How do things fall apart in Things Fall Apart?

The title
of byis taken from the poem "The Second Coming" by William
Butler Yeats. The poem states:

Things fall apart; the
centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...

This apocalyptic vision is intended as a view of the modern
condition in which religious belief, civic society, and the human connections to the divine and
other humans are severed as civilization regresses to a sort of individualist and alienated form
of spiritual and societal anarchy.

Achebe is applying this to the situation
in Nigeria under colonial rule. Traditional Igbo culture, religion, and civic society are under
threat from British colonial rule. While some people still follow traditional religion and
others convert to Christianity, many are caught between with no strong bonds either to
traditional Igbo culture or to the new British culture. Cynicism and individualism replace
community spirit, and people caught between the world of tradition (which is weakening)
and...