How does the setting of Things Fall Apart effect/reflect the characters, plot, themes and such?

The novel takes place at the turn of the 20th century, at
the end of the colonial period and beginning of the modern era.  Britain colonizes
Nigeria in an effort to keep up with the rest of the European colonial powers who are
dividing up Africa for its natural resources.  Although the slave trade had been banned,
the Ibo culture is threatened by extinction because of the institutional (churches,
legal system) and technological (weapons, infrastructure) advancements of the
Empire.

Setting is also important before the colonists
appear.  In the village itself, the important settings are as
follow:

• Okonkwo's compound: with its many huts,
  yam farm


• the Oracle of the Hills and
  Caves


• the Umuofian village in relation to the neighboring
  villages (Mbaino, etc...)


• the Evil
  Forest


• Mbanta (Okonkwo's exiled
  Motherland)

All of these places "fall apart" as
a result of the colonization.  The center of the village, Okonkwo's compound, becomes a
place of suicide, a portent that signals the end of his people's culture.  According to
his friend Obierka, Okonkwo was the greatest of men; therefore, his exile, death, a
destruction of property forms the void for the entire death of
Umuofia.