— Kevin Pagan
“Things Fall Apart” is a great work. It is an engaging novel that dives deeply into the Igbo culture and features themes of colonialism, patriarchy, etc. You get a sense of what it is like to be part of the Igbo culture. Achebe shows us how the Igbo viewed the world around them and how their religion and systems of living influenced their thinking. I remember reading this novel as a freshman in high school and I initially thought Okonkwo (the protagonist) was a bad person. After reading it again for the second time, I realized Okonkwo was a good person masked by his determination to be disparate of his father. This is what pushed everyone away from him. His idea of being a man was a plague that adversely affected his family and his tribe. The novel can be difficult to relate to. It reminds us that we all have our flaws, some more severe than others. I do not think this novel can be considered a contemporary text because problems such as colonialism are not prevalent today. However, Achebe’s ability to show us the perspective of the Africans during colonialism and portray their culture in a vivid way is what makes it a “great work.”
