Things Fall Apart

Unoka is Okonkwo’s father, who is dead before the action of Things Fall Apart begins. Unoka relishes celebrations, music, and leisure time; he is not a hard worker, and he accrues considerable debts during Okonkwo’s childhood. His “feminine” or “womanly” characteristics bother Okonkwo and shape his character.

Though his kinsmen tolerate Unoka, they do not respect him. Unoka never earns a title in the village and does not leave behind wealth for his family. When Okonkwo wants to begin his own farm operation, he must reach out to other, more prominent men for a loan of seed-yams. Okonkwo vows to avoid any trace of his father in his own adulthood, and he takes this vow seriously when his oldest son, Nwoye, reflects some of his father’s character back at him. In this sense, Unoka lives on after his death, an ancestor whose characteristics continue to shape family relations.

Ikemefuna is part of a “peace settlement” between Umuofia and Mbiano, another village, to avoid war over a woman’s murder (12). Taken from his mother and siblings without much warning, Ikemefuna initially suffers in Okonkwo’s household, where the village elders place him. Once he overcomes a single beating at Okonkwo’s harsh hand, he adjusts to the village and proves himself a model young man.

Okonkwo grows to like Ikemefuna, referring to him formally as “son” and allowing him to carry his stool to meetings of men, a role usually reserved for sons. Ikemefuna also becomes a role model for Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye, who is slightly younger than him; Okonkwo is grateful for the positive example that Ikemefuna sets for Nwoye, which seems to transform him into a diligent young man.

When Agbala, Umuofia’s Oracle, calls for Ikemefuna’s death, Okonkwo is troubled. Though warned not to participate in his death, Okonkwo joins the party that takes the boy away; he eventually strikes his adopted son himself. This murder causes Okonkwo great pain, as Ikemefuna is as innocent and honorable as a young man can be. Losing Ikemefuna also shapes Nwoye deeply and disconnects him further from his father.

Nwoye is Okonkwo’s oldest son. Though Okonkwo holds him to a high standard of “manly” behavior, Nwoye is sensitive and quiet. From an early age, he is troubled by the sight of twins, who are thought to be evil and are abandoned in the forest as babies. The trouble he feels when faced with the world’s injustices means that he is disconnected from, or skeptical about, his village’s traditions. As a result, he quickly converts to Christianity when white missionaries arrive in Umuofia.

Nwoye is pulled away from the community by a deep hunger for a new answer to the mystery that all his kinsmen feel. Though his conversion is authentic, its negative effect on the Umuofia community offends the elders and deeply upsets Okonkwo.

Ezinma is Okonkwo’s favorite daughter, a strong, beautiful child who Okonkwo often wishes had been born a boy. Thought to be an ogbanje, or a cursed child, Ezinma is a miracle for her mother, Ekwefi, whose other children died as infants. When Ezinma grows sick, Ekwefi and Okonkwo work fiercely to revive her; shortly thereafter, the Oracle Agbala summons her to the shrine, and Chielo, the priestess, takes her away. Both Okonkwo and Ekwefi chase after Chielo in a desperate desire to look after Ezinma. Their daughter is strong, though, and grows into a young woman her father is deeply proud of.

Ekwefi is Okonkwo’s second wife and Ezinma’s mother. Famous for her beauty, Ekwefi falls in love with Okonkwo when he is a young wrestler but cannot marry him before he accrues a fortune. She abandons her first husband and runs away with Okonkwo, but she suffers because of an ogbanje, or a cursed child, who continues to be born and die. When Ezinma survives beyond infancy, Ekwefi fights to eradicate the ogbanje and keep her daughter, with whom she maintains an intimate relationship, alive.

Obierika is a powerful man in Umuofia and Okonkwo’s most steadfast friend. The two debate the major questions that arise in Umuofia, with Obierika often offering the more sensitive and skeptical reading of the situation. An honorable man, Obierika focuses on following the village’s ways and works to keep Okonkwo on track with others’ expectations. Under most circumstances, Obierika, unlike his friend, restrains himself expertly. His final, uncharacteristic outburst against the messengers, whom he must ask to untie Okonkwo’s dead body, demonstrates his love for his friend.

Chielo is the priestess of the Umuofia Oracle, Agbala. A mother and friend by day, she communicates the god’s will and facilitates its desires by night. In Part 1, Chielo takes Ezinma from Okonkwo’s compound to a shrine, and Ekwefi remarks that her humanity appears entirely missing, replaced with the voice and character of the Oracle, as she acts.

Uchendu is Okonkwo’s relative who welcomes him to Mbanta, the village from which his mother came. While Okonkwo suffers in exile, Uchendu encourages him and helps him build his wealth and honor again. Impatient with Okonkwo’s negative attitude, Uchendu reminds him that a mother’s family will care for its own and encourages Okonkwo to embrace this nourishment.

Mr. Brown is the first missionary to Umuofia. The village’s leaders accept him for his balanced and patient approach to evangelism; they appreciate his economic commitment to the village, and they respect his tendency to quiet the overzealous converts. Mr. Brown works to learn about the beliefs of the villagers in Umuofia.

James Smith is the brutal missionary who replaces Mr. Brown when his health fails. He encourages the zealous converts Mr. Brown quieted, which drives them to commit crimes against the village’s traditions. Under his leadership, conflict rises, until a coalition of Umuofia’s egwugwus burn down the Umuofia church.