Things Fall Apart

In the first chapter, it seems as if Okonkwo will have everything he has dreamed of. He has built himself up from a man of meager beginnings and is considered a great success. He is respected by the people who stand in awe of his great accomplishment as a wrestler.

Okonkwo was revered as one of the greatest men of his time because although he was young, he'd already taken two titles, acquired three wives, owned two barns full of yams, and shown great skill in two inter-tribal wars. His prestige presented him with the duty of looking after Ikemefuna, a boy from a neighboring village who had been sacrificed to Umuofia to avoid warfare and bloodshed.