Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart Reflection

3. Interpret this proverb, spoken of Okonkwo: “When a man says yes his chi says yes also.” What role does Okonkwo’s chi play in shaping his destiny? Note, however, that, “The Igbo people did not believe that a man’s chi controlled his entire destiny.”

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe tells us an eye-opening story about how a Nigerian tribe fell apart when the white men came to civilize the nation. In the book there is a repeated idea of something the Igbo people referred to as chi. Chi is a personal god that is appointed at birth and remains with you till death. In the beginning it says about Okonkwo, “that his chi or personal god was good.” (27) This was said because he had great success as a farmer, husband, and father. From this we can be interpreted that one’s chi determines one’s fate, but this is not completely true because there are areas in the book that contradict this very idea. There is an African proverb that says, “When a man says yes his chi says yes also.” (27) This implies that a man chooses his fate as he is the one who makes the decisions and the chi follows. In the book there are various quotations that support both ideas of the role of chi, but there are more that suggest that the chi chooses the fate. An example of how chi determines one’s fate is found when the narrator is telling us about Unoka, “Unoka was an ill-fated man. He had a bad chi or personal god, and evil fortune followed him to the grave...” (18). Another example is found in this quotation, which appears during the times that Okonkwo is exiled, “Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true--that if a man said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation.” (131) The role of chi in Okonkwo’s destiny is quite interesting. In the beginning we see Okonkwo as a successful man with titles, wives, and children. The explanation for this success was that his chi was ‘good’. At the same time though, they say that it was because of Okonkwo’s desire that he accomplished what he wanted—basically he chose his fate. Later on as we move towards the colonial periods we see that Okonkwo gets unlucky. For example his bullet accidentally kills Ezeudu’s son during the funeral. He is then exiled for 7 years, and there he has to start from scratch all over again. Eventually he hangs himself and this shows how, he too, was “Ill-fated” The question though is: is it predetermined or was it due his own doings? We have distinguished that there is confusion between the roles of chi in a person’s life. It is similar to the fact that there is no distinct border between what is real and what is imaginary in Nigerian culture. There is a little bit of both—a person’s chi and the person himself work together to form destiny. Although this sounds unreasonable and irrational, it seemed to work for the Igbo people. To the Igbo people there was confusion between individual choice and cosmic determinism. They managed to decide though which one played the role according to the situation. It seems to be that when something happens on purpose, and it is something that the person should be proud about, then it was the man’s doing. An example of this was the wrestling match that Okonkwo won. On the other hand though, if an unexplainable event happened then it was blamed on the chi. In conclusion, Chi serves as an excuse for mistakes, whether it be the loss of Ekwefi’s children or the death of Okonkwo.