The famous French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine astutely stated: "A person often meets his fate on the road he has taken to avoid it." People, both in real life and in literature, seal their fate through their actions. Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart captures the cultural life of the Igbo people before and after the influences of British colonialism by focusing on a representative, hard-working character named Okonkwo. The Igbo believed that Chukwu, minor gods, ancestors, and their personal gods were responsible for determining one's life destiny. Through proverbs regarding motivation, achievement, and respect, Achebe communicates that fate must ultimately be accepted. Achebe uses proverbs regarding motivation to illustrate the concept that fate must ultimately be accepted. The proverb “As the elders said, if a child washed his hands, he could eat with kings” (8) is the first to demonstrate this concept. The proverb implies that motivation is important to successfully achieve a goal. No normal child would eat with kings; therefore the child must have motivation. Since it refers to Okonkwo, it shows that Okonkwo was truly motivated and successful as he “clearly washed his hands and then ate with kings and elders” (8). The additional praise “if ever a man deserved his success, that man was Okonkwo” (27) suggests that Okonkwo believes he can control his own destiny. People are motivated to succeed and they are also motivated by success. Okonkwo's fate seems to coincide with the prosperity of his village. However, by the end of the novel, things seem to have “fallen apart” (176) and Christian missionaries divide the village. Since Okonkwo finally realizes that he has no control over…half of the paper…one must not forget to be humble” (26). The proverb means that one must remember to be modest because they are nothing compared to the controllers of one's destiny. The man who has succeeded due to his destiny should be grateful. Okonkwo believed he “solved them himself” through his “fierce fight against poverty” and hard work (27). This goes against respect and implies that Okonkwo rejects the concept of immutable destiny. Yet his hard work came from fear of his father's qualities, and his father was who he was because of his fate. Okonkwo's father chose to accept his fate of being perpetually in debt and not "taking any title" (8), as evidenced by the numerous opportunities he had to change his ways. Since Okonkwo was destined to have Unoka as a father and become who he was, he accepted his destiny by working hard.