Things Fall Apart Characters

Okonkwo is a self-made, well-respected member of the Umuofia clan. Though outwardly stern and powerful, much of his life is dictated by internal fear. His greatest, overwhelming worry is that he wi...

Unoka is Okonkwo’s father. Though he is a talented musician, he is lazy and irresponsible, falling into debt and bringing shame upon his family. Unoka’s bad reputation in Umuofia haunts...

Obierika is Okonkwo’s best friend and also a respected man in Umuofia. He often offers reasonable counterpoints to Okonkwo’s desire for rash action, although Okonkwo rarely takes his friend’s...

Nwoye is Okonkwo’s eldest son who Okonkwo considers irredeemably effeminate and very much like his father, Unoka. As a child, Nwoye is the frequent object of his father’s criticism and...

Ikemefuna is a fifteen-year-old boy from a neighboring clan, Mbaino, who is given up to Umuofia as a sacrifice for killing one of the women of Umuofia. He lives with Okonkwo’s family for thre...

Ekwefi is Okonkwo’s second wife. Once a village beauty, she ran away from her home and husband to marry Okonkwo. She was smitten with Okonkwo when he beat the notorious Cat in a legendary wre...

Ezinma is Okonkwo’s eldest daughter and Ekwefi’s only child. The girl has a very close relationship with her mother, and she is her father’s favorite child. Okonkwo – being...