Chinua Achebe is well known as the father of African literature. Her debut novel, “Things Fall Apart,” is an interesting story full of tragedy, set in Umuofia, Nigeria, in the 19th century. Achebe sought to correct European writers who misrepresented Africans and life in Nigeria. According to Nnoromele (2000), the Igbo clan is an autonomous, complex and vigorous African group. Achebe wrote “Things Fall Apart” to accurately depict the conflict between the white colonial government of Nigeria and the culture of the indigenous Igbo people. “Things Fall Apart” is the perfect title for this novel. As the reader moves through this interesting but tragic story, it becomes clear how and why things fell apart. Achebe effectively structured his story around the rise and fall of a tragic hero named Okonkwo. According to Dictionary.com (2011), a tragic hero is defined as "a literary character who commits an error of judgment or exhibits a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, causes tragedy." At first, Okonkwo is a powerful and well-respected villager in Umuofia. “But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (13). This fear is the tragic flaw that threatens Okonkwo's power and position with the clansmen and the Igbo people. Eventually, his life falls apart. Achebe's story also revolves around the cultural traditions of the village of Umuofia. Umuofia's confrontation and struggle against Western colonialism is effectively depicted in the story. "The white man had indeed brought a crazy religion, but he had also built a trading store and for the first time palm oil and almonds became things of great price, and a lot of money cost the middle of paper....father, and he managed to destroy his relationship with his son Nwoye Works Cited Achebe, C. (1959) Things fall apart, (1st ed.) Anchor Books, New York, NY Hoegberg, D. (1999). Principle and practice: Achebe's logic of cultural violence collapses. Kirszner, LG and Mandel, SR (2010). , writing (7th ed.) Wadsworth Cengage Learning.Larson, CR (1998) Okonkwo in his time. World and me, 13(3), 298.Nnoromele, PC (2000). 'Achebe collapses. CollegeLiterature, 27(2), 146-155.Saltau, M. (2003). Inflexibility destroys the tribe; resources text speak. nd). (2011). Dictionary.com full version. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tragic hero