Okonkwo’s Exile in Mbanta and its Significance in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Literary Analysis

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Abstract

Things Fall Apart (1958), the magnum opus of the “Father of African Literature” Chinua Achebe (1930-2013), is well-known for its representation of the African Igbo clan. Okonkwo is their leader and the richest man in his area. A multiple title holder led a peaceful, honorable life in his village Umofia till the accidental killing of a sixteen-year-old son of the oldest, revered man Ezchedu. On the funeral of the oldest man, Okonkwo’s gun misfired and killed the son of the dead man. As per the local punishment system, Okonkwo received an exile for seven years. Chapters fourteen to nineteen of the novel cover his exile. As a respectful man to local tradition, he decided to leave the village with his family of three wives and nine children. The sudden and unexpected punishment of exile baffles him, but he copes with the crisis successfully with his patience, hard work, resilience, and the support of his maternal kinsmen in the village Mbanta. We see a new Okonkwo, who lost everything due to the rage of his villagers, who burnt and destroyed his landed property, huts, and cattle. He did not lose hope of regaining everything. In the most distressed time of his life, his best friend Obierika also stood by him and revealed his genuineness as a human being, and friend to Okonkwo. This paper aims to show through textual analysis the characteristics of Okonkwo, his relation with the eldest son Nwoye, the support and the traits of his uncle and his families, Obierika’s true friendship with Okonkwo through a study of his exile in Mbanata.