Tragic Irony
In Things Fall Apart, the irony is that a proud, successful, and important man such as Okonkwo ends up hanging himself . ... This is what makes the irony surrounding his death tragic. Okonkwo’s death is especially ironic when we consider one major event at the beginning of the novel: the terrible harvest.
What happens in the end of things fall apart?
Okonkwo’s suicide is an unspeakable act that strips him of all honor and denies him the right to an honorable burial. Okonkwo dies an outcast, banished from the very society he fought to protect. The novel’s second tragedy occurs on the broader level of history.
Who does Okonkwo kill at the end of the novel?
Afraid to appear weak, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna with his machete. When Nwoye learns that Ikemefuna is dead, something changes within him. He recalls the feeling that he experienced one day when he heard a baby crying in the forest — a tragic reminder to him of the custom of leaving twins in the forest to die.
How did Okonkwo die in things fall apart?
At the end of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo hangs himself, preferring suicide to the indignity of being dragged before the colonial court.
What happens to Ezinma at the end of things fall apart?
While telling stories with her mother one night, Chielo the priestess shows up and takes Ezinma on a long journey to the shrine of Agbala . We never learn what happens to her in the shrine, but she emerges alive and whole.
What does Okonkwo’s suicide symbolize?
Okonkwo’s death symbolized the “falling apart” of the village, not widespread peace , a form of pacification. “Pacification” is what the man did the exact opposite of when he arrived with the missionaries.
Why did Okonkwo decide to end his life?
Okonkwo’s death comes because he realizes that he has failed both the people and their goddess, Ani . Though he has the spirit to endure misfortunes such as the loss of his yams during the drought that hit Umuofia, the traumas of exile, and the humiliation of imprisonment, he does so with others.
Who dies in things fall apart?
Things Fall Apart ends with two related tragedies. The first tragedy is Okonkwo’s death. Following an outburst of unsanctioned violence in which he kills a European messenger who tries to stop a meeting among clan elders, Okonkwo realizes that he is no longer in sync with his society.
Why did Okonkwo go to jail?
Okonkwo kills the District Commissioner’s messenger to rebel against the Commissioner and the missionaries. Prior to this event, the Commissioner tricked the clansmen and put them in jail for burning down his church .
What was Okonkwo’s crime?
Okonkwo’s accidental killing of a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, and he knows that he and his family must leave Umuofia for seven years.
What happened to Okonkwo’s father?
He died of swelling in his stomach and limbs — an affliction not acceptable to Ani, the earth goddess. He therefore could not be buried properly, so he was taken to the Evil Forest to rot, making Okonkwo even more ashamed of his father.
Why is things fall apart a tragedy?
Things Fall Apart fits the definition of tragedy because it documents both the personal downfall of Okonkwo and the broader erosion of the Igbo cultural world that Okonkwo wishes to defend . ... Okonkwo struggles to free himself from his father’s disreputable legacy and earn a place among the elders of Umuofia.
What did Okonkwo do after he killed the court messenger?
In the middle of the speech, five court messengers approach the crowd. Their leader orders the meeting to end. No sooner have the words left the messenger’s mouth than Okonkwo kills him with two strokes of his machete . ... Understanding that his clan will not go to war, Okonkwo wipes his machete free of blood and departs.
What happens to Ezinma at the end of Chapter 11?
Terrified of the priestess, Ezinma cries in fear, but she is forced to go with Chielo to Agbala’s house in the sacred cave and hangs onto Chielo’s back .
What did not happen during Ezeudu’s funeral?
Which did NOT happen during Ezeudu’s funeral? The men and boys had wrestling matches . How did Okonkwo kill the boy? He accidentally shot him.
Who did Ezinma marry?
Why has Ezinma not married yet? She waited to marry a boy she was in love with before the exile. She can’t marry until Nwoye marries. Okonkwo made her wait until their return from exile.
What is the meaning of things fall apart?
The Struggle Between Change and Tradition
As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall Apart deals with how the prospect and reality of change affect various characters . The tension about whether change should be privileged over tradition often involves questions of personal status.
Is Okonkwo a hero or a villain?
Okonkwo is a tragic hero in the classical sense: although he is a superior character, his tragic flaw—the equation of manliness with rashness, anger, and violence—brings about his own destruction.
What are the twin tragedies of things fall apart?
Things Fall Apart chronicles the double tragedies of the deaths of Okonkwo, a revered warrior, and the Ibo, the tribe to which Okonkwo belongs.
Do things really fall apart in things fall apart?
What Actually ‘Falls Apart’ in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart? Asst. ... Through a close and transactional reading of the novel this study demonstrates that Igbo’s culture and religion didn’t fall apart but changed and in fact, what falls apart in Things Fall Apart is Okonkwo, the protagonist of the novel.
What does ikemefuna’s death symbolize?
Ikefuma’s death irreversibly harms the relationship between Okonkwo and Nwoye. His death is also a bad omen that has a symbolic connection to Okonkwo’s later exile from Umuofia. In this sense, the death of Ikemefuna signals the start of things falling apart .
What crime did Enoch commit?
Enoch – a proud, zealous, and belligerent convert – commits the ultimate crime . During the worship of the earth goddess, he taunts one of the egwugwu, saying that the masked “spirit” wouldn’t dare touch a Christian. In response, the egwugwu smacks Enoch with a cane.
What is the climax of things fall apart?
Climax. The climactic point in the novel arises when, Okonkwo, without his realizing it, shoots a young member of his community and kills him . Though this was an accident, Okonkwo has to abide with the law that deems he should be banished from his village for seven years.
Do not bear a hand in his death?
Do not bear a hand in his death” Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe. In the quote shared above, a woman of the Umuofia tribe was killed at Mbaino village market. ... It comes with a personal advice though, that Okonkwo not bear a hand in his death as the boy calls him father.
Why did Achebe write things fall apart?
Achebe’s primary purpose of writing the novel is because he wants to educate his readers about the value of his culture as an African . Things Fall Apart provides readers with an insight of Igbo society right before the white missionaries’ invasion on their land.
Why does Okonkwo hate Christianity?
Because the Christians first attracted men like his father Unoka , this would give Okonkwo even more reason to dislike the missionaries. As the book states, ‘He [Okonkwo] had no patience with unsuccessful men” (Achebe 4).
Who gets married in things fall apart?
In chapter twelve of Chinua Achebe’s ”Things Fall Apart,” Okonkwo and his family attend the marriage of Obierika’s daughter Akueke and her suitor, Iba . Read on for a summary of the chapter and of this celebration!
What is chapter 11 about in things fall apart?
Summary: Chapter 11
Ekwefi tells Ezinma a story about a greedy, cunning tortoise . All of the birds have been invited to a feast in the sky and Tortoise persuades the birds to lend him feathers to make wings so that he can attend the feast as well.
What is chapter 14 about in things fall apart?
Summary: Chapter 14
Okonkwo’s uncle, Uchendu, and the rest of his kinsmen receive him warmly . They help him build a new compound of huts and lend him yam seeds to start a farm. Soon, the rain that signals the beginning of the farming season arrives, in the unusual form of huge drops of hail.
Who has Okonkwo killed?
Okonkwo’s gun accidentally goes off and kills Ezeudu’s sixteen-year-old son . Killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, so Okonkwo must atone by taking his family into exile for seven years.
What crime does Okonkwo commit and what is his punishment?
Okonkwo is given charge of Ikemefuna for three years. During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo commits the crime of beating his wife . This is his first crime against the earth. As punishment, he is told to make a ritual sacrifice, which he does.
What is a female crime in things fall apart?
It is female ochu.
Okonkwo’s accidental killing of Ezuedu’s son is considered manslaughter and therefore a female crime. the nuts of the water of heaven hailstones. isa-ifi the ceremony in which the bride is judged to have been faithful to her groom.
Why did Umuofia not go to war?
Okonkwo now knows that the Umuofia will not go to war because they let the other kotma escape . He cleans off his machete and walks away.
Who can bury Okonkwo?
Obierika leads the Commissioner and his men to an area behind the compound, where Okonkwo’s body hangs lifeless from a tree — a victim of suicide. Obierika asks the Commissioner if his men will cut Okonkwo down from the tree and bury him.
What is the significance of the yam in things fall apart?
Yams, the ”king of crops,” are so significant that they are vital to the clan’s traditions, beliefs, and lifestyle in Things Fall Apart. Okonkwo gets started as a yam farmer by asking for seeds from a wealthy man in the village.
Who won the final match in Chapter 6?
As the two leaders, Ikezue and Okafu , struggle, it looks like they will be evenly matched again this year—until Ikezue grows desperate and makes a mistake, and Okafu wins the match. Everyone carries him off, singing a song celebrating the strength and fighting prowess of Okafu.
What happened to Ekwefi in things fall apart?
Ekwefi. Okonkwo’s second wife, once the village beauty. Ekwefi ran away from her first husband to live with Okonkwo . Ezinma is her only surviving child, her other nine having died in infancy, and Ekwefi constantly fears that she will lose Ezinma as well.
What is the summary of the novel Things Fall Apart?
The novel chronicles the life of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo community, from the events leading up to his banishment from the community for accidentally killing a clansman, through the seven years of his exile, to his return, and it addresses a particular problem of emergent Africa—the intrusion in the 1890s of ...
What is the main problem in Things Fall Apart?
Indepth Facts:
Major conflict On one level, the conflict is between the traditional society of Umuofia and the new customs brought by the whites, which are in turn adopted by many of the villagers . Okonkwo also struggles to be as different from his deceased father as possible.
What is the main idea of Things Fall Apart?
The main idea in Things Fall Apart is that when new systems present themselves, those old systems made uncomfortable will be the first to adapt . People have a very hard time seeing it outside of the colonial narrative because we almost all conditioned to center the west were ever its present.
What happens at the end of Chapter 11 in things fall apart?
Ekwefi tells the story of a clever tortoise who tricks the birds into helping him get a feast in the sky. ... In their anger, the birds tell the tortoise’s wife to put out all the hard things in the house to break the tortoise’s fall , which ends up shattering his shell, resulting in its broken appearance.
What happened at the end of the URI ceremony?
What happened at the end of the ceremony? The bride-to-be went to live with her suitor’s family for seven market weeks. ... He was the clan elder, so there was a great ceremony.
What chapter does Ezinma get married?
Summary: Chapter 20
He has managed to get over Nwoye’s disgraceful departure, but he still regrets that Ezinma is a girl. He asked that she wait to marry in Umuofia, after his exile, to which she consented.
