So as I continued to read Things Fall Apart by Achebe the more and more I enjoyed the novel. Okonkwo is such a complex character in this part of the story this makes it difficult to understand the ending because it does not make sense and came as a shock to me and probably to most other readers as well!
In part two, Okonkwo and his family have moved away from their home land because Okonkwo accidentally killed a member of his tribe so he was banned from the land for 7 years. They move to Okonkwo's mother's place of birth, and this land was very significant in the story. Mothers and females in general held a special place in everyone's heart in this region. Okonkwo's uncle is clarifying this significance by stating, "Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme" (2918). Okonkwo did not realize what he had before it was too late. He did not enjoy his life in his mother land because he was constantly worried about what has happening in his tribe.
The story takes a bad turn when people discover that the white men are coming in and converting their people, including Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, to Christianity. Okonkwo is outraged by all of this and in the end it is the white men who win over Okonkwo. He hangs himself by a tree before the white men come to kill him.
Up until this point, the author has told us how strong and masculine Okonkwo is, and he never gave in or conformed to other people's ways. However, by the end of the story, the white men coming and controlling the tribes was too much for him so he killed himself. This is completely out of his character since page one of the story, and I think that is why it came as such a shock to the readers because I would have hope he would die with a loud bang not a simple hang.
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