Things Fall Apart is fiction written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe that was first published in 1958. The book mainly focuses on the pre-colonial life of Nigeria followed by its colonization byEuropeans through Christianity and military force. It is a book that is taught in both African schools and English speaking countries as it provides the perspective of the pre-colonial African world as it reacts to colonization by the West.  Achebe, who was born and raised in an Ibo village, went to Brown University for a western education in literature and the book Things Fall Apart is one of his most famous books.

The book revolves around Okonkwo, a man who lived in an Ibo village. He was well known among the nine neighboring villages for his power and reputation. Although he is still in his thirties, he gained respect from the villagers who value people for their age. However, along with his success in the society, his father is someone who he would never talk about. His father was, in Okonkwo’s eyes, a perfect example of a weak loser. It is Okonkwo’s fear of becoming someone like his father that formed his characteristic of being harsh and strict toward others. His controversial personality of loyalty to the village caused the village’s violent reaction to Europeans’ arrival. 

Out-dated impressions of Africa as the “dark continent” filled with ivory, diamonds, and agricultural goods persist today yet, Achebe breaks this stereotype  by showing that tribes in Africa were rich in culture. There is no single story of Africa or of its people, including the Ibo. . Chinua Achebe describes a true African tribe to the readers in the western world through fictional characters’ interactions during the period of colonial contact. Okonkwo’s shift from an aspiring young man to a leader who devoted his life to the resistance of western culture reflects the native inhabitant’s inability to save their own culture and tell their own stories. As a leader of the village, Okonkwo had to fight against the invasion of Christianity since it had severely damaged his people’s native faith. In one scene, one of the converted villagers killed the sacred cow that the village respected, and it was Okonkwo who stepped up and executed the man. Okonkwo’s violent resistance against Christianity was a result of his childhood experience, which Achebe did a great job depicting through the words of villagers and the description of his own actions. 

Aside from the religious part of the invasion, Chinua Achebe also revealed several other aspects that changed the village. For example, the villagers’ attitudes toward women. Umuofia was a patriarchal society in which men were superior over women. In fact, men valued their strength by the amount of wives they had. 

Overall, Chinua Achebe takes a sharp perspective on the society that the western world might not know and produces a great novel for people to learn about the African experience as they encountered colonizers from the west.