to his tragic death. The novel’s conclusion, therefore,
represents an ironic truth concerning Okonkwo’s
existence: Though he died putting his individual
decisions above those of his community, the com-
missioner refuses to see his individuality as worthy of
an entire novel or even a chapter—just a paragraph.
Lindsay Cobb
traditiOn in Things Fall Apart
In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe tragi-
cally illustrates the collision between tradition and
change through the story of Okonkwo. Achebe’s
main character represents a man devoted to his
culture’s tradition. Yet his devotion does not yield
to change, and he ultimately succumbs to his own
unwillingness to accept the changes his clan faces
with the arrival of the white man and Christianity.
Achebe further complicates the novel’s perceptions
of change and tradition by including characters that
mirror and oppose Okonkwo’s attitude, such as Mr.
Smith, whose own devotion to his culture exacerbates
the hostile situation between the Christians and the
clan leaders, including Mr. Brown and Akunna, who
show the promise of respectfully discussing each
culture’s varying traditions in a move toward peaceful
change; and Obierika and Nwoye, who demonstrate
the ability to question traditional customs.
Achebe first asserts the dominance of tradition
in the clan, Umuofia, by showing how steeped in
convention Okonkwo and his family remain. The
clan values strength; therefore, Okonkwo becomes
the strongest. The clan values manliness; therefore,
Okonkwo shuns all effeminate behavior. When the
clan’s oracle declares that Ikemefuna, a boy who
lived in Okonkwo’s home for years like a son, must
die, Okonkwo follows dutifully and even uses his
own hand to kill Ikemefuna in order to show his
strength and dedication to the clan’s mores. Yet with
the death of Ikemefuna also comes the first signs of
doubt in Okonkwo’s eldest son, Nwoye. The narra-
tor reveals Nyowe’s doubts following his realization
that Ikemefuna—whom he thinks of as a brother—
has died according to the traditions of the clan.
Nwoye feels something snap within him and doubts
the justice of this action. This revelation, then, marks
the first example of a clansman questioning the
long-held traditions of Umuofia.
Another example of questioning occurs after
Okonkwo accidentally shoots a member of the clan
and thus must leave the clan and go into exile for
seven years; according to custom, after he leaves,
other clansmen must destroy his homes, land, and
animals. In this moment, Okonkwo follows duti-
fully without questioning the clan’s ways. However,
Obierika, Okonkwo’s closest friend and a respected
member of the clan, has a head full of questions
as he completes these traditional duties. Obierika’s
questions probe the logic and justice of the clan’s
traditions; more important, his questions end the
first section of Achebe’s novel. These are the final
thoughts before the white man and Christianity
enter both the novel and Umuofia’s culture.
As stories of violence become more prominent
in the region, and as Okonkwo’s own son, Nwoye,
chooses to follow the Christian missionaries, ten-
sions mount irrevocably between the ever-growing
Christian population and the traditional clans. Nev-
ertheless, though the Christians represent change
to the clansmen, Achebe also illustrates their own
devotion to tradition through the figure of Reverend
Smith, the missionaries’ second leader. The narrator
describes Smith as a man who only sees the world in
black and white, and his actions reflect his unwaver-
ing belief in the ways of his own culture and religion.
Mr. Smith, much like Okonkwo, refuses to see value
in other cultures, other traditions. Both Okonkwo
and Mr. Smith starkly contrast the actions of Mr.
Brown, the missionaries’ first leader, and Akunna, a
great man in one of Umuofia’s neighboring villages.
Mr. Brown and Akunna spend hours respectfully
discussing their respective religions, and though
neither of them convert to a new religion, both men
begin to develop a sense of understanding for the
other’s beliefs.
Okonkwo and Mr. Smith, however, never
develop a sense of understanding, and neither man
allows his traditional belief system to change. More-
over, both Mr. Smith and then Okonkwo react to
the potential of change with violence. Okonkwo’s
ultimate demise occurs when he is so overwrought
with aggression and violence that he slays a court
messenger in order to protect Umuofia’s sanctity.
When he realizes that his clansmen will not follow
in violence, Okonkwo decides to take his own lifeThings Fall Apart 129