Themes and Concepts in "Things Fall Apart"

One of the themes in "Things Fall Apart" is the question whether or not it is better to have change or to keep tradition. This question has various affects on all the characters. Okonkwo hates the new changes being made in government and religion. He feels that if these changes are made people will view him as being "weak." This change in Okonkwo's opinion means his fear of losing his social status in the community, which he can not let it happen to himself. However the villagers are excited and look forward to the changes in tradition. These changes for the villagers would also mean the extinction of their traditional methods of cooking, farming, building and harvesting. At one time these tradition methods were crucial for their survival.

Another theme in "Things Fall Apart" is another question trying to be answered. That question is how to define being a "man."

Scared child

Onyekachi Okonkwo, soccer player FC Zurich

Höhenangst

Okonkwo feels a man needs to be aggressive, angry and violent. For those reasons, he will frequently beat his wife, and even go as far as to threaten to kill her from time to time. Oberika is the exact opposite. He is a thinker, who is not aggressive and primitive. For that reason he refuses to go on the hunt to kill Ikemefuma. Whereas Okonkwo is not only eager to kill Ikemefuma, but he also violently stabs him with a machete.

One concept in "Things Fall Apart" that was interesting was that fact that many characters had a fear which was always on their mind. The story opens with a brief history of Unoka, Okonkwo's father. The story takes place ten years after his death. Unoka is described as a coward and a failure in life. He could never become a warrior because he had a fear of bloodshed. This...