...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Things Fall Apart

331 statements
64 feature instances
33 referencing feature instances

Things Fall Apart	type	TVTItem
Things Fall Apart	label	Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart	page	ThingsFallApart
Things Fall Apart	comment	Things Fall Apart is a 1958 Nigerian novel (written in English) by Chinua Achebe. The events depicted take place in Africa during the late 19th century. An allusion to historical events seems to date the story to the 1890s.Its hero is Okonkwo, a proud Igbo tribesman who watches his life change radically under the weight of his own decisions and the increasing encroachment of English colonial settlers and missionaries. The novel is considered one of the best books of the 20th century, partly because of its humanization of characters from both factions, and partly because it was one of the first novels in English to deal with African society from the viewpoint of Africans rather than the traditional Anglocentric viewpoint.
Things Fall Apart	fetched	2024-04-09T05:16:03Z
Things Fall Apart	parsed	2024-04-09T05:16:03Z
Things Fall Apart	processingComment	Dropped link to AbusiveParent: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
Things Fall Apart	processingComment	Dropped link to StealthInsult: Not a Feature - ITEM
Things Fall Apart	processingUnknown	AbusiveParent
Things Fall Apart	isPartOf	DBTropes
Things Fall Apart / int_112890b3	type	Secret Identity
Things Fall Apart / int_112890b3	comment	Secret Identity: Tinkered with. Chielo acts and is treated as a different person on and off her job as a priestess, but everyone knows who she is. Also, while the spirits who judge the village on occasion are concealed in full-body costumes, any peculiar mannerisms or the fact that someone isn't where they usually sit are politely ignored.
Things Fall Apart / int_112890b3	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_112890b3	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_112890b3
Things Fall Apart / int_11cac491	type	Tragedy
Things Fall Apart / int_11cac491	comment	Tragedy: On the classical Greek model outlined in Aristotle's Poetics, no less. Our main character Okonkwo is a great, successful, powerful man. However, he has a flaw (harmartia), in this case pride (hubris). He rashly ignores the consequences of the actions driven by his pride, making several mistakes (atÃ«). He then experiences a dramatic change of fortune (peripeteia), in this case, exile. The change of fortune leads to his downfall (in this case, suicide). The only possible deviation is the sense of closure (catharsis) since Achebe seems to sympathize with Okonkwo to some degree.
Things Fall Apart / int_11cac491	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_11cac491	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_11cac491
Things Fall Apart / int_11d4d3cc	type	Father, I Don't Want to Fight
Things Fall Apart / int_11d4d3cc	comment	Father, I Don't Want to Fight: Nwoye. One of the many reasons why Okonkwo is disappointed in him.
Things Fall Apart / int_11d4d3cc	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_11d4d3cc	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_11d4d3cc
Things Fall Apart / int_19fe3478	type	Daddy's Girl
Things Fall Apart / int_19fe3478	comment	Daddy's Girl: Ezinma, whom Okonkwo wishes had been born a boy.
Things Fall Apart / int_19fe3478	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_19fe3478	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_19fe3478
Things Fall Apart / int_1c5002bc	type	The Stoic
Things Fall Apart / int_1c5002bc	comment	The Stoic: Okonkwo is this for the most part; the only emotion he ever openly displayed was anger.
Things Fall Apart / int_1c5002bc	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_1c5002bc	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_1c5002bc
Things Fall Apart / int_2260cfe3	type	Like Father, Like Son
Things Fall Apart / int_2260cfe3	comment	Like Father, Like Son: It's fairly subtle since the story is from Okonkwo's point of view and he's an Unreliable Narrator, but Nwoye and Okonkwo are similar in all the wrong ways. They're both hard-headed and stubborn, refusing to change their minds or listen to others (how else would Nwoye defy his father and become a Christian?), and each of them wants to eschew the life his father led in favor of something he sees as better. Much more apparent in the sequels where Nyowe appears and proves just as patriarchal and controlling as Okonkwo.
Things Fall Apart / int_2260cfe3	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_2260cfe3	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_2260cfe3
Things Fall Apart / int_27690f66	type	Literary Allusion Title
Things Fall Apart / int_27690f66	comment	Literary Allusion Title: "Things Fall Apart" is a line from William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming".
Things Fall Apart / int_27690f66	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_27690f66	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_27690f66
Things Fall Apart / int_2fcf9bbc	type	Gratuitous Foreign Language
Things Fall Apart / int_2fcf9bbc	comment	Gratuitous Foreign Language: Igbo, with a small dictionary in the back of the book.
Things Fall Apart / int_2fcf9bbc	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_2fcf9bbc	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_2fcf9bbc
Things Fall Apart / int_30d2ae29	type	Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Things Fall Apart / int_30d2ae29	comment	Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: At one point, Okonkwo and two of his friends discuss how one village in the region had been entirely wiped out by white men. That village received a prophecy that a strange man would bring about their ruin, so when they saw a white man approach them peacefully, they killed him. That man's three friends later find out what happened, so they and several native mercenaries surround the village market during an important holiday and kill everyone inside. Okonkwo believed that the village deserved its fate because they killed a man without even letting him speak first.
Things Fall Apart / int_30d2ae29	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_30d2ae29	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_30d2ae29
Things Fall Apart / int_36ae9f5d	type	Traumatic Haircut
Things Fall Apart / int_36ae9f5d	comment	Traumatic Haircut: Okonkwo and some of his friends are arrested by the white men and have their heads shaved. When they are released, Okonkwo is pissed about it.
Things Fall Apart / int_36ae9f5d	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_36ae9f5d	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_36ae9f5d
Things Fall Apart / int_3ed17fe0	type	Wide-Eyed Idealist
Things Fall Apart / int_3ed17fe0	comment	Wide-Eyed Idealist: Reverend Brown, who still tries to be respectful towards others' beliefs when persuading them to join his religion, and believes that there is good in everyone. This sets him apart from his successor, Reverend Smith, who is far less idealistic and sees morality as black and white.
Things Fall Apart / int_3ed17fe0	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_3ed17fe0	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_3ed17fe0
Things Fall Apart / int_4276401c	type	Shoot the Messenger
Things Fall Apart / int_4276401c	comment	Shoot the Messenger: Played straight when Okonkwo beheads one of the Christian messengers.
Things Fall Apart / int_4276401c	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_4276401c	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_4276401c
Things Fall Apart / int_44c38f1f	type	Motherhood Is Superior
Things Fall Apart / int_44c38f1f	comment	Motherhood Is Superior: Discussed when Okonkwo is sent into exile after the Accidental Murder of Ezeudu's son, and has to take refuge in his mother's village. His uncle Uchendu explains that although in Igbo culture the father is in charge of the family and children "belong" to their fathers and fatherland, your mother (and by extension her land) is where you seek sympathy and protection in times of sorrow, when even your father/fatherland punishes you. Thus one of their sayings and one of the most common names they give children is Nneka, "mother is supreme."
Things Fall Apart / int_44c38f1f	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_44c38f1f	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_44c38f1f
Things Fall Apart / int_4781adbb	type	Jerk with a Heart of Gold
Things Fall Apart / int_4781adbb	comment	Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Okonkwo. On the jerk side: He once beat and attempted to murder his second and favored wife for making a snide remark about his poor gunmanship, and disowned Nwoye after he converted to Christianity. On the heart of gold side: He trekked to a distant and forbidden shrine four times in the dead of night after a priestess took his favorite daughter there because he was worried about her.
Things Fall Apart / int_4781adbb	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_4781adbb	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_4781adbb
Things Fall Apart / int_48ca7c29	type	Broken Ace
Things Fall Apart / int_48ca7c29	comment	Broken Ace: Okonkwo is a respected, prosperous clan leader and an accomplished warrior who has worked very hard to get where he is. He's also a complete asshole who beats his wives and children for the smallest of offenses, kills his adopted son without hesitation just so he won't appear weak to the rest of the clan, and ends up committing suicide in disgrace when he can't accept that his people's way of life is changing because of the white invaders. His life's work ultimately amounts to possibly a single chapter in a commissioner's book about "pacifying the savage tribes of Nigeria".
Things Fall Apart / int_48ca7c29	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_48ca7c29	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_48ca7c29
Things Fall Apart / int_4dd46feb	type	Polar Opposite Twins
Things Fall Apart / int_4dd46feb	comment	Polar Opposite Twins: Okonkwo's daughters, Ezinma and Obiageli. Ezinma is sensible and otherworldly, while Obiageli is spoiled and childish.
Things Fall Apart / int_4dd46feb	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_4dd46feb	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_4dd46feb
Things Fall Apart / int_4e3d253b	type	Downer Ending
Things Fall Apart / int_4e3d253b	comment	Downer Ending: Okonkwo commits suicide, and the traditional Igbo way of life is dying with the arrival of the English.
Things Fall Apart / int_4e3d253b	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_4e3d253b	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_4e3d253b
Things Fall Apart / int_4e4ea654	type	Workaholic
Things Fall Apart / int_4e4ea654	comment	Workaholic: Okonkwo, so much that he doesn't particularly enjoy the celebration of the New Yam Festival because he'd rather be working on his farm.
Things Fall Apart / int_4e4ea654	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_4e4ea654	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_4e4ea654
Things Fall Apart / int_4efe80e1	type	Lazy Bum
Things Fall Apart / int_4efe80e1	comment	Lazy Bum: Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was a lazy man who frequently borrowed money and failed to pay it back, and neglected his family and farm to play music, leaving Okonkwo with nothing after he died.
Things Fall Apart / int_4efe80e1	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_4efe80e1	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_4efe80e1
Things Fall Apart / int_50b05d30	type	Disproportionate Retribution
Things Fall Apart / int_50b05d30	comment	Disproportionate Retribution: Okonkwo beats one of his wives for taking a few leaves off a banana tree to wrap some food.
Things Fall Apart / int_50b05d30	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_50b05d30	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_50b05d30
Things Fall Apart / int_52488c54	type	Drowning My Sorrows
Things Fall Apart / int_52488c54	comment	Drowning My Sorrows: Okonkwo does this after killing Ikemefuna, the political prisoner he had raised like his own son for three years.
Things Fall Apart / int_52488c54	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_52488c54	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_52488c54
Things Fall Apart / int_590eb583	type	Domestic Abuse
Things Fall Apart / int_590eb583	comment	Domestic Abuse: Okonkwo regularly beats his wives and children, even his favorite ones. While physical punishment is something that all families in the tribe practice to some extent, the frequency and severity with which Okonkwo beats his family — often for very minor offenses — leaves even the rest of the village uneasy about it.
Things Fall Apart / int_590eb583	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_590eb583	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_590eb583
Things Fall Apart / int_5a23602	type	Big Ol' Eyebrows
Things Fall Apart / int_5a23602	comment	Big Ol' Eyebrows: Okonkwo is described as having large, bushy eyebrows, which add to his stern look.
Things Fall Apart / int_5a23602	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_5a23602	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_5a23602
Things Fall Apart / int_5c81a18b	type	I Am Not My Father
Things Fall Apart / int_5c81a18b	comment	I Am Not My Father: Okonkwo bases his character after trying to avoid his father's laziness as much as possible, which becomes his Tragic Flaw at the end of the book.
Things Fall Apart / int_5c81a18b	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_5c81a18b	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_5c81a18b
Things Fall Apart / int_60a2dd1c	type	Bugs Herald Evil
Things Fall Apart / int_60a2dd1c	comment	Bugs Herald Evil: Double-subverted for readers with a Judeo-Christian background, who are likely to be apprehensive at the arrival of a huge swarm of locusts. It's then revealed that the villagers are happy because they basically see locusts as popcorn from the sky. But it's not long after this that the oracle declares Ikemefuna must be killed.
Things Fall Apart / int_60a2dd1c	featureApplicability	-0.3
Things Fall Apart / int_60a2dd1c	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_60a2dd1c
Things Fall Apart / int_612f2a40	type	Hates Their Parent
Things Fall Apart / int_612f2a40	comment	Hates Their Parent: Okonkwo despises his father Unoka, who spent more time singing than tending his fields and fighting for his clan, resulting to him growing poor. After he died, he refuses to sacrifice a goat to him, saying he didn't even have a goat when alive.
Things Fall Apart / int_612f2a40	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_612f2a40	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_612f2a40
Things Fall Apart / int_61996785	type	Sacrificial Lamb
Things Fall Apart / int_61996785	comment	Sacrificial Lamb: Ikemefuna, both in and out of universe.
Things Fall Apart / int_61996785	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_61996785	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_61996785
Things Fall Apart / int_63b02752	type	Hair-Trigger Temper
Things Fall Apart / int_63b02752	comment	Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take much to anger Okonkwo.
Things Fall Apart / int_63b02752	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_63b02752	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_63b02752
Things Fall Apart / int_6896aae8	type	The Missionary
Things Fall Apart / int_6896aae8	comment	The Missionary: Several, treated with varying degrees of sympathy.
Things Fall Apart / int_6896aae8	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_6896aae8	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_6896aae8
Things Fall Apart / int_6c275297	type	The Fettered
Things Fall Apart / int_6c275297	comment	The Fettered: Okonkwo has locked himself into a particular idea of manliness and adherence to tradition, which he finds himself incapable of breaking away from. This is most prominently highlighted in his participating in the killing of Ikemefuna, and his inability to adapt to the changes English colonialism imposes on the Igbo.
Things Fall Apart / int_6c275297	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_6c275297	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_6c275297
Things Fall Apart / int_6d332aea	type	Driven to Suicide
Things Fall Apart / int_6d332aea	comment	Driven to Suicide: Okonkwo kills himself at the end of the novel, since the English have arrived and Okonkwo feels that no one is trying to stop them from wiping out their culture.
Things Fall Apart / int_6d332aea	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_6d332aea	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_6d332aea
Things Fall Apart / int_71642c70	type	Viewers Are Goldfish
Things Fall Apart / int_71642c70	comment	Viewers Are Goldfish: Some things are repeatedly explained to the reader as if they would've forgotten the information given just last chapter.
Things Fall Apart / int_71642c70	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_71642c70	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_71642c70
Things Fall Apart / int_7335ffa9	type	Grey-and-Gray Morality
Things Fall Apart / int_7335ffa9	comment	Grey-and-Gray Morality: Both the traditional Igbo society and the new colonial Christian society are presented as having positive and negative qualities.
Things Fall Apart / int_7335ffa9	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_7335ffa9	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_7335ffa9
Things Fall Apart / int_779009b5	type	Beware the Quiet Ones
Things Fall Apart / int_779009b5	comment	Beware the Quiet Ones: One of the Igbo folk legends has this as its moral.
Things Fall Apart / int_779009b5	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_779009b5	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_779009b5
Things Fall Apart / int_815d5a99	type	The Three Faces of Eve
Things Fall Apart / int_815d5a99	comment	The Three Faces of Eve: Okonkwo's wives. His first wife and Nwoye's mother is the Wife; despite the occasional friction with the two junior wives, she is unremarkable, steady, and is kind to the other wives' children. She refers to Ezinma, Ekwefi's only living child, as "The Good One," and not only takes care of Ojiugo's children when she forgets to come home in time to give them their supper, but tries to protect her by claiming that Ojiugo asked her to. Ekwefi was the Seductress in her youth. She was the village beauty but married a violent man who beat her. Okonkwo was somehow an upgrade? She's lost most of these traits in the present of the story, after suffering a series of miscarriages while Okonkwo's other wives had a half-dozen kids each, but she is Okonkwo's favorite wife and the one whose point of the view the story dwells on. Ojiugo is the youngest of Okonkwo's wives and The Child. She is the wife he actually beats when she goes off to braid her hair with her friends and gets so caught up that she doesn't come home in time to care for her children.
Things Fall Apart / int_815d5a99	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_815d5a99	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_815d5a99
Things Fall Apart / int_820133fd	type	Tragic Hero
Things Fall Apart / int_820133fd	comment	Tragic Hero: Achebe was more or less explicit that Okonkwo was supposed to be a tragic hero on the classical Greek model.
Things Fall Apart / int_820133fd	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_820133fd	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_820133fd
Things Fall Apart / int_88359b23	type	Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy
Things Fall Apart / int_88359b23	comment	Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Nwoye and Ezinma. Nwoye is sensitive, more emotional and considered more "feminine" by Okonkwo, while Ezinma is bold and considered to be more "masculine". Even Okonkwo frequently says that he wishes Ezinma was born a boy instead.
Things Fall Apart / int_88359b23	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_88359b23	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_88359b23
Things Fall Apart / int_88933ad4	type	Parental Favoritism
Things Fall Apart / int_88933ad4	comment	Parental Favoritism: Ezinma is clearly Okonkwo's favorite child. The only negative thing he has to say about her is that he wishes she were a boy, and that's only because he thinks that if she were, she would be a better son to mold in his image than any of his actual sons, but he can't do that with a girl due to his culture's strict gender roles.
Things Fall Apart / int_88933ad4	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_88933ad4	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_88933ad4
Things Fall Apart / int_90e31482	type	Laser-Guided Karma
Things Fall Apart / int_90e31482	comment	Laser-Guided Karma: Okonkwo's participation in the killing of Ikemefuna (which he was warned against by the village) comes back to haunt him. It's hinted that his later misfortune, especially his exile, was karma for this blasphemy. More concretely, Ikemefuma's death ostracizes Nwoye and is a major factor in his conversion to Christanity.
Things Fall Apart / int_90e31482	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_90e31482	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_90e31482
Things Fall Apart / int_9ac6b0c1	type	Sociopathic Hero
Things Fall Apart / int_9ac6b0c1	comment	Sociopathic Hero: Okonkwo has shades of this. Not very many people can be considered a hero after being convicted of murder and arson, but Okonkwo barely pulls it off.
Things Fall Apart / int_9ac6b0c1	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_9ac6b0c1	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_9ac6b0c1
Things Fall Apart / int_9c209a57	type	The Hecate Sisters
Things Fall Apart / int_9c209a57	comment	The Hecate Sisters: Okonkwo's wives — Nwoye's mother is the Crone, Ekwefi is the Mother, and Ojiugo is the Maiden.
Things Fall Apart / int_9c209a57	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_9c209a57	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_9c209a57
Things Fall Apart / int_a6278d84	type	Wacky Parent, Serious Child
Things Fall Apart / int_a6278d84	comment	Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Unoka, Okonkwo's father, was not a good farmer and preferred to spend his time playing music which Okonkwo saw as a frivolous pursuit. He died destitute and and left Okonkwo nothing but unpaid debts, which lead Okonkwo to become the hard worker and harsh disciplinarian he is.
Things Fall Apart / int_a6278d84	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_a6278d84	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_a6278d84
Things Fall Apart / int_a796d2a6	type	Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy
Things Fall Apart / int_a796d2a6	comment	Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: Okonkwo shoots at his second wife Ekwefi out of anger (in fact, right when she's Lampshade Hanging precisely this trope), but fortunately misses. Tragically inverted later on when he shoots off his gun at a celebration and inadvertently kills a young boy, forcing him to go into exile with his mother's family for several years.
Things Fall Apart / int_a796d2a6	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_a796d2a6	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_a796d2a6
Things Fall Apart / int_a8cbf649	type	I Should Write a Book About This
Things Fall Apart / int_a8cbf649	comment	I Should Write a Book About This: At the book's conclusion, the colonialist District Commissioner considers Okonkwo's life to be maybe worth a paragraph of filler in a book he might write about pacifying savage Africans.
Things Fall Apart / int_a8cbf649	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_a8cbf649	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_a8cbf649
Things Fall Apart / int_aabe2fb	type	Deliberate Values Dissonance
Things Fall Apart / int_aabe2fb	comment	Deliberate Values Dissonance: All aspects of Igbo tradition are presented in the story, including things such as the killing of twin babies. The English themselves are portrayed as holding the imperialistic views of the day. While there is one missionary, Mr. Brown, who tries to work peacefully with the Igbo, he gets replaced with James Smith, who goes out of his way to provoke conflict with the non-Christian Igbo. It's actually this deviation which causes Okonkwo's son to be drawn to the missionaries. He had been taken aback by the brutality of his own culture and was seeking something more palatable.
Things Fall Apart / int_aabe2fb	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_aabe2fb	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_aabe2fb
Things Fall Apart / int_aba8065b	type	Fatal Flaw
Things Fall Apart / int_aba8065b	comment	Fatal Flaw: Okonwo being explicitly modeled after the heroes of Greek Tragedy, it's no surprise that his flaw is hubris, leading to the atÃ« (rashness) that caused his downfall. The pride itself is specifically pride in his own strength, and an obsession with being manly and powerful that makes him blind to consequences.
Things Fall Apart / int_aba8065b	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_aba8065b	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_aba8065b
Things Fall Apart / int_bc74ef27	type	Berserk Button
Things Fall Apart / int_bc74ef27	comment	Berserk Button: For Okonkwo, laziness and associating with anything "un-manly".
Things Fall Apart / int_bc74ef27	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_bc74ef27	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_bc74ef27
Things Fall Apart / int_bd39588d	type	Desecrating the Dead
Things Fall Apart / int_bd39588d	comment	Desecrating the Dead: When Ekwefi's children keep dying at birth, the medicine man comes to believe that all of these children are manifestations of an ogbanje—an evil spirit that repeatedly dies and is reborn to torment its mother. The body of her final dead child is mutilated with a razor by the medicine man and buried in the Evil Forest so that it will not return. When she gives birth to a living child (Ezinma) shortly thereafter, this in their minds confirms for them that they were correct about the situation.
Things Fall Apart / int_bd39588d	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_bd39588d	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_bd39588d
Things Fall Apart / int_c868a42a	type	Freudian Excuse
Things Fall Apart / int_c868a42a	comment	Freudian Excuse: The main reason Okonkwo is emotionally distant and obsessed with manliness and power is that his father was a lazy weakling who preferred to loaf around and play music rather than take care of his family and farm.
Things Fall Apart / int_c868a42a	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_c868a42a	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_c868a42a
Things Fall Apart / int_ca87e3ec	type	No Name Given
Things Fall Apart / int_ca87e3ec	comment	No Name Given: Okonkwo's senior wife is only ever referred to as "Nwoye's mother."
Things Fall Apart / int_ca87e3ec	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_ca87e3ec	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_ca87e3ec
Things Fall Apart / int_ce9f550c	type	My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels
Things Fall Apart / int_ce9f550c	comment	My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: One African who acts as a translator for the missionaries is given the nickname of "My Buttocks", because the dialect he's speaking in isn't quite the same as that of the viewpoint characters, and the word for "myself" in his dialect translates to "my buttocks" in theirs.
Things Fall Apart / int_ce9f550c	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_ce9f550c	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_ce9f550c
Things Fall Apart / int_d075311d	type	ShesAllGrownUp
Things Fall Apart / int_d075311d	comment	She's All Grown Up: Ezinma grows from being a sickly child to a beautiful, strong-willed woman.
Things Fall Apart / int_d075311d	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_d075311d	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_d075311d
Things Fall Apart / int_d08595d3	type	Broken Bird
Things Fall Apart / int_d08595d3	comment	Broken Bird: Ekwefi was once the village beauty and is Okonkwo's favored wife, but a long series of stillbirths and miscarriages made her very bitter until Ezinma was born.
Things Fall Apart / int_d08595d3	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_d08595d3	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_d08595d3
Things Fall Apart / int_d786481	type	Top Wife
Things Fall Apart / int_d786481	comment	Top Wife: Of Okonkwo's three wives, his second wife Ekwefi is shown to be his favorite. Unlike with Nwoye's mother and Ojiugo, for whom we don't get a lot of insight into their relationships with him, Ekwefi has several chapters where she and her daughter Ezinma get some Character Focus, and we get her backstory and how she and Okonkwo came to be together (revealing that, while he was too poor to pay her bride-price initially, she ran away from her first husband after a couple of years to be with him), confirming that they married out of love or at least desire for each other. Despite not being able to give Okonkwo as many children as the other wives due to her many miscarriages, their one child together, Ezinma, is his favorite, and once she grows up, he likes that she looks like her mother (the former village beauty).
Things Fall Apart / int_d786481	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_d786481	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_d786481
Things Fall Apart / int_d965507b	type	Tragic Mistake
Things Fall Apart / int_d965507b	comment	Tragic Mistake: A couple, actually.
Things Fall Apart / int_d965507b	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_d965507b	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_d965507b
Things Fall Apart / int_dda99fa8	type	Despair Event Horizon
Things Fall Apart / int_dda99fa8	comment	Despair Event Horizon: Okonkwo commits suicide upon seeing that his neighbors are bewildered as to why he'd kill a messenger of the District Commissioner, and won't go to war.
Things Fall Apart / int_dda99fa8	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_dda99fa8	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_dda99fa8
Things Fall Apart / int_e6a901a3	type	Meaningful Rename
Things Fall Apart / int_e6a901a3	comment	Meaningful Rename: Nwoye takes on the name of "Isaac" when he converts to Christianity. Given the whole business with Ikemefuna, his name choice seems especially important. "Isaac" itself means "He will laugh," which seems like a direct response to Ononkwoâ€™s distaste for humor and levity.
Things Fall Apart / int_e6a901a3	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_e6a901a3	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_e6a901a3
Things Fall Apart / int_e7db27c7	type	Sympathetic P.O.V.
Things Fall Apart / int_e7db27c7	comment	Sympathetic P.O.V.: Not just unique in substituting an African perspective for a British one, but the POV is that of Okonkwo and those who share his general views. Thus, while the reader is likely to sympathize with Okonkwo's son, whom he abuses for not being manly enough, the narration isn't very sympathetic to the character.
Things Fall Apart / int_e7db27c7	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_e7db27c7	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_e7db27c7
Things Fall Apart / int_eaaf461f	type	National Geographic Nudity
Things Fall Apart / int_eaaf461f	comment	National Geographic Nudity: Most of the characters don't wear much clothing. It is explicitly pointed out at one point that Ekwefi must hold her breasts in place to keep them from flapping against her body.
Things Fall Apart / int_eaaf461f	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_eaaf461f	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_eaaf461f
Things Fall Apart / int_f0e85546	type	Unbuilt Trope
Things Fall Apart / int_f0e85546	comment	Unbuilt Trope: Things Fall Apart was one of the first novels in English to deal with African society from the viewpoint of Africans (contrasting the traditional Eurocentric viewpoint), and it played a major role in popularizing postcolonial literature. However, its conflict is far more gray-shaded than one might expect. In his portrayal of the pre-colonial Igbo people, Chinua Achebe doesn't hesitate to tackle cultural practices that can seem disturbing to modern readers—like abandoning newborn twins in the forest to die, executing adopted stepchildren on the advice of village elders, exiling an entire family for the crime of one person (even if the crime was an accident), the large amount of misogyny and physical abuse towards women and girls, and ostracizing any man who doesn't live up to traditional Igbo ideals of masculinity. He also doesn't depict the British colonizers as being all evil colonialists, with the British culture of the era being depicted as having both virtues and flaws, much like the Igbo. This is best demonstrated through Mr. Brown, one of the British missionaries. While his ultimate goal is to get the Igbo to convert to Christianity, Mr. Brown is full-heartedly willing to learn about the Igbo culture instead of automatically dismissing it as evil and doesn't want the Igbo to lose their cultural identity and autonomy to British colonialism. Unlike other missionaries in this novel and future postcolonial novels, he takes the time to personally meet and befriend villagers, from clan leaders to outcasts, and actually listens to their stories, opinions, and beliefs. Mr. Brown also does things that genuinely help benefit the Igbo, such as setting up a hospital to decrease the death and disease rate in Umuofia and setting up a school to teach English literacy so the villagers would be better equipped in their dealings with the European colonizers. All of this, combined with Mr. Brown accepting converts unconditionally, is why several of the Igbo, especially outcasts, willingly become Christians through him, and even some Igbo who don't convert come to respect Mr. Brown. One of the major themes of the novel (and most of Achebe's bibliography) is that, while colonialism of Africa during the period of New Imperialism was hardly all sunshine and lollipops for those being invaded, some of the criticisms the colonizers had of precolonial Africa were at least partly valid, and there were good reasons why so many Africans were willing to adopt at least some aspects of European society and culture.
Things Fall Apart / int_f0e85546	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_f0e85546	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_f0e85546
Things Fall Apart / int_f76842b1	type	The Fundamentalist
Things Fall Apart / int_f76842b1	comment	The Fundamentalist: Reverend Smith. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he is portrayed negatively compared to the other missionaries.
Things Fall Apart / int_f76842b1	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_f76842b1	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_f76842b1
Things Fall Apart / int_fb3c0a6	type	Firing in the Air a Lot
Things Fall Apart / int_fb3c0a6	comment	Firing in the Air a Lot: Okonkwo's gun exploding when he tries to fire at the air ends up killing someone else. The elders convict him of manslaughter and he is sentenced to seven years in exile (per the customs of the village).
Things Fall Apart / int_fb3c0a6	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_fb3c0a6	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_fb3c0a6
Things Fall Apart / int_fd497706	type	Accidental Murder
Things Fall Apart / int_fd497706	comment	Accidental Murder: Near the middle of the book, Okonkwo's gun explodes when he fires it, killing Ezeudu's teenage son. This is considered manslaughter and punished by temporary exile from the village.
Things Fall Apart / int_fd497706	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_fd497706	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_fd497706
Things Fall Apart / int_name	type	ItemName
Things Fall Apart / int_name	comment
Things Fall Apart / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
Things Fall Apart / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Things Fall Apart / int_name
Things Fall Apart / int_name	itemName	Things Fall Apart

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

Heart of Darkness	seeAlso	Things Fall Apart
TheThirdMillenium	seeAlso	Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Bugs Herald Evil / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Darkest Africa / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Evil Colonialist / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Father, I Don't Want to Fight / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Hates Their Parent / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	I Just Shot Marvin in the Face / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	I Should Write a Book About This / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Insatiable Newlyweds / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Intellectually Supported Tyranny / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Jock Dad, Nerd Son / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Lima Syndrome / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Literary Allusion Title / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Motherhood Is Superior / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	National Geographic Nudity / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Nigerian Media / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	No Adequate Punishment / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	One Twin Must Die / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Pride / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Rated M for Manly / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Sociopathic Hero / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Stock Quotes / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Suicide Is Shameful / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	The Three Faces of Eve / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Top Wife / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Tragic Hero / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Tragic Mistake / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Traumatic Haircut / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Turn Out Like His Father / int_5c054ba7
Things Fall Apart	hasFeature	Viewers Are Goldfish / int_5c054ba7

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.