Things Fall Apart Book Notes Summary

Okonkwo takes his family to Mbanta. His kinsmen there receive them with open arms and help them restart their lives and endure the seven years away from home. Okonkwo seemed defeated because living in exile was like starting all over from scratch.

All the work that he had put into developing his status among his village was erased now, and he was forced to begin again. "It was like beginning life anew without the vigor and enthusiasm of youth, like learning to become left-handed in old age." Part 2: Chapter 14, Pg. 113 One of the elders of Mbanta, Uchende, noticed Okonkwo's self pity and at a large ceremony he told Okonkwo that it was his duty to his family to buck up and get through the exile so that he could take his family back home.