ (bicycle). After their Oracle warned that the man would break their clan, they killed him. Later, three other white men and a large group of followers surrounded the Abame market and shot nearly everyone. Uchendu remarked: ‘Never kill a man who says nothing.’
The Arrival of the White Man and the New Faith
Missionaries arrived in Umuofia and began to win converts. Most were efulefu (worthless men), but Nwoye was captivated by the ‘poetry’ of the new religion, which seemed to answer his lingering questions about the twins in the bush and Ikemefuna. The missionaries came to Mbanta and asked for land. The elders gave them a portion of the Evil Forest, expecting them to die within days. When they survived beyond the critical -day limit, more people joined them.
Nwoye visited the church secretly. When Okonkwo’s cousin Amikwu saw him and told Okonkwo, Okonkwo beat the boy savagely. Nwoye left home and never returned, moving to Umuofia to attend the missionary school. Okonkwo, the ‘Roaring Flame,’ mourned that he had begotten a son like ‘cold, impotent ash.’
The church in Mbanta faced a crisis when they admitted the osu, or outcasts. Some converts left in protest, but Mr. Kiaga stood firm, stating that before God there is no slave or free. The osu shaved their tangled hair and became the strongest adherents. Conflict peaked when a convert named Okoli supposedly killed the sacred python. The village ostracized the Christians, but when Okoli died of illness, the clan viewed it as the gods fighting their own battle.
The Return to Umuofia and the Final Tragedy
Okonkwo returned to Umuofia after years, but found the village profoundly changed. The white man had brought a church and a government with a District Commissioner and a court of law. There were court messengers called kotma or ‘Ashy-Buttocks.’ Trading stores meant that palm-oil and kernels were now valuable, leading some to tolerate the changes.
Mr. Brown, the first missionary, was respectful of the clan’s beliefs and made friends with great men like Akunna. He built a school and hospital. His successor, Reverend James Smith, was an extremist who saw the world in black and white. Tension boiled over when a convert named Enoch unmasked an egwugwu during a ceremony. In retaliation, the egwugwu, led by Ajofia, burned down Enoch’s compound and the red-earth church.
The District Commissioner invited six leaders, including Okonkwo, to a meeting. They were betrayed, handcuffed, and imprisoned. While in custody, the court messengers shaved their heads and taunted them. A fine of bags of cowries was demanded ( bags were added as a bribe for the messengers). The village paid the fine, and the men were released.
Okonkwo, consumed by hate, put on his war dress for a final meeting in the marketplace. When five court messengers arrived to stop the meeting, Okonkwo drew his machete and decapitated the head messenger. When the crowd broke into tumult rather than action and a voice asked ‘Why did he do it?,’ Okonkwo realized that Umuofia would not go to war. He walked away and hanged himself in the bush behind his compound. Because suicide was an abomination, his own clansmen could not touch his body; they asked the District Commissioner’s men to bury him like a dog. The Commissioner, reflecting on the event, thought it would make a good paragraph in his book: ‘The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.’
Glossary of Ibo Terms and Phrases
agadi-nwayi: old woman. agbala: woman; also used for a man who has taken no title. chi: personal god. efulefu: worthless man. egwugwu: a masquerader who impersonates one of the ancestral spirits of the village. ekwe: a musical instrument; a type of drum made from wood. eneke-nti-oba: a kind of bird. eze-agadi-nwayi: the teeth of an old woman, used to describe sparse grains on a corn cob. iba: fever. ilo: the village green or playground. inyanga: showing off or bragging. isa-ifi: a ceremony of confession to determine a wife's faithfulness. iyi-uwa: a special stone forming the link between an ogbanje and the spirit world. jigida: a string of waist beads. kotma: court messenger (a corruption of court messenger). kwenu: a shout of approval and greeting. ndichie: elders. nna ayi: our father. nno: welcome. nso-ani: a religious offense or taboo against the earth. nza: a very small bird. obi: the large living quarters of the head of the family. obodo dike: the land of the brave. ochu: murder or manslaughter. ogbanje: a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn. ogene: a musical instrument; a type of gong. oji odu achu-ijiji-o: a phrase describing a cow as one that uses its tail to drive flies away. osu: outcast; an individual dedicated to a god and thus taboo. Oye: one of the four market days. ozo: a title or rank within the clan. tufia: a curse or oath. udu: a type of drum made from pottery. uli: a dye used for decorative skin patterns. umuada: a family gathering of daughters. umunna: a wide group of kinsmen. Uri: a part of the betrothal ceremony where the dowry is paid.