YMMV / Things Fall Apart

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• Jerkass Woobie: Okonkwo is far from the most heroic Tragic Hero out there, and even with Deliberate Values Dissonance aside, he's still a prideful, violent wife-beater who didn't think twice of murdering his adoptive son just to avoid being seen as "weak". Still, one can sympathize with the fact the culture and way of life of his people are being torn apart by the English invaders while his actions are not only unable to stop that, but drive those he cares about towards colonial colaboration out of aversion of his own actions.
• Misaimed Fandom: A lot of readers end up sympathizing with the white imperialists, given that they effectively get rid of all the bad and unfavorable traditions in the land and treat the black characters somewhat fairly. Especially in comparison to Okonkwo, who hasn't endeared himself to the readers at all at this point. This misses the text's point that the imperialism is still not justified, and ignores that the trauma of imperialism can still be felt by tribes like the Igbo today. As unfavorable as some of the traditions were, Okonkwo is an outlier whose behavior is heavily frowned upon by his people, the vast majority of the village were peaceful and kind to each other, and the imperialists were only treating the people they were conquering with backhanded niceties so it would be easier to steal their land and destroy their culture, by replacing it with their own.
• Moral Event Horizon: Okonkwo's killing of Ikemefuma edges very close to this line. While Ikemefuma had to die as per the orders of the Oracle, Okonkwo didn't need to participate. Ezeudu even advises against killing his adopted son but fearing being seen as weak, Okonkwo strikes the killing blow. And he does this while Ikemefuma is running to him for help and calling him 'father.' Tellingly, Okonkwo's misfortunes and downfall begin shortly afterwards with the story hinting that this might be essentially Laser-Guided Karma.
• Narm: "One man tied his cloth to a tree branch and hanged himself". It's meant to be heartbreaking, but the way it's worded makes it look like a Non Sequitur.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Okonkwo is meant to come off as a tragic character, but many readers find that his Jerkass behavior makes him too unlikable to sympathize with, so this is lost to them. However, this was most likely intentional, as the author is depicting both the good and bad aspects of Igbo culture as embodied in Okonkwo.
• Values Resonance: Chinua Achebe uses his character Okonkwo to paint a warning against things like fear of showing emotion or gentleness and quickness to solve problems with violence that we associate these days with toxic masculinity about fifty five years before anyone started using the term itself. Likewise, he avoids falling into the common criticism that Okonkwo's toxic traits are universal among men by asserting that the other men of his tribe are not cruel as he is (contrast Okonkwo with his friend Obierika, who is portrayed as generally sensible and open-minded).
• The Woobie:
  • Ikemefuma. He's chosen by the Oracle to be killed due to being a "bad influence" and ends up getting murdered by his adoptive father in cold blood.
  • Ekwefi. Being beaten and nearly shot by her abusive husband is one thing, but she really takes the cake when it's revealed that she had nine miscarriages and was about to lose Ezinma, the only child who was able to survive and whom she had grown attached to.
  • Nwoye, too. While the sympathy one could feel for him might've been unintentional, given that he turns his back on his village and culture in favor of the Europeans', he's also beaten by his father for not being manly enough and actively neglected by him in favor of Ezinma, and loses his beloved adoptive brother at the hand of said abusive father, so his actions don't feel entirely unjustified.

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