"Things Fall Apart" begins with a description of Okonkwo's rise from relative obscurity to become a successful and influential man in the village of Umuofia. Driven to overcome the perceived lack of success of his father, Unoka; he becomes an accomplished warrior and wealthy farmer. His exploits gain him ample respect and many privileges in his native village- Umuofia.
The maxim that what goes up must come down eventually holds true for our main character. His obsession with being manly converts his positive qualities into negative ones. He becomes feared and disliked by his own family even. Okonkwo becomes for violent with the passage of time, even beating his third wife in a sacred week.
His son, Nwoye, comes to reject Okonkwo's ultra-manliness. This dislike and rejection is exacerbated when Okonkwo participates in the sacrifice of Ikemefuna, whom Okonkwo raised as a son. This leads Nwoye to re-evaluate his father's values and those of the people of Umuofia by extension.
The first part of the story is rife with details of Okonkwo's misdeeds and violation of village customs. However, his eventual exile arises not from his cruel intentions but from an accident. During a funeral ceremony, Okonkwo accidentally shoots and kills a boy. The Umuofians deliberately torch his home, symbolising the rejection that he faces from the community.
Okonkwo flees to his mother's hometown, a village called Mbanta. The period in the story is one of upheaval and conflict. The British are seizing control and sending their missionaries to Umuofia and Mbanta. Nwoye embraces Christianity. Okonkwo evidently rejects it, as he disowns Nwoye when he learns of his conversion. Okonkwo's period of exile is drawing to a close and he prepares to return to Umuofia.
After seven years, Okonkwo returns to his village in the hope of resuming his prestigious role. He finds that Umuofia is a changed place under British rule. Conflict brews between Christian converts and other villagers. After one convert offends villagers by eating a sacred python and unmasking an Egwugwu spirit, the Umuofians burn down the Christian Church. British authorities retaliate by arresting and fining the leaders of Umuofia.
The leaders pay the hefty fine, but resent the manner in which they were treated by the District Commissioner. They hold a meeting to discuss their course of action. There choice is either to turn their cheeks collectively or violently oppose the subjugation. The aggressive Okonkwo is in favour of violent resistance. He demonstrates this by killing a government messenger who arrives to discontinue the meeting.
The next day, the Commissioner arrives in person to arrest Okonkwo, but discovers that he has committed suicide by hanging himself. By request of the villagers, he orders his men to cut down the body from the tree. It was not Umuofian custom to bury suicide victims. Achebe sketches the Commissioner as opportunistic. The Commissioner is absorbed in thinking about how he can include this event in a book. The title of the book, The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger, reveals the broader attitude of colonial officials.
With the final part of the novel, Achebe outlines the role of the colonial powers in undermining the culture and existence of African people. That the Commissioner would contemplate writing a book on people he knew little about, was a reference to African history being told from a European perspective. The African story is an intricate one that cannot be reduced to sensational and distorted snippets that comprise the European version of African history. Things Fall Apart is fiction, but it sought to give an insight into the African perspective.
