The Fall of Umuofia Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart" is a story that illustrates the effects of a new Christian religion on a tribal village in Africa. It is a very distinct culture and has a value system that has continued for many years going back to their ancestors. However, a conflict arises when the culture suddenly begins to fade and the modern tribesmen allow white missionaries to meddle in their system and convert many of the tribe's younger members to the Christian faith. The tribal system eventually collapses because younger members are unable to remember people from the past or are unable to relate to violence when they lived in safety and peace. They then lose interest in a faith that does not satisfy their needs for music, joy, and love, instead of focusing on obedience to a higher being. Okonkwo may remember another time when children, like his son, were not lazy. He could also remember the laziness of his father, Unoka, and that his father had not received any title as a member of the clan. He was determined to become a respected sweet potato farmer to ward off the shame of his failed and dishonorable father. "Fortunately, among these people a man was judged by his worth and not by his father's worth. Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but had earned a reputation as the greatest fighter in the nine villages . He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of sweet potatoes, and to top it all off he had just married his third wife, took two titles and showed incredible skill in two inter-tribal wars" (8). Okonkwo becomes a man with great strength and personality, he achieves his goal of becoming rich and famous, a privilege never seen before in his family. Age was also an extremely important factor and highly regarded among his people, but success was honored. "As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with the kings. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands and therefore ate with the kings and elders" (8). This was Okonkwo's drive in life and so he remained successful and worked twice as hard to prove to others that he was not the same man as his father. Unfortunately, this was not a common sentiment in the clan and Okonkwo, in an attempt to make up for his father's mistakes, took on the responsibilities of an older man as a boy, which led to him having the mentality of an elder in the community..