ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

Things Fall Apart 49851 Views


Share It!


Description:

Anyone who has ever bought anything from IKEA knows this to be true.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

Things Fall Apart, a la Shmoop. Okonkwo[1] is one manly guy.

00:11

Really manly.

00:12

That all you got?

00:13

He’s spent his entire life trying hard not to be like his father, who he thought was

00:18

lazy and cowardly.

00:20

So Okonkwo works hard to be an awesome farmer.

00:23

He wrestles like a champ.

00:25

And he’s a brave leader of his people. But when Okonkwo hangs himself at the end

00:32

of Things Fall Apart....

00:33

…sorry… belated spoiler alert…

00:35

Is he acting as a brave martyr, living up to his manly reputation?

00:40

Or is he being a coward just like his dad? When white missionaries invade the land...

00:48

Okonkwo is ticked off.

00:49

Really ticked off.

00:51

The missionaries are shoving the tribe’s beliefs to the side....

00:54

And replacing them with Christianity.

00:57

Before, the village elders made the laws.

01:01

Now, it’s a foreign Queen.

01:07

Okonkwo wants to free his people from this foreign power.

01:15

He tries to rally his tribe to fight...

01:17

But many refuse... Some even join the other team.

01:21

Enraged, Okonkwo even beheads a kotma <<CAHT-muh>>,[2] one of the Africans who collaborate with the

01:27

white men.

01:28

But still his people won’t rise.

01:30

So for the first time in his life Okonkwo purposefully breaks the laws of his community...

01:36

By committing suicide.

01:37

Sounds like a bold move, right? He bravely faces Death rather than submitting

01:41

to the white man…

01:42

And dies on his own terms… just like he lived.

01:46

On the other hand...

01:47

Is it possible that Okonkwo kills himself because he’s afraid of change?

01:52

Should he have had the courage to adjust his warrior ethics?

01:56

To lead his people toward a peaceful compromise with the missionaries?

02:00

Or should he at least have stayed in the world of the living to fight some more?

02:04

He lived his whole life afraid of the ghost of his father...

02:07

Afraid he’d turn out to be a coward just like him.

02:10

But in the end, did he do the cowardly thing?

02:13

Shmoop amongst yourselves.

02:14

[1]y particular pronunciation here? [2]any particular pronunciation here?

Up Next

Utopias Becoming Dystopias
29763 Views

This video defines utopias and dystopias, and investigates how a utopia might become a dystopia. Can a seemingly perfect world actually be a dystop...

Related Videos

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123036 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105891 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1255 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...