Things Fall Apart Q&A

An Umuofia woman is killed by a group of men when she visits the market of a neighboring village, Mbaino. The Igbo clan’s traditions dictate that Umuofia should go to war with Mbaino, with the consent of their village oracle, unless the village of Mbaino presents Umuofia with a virgin girl and a young boy. Okonkwo travels to Mbaino as the emissary of war, and he is presented with a young girl, and a young boy, who happens to be related to one of the men who were involved in the woman’s death. The elders entrust Okonkwo to care for the boy while they decide his fate.

The Igbo people do not see the locusts as the plague, as they are commonly depicted in literature, instead, the coming of the locusts is a celebrated event that is said to occur only once in a generation. The locusts are seen as a new and delicious food source, that can only ever be accessed when the locust swarms come to their village.

Okonkwo is deeply insulted by the imprisonment that he is forced to withstand due to the authority of the District Commissioner. He is a warrior at heart, and cannot bear the idea of letting an insult go unanswered and so he prepares to tell the elders that war with the white man is the only plan he is willing to follow. However, the meeting is interrupted before a decision can be made, and the court messengers attempt to dispel the assembly as well. Okonkwo intercedes and strikes the lead messenger to death, but he realizes that his clan will not go to war when the assembly turns to chaos at this action. He is unwilling to accept the authority of the district commissioner, but he cannot oppose the man alone and so he chooses to kill himself.