Perhaps one of the most influential elements in literature, a setting can potentially dictate the plot of a story, establishing culture, tradition and a backstory. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart sees an African world that largely revolves around Nigeria's geographic location; this agricultural society serves as a vast foundation for a polytheistic religion and respect for the land itself. Not only are the values ​​of the Umuofia community built significantly on this location guideline, but the very essence of the protagonist, Okonkwo, and his unprecedented state of mind, comes from this venerable attitude. In turn, the author himself, Chinua Achebe, brilliantly shares a traditional culture that is inherently dependent on the land itself and how it inevitably leads to a clash of civilization where things truly "fall apart." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Chinua Achebe attempts, and succeeds, to share a unique African culture that is inevitably and overtly based on an agricultural society. Within this culture, the high value of yam, palm oil and kola nut are demonstrated as forms of wealth. In the first chapter of the book, Okonkwo is described as "still young[,] but he had become famous as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a rich farmer and owned two barns full of yams and had just married his third wife” (Achebe 3), which shows that his wealth is accompanied by his status as a farmer and the amount of yams he 'he owns. Thus, an individual's high social status is dictated by the amount of land he owns and the fertility of his agricultural labor. Because weather and climate are a determining factor in a person's economic prosperity, a polytheistic religion revolving around the elements of nature also prevails. A fear of the gods of nature is instilled in the members of this community, ultimately affecting the very meaning of life: pleasing the gods for one's own well-being. This force of culture and values ​​results in the creation of the protagonist, whose very ambitions would be rendered obsolete and worthless without the underlying culture made possible by this land. From the beginning of the novel, Okonkwo establishes himself as a man of unquestioned values. strength. He strives to become the complete opposite of what his father once was: a man who was a "failure" in Okonkwo's eyes. What constitutes “failure”? In the context of this novel, Okonkwo's father is poor and does not have the wealth that is measured in yams. This wealth is only possible thanks to the land's capacity to produce yams. When Unoka, Okonkwo's father, once consulted a priestess, he mourned his misery: "I also kill a rooster at the shrine of Ifejioku, the god of yams. I clean the bush and set it on fire when it is dry. I sow the yams when the first rain has fallen, and I kill them when the young tendrils appear [...] when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm » (Achebe 6). The display of sacrifices to the god of yams shows the omnipresence of their religion. Furthermore, the Umuofian community avoids at all costs provoking the anger of the gods and makes its fear blatant. When Okonkwo beats his wife during Peace Week, he is reprimanded, but not for the supposed reasons for his abuse. Okonkwo is forced to repent, to prevent his wrongdoing from inciting the gods to unleash their wrath on the community at large. This demonstrates a.