All cultures throughout the world have their differences, varying in social traditions, religious practices, and types of government. However, regardless of these differences, every culture shares the same universal human ideals that serve to guide their system of belief that hold it together. Chinua Achebe's Thing Fall Apart clearly illustrates the differences between European culture and the Igbo culture, and focuses on the impact it had on Okonkwo, the main character and tragic hero in this novel. Because of Okonkwo's uncompromising nature, the outside influence changing his way of life inevitably leads him on a path to his own destruction. .
The novel begins by giving the reader a vivid description of the complex and dynamic qualities of the Igbo people, native to Nigeria, in the village of Umuofia. Unlike European societies, the Igbo tell legends about spirits and other oral traditions (i.e. proverbs and poems) that drive their ideological beliefs as well as give them a sense of their history. The Igbo also have different family structures than that of Westerners. Igbo can have more than one wife, and are encouraged to have children, which increases your status in society. Having a larger family unit improves your chances of production of crops and in turn dictates your wealth in society.
The author also develops the heroic qualities of Okonkwo, who is a very well respected member of his community based on his achievement and his noble character. His need to overcome the shame he constantly feels concerning the failures of his late father motivates his success in society. Okonkwo learned to hate everything his father represented, including gentleness as well as idleness. His rigid character established him as the clan's representative or emissary to negotiate with other villages, as he was the one to bring back a fourteen-year-old boy and a virgin as retribution for the death of one of their members.
