Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, titled his book using a line from “The Second Coming” by William Butler Yeats: “Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.” After reading “The Second Coming” and the full text of Things Fall Apart, write an essay about the influence of outside forces and changing events on the life of the protagonist in the novel. Use the following questions to formulate your essay:

1. What was life like for the protagonist before the changes in his village?
2. How did things fall apart in his world?
3. Was the outcome predictable?
4. How did you feel about the outcome?
5. Include a brief commentary on the connection and interpretation of the poem “The Second Coming” by

Yeats.

Sample Solution