Things Fall Apart: Okonkwo's Life Throughout his book Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe uses certain incidents and emotions that capture the spirit of the Ibo people. He shows us what it must be like to live in such a world and then face such gigantic opponents and low odds. The story tells of Okonkwo, a strong man whose life is dominated by the fear of showing a "weakness", or emotion. Achebe uses Okonkwo's life to tell the sad tale of the slow, painful demise of the Ibo heritage. In itself, Okonkwo's life is priceless; it was worthy of more praise than any man would give, and generally speaking, certainly worth more than one degrading chapter in a biased book. Ok