THINGS FALL APART Part- III

THINGS FALL APART Part- III

During Okonkwo's first year in exile, he already began to plan his grand return to Umuofia. Now he is determined to compensate for the seven years he considers wasted. Not only will he build a bigger compound than before, but he will also build huts for two new wives.

His plans for a triumphant return, however, are momentarily disrupted when Nwoye joins the Christians. At first, his oldest son's action depresses him. But he is confident that his other five sons will not disappoint him. Okonkwo also takes pride in his daughters, especially Ezinma, who has grown into a beautiful young woman.

Her periods of illness are almost nonexistent. Many suitors in Mbanta have asked for her hand in marriage, but she has refused them all, knowing that her father wishes her to marry in Umuofia. Moreover, she has encouraged her half-sister Obiageli to do the same.

When Okonkwo returns to his village in Umuofia, he finds it greatly changed in his absence. The Christian church has won many converts, including respected men who have renounced their traditional titles. 

The white men have established a government court of law in Umuofia, where they try people who break the white men's laws; they have also built a prison, where lawbreakers are sent for punishment. The white men even employ natives as their "court messengers" to do the dirty work of arresting, guarding, and administering punishment to offending citizens.

Okonkwo wonders why his fellow Umuofians do not use violence to rid themselves of the white man's church and oppressive government. His friend Obierika says that they fear a fate like Abame's, the village destroyed by the white intruders. He also tells Okonkwo about a villager who was hanged by the government because of an argument over a piece of land.

He points out that any violence will pit clansmen against one another, because many clan members have already joined the church. Obierika reflects on how the white men settled in quietly with their religion and then stayed to govern harshly, without ever learning the language or customs and without listening to reason.

Obierika says that the white man "has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart" — the first specific acknowledgment of the book's title, Things Fall Apart.

Not all members of the Igbo clan in Umuofia dislike the changes taking place. The Europeans are bringing wealth to the village as they begin to export palm-oil and palm nut kernels.

The white missionary, Mr. Brown, takes time to learn about the Igbo form of worship, often discussing religion with one of the elders of the clan. The two men debate the forms, actions, and attitudes of their respective gods. Mr. Brown restrains overeager members of his church from provoking villagers who cling to the old ways. Through his gentle patience, Mr. Brown becomes friends with some of the clan leaders, who begin to listen to and understand his message.

Mr. Brown urges the people of the clan to send their children to his school. He tells them that education is the key to maintaining control of their land. Eventually, people of all ages begin to listen to his message and attend his school. Mr. Brown's crusade gains power for the whites and for the church, but his diligence takes its toll on his health. He is forced to leave his congregation and return home.

Before Mr. Brown goes home, he visits Okonkwo to tell him that Nwoye — now called Isaac — has been sent to a teaching college in a distant town. Okonkwo drives the missionary out and orders him never to return.

Everything about the changed community of Umuofia displeases Okonkwo. His homecoming was not what he had hoped; no one really took much notice of his arrival. He can't even proceed with the ceremonies for his sons, because the rites are held only once every three years, and this year is not one of them.

The dissolution of the old way of life saddens him as he sees the once fierce Umuofians becoming more and more "soft like women." He mourns for the clan, "which he saw breaking up and falling apart" — a phrase that again recalls the book's title.