Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart (1958) is Chinua Achebe's debut novel and one of the most widely read works of African literature. Set in the Igbo villages of southeastern Nigeria in the late nineteenth century, it tells the story of Okonkwo, a proud warrior and prosperous farmer whose life is shaped by his determination to be nothing like his gentle, impoverished father, Unoka. The novel traces Okonkwo's rise to prominence, his participation in the killing of his foster-son Ikemefuna, his accidental killing of a clansman that forces him into seven years of exile, and his return to a village transformed by Christian missionaries and British colonial administration.

Structure

The novel is divided into three parts. Part One (Chapters 1-13) establishes Okonkwo's character and the rich communal life of Umuofia before colonialism. Part Two (Chapters 14-19) follows Okonkwo's exile in his motherland, Mbanta, where the first missionaries arrive. Part Three (Chapters 20-25) depicts Okonkwo's return to a transformed Umuofia, the escalating conflict between the clan and the colonial church, and Okonkwo's final, solitary act of resistance that ends in his suicide.

Why it matters for the exam

For Pearson Edexcel Component 1, Section C (Modern Prose), this is a closed-book exam worth 40 marks, assessed on AO1 (personal response supported by textual references) and AO4 (understanding of how contexts shape texts). You cannot refer to the novel during the exam, so this guide provides chapter-by-chapter analysis, character studies, themes, grounded quotations and full essay practice to help you prepare from memory.