"The insane has as his companion his mind," is and ancient African proverb. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, shows how chi affects people in different situations, throughout the book. Chi refers to an individual's personal god, whose value is based on the character's conscience of mind. Okonkwo cannot feel any of the side effects of the actions that he is committing because he is full of self-hatred throughout the book.
Catastrophic actions are just some of the words that can be used to depict the effects of Okonkwo's self-hatred. Okonkwo can never live with his chi because he does not care about his actions, "When a man says yes his chi says yes also."(27) For Okonkwo, he cannot think subconsciously and has to resort to actions that result in his own happiness, without thinking about how his decisions affect the others around him. "At an early age he had achieved fame as the greatest wrestler in all the land. That was not luck, At the most one could say that his chi or personal god was good-(27) With this early quote, the reader is given the impression that Okonkwo is a highly spirited and motivated man that can do whatever he tries, if he can put his mind to it. Intended for the audience to see what can happen if you do not accept yourself for who you are, Achebe puts in detail the fact that Okonkwo does have some confidence in himself. One can only imagine what is going through Okonkwo's mind when he has everything going for him, until he starts his undoing. .
"The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give us her increase, and we shall all perish."(22) Ezinma says this to Okonkwo after he finishes beating one of his wives during the Week of Peace. " Okonkwo heard it and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun, ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. He pressed the tripper and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children-(39) This is the first of several events that leads to the unraveling of Okonkwo.
