Things Fall Apart

The last paragraph centers around the Commissioner in Lower Niger.

There are 179 words in the paragraph.

There are 800 characters without spaces.

There are 978 characters with spaces.

There are 12 sentences

There is one sentence fragment in the paragraph.

There are

66 a's

12 b's

22 c's

29 d's

91 e's

19 f's

17 g's

61 h's

61 i's

0 j's

8 k's

25 l's

26 m's

51 n's

63 o's

13 p's

0 q's

44 r's

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23 u's

6 v's

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0 x's

8 y's

1 z.

There are 3 commas.

The commissioner went away. It doesn't specifically say where the commissioner went away to, or away from. One could assume the author was talking about away from the messenger who spoke last. However, the commissioner could also be going away from Obierika, Okonkwo's best friend who continues to drown himself in remorse. He could simply be going away from Okonkwo's body. He could be going away from all of these.

The commissioner is a man, as shown by the use of masculine pronouns, him, he.

The commissioner has soldiers. He has multiple soldiers. He probably has more soldiers than are immediately stated there. He has at least 4 soldiers. It doesn't say if the messenger is included as a soldier. He probably brought multiple soldiers since he didn't know if Okonkwo would try to kill more people. It doesn't say what weapons they have. You would assume guns, but it could also be knives. Maybe they have guns and knives. Perhaps they also have hammers. It doesn't say what type of uniforms they wear, but since they're soldiers you assume that they would wear uniforms for easy identification.

The commissioner has worked for many years to bring 'civilization' to Africa. It makes you wonder what civilization is. If the civilization in Africa was considered true civilization, could he bring it back to Europe? Does this imply there is no civilization in different parts of Africa? If other countries brought civilization to Africa would it compete with his civilization? Would he consider these other civilizations civilization? Achebe used the words 'different parts'. This does imply that there is more than 1 part. Indeed, the use of 'different parts' implicitly implies at least three different parts of Africa. One wonders what the commissioner considers parts. Or are these parts as considered by the author? Perhaps the commissioner's and author's definition of the word 'parts' differ. One could be talking about different landscapes, such as desert, lakes, tundra, whereas another could be talking about geographic parts. As the author is speaking we have to assume the author's definition, which is not implicitly defined in the paragraph. This sentence also implies that the commissioner is not from these parts of Africa. It could be assumed that the commissioner is from Europe, though that may not be true. The Commissioner might be from Northern Africa, or other 'civilized' areas of Africa, such as Egypt. Indeed, the District Commissioner might even be African, or Middle Eastern as opposed to the commonly assumed Caucasian.

The commissioner has learned many things during these years. This leads you to believe that the Commissioner is an educated man. He believes social status can be lost through actions.

Okonkwo hanged himself in a tree. In order to cut him down, you would need a knife of some sort, perhaps a machete.

The Comissioner thinks about writing his book. It seems that he has not started writing the book yet, or is maybe perhaps only at the note taking portion of his book writing exercise. He believes that every day brings new material to his book.

Notice how the Commissioner talks about putting Okonkwo in merely a paragraph in his book. However, Okonkwo is the star of this book! The commissioner uses the thought a reasonable paragraph. One now wonders what makes up a 'reasonable' paragraph. Is there such a thing as an unreasonable paragraph? The Commissioner refers to the Igbo as 'primitive,' and claims that they could undergo 'Pacification'. The title of the book seems to imply the necessity of pacifying the tribes.

Obi Okonkwo is the main character of the book No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe. This is the sequel to the book Things Fall Apart. Obi Okonkwo is the eldest son and 5th child of Isaac (Nwoye) Okonkwo, and grandson of Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart.

Obi Okonkwo is the first person from the 9 villages of Umuofia to go to England to be schooled post-secondary. Against the elders' wishes (whom provide him with the scholarship to be able to go there), he studies English as opposed to law. Becoming a senior-civil servant when he returns to Nigeria, Obi Okonkwo is caught up in a bribery scandal over 20 pounds and arrested.

Weddings are large occurrences involving the familes and friends of both bride and groom. This occurs after all the preparations have already occurred such as haggling and paying the bride price, and having the bride meet her suitor and relatives.

Everyone who is considered a kinsmen within their group called umunna, and their families are invited. After breakfast, women and children gather in the morning at the bride's father's compound to cook for the whole village. Gifts are brought to the compound. Many animals are slaughtered for the feast, including goats.

In the afternoon, the groom's side begins arriving bringing pots of palm-wine, the first few to aid in the cooking. Meanwhile, the bride prepares herself with the help of her mother and friends. As the sun sets, someone sweeps the ground in front of the bride's father's obi. Then the friends and relatives begin to arrive and form a semi-circle. The in-laws begin to arrive bringing many pots of palm-wine. They form another half-circle.

The bride's father presents kola nuts to his inlaws. There is a ritualistic toast between the father and the eldest of the in-laws. The kola is eaten and wine starts being drunk. Food is presented later in the evening with huge bowls of foo-foo, pots of soup and yam pottage. Later young men begin singing, praising all of their male elders in turn. The girls excepting the bride come from the inner compound to dance. Then the bride joins them with a cock in her right hand. She presents the cock to the musicians and dances. The festivities and dancing goes on late into the night. As the visitors leave, they pay short visits to prominent men before leaving, whom give them presents before the visitors go.

Nothing happens, so the villagers suspect that they have special powers.

The Villagers expect the missionaries to die within 7 market weeks or 28 days. When the missionaries do not die, the villagers assume that the missionaries possess special powers, and thus gain more recruits.

Most of Nigeria has been modernized several times, with agricultural tribes rare. Nigeria has been integrated into the global society, with increased trade with Africa and the rest of the world.

Okonkwo is a very stern father who shows affection through pride. He believes that being hard on his children will force them to grow up hard.

The cast of Things Fall Apart - 2007 includes: Jordan Chiu as Boy

Ikemefuna called Okonkwo father. It would be unnatural for a father to kill his son. The boy was also affectionate towards Okonkwo, and it would be like a betrayal.

The court refused to listen to their story and tricked them, sentencing them without hearing their side. The soldiers handcuffed them in a trap, before they had time to put up resistance. They had their heads shaved. Further, they were imprisoned for days without food and water. During their imprisonment they were deeply whipped and beaten by the prison guards, whom constantly insulted the tribesmen.

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is a man of great status and he is hardworking, yet his anger is the major part which starts to crack at his downfall. He is constantly getting angry at things like no warm meal when he gets home, and because his son wasn't as hard working as him. Okonkwo starts the downfall when he beats his wife during the Week of Peace which is considered a crime. When an elder dies the clan shoots guns and Okonkwo was there shooting his gun and it shot a little child and it is considered a womens crime to accidentally kill someone, if he shot the child on purpose it would be forgotten. Okonkwo has been exiled for 7 yearsand his property is burned down. When the whit missionaries invade his tribe Okonkwo goes billistic killing a messenger.Okonkwo's anger causes him to lose his control and when he does everyone around him feels powerless. He is exiled out of his home village and doesn't achieve the same status as before. When his fellow villagers wont help him revolt against the missionaries, he cracks under all the pressure and falls. Okonkwo's flaws cause his downfall by each little flaw effecting him to crack under the constant pressure and finally hang himself.

The church had also arrived in Umuofia. The white men had brought the government, the courts, and the prisons. Some of the Igbo had joined the church, and others were sending their children to the European style schools. The community had been split apart.

Motherhood is an important part to a woman in Igbo society. Ekwefi's nine other children had died

His church is burned down. He complains to the authorities, and then no more is heard from him in the book.

Okonkwo has many children:

Nwoye: son of his first wife.

Obiageli: daughter of his first wife.

Ikemefuna: adopted son.

Ezinma: daughter of Ekwefi

Nkechi: daughter of Ojiugo

Nneka: first child born to Okonkwo in Mbanta. "Mother is Supreme."

Nwofia: son born 2 years after Nneka. "Begotten in the Wilderness."

Onwumbiko: "Death, I Implore you." Third children borne to Ekwefi who dies in his fifteenth month.

Ozoemena: "May it not happen again." 4th child of Ekwefi, born after Onwumbiko. Dies in her eleventh month.

Onwuma: "Death may please himself." 5th child of Ekwefi.

Other:

- At least 6 other children are born to Ekwefi who die shortly after birth.

- At least 4 other living sons besides Nwofia

- Others not named.

Note: Obiageli may actually be Ojiugo's daughter, but used by the first wife to deliver meals. Another possibility is that both Ojiugo and the first wife have daughters named Obiageli, or that the first wife's name is also Ojiugo. This could also be a continuity error by Achebe.

Unoka found out that no ancestor or god was angry at him, but his crops were failing because he was too lazy to clear new fields, and was instead seeding his crops on worn out soil.

Yes, he is a tragic hero, because like many other tragic heroes he has a flaw and because of that flaw or weakness he suffered tragedies and then a tragic death. His main flaw stems from the fear of being like his father: a lazy, social, drunkard debtor. He cannot display his emotions because he doesn't want to look weak or effeminate, and when he does show any emotion, it is an uncontrollable rage.

Okonkwo has a minor breakdown and does not eat for two days, only drinking wine. He struggles with his personal beliefs, and is ashamed that he is emotionally affected.

He ends up becoming closer with his daughter Ezinma, who understands him best, though he continues to wish she had been born a boy.

Various moral dilemmas present themselves in Things Fall Apart, mostly around whether one should do something just because it is tradition.

The biggest example of this is when Ikemefuna is sentenced to die. Instead of stopping it from happening, Okonkwo ends up being the one who kills Ikemefuna.

Another example is the killing of twins when they are born.

This is the first mention of the white men and the coming change that they will all have to face. It is a foreshadowing of things to come, including Okonkwo's fate. It also forces the other villages to not immediately attack the white men on sight since the white men appear to have superior armament.

There are multiple incidents. If speaking of either the execution of Ikemefuna or the trip that Ezinma took with Chielo:

It shows that the people of Umuofia respect and think highly of their gods and oracles because anywhere else a mother and father would have probably fought for their child.

Ezinma is aware that Okonkwo loves her mother. She clearly looks up to her father, and is willing to take his advice, while at the same time being aware of his fierce temper and overall manliness. There are times when she can stand no one else but him.

The iron horse is a bicycle!!:)

The Ibo culture is something that the citizens of the nine villages are expected to abide by. There are rules and recreational hobbies that are mostly followed and done by men, but in this culture there isn't gender equality. Many men will have more than one wife and at least one title, unless he is a disgrace to hardworking, strong, masculine men. But many of the women are sold by their families to a husband and beaten and abused by him. Relationships are held together with respect, generosity, and trust. Whether its father to son, daughter to mother, husband to wife, there is equality at a point unexplained.

The fall of Ikemefuna marks the true beginning of Okonkwo's downfall. Before this, Okonkwo's situation was quite good and looking upwards; before this event is about the peak of Okonkwo's life.