ll. Okonkwo's life finally fell completely apart as his body was found dangling from a tree. The village of Umuofia fell apart in another way. When the white missionaries arrived, the villagers did not take them very seriously. They refused to see the missionaries as a threat and this led to their demise. However, because of the strength of the west, the village's falling apart might have been inevitable. Very few civilizations, if any, were able to withstand the threat of Westernization. It was a force that was too powerful and sophisticated for such common people to fight. Achebe's book shows how Westernization led to the demise of many ancient cultures. The reason this book sold so many copies, I believe, is because it can be applied not only to Africa, but to all of the other cultures around the world that were ruined by Westernization. In "Things Fall Apart," Achebe not only describes the life and death of one man, but also the life and death of the world's many different cultures, as a result of Westernization....
