Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart tells the dramatic story of one Nigerian man whose life is dominated by anger and fear. The main character, Okonkwo, struggles with his desire to be the opposite of his father, and is destroyed when all the things that he worked for to earn respect are suddenly no longer valued by his peers. Ikemefuna's death, Nwoye's religious conversion, and Okonkwo's own suicide demonstrate Okonkwo's life-dominating fear of failure and weakness. Ikemefuna's death clearly reveals Okonkwo's fear of being considered weak. "Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. He...
aspirations became useless. Okonkwo felt that because he had failed at achieving high success, life simply was not worth living. His fear of failure contributed significantly to his suicide.

Things Fall Apart tells the electrifying tale of a proud man whose life is dominated by fear and anger. Okonkwo's fear of being thought weak is clearly revealed in Ikemefuna's death. His son's religious conversion visibly demonstrates Okonkwo's phobia of failure and weakness. Similarly, his fear of failure greatly contributed to his suicide. Ikemefuna's death, Nwoye's religious conversion and Okonkwo's own suicide demonstrates his life-dominating fear of failure and weakness.