Things Fall Apart Chapter 24-25: The Death of Okonkwo

"Okonkwo's machete descended twice and the man's head lay beside his uniformed body. The waiting backcloth jumped into tumultous life and the meeting was stopped. Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew that Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messengers escape...'It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offense against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it. That is why we ask your people to bring him down, because you are strangers'" (Achebe 204-207). 

According to the text(s), what effect did imperialism have on the people who lived through it?

In Chapter 24, the men of Umuofia are finally released from the imprisonment of the white men. After they are released, Okonkwo seeks vengeance as they are brutally beaten and tortured in the hands of the white men. The village of Umuofia calls a meeting and everyone attends, which excited Okonkwo. But Okonkwo is upset that the village will not go to war with the white men because they do not want to harm their brothers which have converted to Christianity. When a white messenger invades the meeting, Okonkwo pulls out his machete and kills the messenger. This creates a stir in the meeting and Okonkwo disappears. When the District Commissioner comes to seek out Okonkwo, his friend Obierika leads the way. Unfortunately for the District Commissioner, Okonkwo has already committed suicide and is left dangling from a tree. Obierika ironically asks the District Commissioner to untie Okonkwo because it is against their beliefs to touch a man who has committed an abomination (suicide). The District Commissioner agrees and has his men bring down Okonkwo. The District Commissioner later thinks about the book he is planning to write and how he will include the story of Okonkwo in his book. Through this summary we can see how imperialism led to tension, violence, and even death. As Okonkwo began to see the diminishing strength and courage in his village he began to give up on life and what he had worked so hard to build. He soon realized he was standing alone and in the end took his own life. Imperialism led to a divide within villages and clans, and led to great tension between people of different religions.