Things fall apart

[AbuHossam]

By: Chinua Achebe
Recapped [1]

**** The story revolves around a man named Okonkwo, he was popular and his game was known throughout the nine villages because of his wrestling achievement.

*He was popular at the age of eighteen after defeating Amalinze who was also known as the cat because his back never touched the earth and he was also undefeated for five years until Okonkwo threw him down.

*As the story goes on to twenty years Okonkwo became even more popular as his fame grew like a bush fire in the harmattan. The story gave us his description in which he is described to be huge and heavily built. He had several wives and children and it was also said that Okonkwo lacked patience with unsuccessful men. The story further narrated about Okonkwo's father, Unoka, who at his time was a heavy debtor and also a drunk.

*When Unoka died he left Okonkwo with no properties causing Okonkwo to be cut out for great things, he was still young but he had already won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages.


* * *Cut down to the present time, Okonkwo is on his bamboo bed when he heard the town crier brought a message to every men in Umuofia (his village) to gather at the market place in the morning. He kept wondering what was amiss while he reminisced about his village and his own past achievements.

*In the morning the market place was filled with thousands of men. After waiting for sometime a powerful orator named Ogbuefi Ezeugo spoke in anger of the death of a woman. She was killed at the Mbaino market ( a neighbouring village). Hearing this, the thousands of men shouted in anger and the thirst of blood. It was finally decided that the people of Mbaino would offer a young man and a virgin for compensation ( as Umuofia was feared by other villages). So Okonkwo who is an important member of Umuofia went to Mbaino where he was treated with respect, he returned to Umuofia with a fifteen year old boy who will belong to the clan as a whole and a young virgin who will be the substitute to the man whose wife was murdered.

*The young lad called Ikemefuna was given three years to live with Okonkwo and his household.



*Okonkwo remembered his past life and how he became so popular as he took Ikemefuna to his household, where he soon became a part of.

🌀 CONTINUED 🌀