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Chinua Achebe, in his novel Things Fall Apart, written in 1958, dramatizes the overpowering concept of fate, which ultimately results in the white man invading the Ibo tribes and pressing their Christian beliefs and god on the conquered people. The idea of fate is linked to the tribe’s religious beliefs in the gods of earth and ancestral spirits and can be linked to society in a number of ways. In their complex culture, the tribes believe that their chi is a personal god to whom they can become closer spiritually through an Oracle. In the end, the concept of ill-fated chi contributes strongly to the society’s downfall. In Things Fall Apart, the concept of fate is an important motif that permeates the dramatic structure. Achebe uses the idea of fate through the chi to explain the Ibo belief in a personal god, to demonstrate how the Oracle is an important link between the people and their chi. He further utilizes the concept to portray the tragedy of the white man’s intrusion and the loss of unity in the tribe. This motif serves to dramatize the title of the book Things Fall Apart. Initially, the chi is used as a description or to characterize a person. For example, in chapter three the word chi is used to describe the difference between Okonkwo and his father, Unoka. If one had a lazy chi that person would also be lazy, whereas, if someone's chi was a hard worker so was he.
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