Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a story centered on a great man of the village named Okonkwo. Although Okonkwo was highly respected in Umuofia village, people were afraid of him because of his violent anger. When Europeans arrived in Umuofia, they brought a new religion: Christianity. The Europeans changed Umuofia, destroyed the tradition and destroyed Okonkwo. This essay will focus on the main theme of the novel, violence, highlighting two events in chapter four and chapter seventeen. The theme of violence is the predominant focus of this essay, however, the two selected events that will be discussed also highlight the concepts of gender and change from tradition. First, in chapter 4, “The Week of Peace,” a violent event occurs between Okonkwo and his third wife, Ojiugo. This happens one day during the week of peace when Okonkwo arrives home early and waits for his wife to bring him his meal. Okonkwo begins to lose patience waiting for his wife to return home. When Ojiugo returns home, Okonkwo attacks her very harshly. This event highlights the idea of ​​traditional gender roles, where the woman cooks for her husband and brings food to the table when he comes home. Male dominance and female inferiority are also highlighted, as demonstrated by Okonkwo's violent act of beating Ojiugo. The beating is described simply, but horrifyingly: “Okonkwo's neighbors heard [Ojiugo] crying and sent their voices over the walls of the compound to ask what had happened. Some of them came to see for themselves” (Achebe 25). This intensifies the emotions felt by the reader because Ojiugo is beaten so badly that others in the village hear her screams. The reader feels sympathy for Ojiugo as an image of...... center of paper ......king, even though Okonkwo's reasons for his anger are more understandable in this passage, this still does not justify his violence . This passage further reinforces the fact that Okonkwo is an extremely violent character in the novel Things Fall Apart. In conclusion, Things Fall Apart is a novel that portrays the tensions between the white colonial government and the natives of Umuofia. This essay emphasized the main theme of violence by discussing two events in chapter four and chapter seventeen. In both passages the reader experiences violence causing him to believe that Okonkwo is a very angry and violent man. Okonkwo fears appearing weak and therefore acts violently to avoid appearing as pathetic as his father. Furthermore, through the discussion of the two chosen events, the concepts of gender and change with respect to tradition are highlighted.