What are the key moments in Things Fall Apart that reflect the various themes in the story?

tells the tragic story of
,
an Igbo man who comes into conflict with the changing landscape of colonial Nigeria. At
the
storys start, Okonkwo fits well into the traditional society of his Igbo
village. He repairs his
name through feats of strength, he owns land, he has
three wives and many children, and he
commands respect throughout the
village. Two main events in the story reflect some of the main
themes that
play out in the downfall of Okonkwo.

The first event
happens
before the colonization by the British. Okonkwo is selected to care
from , a young boy who is
serving as the blood debt of a neighboring village.
Ikemefuna, though personally innocent, is to
be sacrificed to pay for the
blood of a woman from Okonkwos tribe who was murdered by someone
from
Ikemefunas tribe. An issue arises with Ikemefuna because everyone in Okonkwos family
grows
to like and appreciate him. Ikemefuna, however, is supposed to die as a
part of the ritual of
justice. When the time comes, Okonkwo participates in
the murder so that he doesnt appear weak.
However, he feels a deep emotion
for Ikemefuna and loves the boy. Okonkwos flaw, his
all-encompassing pride,
leads to the guilt of Ikemefunas blood haunting him for the future of
the
story. The theme that a hot temper can lead to mistakes shows in Okonkwos quick
decision. He
takes up the machete against Ikemefuna based on a split-second
worry about appearing weak, but
that decision haunts him and leads to other
issues later in the novel.

A
second event that
demonstrates a different theme is when Okonkwo attempts to take up arms

against the British colonial government at the end of the novel. Okonkwo, when he
returns from
exile, finds that his entire clan and culture have been altered
by the British. Facing the death
of his culture, Okonkwo pushes the others in
his tribe to take up arms and fight. However,
others in the tribe understand
the danger of doing so and do not join in his rebellion after he
kills a
white messenger. The text relates his feelings,

He
knew the Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had
let the other messengers escape.
They had broken into tumult instead of
action. He discerned fright in that tumult. ()

Okonkwo comes face-to-face with the reality that he is living in
the
past. No one in his tribe wants to fight as they might have before his exile. So, in a
fit
of passion and sorrow, he hangs himself. It is ironic because by hanging
himself, he ensures
that he will not be honored or respected like he worked
so hard to be early in the
story.

The theme we see develop
from this event is focused on the difficulty
of change. Change can be
painful, and it can cause hardship for inflexible people. Okonkwo is
the
definition of inflexible, and because the world changes around him, he

suffers.