This world may seem like a very large place if you look at the perspective of the earth on a globe. We note the many continents and vast rural areas that exist within them. The blue of the seas stretching from one end to the other is overwhelming within itself. It is an elementary fact that life is prevalent in the arid places of the earth. However, another fact is true. Every society wants to establish its own importance along with its own reason for living and existing. The people of Umuofia were a people who strongly believed in their power for unity. Okonkwo's people were a society of people who exercised strength and agility. Their strength stemmed in part from their cultural beliefs. The Umuofia clan had established a system that worked for them, and it worked quite well for centuries. They structured their own medicinal system, government system, and religious system. A person is called a leader for the great achievements he has achieved despite trials and tribulations. Generally it is because of the circumstances in which an individual survives that causes another individual to call him a leader. “His life had been governed by a great passion: to become one of the lords of the clan” (Achebe 131). Okonkwo saw himself as a survivor and wanted to become a leader for the people within his society. “Since I survived that year,” he always said, “I will survive anything” (Achebe 24). Okonkwo possessed a fierce determination within him to be a winner and conquer the things that others in his village might have believed were impossible for him to accomplish. One of Okonkwo's successes was the wrestling battle between him and another wrestler, known as Amalinze, the Ca...... middle of paper ...... someone who does not respect him. The Europeans and missionaries managed to trample the land of the Okonkwo people with the help of nearby villages. The missionaries needed an interpreter to be able to communicate with Okonkwo's people. The nearby villages feared the people of Umuofia. The other villages no doubt desired safety and refuge from the people of Umuofia, considering that all the neighboring villages knew of Umuofia's greatness and strength. Surely, having a great wrestler, like Okonkwo, increased the anxiety between them. The surrounding villages welcomed the white man, the white man's church, and the white man's government. He was their aide, who complimented the European agenda of owning the land and people of Umuofia. Work cited Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart. 50th ed. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print.