In Things Fall Apart and The Great Gatsby, Chinua Achebe and F. Scott Fitzgerald discuss, in historical context, decline and, furthermore, impending collapse of the consolidated companies, in particular: Igboland and America. Achebe's eponymous motif, that of "things falling apart", is ingrained in both novels, as the respective authors discuss the "widening vortex" of chaos that can lead even the greatest individuals and societies to their insignificant end. Although the threat of European colonialism is presented to the Igbo people in Things Fall Apart, Achebe argues – through his development of Okonkwo – that perhaps Igbo culture was already declining before the arrival of the Europeans. Okonkwo is, initially, “one”. In his epigraphic hymn to Yeats, Achebe states that radical social change is accompanied by an “ever-widening vortex” of disorder, and further establishes, allegorically, that attempting to resist this socio-political change will only serve to push one into this metaphysical vortex of melancholy and chaos, as in the case of Okonkwo. This idea is also inherent in Fitzgerald's novel, as is the illusion of Gatsby, his Igbo contemporary, that he can somehow prevent change from occurring, and perhaps secure his fantastic "orgastic future", which ultimately leads to his death. The deterioration of their respective societies is epitomized by the fall of the protagonists in both novels, and thus distinct similarities can be found not only in the way their respective tragedies unfold, but also in the symbolic nature of their respective ends, and despite their differences contextual, both novels converge in their depiction of the inevitability of change and the futility of resisting. Indeed, one of the important factors, in the collective "greatness" of both Gatsby and Okonkwo, is the fact that, having been born into poverty (due to their lineage), both protagonists proceed to reject their poor origins and, in the purpose, to establish a reputation for themselves, within their respective companies. Both novels converge significantly in both plot and theme, and from a general point of view, it can be said that both are, in essence, descriptions not only of the rise of two great men, but also of the fall - and the fall of two major companies, by extension. While Things Fall Apart is often believed to portray the fall of Igbo culture as a direct result of European colonialism, upon closer reading it becomes clear that Achebe, in a general perspective, pessimistically suggests that it is by fate, by spiritual intervention or by the natural and inevitable progression of time, the Igbo culture was simply destined to collapse. This idea is exemplified by Okonkwo - whose status as "one of the greatest men", reflects the value of Igbo culture - who, due to a tragic turn of events, is forced to kill his adopted son, Ikemefuna, in fear of "being thought weak." From there on, Okonkwo's tale of woe