Book Summary

Things Fall Apart is about the tragic fall of the protagonist, Okonkwo, and the Igbo culture. Okonkwo is a
respected and influential leader within the Igbo community of Umuofia in eastern Nigeria. He first earns
personal fame and distinction, and brings honor to his village, when he defeats Amalinze the Cat in a
wrestling contest. Okonkwo determines to gain titles for himself and become a powerful and wealthy
man in spite of his father's weaknesses.

Okonkwo's father, Unoka, was a lazy and wasteful man. He often borrowed money and then squandered
it on palm-wine and merrymaking with friends. Consequently, his wife and children often went hungry.
Within the community, Unoka was considered a failure and a laughingstock. He was referred to
as agbala, one who resembles the weakness of a woman and has no property. Unoka died a shameful
death and left numerous debts.

Okonkwo despises and resents his father's gentle and idle ways. He resolves to overcome the shame
that he feels as a result of his father's weaknesses by being what he considers to be "manly"; therefore,
he dominates his wives and children by being insensitive and controlling.

Because Okonkwo is a leader of his community, he is asked to care for a young boy named Ikemefuna,
who is given to the village as a peace offering by neighboring Mbaino to avoid war with Umuofia.
Ikemefuna befriends Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, and Okonkwo becomes inwardly fond of the boy.

Over the years, Okonkwo becomes an extremely volatile man; he is apt to explode at the slightest
provocation. He violates the Week of Peace when he beats his youngest wife, Ojiugo, because she went
to braid her hair at a friend's house and forgot to prepare the afternoon meal and feed her children.
Later, he severely beats and shoots a gun at his second wife, Ekwefi, because she took leaves from his
banana plant to wrap food for the Feast of the New Yam.

After the coming of the locusts, Ogbuefi Ezeuder, the oldest man in the village, relays to Okonkwo a
message from the Oracle. The Oracle says that Ikemefuna must be killed as part of the retribution for
the Umuofian woman killed three years earlier in Mbaino. He tells Okonkwo not to partake in the
murder, but Okonkwo doesn't listen. He feels that not participating would be a sign of weakness.
Consequently, Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna with his machete. Nwoye realizes that his father has murdered
Ikemefuna and begins to distance himself from his father and the clansmen.

Okonkwo becomes depressed after killing Ikemefuna, so he visits his best friend, Obierika, who
disapproves of his role in Ikemefuna's killing. Obierika says that Okonkwo's act will upset the Earth and
the earth goddess will seek revenge. After discussing Ikemefuna's death with Obierika, Okonkwo is
finally able to sleep restfully, but he is awakened by his wife Ekwefi. Their daughter Ezinma, whom
Okonkwo is fond of, is dying. Okonkwo gathers grasses, barks, and leaves to prepare medicine for
Ezinma.
A public trial is held on the village commons. Nine clan leaders, including Okonkwo, represent the spirits
of their ancestors. The nine clan leaders, or egwugwu, also represent the nine villages of Umuofia.
Okonkwo does not sit among the other eight leaders, or elders, while they listen to a dispute between
an estranged husband and wife. The wife, Mgbafo, had been severely beaten by her husband. Her
brother took her back to their family's village, but her husband wanted her back home. The egwugwu
tell the husband to take wine to his in-laws and beg his wife to come home. One elder wonders why
such a trivial dispute would come before the egwugwu.

In her role as priestess, Chielo tells Ekwefi (Okonkwo's second wife) that Agbala (the Oracle of the Hills
and Caves) needs to see Ezinma. Although Okonkwo and Ekwefi protest, Chielo takes a terrified Ezinma
on her back and forbids anyone to follow. Chielo carries Ezinma to all nine villages and then enters the
Oracle's cave. Ekwefi follows secretly, in spite of Chielo's admonitions, and waits at the entrance of the
Oracle. Okonkwo surprises Ekwefi by arriving at the cave, and he also waits with her. The next morning,
Chielo takes Ezinma to Ekwefi's hut and puts her to bed.

When Ogbuefi Ezeudu dies, Okonkwo worries because the last time that Ezeudu visited him was when
he warned Okonkwo against participating in the killing of Ikemefuna. Ezeudu was an important leader in
the village and achieved three titles of the clan's four, a rare accomplishment. During the large funeral,
Okonkwo's gun goes off, and Ezeudu's sixteen-year-old son is killed accidentally.

Because the accidental killing of a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, Okonkwo and his
family must be exiled from Umuofia for seven years. The family moves to Okonkwo's mother's native
village, Mbanta. After they depart Umuofia, a group of village men destroy Okonkwo's compound and
kill his animals to cleanse the village of Okonkwo's sin. Obierika stores Okonkwo's yams in his barn and
wonders about the old traditions of the Igbo culture.

Okonkwo is welcomed to Mbanta by his maternal uncle, Uchendu, a village elder. He gives Okonkwo a
plot of land on which to farm and build a compound for his family. But Okonkwo is depressed, and he
blames his chi (or personal spirit) for his failure to achieve lasting greatness.

During Okonkwo's second year in exile, he receives a visit from his best friend, Obierika, who recounts
sad news about the village of Abame: After a white man rode into the village on a bicycle, the elders of
Abame consulted their Oracle, which told them that the white man would destroy their clan and other
clans. Consequently, the villagers killed the white man. But weeks later, a large group of men
slaughtered the villagers in retribution. The village of Abame is now deserted.

Okonkwo and Uchendu agree that the villagers were foolish to kill a man whom they knew nothing
about. Later, Obierika gives Okonkwo money that he received from selling Okonkwo's yams and seed-
yams, and he promises to do so until Okonkwo returns to Umuofia.

Six missionaries, including one white man, arrive in Mbanta. The white man speaks to the people about
Christianity. Okonkwo believes that the man speaks nonsense, but his son, Nwoye, is captivated and
becomes a convert of Christianity.

The Christian missionaries build a church on land given to them by the village leaders. However, the land
is a part of the Evil Forest, and according to tradition, the villagers believe that the missionaries will die
because they built their church on cursed land. But when nothing happens to the missionaries, the
people of Mbanta conclude that the missionaries possess extraordinary power and magic. The first
recruits of the missionaries are efulefu, the weak and worthless men of the village. Other villagers,
including a woman, soon convert to Christianity. The missionaries then go to Umuofia and start a school.
Nwoye leaves his father's hut and moves to Umuofia so he can attend the school.

Okonkwo's exile is over, so his family arranges to return to Umuofia. Before leaving Mbanta, they
prepare a huge feast for Okonkwo's mother's kinsmen in appreciation of their gratitude during
Okonkwo's seven years of exile.

When Okonkwo returns to Umuofia, he discovers that the village has changed during his absence. Many
men have renounced their titles and have converted to Christianity. The white men have built a prison;
they have established a government court of law, where people are tried for breaking the white man's
laws; and they also employ natives of Umuofia. Okonkwo wonders why the Umuofians have not incited
violence to rid the village of the white man's church and oppressive government.

Some members of the Igbo clan like the changes in Umuofia. Mr. Brown, the white missionary, respects
the Igbo traditions. He makes an effort to learn about the Igbo culture and becomes friendly with some
of the clan leaders. He also encourages Igbo people of all ages to get an education. Mr. Brown tells
Okonkwo that Nwoye, who has taken the name Isaac, is attending a teaching college. Nevertheless,
Okonkwo is unhappy about the changes in Umuofia.

After Mr. Brown becomes ill and is forced to return to his homeland, Reverend James Smith becomes
the new head of the Christian church. But Reverend Smith is nothing like Mr. Brown; he is intolerant of
clan customs and is very strict.

Violence arises after Enoch, an overzealous convert to Christianity, unmasks an egwugwu. In retaliation,
the egwugwu burn Enoch's compound and then destroy the Christian church because the missionaries
have caused the Igbo people many problems.

When the District Commissioner returns to Umuofia, he learns about the destruction of the church and
asks six leaders of the village, including Okonkwo, to meet with him. The men are jailed until they pay a
fine of two hundred and fifty bags of cowries. The people of Umuofia collect the money and pay the
fine, and the men are set free.

The next day at a meeting for clansmen, five court messengers who intend to stop the gathering
approach the group. Suddenly, Okonkwo jumps forward and beheads the man in charge of the
messengers with his machete. When none of the other clansmen attempt to stop the messengers who
escape, Okonkwo realizes that they will never go to war and that Umuofia will surrender. Everything has
fallen apart for Okonkwo; he commits suicide by hanging himself.
Things Fall Apart
novel by Achebe
Written and fact-checked by 

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Article History

Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart, first novel by Chinua Achebe, written in English and published in
1958. Things Fall Apart helped create the Nigerian literary renaissance of the 1960s.

The novel chronicles the life of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo community, from the
events leading up to his banishment from the community for accidentally killing a
clansman, through the seven years of his exile, to his return, and it addresses a
particular problem of emergent Africa—the intrusion in the 1890s of
white missionaries and colonial government into tribal Igbo society. Traditionally
structured, and peppered with Igbo proverbs, it describes the simultaneous
disintegration of its protagonist Okonkwo and of his village. The novel was praised for
its intelligent and realistic treatment of tribal beliefs and of psychological disintegration
coincident with social unraveling.
Quotations in Things Fall Apart
Quote #1
“A proud heart can survive general failure because such a failure does not
prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.”

Chapter 3

Unoka, Okonkwo’s father asks Okonkwo not to be prideful. He tells him that if
he survives a general failure such as the harvest, it means that such failures
will not prick the ego of a person. Therefore, he should be brave and manly
and should not fail personally. It is because when a man fails alone, it
becomes painful and bitter for him to survive.

Unoka, Okonkwo’s father asks Okonkwo not to be prideful. He tells him that if
he survives a general failure such as the harvest, it means that such failures
will not prick the ego of a person. Therefore, he should be brave and manly
and should not fail personally. It is because when a man fails alone, it
becomes painful and bitter for him to survive.

Quote #2
“But he was not the man to go about telling his neighbors that he was in error.
And so people said he had no respect for the gods of the clan. His enemies
said that his good fortune had gone to his head.”

Chapter 4

The writer explains Okonkwo’s nature is often misunderstood by the people

because he doesn’t speak. He accepts his mistake before the priest, he
repents it. However, outwardly, his pride does not allow him to show his true
nature to everyone. Therefore, people often talk against him, and according to
the priest, Okonkwo may lose his respect in the tribe he doesn’t confess his
mistakes in public.
Quote #3
“No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women
and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man.”

Chapter 7

This is the tradition of the clan of Okonkwo that a man is recognized through
his nature he displays at home by being superior. If a person is rich, but he
does not rule over his women and children ruthlessly, he is not considered a
man. He is somewhat considered a coward. These lines are important as they
show the character of Okonkwo.

Quote #4
“When did you become a shivering old woman,’ Okonkwo asked himself, ‘you,
who are known in all the nine villages for your valor in war? How can a man
who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to
their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed.’”

Chapter 8

Okonkwo speaks these words feeling guilty after killing his adopted son
Ikemefuna. This is his self-reflection that he, as a warrior, has killed five men
and has never felt remorse. Now that he is feeling shame and guilt, he chides
himself that he is becoming a woman. This is his attempt to reassure himself
while he expresses hatred over his weakness.

Quote #5
“After such treatment it would think twice before coming again, unless it was
one of the stubborn ones who returned, carrying the stamp of their mutilation–
a missing finger or perhaps a dark line where the medicine man’s razor had
cut them.”

Chapter 9

This line sheds light the importance of rituals in the African villages. When
Ekwefi, the wife of Okonkwo has failed to keep the child after birth, a medicine
man comes and states that this child must be mutilated to stop his arrival
again. This is a ritual to save the life of the woman. After this, Ekwefi gives
birth to Enzima who lives to defy this ritual.

Quote #6
“‘Beware Okonkwo!’ she warned. ‘Beware of exchanging words with Agbala.
Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!.”

Chapter 11

These lines occur in the eleventh chapter where the priestess chastises
Okonkwo, the warrior. She warns him about being disrespectful to gods,
specifically the goddess of Agbala. She means that Okonkwo should not
speak against gods, or else it would be considered blasphemy. In other
words, it says that gods are worthy of respect, and Okonkwo must show this
respect by keeping his quiet.

Quote #7
“It was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth, like
learning to become left-handed in old age.”

Chapter 14

The narrator expresses the plight of Okonkwo after he is exiled. He has to

start a new life in the new place. Therefore, it seems that there is a new
beginning for them. It is the same as if he is learning to use his left hand in his
old age when he is a right-handed throughout his life.

Quote #8
“We have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the
strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the
stories were true.”

Chapter 15

Obierika speaks these words after Okonkwo tells him about the Oracle’s
warning. He admits that there are stories about white men with powerful guns
and alcohol. He tells about the stories in which white men take the black
people away as slaves. However, he says that they do not believe that those
stories were accurate at that time.

Quote #9
“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his
religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he
has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a
knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”

Chapter 20

Okonkwo expresses these words of disappointment to Obierika when he sees

that everyone has turned against each other. He blames white men for the
change who have arrived in the African continent to spread their religion.
However, Africans have proved unwise when they have allowed white people.
The other white men have divided them and taken over them.

Quote #10
“Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go
to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape. They
had broken into tumult instead of action. He discerned fright in that tumult. He
heard voices asking: ‘Why did he do it?”

Chapter 24

These lines occur in the last chapter where Okonkwo has killed one of the
European messengers, and the others fled away with the help people from the
tribe. He knows that the Umuofia would not follow him and go to war against
the English. Eventually, old Okonkwo is completely broken in spirit and feels
extremely guilty as he begins to hear voices in his head.

MORE IMPORTANT QUOTATIONS

1. And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree and on every blade of
grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke
away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast,
hungry swarm.
This passage from Chapter 7 represents, in highly allegorical terms, the arrival of the colonizers.
The locusts have been coming for years, but their symbolic significance in this passage lies in the
inevitable arrival of the colonizers, which will alter the landscape and psychology of the Igbo
people irreparably. The repetition of the phrase “They settled,” an example of the rhetorical
device anaphora (in which a clause begins with the same word or words with which the previous
clause begins), in addition to the repetition of the word “every,” reflects the suddenly ubiquitous
presence of the locusts. The choice of the verb “settle,” of course, clearly refers to the colonizers.
The branches that break under the weight of the locusts are symbols of the traditions and cultural
roots of Igbo society, which can no longer survive under the onslaught of colonialism and white
settlement. Ironically, the “vast, hungry swarm” is not white but rather brown like the earth; the
emphasis, however, remains on the locusts’ consumptive nature and inescapable presence.

2. Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are
the palm-oil with which words are eaten.
This quote, from the narrator’s recounting, in Chapter 1, of how Unoka calmly interacted
with someone to whom he owed money, alludes to the highly sophisticated art of
rhetoric practiced by the Igbo. This rhetorical formalness offers insight into the
misunderstandings that occur between the Igbo and the Europeans. Whereas the latter
value efficiency and directness in their dealings, the Igbo value an adherence to their
cultural traditions, which include certain patterns of dialogue considered inefficient by
Western standards. The metaphor of words as food is highly appropriate, given the
almost exclusively agricultural nature of Igbo society. They award the same value that
they place on food, the sustenance of life, to words, the sustenance of interaction and
hence community.

3. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of
the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.
This sentence, which concludes the novel, satirizes the entire tradition of western ethnography
and imperialism itself as a cultural project, and it suggests that the ethnographer in question, the
District Commissioner, knows very little about his subject and projects a great deal of his
European colonialist values onto it. The language of the commissioner’s proposed title reveals
how misguided he is: that he thinks of himself as someone who knows a great deal about
pacifying the locals is highly ironic, since, in fact, he is a primary source of their distress, not
their peace.

Additionally, the notion of “[p]acification” is inherently offensive—a condescending conception

of the natives as little more than helpless infants. Similarly, the label “[p]rimitive” comes across
as a patronizing insult that reflects the commissioner’s ignorance about the Igbo and their
complexly ritualized and highly formalized mode of life. The assertion that the commissioner has
come up with a title “after much thought” accentuates the fact that the level of attention he has
paid to his own thoughts and perceptions well exceeds that paid to the actual subject of the study.

4. “Does the white man understand our custom about land?”

“How can he when he does not even speak our tongue? But he says that our customs are
bad; and our own brothers who have taken up his religion also say that our customs are
bad. How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The
white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused
at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can
no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have
fallen apart.”

This exchange occurs at the end of Chapter 20 during the conversation between Obierika and
Okonkwo. In the discussion, which centers on various events that have come to pass since the
arrival of the colonialists, Obierika seems to voice Achebe’s own thoughts on colonialism. Upset
by the fact that the white men have come and completely disregarded the Igbo sense of justice,
Obierika points out the impossibility of the colonialists understanding anything about the
Umuofians without speaking their language. He points out the ludicrousness of denigrating
unfamiliar customs.

Yet, Obierika does not lay the blame wholly on the side of the white man. He feels also that the
Umuofians who have converted to Christianity have consciously and wrongly turned their backs
on their own “brothers.” This assessment complicates our understanding of the novel, as Achebe
prevents us from seeing matters in clear-cut terms of good (black) versus bad (white). Indeed,
Achebe elsewhere attempts to demonstrate the validity of some questions about Igbo culture and
tradition. If religion and tradition are the threads that hold the clan together, and if that religion is
flawed and that tradition vulnerable, it becomes hard to determine who is at fault for the resulting
destruction. Certainly, Achebe does not blame the villagers. But, while this quotation displays
his condemnation of the colonialists for their disrespect toward Igbo customs, it also shows his
criticism of some clan members’ responses to the colonial presence.

Things Fall Apart Summary (main)

Though Okonkwo is a respected leader in the Umuofia tribe of the Igbo people, he lives
in fear of becoming his father – a man known for his laziness and cowardice.
Throughout his life, Okonkwo attempts to be his father’s polar opposite. From an early
age, he builds his home and reputation as a precocious wrestler and hard-working
farmer. Okonkwo’s efforts pay off big time and he becomes wealthy through his crops
and scores three wives.

Okonkwo’s life is shaken up a when an accidental murder takes place and Okonkwo
ends up adopting a boy from another village. The boy is named Ikemefuna and
Okonkwo comes to love him like a son. In fact, he loves him more than his natural son,
Nwoye. After three years, though, the tribe decides that Ikemefuna must die. When the
men of Umuofia take Ikemefuna into the forest to slaughter him, Okonkwo actually
participates in the murder. Although he’s just killed his adoptive son, Okonkwo shows
no emotion because he wants to be seen as Mr. Macho and not be weak like his own
father was. Inside, though, Okonkwo feels painful guilt and regret. But since Okonkwo
was so wrapped up in being tough and emotionless, he alienates himself from Nwoye,
who was like a brother to Ikemefuna.

Later on, during a funeral, Okonkwo accidentally shoots and kills a boy. For his crime,
the town exiles him for seven years to his mother’s homeland, Mbanta. There, he learns
about the coming of the white missionaries whose arrival signals the beginning of the
end for the Igbo people. They bring Christianity and win over Igbo outcasts as their first
converts. As the Christian religion gains legitimacy, more and more Igbo people are
converted. Just when Okonkwo has finished his seven-year sentence and is allowed to
return home, his son Nwoye converts to Christianity. Okonkwo is so bent out of
shape that he disowns his son.

Eventually, the Igbo attempt to talk to the missionaries, but the Christians capture the
Igbo leaders and jail them for several days until the villagers cough up some ransom
money. Contemplating revenge, the Igbo people hold a war council and Okonkwo is one
of the biggest advocates for aggressive action. However, during the council, a court
messenger from the missionaries arrives and tells the men to stop the meeting.
Enraged, Okonkwo kills him. Realizing that his clan will not go to war against the white
men, the proud, devastated Okonkwo hangs himself.

Things Fall Apart Themes

Themes are overarching ideas and beliefs that the writers put into their
work. Themes in Things Fall Apart are aplenty and diverse. Chinua
Achebe has not only described the struggle of the indigenous people but also
the entrance of colonialism before it spread to the far-flung clans of Africa.
Some of the major themes of Things Fall Apart are given below.
Themes in Things Fall Apart
Theme #1
Colonialism and Its Adverse Impacts

Colonialism is one of the major themes of the novel which is introduced in the

later in the book. When Okonkwo returns from exile to his village, Christianity
has already spread so far. The entire tribe is facing trouble due to the new
religion and civilization represented by Mr. Brown. Okonkwo knows that “The
white man is very clever” and despite having tarnished reputation in the
village, he locks horns with them. He comes to know that Mr. Brown has
started teaching the natives how to read and write. Several norms and
traditions have been abolished calling them savage ways. However, it
happens that the Igbo people become furious over this cultural onslaught but
not all of them. This transformation of the locals spread chaos and change the
indigenous culture but at the cost of the destruction.

Theme #2
Social Transformation and Tradition

The novel, Things Fall Apart, also deals with the battle between progressive
social transformation and traditions. Most people including Okonkwo do not
accept the new religious and social order brought by the British missionaries.
Similarly, most of the villagers are also caught in the struggle between the
social and religious changes and their traditions of society. They are
pondering over the dilemma of whether to accept the new reality or stick to
their old-fashioned way of thinking. When Okonkwo kills a messenger,
the silence resulting from some natives is based on the fact that they are
ready to accept transformations. However, the same has dislodged him from
his position of becoming a manly figure as opposed to his father’s meekness.

Theme #3
Masculinity

Masculinity and its demonstration are considered a virtue in the African

villages as shown in this novel. Okonkwo stresses much upon masculinity that
he is often ashamed at his own father who was a musician and lazy instead of
being an active and a violent man. That is why he does not like his son,
Nwoye who is peaceful and compares him to Ikemefuna who is more
courageous. Okonkwo’s masculinity makes him cruel and ruthless even in his
domestic affairs. It is also that when others fail, to prove his masculinity he
kills Ikemefuna. He then encourages himself after that during his self-
reflection when his conscience makes him feel guilty. He also berates his
ancestors for avoiding bloodshed and anger.

Theme #4
Superiority of English

Although Achebe has tried to insert Igbo words in English, it seems he has
accepted the imperialism of language. The English Language has been
termed superior through Mr. Brown and another missionary who speaks
English and has spread English as a medium of religious preaching and
administrative work. Whenever a local wants to assert his superiority, he
speaks English. However, at the same time, Achebe has also made it clear
through the words of Igbo that the native language is untranslatable and is
complex and transparent just like English.

Theme #5
Social Documentary

Achebe has used the form of a novel to record the life and social norms and
traditions of the Igbo people before the arrival of the white men. He has
outlined their norms of masculinity, and social fabric plausibly through
the character of Okonkwo, his wives, his ancestors, and his son. Even
Okonkwo himself is the epitome of the strength in the Igbo society.

Theme #6
Social Disintegration

Although the first part of the novel shows the social fabric of the Igbo people.
It also discloses how it starts disintegrating and forming into a new social
setup after the arrival of Mr. Brown and other representatives of the English
people. The whole social fabric falls apart after the tribes accept a new way of
life. The invasion by the foreign language and foreign culture have eroded the
very values of the Igbo people. These reasons drove Okonkwo to kill the
messenger and commit suicide while he tried to resist the invasion of the alien
culture. This completes the social disintegration and its evolution into a new
social set up.

Theme #7
Ambition and Grandeur

Okonkwo’s disenchantment of his father’s behavior and adoption of

aggressive manly traits point to his ambition of becoming a head of his tribe.
He demonstrates all the quality of a leader and starts transforming his nature
and becomes more ruthless. However, as he realizes his failure and commits
suicide.

Theme #8
Free Will and Fate

A human’s chi or spirit is always in synchronization with his will. In other

words, it is aligned with the way that a person can control his own destiny like
Okonkwo. However, at several moments, it appears that Okonkwo uses his
free will but does not have control over his life as fate sends him to an exile,
drives him to kill the missionary and finally, suicide. These events defy this
notion that there is a free will in the Igbo society.