Chinua Achebe's novel “Things Fall Apart” tells the life of Okonkwo, a strong man whose existence is dominated by fear and anger, and of the Ibo tribe, a people deeply rooted in cultural beliefs and tradition. As events unfold, Okonkwo's carefully constructed world and the Ibo way of life collapse. The story of Okonkwo's fall from a respected and feared leader of the Ibo tribe to an outcast who dies in disgrace dramatizes his inability to evolve beyond his personal beliefs, impacting the entire Ibo tribe beyond measure. The “things” that fall apart in Achebe's novel are Okonkwo's life – his ambitions, dreams, family unity and material wealth – and the Ibo way of life – their beliefs, culture and values. The greatest force that drove Okonkwo to succeed was his ferocity. desire to be nothing like his father, resulting in a deeply rooted fear of failure and weakness. Therefore, Okonkwo aroused a furious temper, abusing his wives and children, and ruled his household harshly and without benevolent emotions. “Perhaps in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (Achebe, 1958, p. 13, par. 1). His father, Unoka, was considered a failure by Ibo standards; labeled agbala ("agbala was not just another name for a woman, but could also mean a man who had no title" (Achebe, 1958, p. 13, para. 1), he was regarded by his village, Umuofia, as lazy and effeminate; Unoka died heavily in debt and had not taken tribal titles during his lifetime, he was ashamed of Unoka and was obsessed with becoming his antithesis, this obsession would ultimately prove to be a tragic character flaw for Okonkwo and serve as the basis not only for his success, but also… middle of paper… and was not willing to sacrifice his intrinsic beliefs for outsiders, intruders in his village expected the same from those around him he – Nwoye and his clanmates – as he expected of himself, and clung to the possibility that his example would be followed, should be followed, as they rose up against the white man and prevailed. In the end, he was disappointed and all was gone! in pieces. Works Cited Achebe, C. (1959) New York, NY: Random House, Inc. Akwani, OO (2011). Okonkwo: A Life of Fear; a life of courage. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: A Book Review. Retrieved from http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/global/arts_culture_media/archives/Okonkwo.aspFroiland, A. (2011). Tribes and people groups: Ibo (Igbo). African people and culture. Retrieved from http://www.africaguide.com/culture/tribes/ibo.htm