How do things fall apart in Things Fall Apart?

In Things Fall Apart, the traditional way of life for the Igbo society is changing due to the coming of the European missionary Christians. The European Christians are bringing their beliefs to Umuofia and the surrounding tribes. The traditional customs of the Igbo villagers are being challenged. Men like the protagonist Okonkwo cannot handle the changes and challenges as Christian missionaries come into his village for the purpose of changing his way of life. Okonkwo...

In Things Fall Apart, the traditional way of life for the Igbo society is changing due to the coming of the European missionary Christians. The European Christians are bringing their beliefs to Umuofia and the surrounding tribes. The traditional customs of the Igbo villagers are being challenged. Men like the protagonist Okonkwo cannot handle the changes and challenges as Christian missionaries come into his village for the purpose of changing his way of life. Okonkwo has a sense of purpose and identity as a hard working man who has become successful due to his determination to never be like his lazy father Unoka. Through hard work and sheer determination, Okonkwo had acquired wealth through his yams. Okonkwo has three wives who have given him children. He is successful in the eyes of his village. He is a great wrestler and warrior. He is a great hunter. He is a manly man. For this reason, Okonkwo cannot handle the change through the influence of the Christian missionaries. 

Okonkwo's life is falling apart. He will not adapt to change. He is stubborn and strong-willed. In fact, he has worked hard to become a type of hero in his community and his pride will not allow him to accept changes:

Okonkwo’s physical strength, integrity, and courage give him heroic stature, but his pride and individualism contradict the essentially communal nature of Umuofia. He does not understand that Umuofia is a living culture that has always adapted in order to meet new challenges.

Ultimately, Okonkwo fights the white missionaries in an effort to maintain his way of life. He realizes that his tribal members are not going to join him in fighting. In a sense of hopelessness, Okonkwo gives up the fight and hangs himself. His life ends in tragedy because things were falling apart in his village. He could not adapt to change.