Things Fall Apart- The meaning behind the title

Why the Book is Entitled Things Fall Apart I believe that the title Things Fall Apart refers to the fact that without proper balance, things do fall apart. The notion of balance in the novel is an important theme throughout the book. Beginning with the excerpt from Yeats' poem, The Second Coming, the concept of balance is stressed as important; for without balance, order is lost. In the novel, there is a system of balance, …

…it than Things Fall Apart. The author definitely suggests that there is a balance to all things, and that when that balance is lost, the system is reduced to chaos. The balance in the case of the Ibo society was one between masculine and feminine forces, with an imbalance on the masculine side eventually turning order to entropy. For Okonkwo, things literally fell apart: his hopes and dreams, his family, his culture, and his life.