Illustration of a person holding their head next to a noose and a detached head

Things Fall Apart

by Chinua Achebe

Start Free Trial

Editor's Choice

In Things Fall Apart, why does Okonkwo commit suicide and what is the final message?

Quick answer:

Okonkwo was once considered the greatest warrior alive, but he cannot stop the European Christian white men who have come in to take control and change his village traditions. Okonkwo finally gives up hope and hangs himself, even though it is a disgrace to commit suicide in his tribe.

Expert Answers

An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Published in 1958, Things Fall Apart is a novel by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe. It details life in southeast Nigeria prior to and in the aftermath of the arrival of white European colonists in the late 1800s. The lead character, Okonkwo, is a local Igbo wrestling champion and farmer. He's extremely impulsive, brash, and inflexible. He fears being considered anything less than an alpha male. He abhors compromise, and is too proud to accept any of the new customs brought to his land by the settlers.

In third section of the novel, tensions rise between Okonkwo's tribe and the colonists over a series of conflicts. Things reach a boiling point when British court messengers humiliate and attack some of the local tribe members. In response, Okonkwo takes up arms and declares war against the colonists. In a fit of fury, he beheads one of the messengers. He believes that others in his tribe will stand alongside him in his crusade. Unfortunately, they don't; he is alone. Desperate and fearful, two emotions he doesn't want others to see in him, he hangs himself in his home before he can be hauled off to court for trial and punishment.

The text makes several statements on the nature of colonization and the society the colonizers sought to target. The colonists are almost a force of nature, sweeping in with new means, methods, politics, technologies, religion, and language. The natives are proud, strong, rich in their culture and history, and traditional. But the colonists see the natives as savage and in need of leadership. While the natives are often depicted as resistant to change, they're more afraid of standing up to their aggressors than defending their values. These perceived weaknesses made them more susceptible to outside influence. Change was inevitable.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo was once considered the greatest warrior alive. Things change and he commits suicide by the end of the story. It is a disgrace to commit suicide in his tribe. For all his life, Okonkwo feared dying like his father without honors at his burial. Although Okonkwo had lived his life as a hard-working man who was a great leader and warrior in his tribe, Okonkwo dies in a disgraceful manner.

Achebe's message throughout the novel is that change can be devastating. Truly, the novel "depicts conflicts and tensions within Igbo society as well as changes introduced by colonial rule and Christianity."

Struggling to achieve success in the traditional world, Okonkwo, the protagonist, is a talented but inflexible Igbo. He fears becoming like his lazy father who dies with no titles and without honor. Despite his hard work and determination to receive all the titles he can achieve, Okonkwo cannot stop the changes that are happening in his village. He cannot get his tribal men to fight the European Christian white men who have come in to take control and change his village traditions. The District Commissioner who represents the white Europeans comes in to civilize Okonkwo and his tribal people. Ironically, the District Commissioner makes things worse: 

He believes he is bringing peace and civilization to the Igbo people, but in fact he has systematically destroyed many aspects of Igbo life

With a feeling of hopelessness, Okonkwo gives up and hangs himself. He commits suicide because he cannot deal with the changes that the Christian white men are making in his village. While the white man from Europe came in to civilize the Igbo tribe, he did not succeed. Indeed, the story of Okonkwo affirms that Europe did not introduce civilization to savages.

Okonkwo lost his life because the Christian white man came in and forced his way of life on a people who had already established their own way of living:

[Okonkwo's] traditional world has been destroyed, and Okonkwo does not want to live in a new world.

Hanging himself in a tree, Okonkwo ends his conflict once and for all. The irony of it all is that Okonkwo worked hard and achieved many titles and honors in order to be buried with dignity. In the end, he commits suicide which is an abomination in his Igbo society. He dies in disgrace much like his father.    

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Why does Okonkwo kill Ikemefuna in Things Fall Apart?

Ikemefuna is given by the village of Mbaino as a sacrifice to Umuofia because one of their villagers killed a girl from Okonkwo's Umuofia clan. The boy is handed over to Okonkwo to raise, but it is understood that Ikemefuna's life at any time could be taken as a sacrifice.

Three years later, when the oracle declares that Ikemefuna must be sacrificed, Okonkwo is grieved because he loves the boy as if he is his son. He thinks more of him than he does of his biological son, Nwoye. Nwoye also thinks highly of Ikemefuna and loves him as an older brother and role model.

Okonkwo knows he is not supposed to participate in the killing of Ikemefuna because the boy is, in a sense, his adopted son. Nevertheless, he goes with the other men and Ikemefuna into the forest. When the first machete strikes, Ikemefuna turns to Okonkwo as a son would to a father. Afraid of looking weak in front of the other men, Okonkwo takes out his machete and participates in the killing.

Okonkwo does this because he was so shamed and scarred as a child by his shiftless father, a man nobody respected. He overcompensates by working extra hard and displaying a masculine temperament. This makes him a respected elder and leader in village life, but comes at a cost. Okonkwo's toxic masculinity arises out of fear of being disrespected like his father. He is controlled by how he is perceived by the other men in the village.

Ikemefuna's death costs Okonkwo Nwoye. When Okonkwo comes in after the murder, Nwoye knows without any word being spoken that Ikemefuna has been killed. Because of this,

something seemed to give way inside [Nwoye], like the snapping of a tightened bow.

Nwoye finds it difficult to accept the brutality of village life and will later reject his father's heritage to become a Christian.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Why does Okonkwo kill Ikemefuna in Things Fall Apart?

Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna for precisely two reasons, though whether or not they are "good" is up to interpretation.

Ikemefuna's status in his new tribe is precarious from the beginning. It seems he is left with Okonkwo for three years almost out of neglect. No one seems to make a decision about him. The tribal elders leave him with Okonkwo almost out of default. One day, for no reason that is revealed, the elders decide to kill the boy. Okonkwo goes along with the elders as he always does.

During the killing itself, the boy runs to Okonkwo for help after receiving one blow from a machete, crying, "My father, they have killed me!" He uses the term "father," which is pointed out earlier in the novel as being unusual under the circumstances. Okonkwo raises his machete and delivers the final blow, killing the boy. In the narrator's words, Okonkwo was "afraid of being thought weak."

Okonkwo goes along with the tribal leaders and is afraid to be thought weak, and thus kills Ikemefuna. Like I said, I don't know that the reasons are good ones.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Why does Okonkwo kill himself in Things Fall Apart?

Okonkwo's suicide is ultimately caused by his inability to come to terms with changes in Igbo society brought about by British colonial rule. Many of the old ways and time-honored traditions are either vanishing or under threat of vanishing, thanks to the new order of things. Many of the Igbo are understandably upset by these changes, especially those like Okonkwo, who have much to lose.

A rich, powerful man with high social status among his people, Okonkwo has done very well out of the status quo. But now that the old traditions are under threat as never before, his exalted status is at risk. Okonkwo had always wanted to be the leader of the tribe and a man of power, dignity, and respect. But now that his original plan lies in ruins, he feels defeated for the first time in his life. Previously, he had always won his battles—but not now. The battle against change is one that he cannot win. Okonkwo feels defeated, and the humiliation of this defeat drives him to hang himself.

Okonkwo also knows that committing suicide is the only way he can avoid falling into the hands of the colonial authorities. They're after him for killing one of their messengers. If they catch up with him, it's almost certain that he'll be executed. For a man as proud as Okonkwo, this is no way for a warrior to die, and so he decides that the only way he can preserve his few remaining shreds of dignity is by taking his own life.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In Things Fall Apart, why does Okonkwo kill himself?

Throughout the whole novel, Okonkwo struggles with the changes taking place in his tribe.  He is initially known as one of the strongest, most honorable tribesmen, but as the white man begins coming in and other tribal members begin to change as a result, particularly his own son, Okonkwo cannot handle the change.  He sees these other clansmen as weak, like he saw his father was weak.  The one thing Okonkwo fears the most is weakness.  By novel's end, Okonkwo has tried to remain strong against the tide of change, but he appears to be the only one.  When he kills the colonial official in the end, it is one last attempt to 'save' his tribe from the weakness and influence of the white man.  No one else backs his attempt however, so Okonkwo, in desperation, chooses the most dishonorable death possible, suicide, rather than allow himself to be handed over to the 'weak' white man.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In Things Fall Apart, why does Okonkwo kill himself?

Okonkwo kills himself because he has no choice, really.  He has killed a colonial official with a machete.  His own people have been divided by loyalties to the colonial regime and their own religion and culture.  They could have risen up and defended Okonkwo's actions, but they do not.  To avoid the punishment that is sure to come, Okonkwo takes matters into his own hands and hangs himself from a tree.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

In Things Fall Apart, what is the purpose and message of Okonkwo's suicide?

One way of approaching this question is to consider what Okonkwo might represent or symbolise. Throughout his life he takes upon himself the role of the preserver of the tribal heritage and culture. Part of his zealous acceptance of the role that he has taken upon himself comes from the somewhat ambiguous position his father occupied, which makes Okonkwo determined to embrace masculine behaviour and values and forces him to view any concession on these and tribal standards as a failure. Therefore, we can read Okonkwo's suicide as a crushing indictment on the impact on traditional indigenous values by colonialism and a commentary on what happens in such a clash of culture. Okonkwo has seen his world as he knew it completely annihilated. Although he has tried to resist what is happening he recognises the sheer futility of any efforts to oppose the cultural annexation that is occurring. His choice to commit suicide serves to prevent the representatives of the colonial order gain their victim, saves him imprisonment and probably torture, but interestingly also represents a betrayal of his tribal values through the shocking symbol of independence that committing suicide is. Thus perhaps his suicide is more of a complex symbol than merely representing the victory of white supremacy over his culture - perhaps it can also be said to represent the complete fragmentation or even disintegration of his tribal values.

Interestingly, the character who is left to interpret Okonkwo's death is Obierika, who comments "ferociously" to the District Commissioner:

"That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog..."

Perhaps this can be seen as the true symbolism in Okonkwo's death: what was most prized in his culture is treated like a rotting corpse through the colonial invasion that occurs in the novel.

Approved by eNotes Editorial
An illustration of the letter 'A' in a speech bubbles

Why does Okonkwo justify his suicide?

He can't.  Who can justify suicide and self-destruction?  It is irrational, a dark empty feeling.  It has nothing to do with reason.  Camus said suicide is the rejection of freedom.  It is absurd.

For Okonkwo, suicide is the refusal to make a choice.  It is the unwillingness to withstand a life of suffering.  As such, it is unholy and shameful.

Enotes has wonderful commentary on this subject:

Okonkwo may be a tragic hero because as he stands for his convictions, his individualism results in disaster. He realizes that his efforts to save the traditional world are futile. His suicide saves him imprisonment, cheats the whites of revenge, and makes a mockery of the values of the clan. Is Okonkwo mad? What does he really stand for and what is the significance of his destruction? Does Okonkwo represent the suicidal fragmentation of Igbo society? Okonkwo’s life is ruled by fear of failure. Yet, Okonkwo fails. He is unable to understand his father or son; he is unable to balance the male and female energies in the traditional world order, and he is unable to adapt to the changes introduced by the white colonizer. Okonkwo’s suicide is shocking and ambiguous; ironically, his death is as shameful as his father’s. His friend Obierika again provides invaluable insight and a reliable picture of the collapse of traditional life. He understands that Christianity has put a knife on the things that held the Igbo together. In his bitter epitaph for Okonkwo he addresses the District Commissioner saying, “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now, he will be buried like a dog . . . ” (p. 147)

Look at Obierka's words.  I think he speaks for Achebe here.  Obierka knows that Okonkwo's death is symbolic of tribal culture in Africa: it is not so much a suicide or self-destruction but a kind of assisted suicide.  The white man gave Okonkwo just enough rope to hang himself.

Get Ahead with eNotes

Start your 48-hour free trial to access everything you need to rise to the top of the class. Enjoy expert answers and study guides ad-free and take your learning to the next level.

Get 48 Hours Free Access
Approved by eNotes Editorial