November 9, 2025Open Access

A Study of Existential Crisis in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

Key Points

Key themes include identity crisis and colonialism affecting the Igbo community in the novel.
The narrative describes how Okonkwo and his community navigate modernity's challenges.
Observational analysis of Achebe's depiction of cultural collision unveils critical societal struggles.
Understanding of identity and tradition shifts with the impact of colonialism in the Igbo context.

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of existential crisis as depicted in Chinua Achebe’s seminal novel, Things Fall Apart. Nigeria comprises three main ethnic groups: the Igbo, the Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani. Achebe’s Things Fall Apart highlights the Igbo society. With the arrival of the European colonizers and their rules, there was a clash between tradition and modernity. Okonkwo, the protagonist, and his community experienced many hurdles while searching for their identity. The study analyzes a colonized community’s struggle to cling to an established existence and the imposed new order. This novel is considered a classic of African literature and explores the themes of identity crisis, colonialism, and cultural collision.

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Cite This Study

MAIBAM et al. (Mon,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/690fdce2f60c54d04ea38434 https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i06.59541

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