The novel opens by introducing Okonkwo, a man of great status
in the Umuofia clan belonging to the Igbo people in Nigeria. He
has risen from the disgrace of his father, Unoka's laziness and
irresponsibility, to become a well-regarded warrior, farmer, and
family provider. Okonkwo has a particular aversion to anything
resembling his father’s supposed weakness, including his
twelve-year-old son Nwoye, whom he considers too soft.
After a dispute with a neighboring village is resolved, Umuofia
receives a virgin and a fifteen-year-old boy, Ikemefuna, as
compensation. Okonkwo takes responsibility for Ikemefuna, and
over the next three years, the boy becomes integrated into
Okonkwo's family, forming a bond with Nwoye and inadvertently
helping him to become more assertive to Okonkwo's
satisfaction.
However, Okonkwo’s inflexible nature leads to moments of
conflict, such as when he beats his wife Ojiugo during the sacred
Week of Peace, an action that shocks the villagers and for which
he later repents through sacrifice. Another sign of the tragic
path he is on is shown when, despite advising not to participate
in the act because Ikemefuna views him as a father, Okonkwo
cuts down Ikemefuna himself—fearing to appear weak before
his fellow clansmen—as part of the Oracle's decree that the boy
must die. This act torments him with guilt and sets a path for his
further downfall.
At the funeral of Ogbuefi Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village,
Okonkwo’s guilt over Ikemefuna’s death is compounded by an
accident in which his rifle misfires and kills Ezeudu’s son. As a
result, he and his family are exiled for seven years to his
mother’s homeland, Mbanta, as manslaughter is a crime
against the earth goddess. His property in Umuofia is destroyed
by the village to cleanse the land of his sin.
In Mbanta, even though welcomed warmly by his uncle,
Uchendu, and other kinsmen, Okonkwo cannot shake off the
despair over his misfortune. It is during his exile that the
influence of white missionaries and colonialists becomes
apparent. The first village to fall is Abame, destroyed by the
white man, followed by the arrival of missionaries in Mbanta,
who begin the difficult work of changing the beliefs and social
structures of the Igbo.
The initial approach of Mr. Brown, a missionary who seeks
conversion through understanding and negotiation, eventually
gives way to the more aggressive and intolerant Reverend
P L O T S U M M A R Y
3
T H I N G S F A L L A P A R T
E A S Y E N G L I S H : C O M P R E H E N S I V E S T U D Y G U I D E
