37072323 theme analysis things fall apart

7/28/2019 37072323 Theme Analysis Things Fall Apart

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Loyalty in Things Fall Apart

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a book that involves how a villager and his

people live and react when an outside force disrupts their lives. Many important themes come up

in the book as it goes on. For example, the main character, Okonkwo is constantly afraid that he

might be unsuccessful like his father, Unoka. The basic foundation for all these themes is that

there is a sense of community in all of them. This sense of community holds the characters

together in one way or another. In this book there is one theme that is more important than the

others and that is loyalty. A tribe is a community, so a community has to be connected through

something and that something is the loyalty. The tribesmen, like Okonkwo, need to know that

they can trust their friends and fellow tribesmen. Loyalty is what helps the villagers in the tribe

function. The villagers run their daily lives knowing they have loyal friends and village leaders.

The villagers are loyal to the gods but at the same time they fear them too. Women and children

are expected to be loyal to their husbands and fathers. The citizens of the village trust the

decisions of their elders. The Oracle tells the leaders if it is a good time to go to ware or not, the

leaders are loyal to the Oracle. Everyone in the village is interconnected by a string of loyalty.

Elders are the men in the village with some of the highest titles. Most of the men with

titles are men that have fought in wares for Umuofia and were thought of as war heroes in their

day. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the

Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to

Mbaino, (3). Okonkwo is a man with a title that many people value because he beat the Cat in


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a wrestling match. The fact that Okonkwo is younger than many of the other men just adds to his

ego and how the village views him. Since his village accepts him Okonkwo was always deeply

loyal to his village. His father, Unoka, was not accepted by the village. So dose that mean that

he was not loyal to the village? No, it means that there has to be a give-receive relationship

between groups of people who are loyal to each other. Unoka was loyal to the village but the

other villagers did not receive that loyalty because he never did anything that benefitted the

village or its people. In contrast, everyone in the village receive and gives back Okonkwos

sense of loyalty because he proved himself to be worthy for the village. The church had come

and led many astray. Not only had the low-born and the outcast but some times a worthy man

joined it. Christian missionaries come into the village from Europe in order to occupy the

village and convert many of the villagers to Christianity. The idea of these white men, as the

villagers call them, coming into the village and disrespecting the gods of Umuofia angers many

of the villagers. When the missionaries come into the village some villagers leave for the church

but many stay behind. The reason they stayed behind is because the people that joined the church

are people that have been looked down upon by the village leaders. These low-born and outcasts

lost the reason to even try to gain loyalty from their peers in the village. In the white mans

religion the low-born are allowed to have a feeling of loyalty even they have been labeled

something disrespectful in their village.

Okonkwo has 3 wives and 9 children throughout the book, but one of them, Nwoye, runs

away from Okonkwo and becomes a Christian. Okonkwos wives and children are loyal to him.

All his children, except Nwoye, respect him and obey all his orders. The reason Nwoye dose not


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is more than what Okonkwo shares with his other children. Unlike his other children who are

pretty much scared of him, Ezinma isnt afraid and will speak when she knows it is necessary.

Okonkwo had special bond with 2 people in this book, Ikemefuna and Ezinma; he regrets that

both of them cannot be what he wished for them to be.

Tribal customs and gods are very important in Umuofias culture and to the people of

Umuofia. The Oracle is regarded highly, for example, the Oracle tells the warriors if they should

go to war or not. This represents sort of a military commander of the village. Yes, Umuofia has

decided to kill him. The Oracle of the Hills and The Caves has pronounced it. They will take him

outside Umuofia as is custom, and kill him there. But I want you to have nothing to do with it.

He calls you his father, (57). Obviously Okonkwos loyalty to the village customs is shown

here. Just to see how far Okonkwo would go to keep his sense of manhood is tested to the limits.

He has to agree to have his son killed; his son who he considered would succeed him. Not only

that to show his pride of manliness and loyalty he decides to go and kill Ikemefuna with his own

hands. By deciding to kill Ikemefuna, Okonkwo not only upset himself later but also set Nwoye

on a life long path to finding out why his father decided to kill his brother. Deep inside Okonkwo

himself questioned his loyalty when he decided to go with the village instead of supporting his

son. In the end that is what leads to his downfall. In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete. The

messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It was useless. Okonkwos machete descended twice and

the mans head lay beside his uniformed body, (204). Killing someone knowingly in the village

of Umuofia is crime that will banish the murderer from Umuofia for life . Considering the

situation what Okonkwo did is not sensible but it seemed justifiable. The messenger and all the


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37072323 theme analysis things fall apart

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