Things Fall Apart...and Finally, Off a Tree

The title Things Fall Apart alluded to the fact that the characters and cultures would dissolve by the end of the novel. It is apparent that Okonkwo does not take the transformation of his tribe lightly. This once warlike, powerful, and masculine society becomes, in Okonkwo's eyes,  weak and feminine. Even at the end of the novel, he does not recognize that traits such as courage and bravery are not mutually exclusive to gender.
After his seven year exile, Okonkwo did not receive the warm welcome he expected; his tribes customs and morals were falling apart. Gone were the days that twins would be sentences to the Evil Forest and it was perfectly acceptable to whip wives and children. No longer would their many gods be permissible; there was but one all powerful God. It was evident that Okonkwo was disgraced by the "falling" of his African society to Western civilization.
Finally, when Okonkwo's killing of the messenger was not well-received and the tribe was not going to war against the whites take-over, this signaled that his life did not have a purpose. He could never gain the "highest title of the land." His own goals surpassed the importance of the tribes. Ultimately, he ended up like his father by falling from a tree and taking his own life.