THINGS FALL APART What Falls Apart?

And Why?
What Falls Apart: okonkwos world has fallen apart
Why it Falls Apart: the white man came to Umuofia and brought in a religion, which
opposing to the igos culture. Okonkwo being a firm belieer of his culture and tried to
resist the change that was brought in. !oweer, he alone did not hae the chance to
persuade his clan as he has been in e"ile for seen years. As the white men hae brought
in trading store were ery much in the people s eyes and minds. #he clans culture has
changed and so okonkwo $s plans for his return has failed. %entually he lost eerything
that he has. !e could not change thus he is stuck within struggle for power. Okonkwo
could not lead his clan to defend against the white men and felt that it is useless for him
to stay in this world.
%idence: there were many men and women in umoufia who did not feel as strongly as
okonkwo about the new dispensation.
What Falls Apart: #he &bo 'ociety in Umuofia has fallen apart.
Why it Falls Apart:
(&t was caused by the changes the missionaries had brought with them to Umuofia. #hey
introduced a new religion to replace the original one, which had held people in the illage
together.
%idence: #he white men claimed that they had a more almighty god and accused the &bo
people of praying to false gods, gods made up of wood and stone. #hey took a cleer and
strong approach to introducing the religion to the illagemen, using songs and story. #he
songs were )oyful, bright, and seemed to gie people a sense of hope. *ecause of that,
some of them were enthralled by it, and one of them was +woye. !e felt a sense of relief
and calm from the song, and the hymm seemed to act as a medicine for his trauma at
seeing the abandoned twins and knowing that &kemefuna was killed. #he people who
were conerts later on probably also felt a sense of hope that +woye had felt, if not a
sense of belonging. !ence, eentually, he conerted to ,hristianity, breaking his ties with
Okonkwo as a result. -any conerts also broke their ties with their family, along with
their identity of being an &bo. From here, we can see that the society in Umuofia is slowly
falling apart, with some of its people gone.
What Falls Apart: .elations in between people in the tribe.
Why it Falls Apart: After the missionaries arried, they start introducing their religion to
the naties. -oreoer, they started schools and hospitals and een trading stores. /eople
of the tribe soon began conerting their religion as they thought their old religion was too
harsh that they could not accept it. %en the e"iles were being accepted by the church.
/eople were too engrossed with the new religion, goenment and businesses that they
started to neglect their own religion and culture. 0ue to such massie changes, the tribal
people seemed to hae split themseles into two different groups. One where they still
beliee in their own culture, while the other is those who hae conerted and started
anew. #hus it leads to relations to hae broken down among the people. -any do not
behae the way they used to due to the new ideas being occupied in their mind.
%idence: (As 1uoted, 2+ow he has won our brothers, and our clan no longer act like one.
!e has put a knife on the things that held us together and we hae fallen apart.2
(As 1uoted, 2!e mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he
mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like
women.2
(Upon knowing +woye had conerted to a christian, Okonkwo uncontrollably started to
hit him as he thought it was a shame to conert one2s religion. #hus, Okonkwo warned his
other sons that if they were to conert )ust like +woye he will disown them immediately.
What falls apart:#he culture and beliefs of the &gbo tribe
Why it falls apart :#he arrial of the white people and the new religion of
,hristianity%idence: 0uring the second part of the noel,the tribe gradually succumbs to
the new religion of the white people. #his is seen when they conince many members of
the tribe to leae their old beliefs behind and to conert to ,hristianity. We can also see
this when they allow the outcasts of the tribe to )oin the new religion. #he white people
fre1uently pitch their new religion by putting them down and calling them pieces of wood
with no meaning.*y repeatedly doing this, they actually manage to conince the
members of the tribe to conert to ,hristianity. Okonkwo is affected by this when he
reali3es that his clan has become 4womanly5 and that his clan was not how it used to
be.!e thinks that the members of his clan were no longer the warriors they used to be.#he
culture of the tribe slowly falls apart as the integrity of the tribe is weakened by the new
religion that the white man brings. One way we can see that the culture of the tribe is lost
when %noch kills the ancestor of the tribe. #he tribe was unable to deal with him as such
a thing had neer happened before. What %noch did was blatant disrespect for the culture
and beliefs of the tribe.
What falls apart: Okonkwo2s life
Why it falls apart: &n the incident where his gun blows up and fatally wounds another
classman, Okonkwo2s life falls apart as he and his family are banished to the motherland
for 6 years. %erything that he has achieed, built up fell apart in )ust a split second. !e
has built himself up to be a self made man, striing to be the leader of the tribe, he
acheied titles, fame, respect from the illage, yet it was loss. !is life that was once
submerged in wealth, fame, superiority fell apart, leaing a diminished state. !e lost
eerything.
%idence:
!e knew what he lost:7 !e knew that he had lost his aplce among the nine masked spirits
who administered )ustice in the clan.7
7!e had lost the chance to lead his warlike clan against the new religion, which, he was
told, had gained ground.7
7!e had lost the years in which he might hae taken the highest titles in the clain7
7*ut some of these losses were not irreparable7
!e shot a boy:7 Okonkwo2s gun had e"ploded and a piece of irion had pierced the boy2s
heart7
What he has achieed: 7!is fame rested on solid personal achieements7
7 Won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine illages7
7!e was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yam7
What falls apart: One of the many things that fell apart in the novel was family.
After Okonkwo was exiled to his motherland, things began to crumble with the
introduction to colonization. woye revolted against Okonkwo and converted into
!hristianity, which then further worsened his ties with his father.

Why it falls apart: "he main reason why Okonkwo fell out with woye was
Okonkwo#s oppressive methods of parenting.

$vidence: Okonkwo was extremely restrictive and abusive towards woye,
imposing his beliefs on him and forcing him to be what Okonkwo deemed as a
true man. woye, a soft and warm child, struggled in the shadow of his powerful
and demanding father. %is ob&ection to his father#s beliefs and acts turned into
pure embitterment towards him and his ways. When the missionaries came,
woye ceased the opportunity and &oined them, an escape from Okonkwo and
the violent practices of the 'gbo culture. As a result, Okonkwo severed all ties
with him and the harmony in the family is disrupted.
What Falls Apart: Umofia 's traditions ,religion ,culture and practices

Why it falls Apart: Introduction of the Christianity by Mr. Brown , Reerend
!mith and the rest

Evidence:

1. Chapter "#, conersation between $bieri%a and $%on%wo. & 'oes the white
man understand our custom about land(& &)ow can he when he does not een
spea% our tongue( But he says that our customs are bad* and our own brothers
who hae ta%en up his religion also say that our customs are bad. )ow do you
thin% we can fight when our own brothers hae turned against us( +he white man
is ery cleer. )e came ,uietly and peaceably with his religion. -e were amused
at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. .ow he has won our brothers, and our
clan can no longer act li%e one. )e has put a %nife on the things that held us
together and we hae fallen apart.&
religion had failed to hold the Unmofia people together .

2. chapter /0, seeral osu, or outcasts came to conert to Christians .Mr. 1iaga
accepted them despite the other conerts' ob2ection .)e argues that they will not
die if they cut their hair or brea% any of the other taboos that hae been imposed
upon them.

3. $%on%wo cannot beliee that his clan has not drien the white men and their
church out.

4. chapter "", 3noch , an Umofian who conerted to Christianity unmas%ed an
egwuwu during the annual ceremony to honor the earth deity . In the tradition of
Umofia ,+hese sacred spirits must not be angered or tampered with. +he worst
sin a clansman can commit is to unmas% an 3gwugwu.

5. Chapter"4, +he leaders of Umofia were handcuffed and thrown in 2ail for
seeral days, where they suffer insults and physical abuse.
What Falls Apart: Okonkwo
Why it Falls Apart:
Okonkwo fell apart due to his pride. !e also fell apart as he could not let go of the past
and accept change.
%idence:
Okonkwo was too proud to show his emotions, thinking that showing emotions was
weak. !e feared being known as weak as he could not forget the shame his 7weak7 father
had brought upon the family. #herefore, he bottled eerything up inside and did not talk
to anyone about how he felt. All the while during his 6 years of e"ile, he had only been
planning his return to his original tribe. 'howing that he could not let go of his past as
well. Finally, when +woye had )oined the ,hristians, Okonkwo had not been able to
accept the change of religion and +woye defiance as +woye had neer done anything
against him before. Finally, after all the change happening around Okonkwo, that he
could not cope with, he committed suicide and 7fell apart7.
hat Falls Apart: *eliefs and religions fall apart
Why it Falls Apart: %uropean powers had influenced and intruded into the illagers
mindsets, hence affecting and changing their belief system. +umerous outcasts of the
tribe found solace in the beliefs the white missionaries offered. #hey were also greatly
welcomed by the missionaries into their cultures, giing them a great sense of acceptance
they did not used to possess. !ence, conersion was often seen and religious and cultural
alues of the tribe which once were respected by all were now destroyed and gone. #his
led to the falling apart of their beliefs and religions.
%idence:
( +woye was affected and attracted to the new religion introduced to him. &n the first
place, he was displeased with the re1uirements of his strongly ambitious father who was
largely influenced by their religion and culture. %nticed, he underwent the conersion and
became a ,hristian.
(-any pregnant women who were forced to cast away their newborn twins turned to
,hristianity
(-en without titles and power proceeded to )oin the churches where eeryone is treated
e1ually and fairly.
What Falls Apart: Umuofia
Why it Falls Apart: ,aused by the actions or inactions of both the African tribes and the
2white2 people spreading their religion
%idence: *efore the whites had entered, Umuofia was still working as a whole.
!oweer, the whites arried and had managed to conert a few illagers to their religion.
#hese illagers had conerted because they realised that in the new religion, eeryone
was treated e1ually whereas in their illage, they were the dregs of society. !ere the
seamless enironment of the tribes has begun to fracture, howeer the naties had
ignored it because they felt the illagers who defected were too useless to do much harm
to them, and so they did not take any actions towards it. When -r. *rown was replaced
by .eerend 'mith, the group started to get more iolent. %entually, they had destroyed
the illagers2 religion as they had unmasked one of the 2spirits2 of the illage, and also
killed an animal which was sacred. At this point, we can tell that much of Umofia is in
chaos. %entually, when Okonkwo killed one of the white people, the whole illage
failed to rally to help him as they had already been humbled by the whites. &t is at this
point that we can clearly see that Umuofia has fractured beyond the point of no return.
What falls apart: #he beliefs +woye had in his father, Okonkwo.
8%g: Okonkwo is iolent but he is not ile and eil. Whateer his father does is for his
illage, because of the society they are in.9
:%g: A man must be strong and able to fight. !e must not be like a woman so weak.;
Why it falls apart:
( #hey were forced into him in the first place 8they did not hae roots which
meant they can be easily waered.9
( !e did not hae much interest in the beliefs his father tried instilling into him.
!e accepted them into his life because he was simply )ust afraid of his fathers rage.
( #he effect was enhanced when he learnt that &kemefunas murderer was
Okonkwo, but he was still fearful of his father. 8lead to a change in his mindset
started re)ecting, creating barrier between his father and himself, )ust like when
Okonkwo re)ected his own father, Unoka.9
( Okonkwo continues to be iolent. 8!is father neer learns his lesson.9
( !is opinion of Okonkwo 8the person who shaped his beliefs9 worsens day by
day.
( Waered when ,hristianity came in. 8found it ery similar to story of
&kemefuna9
( Finally, it falls apart when Okonkwo accused him of betraying his own religion
when he did not. 8he was hesitating because of the beliefs he originally had.9
Evidene:
( 4As soon as his father walked in, that night, +woye knew that &kemefuna had
been killed, and something seemed to gie way inside him, like the snapping of a
tightened bow.5 /age <=
( 4#he words of the hymm were like drops of fro3en rain melting on the dry
palate of the panting earth. +woyes callow mind was greatly pu33led.5 /age >?@
( 4After passing and repassing by the church, +woye returned home.5 /age >A?
( 45Answer meB5, he roared again. +woye stood looking at him and did not say a
word.5 /ge >AA
( 4+woye walked away and neer returned.5 /age >AA
What Falls Apart: Okonkwos relationship with his son, +woye
Why it Falls Apart: #he primary cause of the estranged relationship
between Okonkwo and +woye was the inasion of the ,hristian religion
into the &gbo culture. As the number of ,hristians conerts from the &gbo
society grew, +woye secretly became more attracted to the religion and
wanted to attend the 'unday church serice, but he fears the wrath of
his father should he enters the church. Only when Okonkwo2s cousin sees
+woye inside the ,hristian church one day did Okonkwo find out. Okonkwo
hated the foreign culture and felt that it insulted and oerpowered the
Umofian culture and its ancestors. Cien the father son relationship between
Okonkwo and +woye, Okonkwo would become a laughing stock as he would be
deemed as unable to control his family and to influence them to comply with
him to steer clear of the ,hristians. +woye could not enisage himself from
the new culture to obey his father in opposing the ,hristian missionaries and
thus ran away. Okonkwo also did not regard +woye as his son from that day
onwards and thus the father son bond fell apart as a result of both parties
being stubborn and not giing ways to each other. 'hould Okonkwo hae not
cared so much about his pride and his image to his fellowman and attempted
to accept the new culture and tried to integrate them into the local society,
+woye would not hae ran away but rather, en)oyed an improed relationship
as +woye would better appreciate the understanding of Okonkwo. Okonkwo
should definitely not alue his pride and image at the e"pense of losing his
son. +woye could hae also attempted to reason with his father the alluring
aspects of the new culture and why it was so different from the Umofian
culture. %en if Okonkwo had not listen to +woye adice, +woye could hae
apologi3ed to Okonkwo first before bringing the matter up at a later date as
he should hae treasured the relationship and not be so brash.
%idence:
4Okonkwo is furious with his son2s action, but he concludes that +woye is
not worth his anger.5
4Okonkwo fears that, after his death, his younger sons will abandon
the family ancestors because they hae become attracted to the new
religion. 4Okonkwo wonders how he gae life to such a foolish and womanly
son, one who resembles his grandfather, Unoka, in so many ways.5
4When he starts to beat +woye with a heay stick, his uncle Uchendu
demands that Okonkwo leae his son alone. +woye leaes the hut and neer
returns.5
What Falls Apart : #he .elationship between Okonkwo and +woye
Why it Falls Apart : +woye is constantly in the shadow of Okonkwos success and social
standing within the clan, and Okonkwo constantly has high e"pectations for +woye, for
he wants him to be as successful as he currently is, and not following in the footsteps of
Okonkwos father, Unoka. #herefore, Okonkwo is always ery hard on +woye, so as to
push him forward. !oweer, this creates a negatie impact on +woyes attitude towards
Okonkwo. !oweer, when ,hristianity is introduced to the clan, +woye finds hope and
faith within the religion, and becomes part of the conerts. %entually, +woye is unable
to put up with Okonkwos oppressie attitude and leaes home.
%idence : +woye )oining the conerts despite Okonkwos ob)ection, and +woyes
leaing of home to studying in a school.
What Falls Apart: #he relationship between Okonkwo and +woye falls apart.

Why it falls apart: A series of things happened before the relationship between the father
and son fell apart. &nitially, +woye feared Okonkwo because of his fiery temper and
strictness. !e tried to appease Okonkwo by listening to him, working hard and pretending
to like masculine stories, when in actual fact, he preferred the stories that his mother told
him. #heir relationship was closer upon the arrial of &kemefuna, a boy who was offered
to the people of Okonkwo2s tribe because somebody from &kemefuna2s illage had
murdered someone from Umuofia. +woye treated &kemefuna as his big brother, and
follows what &kemefuna does. As &kemefuna was capable and useful, Okonkwo liked
him. +woye tried to be as good as &kemefuna and did lots of things that made Okonkwo
happy. &n a way, &kemefuna was the one who bridged the gap between Okonkwo and
+woye. &ronically, he was also the one who made the two fell apart. #he relationship
between Okonkwo and +woye fell apart because &kemefuna was killed by Okonkwo.
Ogbuefi %3eudu, the oldest man in this 1uarter of Umuofia, had already told Okonkwo to
stay away from the killing of &kemefuna, but Okonkwo turned a deaf ear and e"ecuted
&kemefuna because he was more concerned about his reputation than &kemefuna. #he
relationship was further worsened when +woye changed his religion.

%idence: &n the noel, when &kemefuna cried for help to Okonkwo when he knew he
was going to be killed, Okonkwo did not sae him and 7drew his matchet and cut him
down7. !e did that because 7!e was afraid of being thought weak7. #his goes to show
that Okonkwo alued his reputation more than other things. !e could bear to sacrifice
someone, een if it was his son, in order to maintain his reputation. +e"t, 7As soon as his
father walked in, that night, +woye knew that &kemefuna had been killed, and something
seemed to gie way inside him, like the snapping of a tightened bow7. &n this case, it was
his respect for his father that had snapped and it marks the falling apart of the father and
son. +woye was depressed because of the death of &kemefuna, but he was also sad
because of his father not saing &kemefuna. +e"t, in chapter si"teen, when Obierika
asked +woye why he was with the missionaries and how was his father, +woye replied 7&
don2t know. !e is not my father7. +woye had seered ties with his father and does not
acknowledge Okonkwo as his father and it once again shows that the relationship
between them had fallen apart. &n chapter seenteen, when it was said that +woye had
accepted the new faith, Okonkwo was furious. !e een 7sei3ed a heay stick that lay on
the dwarf wall and hit him two or three saage blows7. After which, Okonkwo thought a
lot and kept critici3ing +woye. !e was ashamed of haing +woye as his son. 7Diing fire
begets cold, impotent ash.7 &n this case, liing fire refers to Okonkwo while the cold,
impotent ash refers to +woye. &t means that the powerful and mighty Okonkwo has a
useless boy as a son. Okonkwo was disappointed at his son. #his worsened the already
strained relationship they had with each other.
What Falls Apart: The relationship between Nwoye and Okonkwo.
Why it Falls Apart: Nwoye could not get along well with Okonkwo due to their
lack of understanding of each other. Okonkwo, being a traditional man, he
strongly disagrees to Nwoye switching religions to become a hristian. To him,
he feels that hristianity is !ust a religion of the whites, and feels that those
whites were madmen when they were gi"ing speeches. #e was only supporti"e
of his own religion. #e showed his opposition so strongly, that he used a stick
to whack Nwoye, and e"en threatened to kill him. #owe"er, Nwoye, on the
other hand, was supporti"e of the new religion, as he felt that the new religion
ga"e him a sense of comfort. #e did not see why he could not !oin the
hristians, nor could he understand why Okonkwo opposed so strongly. Also, as
he could not stand Okonkwo$s "iolence towards him anymore, he e"en left
home. #ence, as they could not share the same opinions, and are unwilling to
gi"e in to each other, their relationship was ultimately strained, to the e%tent
that Nwoye left home fore"er.
&"idence: 'g ()*, $+, don$t know, #e is not my father,+ said Nwoye unhappily.$
'g ()-, +#e felt a relief within as the hymn poured into his parched soul.+ 'g
(.., $+Answer me,+ roared Okonkwo, +before , kill you/+$
(. What Falls Apart: "he village of )muofia and their way of life falls
apart.
Why it Falls Apart: When the whites enter )muofia, many people have
&oined the !hristian missionaries, abandoning their fellow tribesmen. "his
causes destruction towards the strength of the village as a whole as many
people have left. *or example, woye +Okonkwo,s son-, neka +Woman who
always bore twins and seen as bad luck for the family-, the osu and many
others &oined the missionaries
Evidence: .ow he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like
one. %e has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have
fallen apart./ "his passage clearly ties the destruction of the 'gbo people,s
way of life

0. What Falls Apart: Okonkwo,s life falls apart
Why it Falls Apart:
1any events in Okonkwo,s life has contributed to his falling apart. *or
example, when 'kemefuna, the boy he has taken care of, Okonkwo#s ideal
son, is sentenced to death. %e ends up delivering the killing blow to
'kemefuna and after that, he becomes weaker emotionally. Also, when he
accidentally kills a clansman,s son at the funeral from a gun misfunction and
was exiled to his motherland, he is disheartened. When his son converted to
the !hristianity, Okonkwo was disappointed. 2astly, he fell apart when he
killed himself.
Evidence:
.Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the death of 'kemefuna.
%e drank palm3wine from morning till night/ Pg 55
.Okonkwo had yielded to despair and he was greatly troubled/ Pg 115
.Why, he cried in his heart, should he, Okonkwo of all people be cursed with
such a son4/
."hen they came to the tree from which Okonkwo,s body was dangling, and
they stopped dead./
What falls apart: Family .elationships
Why it falls apart and eidence: #he falling apart of Okonkwo2s family is eident
throughout the noel, especially between +woye and Okonkwo. *etween +woye and
Okonkwo, the reason behind their strained relationship is because of Okonkwo2s fear and
the wrong way of showing concern. Okonkwo actually wanted +woye to succeed and
prosper as a real man, and he thought that the best way to discipline is through iolence.
!e didn2t want his son to grow up as a failure like his father, Unoka. (page 13: "and he
sought to correct him by constant nagging and beating.")(Page 51:"Nwoye overheard it
and burst into tears, where upon his ather beat him heavy.") #he fatherly Okonkwo had
the right intention, but the wrong way to show his care and concern for +woye. #his had
shaped +woye the wrong way, making him ery afraid of his father2s presence. #his can
be seen from page << of the noel. When okonkwo asked +woye to sit by him, "but the
boy was araid o him and s!ipped out o the hut as soon as he noticed him do"ing." #his
proed the weakness of their relationship( 'trong only at the surface, but strained
beneath. &t had also caused +woye to deelop "into a sad#aced youth." (page 13)
#he father and son between Okonkwo and +woye could be said to be totally broken
towards the end of the noel, when +woye changed his religion into ,hristian, an
undoubtedly great taboo to Okonkwo. $n page 133, Nwoye was said to "wa!%ed away and
never returned". #his marks that their relationship was now beyond salage. Okonkwo
een chose to beliee that +woye was not his real son (page 13&: "Perhaps he was not
his son. No' (e cou!d not be") For a father to hae disowned his own son, it shows the
final !rea"a#e $f fa%ily ties and all !l$$d relati$ns !et&een '"$n"&$ and N&$ye
(FALLEN APART)*
Okonkwo2s family relationships may also had fallen apart due to his personal belief. !is
relationship was goerned by his own belief, principles and his own 7right things to do7.
#o Okonkwo, a successful man is one that controls wies and children. &ndeed, he lied
up to his belief and treated his entirely family strictly (page 1): "*%on%wo ru!ed his
househo!d with heavy hands."), while deep down within him, "*%on%wo was not a crue!
man." (page 1).) #herefore, while Okonkwo stries to shine and succeed, he was hurting
eeryone around him, therefore affecting his relationship with them.
#o Okonkwo, showing affection is a show of weakness. #herefore, he would neer treat
his family well and shower them with loe and care.(Page )5: "+o show aection was a
sign o wea%ness, the on!y thing worth disp!aying was strength.") Okonkwo2s only way to
show his loe and care was through more iolence and more nagging, which was difficult
to be interpreted to be of good intention. #he family was therefore filled with fear of his
presence, instead of loe and happiness. A household like this( iolent and fearful instead
of happy and secure, is therefore said to hae fallen apart inside, in the emotions of all
members, een though Okonkwo still managed to make it looked so strong and
prosperous on the outside.
What things fall apart: Okonkwo neer regrets what he do, always hae the confidence
and takes pride in the things that he done. !oweer, when Okonkwo killed &kemefuna, he
regrets and his character fall apart, lose cofidence in himself.E
Why things fall apart: Okonkwo killed &kemefuna which he treats as his son )ust because
he was afraid to be thought weak. 0espite his loe for him, he killed him, and he regrets
and was no longer himself for two days. !is strong and proud character fall apart in this
scene.E
%idence: page <A to <<
( did not taste any food for two days
( did not sleep at nightE
( tried not to think about &kemefuna, but the more he thought about him
+ame: Fwek Gan Hing
,lass: ADG
.egister +umber: ??
What Falls Apart: Okonkwo2s dream of +woye becoming a man.
Why it Falls Apart: Okonkwo, being a man who feared idleness and gentleness, did not
show his loe openly. #hat had resulted people into thinking that he is cold hearted,
including his son who he had high hopes for, but was often disappointed by his la3iness.
With all the beatings daily, +woye could not take it anymore, and was actually always
hoping he could get away from his father, so when the ,hristians offered a faith in which
all his 1uestions could be satisfied and away from his father2s 2cruel2 methods he chose it.
And when Okonkwo knew about it, he discredited his son and he was filled with utter
sadness on how his son had )oined the opposite side and was now unable to be the man
that he saw his son as.
%idence:2*ut he left hold of +woye, who walked away and neer returned.28/age >AA9,
2And immediately Okonkwo2s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly.
Diing fire begets cold ash.28/age >A<9
What Falls Apart: #he life of the &bo
Why it Falls Apart: #he colonisation of the white men
%idence: #he first sign of colonisation was that a white man appeared at Abame riding
an iron horse. #he elders consulted their Oracle and it told them that the strange man
would break their clan and spread destruction among them. And so the people killed him
and tied his iron horse to their sacred tree as it looked as if it would run away to call the
mans friends. #his probably prooked the white men that they brought a large number of
their men and shot eeryone at the market. Abame was hence wiped out.
#he white men had reached Umuofia and established a church there. #hey sent in
missionaries to instil peace by promoting their religion as the beginning stages of
colonisation. &f they can change the beliefs of the tribe, they will be able to control the
people more easily and the people will trust them too.
#he foreign religion was introduced and it started to tear the &bo structure which was
somewhat based on the strength of a family unit. #his led to the separation of Okonkwo
and his son. When Okonkwo found out that +woye was seen among the ,hristians, he
was so oerwhelmed with fury that he sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck.
And when +woye was freed, he walked away and neer returned as he decided to attend
the missionary school.
At first, the white men came peacefully and 1uietly but now, the white men had also
brought a goernment. #hey had built a court where the 0istrict ,ommissioner )udged
cases in ignorance. #he missionaries had created diision within the religion of the &bo
society. Coernment was then introduced smoothly as the people of the &bo society could
not stay united to protect their way of life.
Umuofia seemed ready to stand up against colonisation and this warmed Okonkwos
heart to see such strength of numbers at the meeting at the market(place. !oweer, the
court messengers came to stop this meeting. 'eeing this, Okonkwo stood up and killed
the head messenger with his matchet. #he people had broken into tumult instead of
action. Okonkwo was disheartened as he saw the people not rising up against their
oppressors but to let the other messengers escape.
&n the end, colonisation finally droe Okonkwo to end his life as the oppression is too
great for his diided tribe to oercome. !ence, he rather took his life than becoming the
sufferer of colonisation.
What Falls Apart: .elationship between Okonkwo and +woye
Why it Falls Apart: ,onflict
%idence:
Okonkwo was unable to adapt or compromise his ethics to changing situations that call
for more tolerance or compassion. As if Okonkwo didnt hae enough on his plate, the
white ,hristian missionaries shown up, started conerting illagers, and forced the
%nglish system of goernment on the &gbo people. %ssentially the white men were
destroying the clans unity. %en Okonkwos oldest son )oins the ,hristians. +ow
Okonkwo is faced with enemies of a different kind I not simply fear of himself or his
sons becoming womanly, but the potential that his whole tribe will be impotent and not
fight the white men. Okonkwo had whose sense of pride and dignity continues until the
end, making him against so much when he knew his son, +woye )oined the ,hristians.
!e chose to e"press his anger towards +woye.
&n fact, 4+woye turned round to walk into the inner compound when his father,
suddenly oercome with fury, sprang to his feet and gripped him by the neck. 4Where
hae you beenE5 he stammered. +woye struggled to free himself from the choking grip,5
showed the iolence on Okonkwo towards +woye. !is this action was usually resered
for enemies or people whom one hates a lot. Get, he had done this to his own son, was
not treating his son as his son. !e was actually brutally assessing his son as his enemy
because he had forsaken the religion that Okonkwo belieed. *esides, 4Answer me,5
roared Okonkwo, 4*efore & kill youB5 also e"pressed the inhumane and brutal of
Okonkwo by threatening to kill his own son. #his is yet another one of Okonkwos anger
being unleashed upon his son.
Okonkwo iolence and his inability to adapt changes had made +woye left him
eentually and )oined ,hristians. !is relationship with +woye was 4falling apart5.
what falls apart: Umofian tribe and the religion that holds them together
why it falls apart:
>. arrial and influence of christian missionaries
?. difference in reaction of Umofians ie. some of they accept the missionaries and become
a part of them while others iolently opposed them
A. Umofians2 faith in their religion was not strong enough to withstand the arrial of
,hristianity, also not strong enough to keep them together
eidence:
#he main reason that led to the tribe falling apart was that their faith in their religion and
beliefs was not strong enough to withstand the arrial of ,hristianity and it was also not
strong enough to keep the Umofians together, and the main cause of this was the arrial
of the ,hristian missionaries.
When the white men first arried with their religion, -r *rown tried his ery best to get
Umofians to conert to ,hristians and beliee in ,hristianity. *ecause he seemed
friendly and approachable, many Umofians warmed up to him and were okay with his
presence in the illage. #hey een allowed the missionaries to build their church in the
eil forest. With this, the missionaries got their first three conerts.
After four days, where the missionaries were e"pected to die, the church was still there
and the men were healthy. *ecause of this, they won oer a handful more of conerts. As
time went by, more and more Umofians conerted to ,hristians as they belieed that the
new religion was een more powerful that the eil sprits of the clan, and the missionaries
treated each and eery conert e1ually, regardless of whether or not they were outcasts of
the clan.
As ,hristianity grew stronger within Umofia, the Umofian religion grew weaker and the
clan was further diided into two hales. #hose that still held on to their Umofian beliefs
grew lesser and lesser, and only a few opposed the missionaries as iolently as Okonkwo.
#here was nothing the tribe could do about the ,hristiansJ they could not kill the conerts
as they were still kinsmen.
%entually, -r *rown built a trading store, a school and een a goernment. &n this
sense, Umofia was slowly becoming a city similar to those of %ngland2s, and it was losing
it2s original appearance and alues. Umofia was falling apart, and as it was becoming
7moderni3ed7, it was losing it2s original beliefs, it2s traditions, it2s way of lifeJ it was
falling apart.
As Umofia and Umofians alike slowly adapt to the new way of life and change to lie as
the 7white men7 do, they lose what once held them together( their Umofian beliefs and
traditions. Okonkwo knew that it was too late to undo what the missionaries had done,
and he knew that Umofia would be 7destroyed7 as it was no longer what it once used to
be. !e could not bear to see it happening before his eyes and he committed suicide.
Okonkwo2s suicide can also be seen as a representation of Umofia2s fate. &t would soon
change into a illage completely dominated by the 7white men7 and their religion, and it
would keep on changing until it eentually was not Umofia anymore, until it finally
7died7. What once used to be a glorious tribe, has now fallen apart, much like how what
once used to be a great man, has now passed on.
What Falls Apart: .elationships between Okonkwo and +woye
Why it Falls Apart: #he killing of &kemefuna.
%idence: After the killing of &kemefuna, +woye is unable to speak to his father and their
relationship collapses from that moment. With the source of 2manliness2 8&kemefuna9
gone, Okonkwo feels that +woye has became more and more feminine, making him push
him further. !oweer, his plan backfires and the relationship between the two parties
slowly degenerate instead. #he breaking point was when +woye, being unable to tolerate
his father and clan customs )oined the white missionaries 8,hristianity9.
What Falls Apart: +woye2s trust in his society
Why it Falls Apart: +woye saw the cruelty in the customs and traditions, through the
incident when he and his mother heard the cries of the infant that had been thrown into
the eil forest. !e felt disgusted and a little frightened at that time. Also, the death of
&kemefuna, a boy who had done nothing but proide )oy to +woye2s househood showed
the unfairness of the society 8why did &kemefuna hae to die when it wasn2t his faultEE9
%idence:
8refering to the twins being thrown into the forest9 7ague chill had descended on him and
his head had seemed to swell7
8refering to &kenefuna2s death97something seemed to gie way inside him, like the
snapping of a tightened bow.7
What Falls Apart:+woye2s relationship with Okonkwo
Why does it Fall Apart:+woye was appalled by Okonkwo2s murder of &kemefuna, his
7brother7, for his own pride and honour.
%idence: *efore the murder, +woye tried to accomodate Okonkwo2s wishes for him to
be manly and domineering like himself, partially due to &kemefuna2s influence. !oweer,
after the murder, +woye felt something 7gie way7 within him, any form of admiration
he had for his father. #hus, he went against his father2s wishes and )oined the ,hristian
missionaries. When accosted by Obierika, +woye stated that Okonkwo was not his
father, and when beaten by Okonkwo, he remained e"pressionless, showing how he no
longer considered Okonkwo2s e"istence as meaningful to him. Okonkwo also disowned
+woye, bringing their blood ties to a definite end.
What falls apart: Okonkwo2s family
Why it falls apart: firstly, their family bond was not een strong in the first place. the
relationship between okonkwo and his wies was as such 70o what you are told woman7.
eerything that his wies did were based on a orderly routine constructed by okonkwo
and eerybody had to listen to him regardless of whether he was right or wrong. i can
also infer that he did not truly loe his wies or treat them as e1ual partners. dus to his
culture, he felt that women were below him and treated them that way. the chores they
did and the meals they cooked, were taken for granted.he neer showed appreciation at
all. there was also no nakedness in the family. eerybody was lying to one another een
though both parties knew they were lying they still did it anyway which showed that they
had this wall in between them, they could not open up to one another and there was no
honesty in the family but lies and deceit. how can a family be close, a bond that will not
be broken if they are not honest with one anotherEtthere was no room for negotiation or
communication. een if one disagreed to okonkwo2s actions, one must still obey and
respect it. that is why, when &kemefuna died, when nwoye conerted to a christian, the
family )ust kept falling apart until Okonkwo finally killed himself. because, no one in the
family, was there to support or help one another to make sure that each other were safe.
there was no sense of belonging, it was as if, they lied together but not in heart.
%idence: ruled his family with an iron fist, when Okonkwo was beating up his third
wife his wies only dared to ask him to stop from afar, and they knew there was nothing
they could do. when his third wife was missing, his first wife coered up for her, and
okonkwo pretended not to know. nwoye had to pretend to be manly )ust to please
okonkwo and could not )sut be himself 8 i thought family was the O+% place you could
)ust be yorself, silly and all ad will always be acceptedE9
One thing that falls apart
What falls apart: #he clan which Okonkwo was in.
Why it falls apart: !hristianity took over the clan and gained the ground
$vidence:
( Ogbuefi )gonna, who had taken two titles, cut the anklets of his titles and
&oined the !hristians.
0 "hey had built a court where the 5istrict !ommissioner &udged cases in
ignorance. 6ome prisoners were men of title who should be above such mean
occupation.
7 "heir own men and sons have &oined the ranks of the strangers. "hey have
&oined his religion and they help to uphold his government.
8 Okonkwo was deeply grieved, he mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking
up and falling apart, and the men of )muofia who had so unaccountably become
soft like women.
9 $noch unmasked an egwugwu in public for the sake of !hristians which was
considered disrespectful.
: "he ;ods are weeping. 'demili is weeping. Ogwugwu is weeping. "heir dead
fathers are weeping because of the shameful sacrilege they are suffering.
< Okonkwo, the egoistic guy, could not bear with all these .fall aparts/ which led
to him hanging himself.
What Falls Apart: Okonkwo
Why it Falls Apart: Okonkwo was unwilling to let go of the past. He is
stubborn in his mindset and try his utmost hardest to keep things
status quo. However, hange is inevitable and this is what led to
Okonkwo!s downfall. Okonkwo was a high and mighty man in the "bo
tribe. He was a man of fight and violene, and he never e#pressed his
emotions. However, despite his power, he was still punished for
beating his wife, thus he was fragile. When he was sent to seven years
of e#ile, he kept holding on the the fat that he had made his name big
in $muofia. beause of the seven years in e#ile, muh of his power is
lost and in order to gain bak his power after seven years, Okonkwo
plans to build more huts, marry more wives and beome riher. %his
shows that he annot let go of his past. When he went bak after e#ile,
everything hanged and beause he ould not aept it, it led to his
downfall. Okonkwo!s life starts falling apart the moment he was sent to
e#ile.
&videne:
' Okonkwo was punished for beating his wife during the week of
peae, where no one was supposed to display any violene.
' Okonkwo!s adopted son, "kemefuna was sentened to die and
beause of his pride, he ended up delivering the killing blow to kill
"kemefuna.
' Okonkwo kills a fellow lansman aidentaly at the funeral and is
sentened to seven years in e#ile.
' Okonkwo did not allow (woye to onvert into a hristian and thus
disowned his own son.
' Okonkwo gets fed up with his fellow lansmen for betraying the "bo
ulture that leads him to kill a olonialist messenger.
' Okonkwo kills himself finally
What things fall apart: Okonkwo and his life
Why things fall apart: #he reason why Okonkwos life fell into pieces was because of his
stubborn pride and oerly dominant character. !e was unable to accept the fact that life
was going to be different for him when he returned to Umuofia 6 years after his e"ile, it
was going to be harder to rise to that status he was originally from, especially when there
were the ,hristian missionaries in control. !is life fell apart when he could not take the
pressure anymore and rebelled against the ,hristians, causing him to be locked up with
fie other men for the same crime. !e pinned too high hopes for himself, and hoped ery
much to return to Umuofia in a grand manner that will be recognised by eeryone, yet no
one paid much attention to it een though he had planned for his daughters marriages.
!e was unable to take things which were not in his faor, hence he took action by killing
the ,hristian messenger, which e"pressed his anger and hatred for the people who had
sort of dierted the people of Umuofia away from their original religion and culture. As
Okonkwo was unable to cope with putting all his things together, he failed alone, as a
man, )ust like his father had mentioned, and eerything that he had had fell apart. #he
most grieing part of it was that he failed alone, and died alone, )ust like his father, when
he had started off the e"act opposite of him but ended up in a state like him.

%idence: 4%en in his first year of e"ile he had begun to plan for his return. #he first
thing he would do would be to rebuild his compound on a more magnificent scale. !e
would build a bigger barn than he had had before and he would build huts for two new
wies. #hen he would show his wealth by initiating his sons into the o3o society. Only
the really great men in the clan were able to do this. Okonkwo saw clearly the high
esteem in which hewould be held, and saw himself taking the highest title in the land.5,
5Okonkwos return to his natie land was not as memorable as he had wished. &t was
true his two beautiful daughters aroused great interest among suitors...who had so
unaccountably become soft like women.5
What *alls Apart: the clan
Why it *alls Apart:
"he clan fell apart in part 7 of "*A. 't is evident that things changed, and were
not the way they used to be. "hings started to change once Okonkwo went on
exile. +=uote (- "he !hristians were the mastermind behind the falling apart of
the clan. "hey were the ones who caused all the drastic changes in )muofia.
"he introduction of !hristianity in )muofia not only attracted the outcast and
.agbala,/ but also a person with authority in the clan, Ogbuefi. As a leader of the
clan, Ogbuefi had great influence on the clan. 'n addition, the Abame incident
had great impact on the clan and people were all afraid of going against the
!hristianity. With influence from a leader, and fright present in the people, more
people started to &oin the !hristianity and its government. "hese people lost the
power to fight. )muofia was no longer a village that practices wrestling. "hey,
who had taken up the foreign religion, and claimed that its own religion was bad.
"his suggests the clan losing support as its people get drained to the !hristianity.
+=uote 0-
"he !hristians were clever people. "hey knew how to con>uer and change the
clan. "hey came >uietly and peacefully. ?et, they have taken control of the clan,
unnoticed. +=uote 7- "hus, we see that the clan has experienced drastic changes
and eventually fell apart.
$vidence:
=uote ( +pg (97- @)muofia had indeed changed during the seven years
Okonkwo had been in exile. @
=uote 0 +pg (9:- @he has won our brothers, and our clan no longer acts like one.@
=uote 7 +pg (9:- @%e has put a knife on the things that hgeld us together and we
have fallen apart.@
What Falls Apart: Okonkwo2s tribe
Why it Falls Apart: As the white missionaries come into the illage, they brought with
them the new religion of ,hristianity and at the same time, a new goernment that
administrates the white men2s laws and order. #his, then throws Umuofia into chao as
they did not e"pect the change. #he missionaries wins oer some coerts, but the coerts
are the outcasts of the &bo society, thus the &bo people look down upon the white
missionaries at first. #hey offered them a part of the %il Forest to build the church, not
knowing that the forest is only 2eil2 due to their superstitious beliefs, and is actually
harmless in the first place. After building the church, the white missionaries started to
establish their goernment, and tries to coloni3e Umuofia. #hen, attitudes of the
Umuofians started to change towards the white missionaries due to the fact that their
trade was boosted thanks to them, they became wealthier. !ence, the tribe began to fall
apart as they stray from their roots and beliefs and lean towards the ,hristians. #he
arrial of the white missionaries and their ,hristainity weakens the kinship bonds that
is central to &gbo culture. Ancestral worship plays an important role in &gbo religion, and
conersion to ,hristianity inoles a partial re)ection of the &gbo structure of kinship.
%idence:
#he church wins many conerts from the eu!eu 8titleless, worthless men9. One day,
seeral osu, or outcasts, come to church. -any of the conerts moe away from them,
though they do not leae the serice.
-r. Fiagas steadfast coniction persuades most of the other conerts not to re)ect their
new faith simply because the outcasts hae )oined them. #he osu soon become the most
3ealous members of the church.
#he illage leaders and elders offer them a plot in the %il Forest, belieing that the
missionaries will not accept it. #o the elders ama3ement, the missionaries re)oice in the
offer. the elders are certain that the forests sinister spirits and forces will kill the
missionaries within days. #o their surprise, howeer, nothing happens, and the church
soon wins its first three conerts.
What Falls Apart: Religious beliefs/ religion
Why it Falls Apart: The religion falls apart due to the introduction of the white
missionaries. When the white missionaries first came into village, they were
speaing through interpreters, mentioning that the gods that were upheld by them
were apparently flase, and their own !od was the one true god. "woye, who was
affected the missionaries, changed his religious views. #e was spotted being
together with the missionaries. When the missionaries firstly arrived in $mofia,
the clansman had the evil intention of allowing the %spirits& of the 'vil Forest, to ill
them. And thus, they told them to rest and stay within the 'vil Forest. As
mentioned earlier on in the novel, the 'vil Forest was greatly feared by all, as
religion spared off the fear in them. (t was said that the wouldn&t last )* days.
#owever, after a month, the missionaries were perfectly fine. This caused some
minor doubt within the clansman, whether their religion is reliable or not. At that
e+act same time, the missionaries were preaching the clansman, and they had
the church in place, so as to allow the followers to pray there. After managing to
win a few hearts, the missionaries continued their preaching activities, and at the
e+act same time, they were coming down hard on the %fae& religion that they
believed in. Acnowledging the fact that they had indeed broen the traditional
beliefs of the clansmen&s religion, they wanted to tae this opportunity to ensure
that their religion would tae over their !od. ,oreover, the gods of the village
were aimed to gather good cultivation, and achieve a good number of blessings
to the family. #owever, the white missionaries spoe of their !od, and they
spoe of it in a better voice - to save the humans. This therefore, ( believe is a
reason why they managed to win the hearts of several supporters.
'vidence: .hapter /0, /1, /*
What Falls Apart: Families
8A little e"planation: *y families, & meant both Okonkwo and his tribe.9
Why it Falls Apart:
>. Okonkwos family fell apart because Okonkwo lost his son to a new religion,
and ended up departing the remaining members of his family 8by suicide9. !im
suiciding was a ma)or part of his family falling apart as he is the head, leader,
figure of authority, and commander of the family. !e leads the family. Without
him, the family has no one to lead them, no one to keep them together. #hey may
)ust end up splitting ways and returning to their own tribes.

?. Okonkwos tribe fell apart because of the introduction of a new religion, and
more people shifting their belief to the new religion. With some not following the
same religion, it showed that the tribe had fallen apart. *esides, they accepted the
new religion at the start, and that was the main cause of them falling apart.
%idence:
>. $he left hold of +woye, who walked away and neer returned 8this line
e"plains the shiftK change of faith which led to the falling apart of the relationship
between +woye and Okonkwo.9
$Okonkwos body was dangling 8#his line is the reason for the inference of
$#hey may )ust end up splitting ways and returning to their own tribes.9

?. $he has won our brothers, and our clan no longer act like one. !e has put a
knife on the things that held us together and we hae fallen apart. 8#his line
shows that een Obierika, a member of the tribe, knew that they were falling apart
due to the introduction the new religion.
What Falls Apart: Okonkwo
Why it Falls Apart: !e cannot deal with the change that the ,hristian -issionaries hae
brought with them. Okonkwo cannot bring himself to accept the drastic change of his
society and culture. !is whole life was built upon it, and when it changed, he fell apart. &t
is not easy to change life(long habits, for Okonkwo it is een harder because he had
belieed so strongly in it. When eerything around him changed, he became disorientated
because he no longer fits into the new culture and society. When he does not fit it
anymore, the burden of standing alone in his own beliefs gets to him, and he falls apart.
%idence:
4!e has put a knife on things that held us together and we hae fallen apart.5 #his was
what Okonkwos friend had said about the ,hristian -issionaries and their culture. #his
eidence shows the chain reaction of the impact of the new culture. Ultimately it will
result in Okonkwos death.

4!e mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned
for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women.5
#his eidence shows Okonkwos strong belief in the clans culture and also the strong
attachment he feels towards his clan. #hus when the clan fell apart due to the new culture,
he found it unacceptable.

4Okonkwo stopped looking at the dead man. !e knew that Umuofia would not go to war.
!e knew because they had led the other messengers escape. #hey had broken into tumult
instead of action. !e discerned fright in that tumult. !e heard oices asking: $Why did he
do itE5 this edidence shows the difference between Okonkwos clansmen and himself.
#he clansmen were gradually coming to terms with the change about their lifestyle and
culture. !oweer Okonkwo had not. #his eidence shows that he stands out among the
rest because of his refusal and inability to accept the change. &t also shows that he stands
alone in his original beliefs. #he fact that Okonkwo does not fit into the new culture adds
on to the burden he feels of the change. #his is the turning point where he finally falls
apart and committed suicide.
What Falls Apart: 'elf
Why it Falls Apart: As time goes by and people spend their lies in a world riddled with
chaos and unhappiness, it takes a toll on themseles. Whether it be due to family, money
or social problems, our stressful enironment leads us to self(destruction ultimately if we
do not take the reins and steer ourseles back on track. !uman beings are ulnerable by
nature, as such they are often hurt emotionally regardless of how strong they may appear
to be. &n our current society, freedom is taken away and slowly turning into what we call
a ciilised 7eat or be eaten7 world. We are forced to put up brae fronts een if we are
truly cowering in our hearts, forced to lie up to other people2s e"pectations. #his is but
similar to the wild where caterpillars take up the appearance of a fierce predator or the
stripes the tiger hae to help it hide from its prey.
%idence: Okonkwo stubbornly held on to his manly beliefs, for fear that others may see
him as a coward should he not attend &kemefuna2s killing. &n his heart he could feel the
doubt and his conscience telling him to not take part in it. Get he followed the men into
the forest with &kemefuna to kill him, een dealing the final blow. After the killing,
Okonkwo was deeply affected and could not think nor behae like he usually did.
!e didn2t eat for two days and could not fall asleep for a period of time. #his led to
Okonkwo2s character being shaken ery badly and eentually the death of him when he
could not handle the problems he faced after that trauma.
What Falls Apart:Okonkwo
Why it Falls Apart:0ilenma of whether to kill &kemefuna
%idence: &n the noel, Okonkwo was in a dlienma at a point of time when the illage
decided to kill &kemefuna, who was adopted by Okonkwo when he was brought to the
illage. &kemefuna een calls Okonkwo father and Okonkwo loes the boy alot.
!oweer, he has to come to a decision of whether to kill &kemefuna and in the end, he
was the one who killed &kemefuna personally )ust to sae his reputation of being a
chauanist when he could hae )ust turned a blind eye to let his tribemen do the )ob of
killing &kemefuna. #his led to his downfall and it was a turning point of his life. 0ays
before the Filling of &kemefuna, Okonkwo was in conflict with himself as he did not
know whether killing &kemefuna was the correct choice. !e was een so stressed that he
confide in his wife, but ended up enting his anger on her as he was too stressed. !e did
not know whether or not to kill &kemefuna and many people hae persuaded him not to
hae a hand in this killing but in the end, because of is egoistic character and his thinking
of showing emotions as weak, he kills ikemefuna who calls him2father2.
What falls apart : okonkwo and nwoye2s father(son relationship
Why it falls apart : the 2new faith2 has influenced nwoye, and he has attending it, sparking
the conflict between father and son. also, it is due to okonkwo2s harsh treatment of his son
that caused +woye to leae and neer return after the seere beating from Okonkwo.
%idence : in #FA, where +woye says 2he 8okonkwo9 is not my father2, and when
Okonkwo says 2he does not hae a son like nwoye2.
What falls apart:
When &kemefuna was being killed by Okonkwo, the respect of +woyes for his father
snapped. !ere, the respect of +woyes towards his father $falls apart.

Why it falls apart:
Firstly, Okonkwo brought away the closest soulmate of +woye, and took away the only
pillar of his. *ecause of this action, there is tinge of anger and hatred towards his father
for not considering his feeling.
'econdly, he saw the cruelty of his father. Okonkwo might be iolent, but neer will
+woye imagine, that his father will kill someone who was part of his family. &kemefuna
was not an ordinary person to their family, he is special to them, and his presence makes
the family ery different. On top on that , &kemefuna calls Okonknwo $father, it is like a
father killing his own son( which make people feel that father is ery cold(blooded, and
in this case, +woye iew his father as someone so.
Dastly, and the most important factor. #his action of the killing of &kemefuna reminded
him of the last harest season when he and his family were returning from the fields with
yams, when he passed by the stream he heard the crying of an infant from the forest
beyond the water. !e always heard that wheneer a woman gae birth to twins, they were
left in earthenware pots in the forest because they were bad luck, but he neer
encountered them until then. !earing the baby cry had gien him the feeling that he was
passing an eil spirit, the same way that he felt when his father returned from killing
&kemefuna. &n additional, since Okonkwo had the gut to hit his wife in the Week of
/eace, not afraid of offending the #he Oracle of ,aes and !ills, why did he hae to
obey them this timeE !arboring this thought, +woye might deem Okonkwo as being
unfair, and blame him een further.
With all this emotions of +woye, his respect for his father snapped, and $fall apart.
%idence:
$Okonkwos son, +woye, who was two years younger, became inseparable from him
because he seemed to know eerything( page ?<
#he eidence aboe shows that +woye like &kemefuna ery much, and is inseparable
from him.
$+woye knew that &kemefuna had been killed, and something seemd to gie way inside
him, like the snapping of a tightened bow( page <=
#he $snapping of a tightened bow likened to the snapping of the respect towards his
father, snapped.
$&t was after such a day at the farm during the last harest that +woye had felt. #hey were
returning home with baskets of yams from a distant farm across the stream when they had
heard the oice of an infant crying in the thick forest. A sudden hush had fallen on the
women, who had been talking, and they had 1uickened their steps. +woye had heard that
twins were put in earthenware pots and thrown away in the forest, but he had neer yet
come across them. A ague chill had descended on him and his head had seemed to swell,
like a solitary walker at night who passes an eil spirit on the way. #hen something had
gien way inside him.