Things Fall Apart, again.

The third part of this book is so very important. It takes a situation that had previously only been documented from the Western point of view and turns it around to make the people of Africa the protagonists. The way the novel is written doesn't make the people of Umuofia the victims, however. It displays their faults and their religious practices as is. Okonkwo is not heroic, but simply a character overwhelmed by change and the need to fulfill societal standards. If these people didn't show real qualities, they would not be credible, respectable characters.

Okonkwo's suicide is a devastating end to this novel. It exemplifies the defeat of the entire tribe. The last chapter, from the perspective of the District Commisioner reemphasises the ignorance the topic of colonization and the spreading of Christianity throughout Africa. The idea that a book will be written (as many were) from the perspective of an outsider, trying to describe a foreign culture is very frustrating.