Things Fall Apart Study
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Things Fall apart book and The Second Coming Poem
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109 Terms
Who is Okonkwo?
A wealthy farmer and warrior who fears weakness.
Who is Unoka?
Okownkwo’s farther, known for debt and laziness
Who is Nwoye?
Okownkwo’s oldest son who later converts to Christianity
Who is Ikemefuna?
A boy taken from another village to live with Okonkwo’s family
Who is Ekewfi?
Okonkwo’s second wife and Ezinma’s mom
Who is Ezinma
Ekwefi’s only surviving child
Who is Obierika?
Okonkwo’s close friend who often questions traditions
Who is Maduka?
Obierieka’s son
Who is Okafo?
A famous wrestler who defeated Ikezue
Who is Ikezue?
The wrestler defeated by Okafo
Who is Ani?
The earth goddess
Who is Agbala?
The Oracle of the hills and caves
Who is Chielo?
The priestess
Who is Mr. Brown?
A patient and respectful Christian missionary
Who is Reverend James Smith?
A harsh missionary who condemns Igbo traditions
Who is Enoch?
A Christian convert who unmasks an egwugwu
Who are the egwugu?
Masked clan elders who represent ancestral spirits
Who is the District Commissioner?
A british colonial administrator over Umuofia
Who are the kotma?
Messengers of the British court who enforce colonial rule
Who is Nneka?
A woman who leaves her husband due to having twins and joins the church
Why does Okonkwo fear weakness so intensely?
His father was considered lazy and unsuccessful
What crop symbolizes masculinity and success in Igbo culture?
Yams
Why is Ikemefuna brought to Umuofia?
As compensation to avoid war with Mbaino
Why is Okonkwo forbidden from killing Ikemefuna?
Ikemefuna calls him father
Why does Okonkwo still kill Ikemefuna?
He fears being seen as weak
What crime causes Okonkwo’s exile?
Accidentally killing a clansman at a funeral
Why is Okonkwo’s crime considered a “female” crime?
It was accidental, not intentional
Where is Okonkwo exiled?
Mbanta (his mother’s village)
What does exile symbolize in this novel?
Loss of status and power
Who first introduces Christianity to the region?
Mr. Brown
Why does Nwoye convert to Christianity?
The religion offers comfort and rejects violence
What Igbo practice especially disturbs Nwoye?
Abandonment of twins
What happens to twins in traditional Igbo belief?
They are abandoned in the forest
How do missionaries weaken Umuofia?
By diving the people spiritually and socially
What does Mr. Brown represent?
Patient and respectful conversion
How does Revered Smith differ from Mr. Brown?
He is more aggressive and intolerant
What happens when Okonkwo returns from exile?
He finds Umuofia deeply changed by colonial influence
Why is Okonkwo disappointed after returning?
The village no longer values tradition as before
What is the role of the British court?
To replace Igbo justice with colonial authority
Why are village leaders imprisoned?
They burn a Christian church
How are the imprisoned leaders treated?
Humiliated and beaten
Why does the British government stop the village meeting?
To prevent organized resistance
Who does Okonkwo kill at the meeting?
A court messenger
Why does Okonkwo expect the village to fight?
He believes they still value strength and resistance
Why does the village NOT fight?
They are confused and divided by colonial rule
What does Okonkwo realize after killing the messenger?
He is alone and the culture has fallen apart
How does Okonkwo die?
He commits suicide
Why is suicide especially tragic in Igbo culture?
Is it an abomination against the earth goddess
Who cannot touch Okonkwo’s body?
His clansmen
Who must bury Okonkwo?
Strangers (outcasts)
What does the District Commissioner plan to write?
A paragraph reducing Okonkwo’s life to a footnote
What does the ending show about colonialism?
It erases individual lives and histories
What is Okonwo’s tragic flaw?
Fear of weakness and inability of change
What does the Title Things Fall Apart Refer to?
The collapse of Igbo culture and Okonkwo’s life
Who best represents adaptability?
Nwoye
Who questions Igbo traditions the most?
Obierika
What does Obierika represent?
Thoughtful reflection and balance
Why is Okonkwo considered a tragic hero?
He causes his own downfall through his fall
Ezinma returns from her honeymoon and confronts ______ about his inaction
Obierika
The last remaining part
Dregs
In response to the killing of the Egwugwu, the remaining egwugu decided to…
burn the church
The kind missionary who talked to people
Mr. Brown
The reason Ezinma didn’t marry in Mbanta..
To make her father look better upon his return
What are two ways the prisoners were treated poorly in prison?
Beaten & Humiliated, Starved & extorted for money
Achebe wrote to the story of…
The lions
An omen or sign
Harbinger
What generally positive changes had the white brought to the village during Okonwko’s exile?
A hospital, a school
Describe the “rough beast” in the speaker’s vision
half man, half lion, with a pitiless gaze
The story of Aneto’s death is relevant to Okonkwo because..
It was similar to the crime for which he had been exiled for
In what way was Okonkwo’s rebellious act inconsistent with the values of his tribe?
He was acting independently, without the input of others
The act of Enoch took that enraged the village…
unmasked an egwugwu
Give one example of irony from the final two paragraphs of the book
It is ironic that Okonkwo, a great warrior and leader, is reduced to a brief paragraph in the District Commissioner’s book.
The allusion to Bethlehem in “the Second Coming” is meant to make readers think of…
Where Jesus was born, according to Christian scriptures
What question did the people ask after Okonkwo’s rebellious act?
“Why did he do it?”
Okonkwo’s greatest fear was..
becoming an abomination like his father
Nwoye has changed his name to…
Isaac
To exclude or Isolate
Ostracize
What is the title of the District commissioner’’s book?
The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger
What act is forbidden to the tribe, according to Obierika?
touching the body of someone who has killed himself
How is Unoka's quote from the beginning of the book relevant at the end? "A proud heart can survive a general failure... it is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone."
Okonkwo fails alone. Not even Obierika joins him.
Why is the falcon significant to the meaning of the poem?
it gets away from its center, the falconer. symbolic of society drifting away from what matters most
What is ironic about the method Okonkwo chose for his death?
he became an abomination like his father
What punctuation is used at the very end of the poem? Why?
a question mark to indicate the uncertainty
Lacking strength
Impotent
What does the line "twenty centuries of stony sleep" refer to?
the 2000 years since Jesus was believed to be born
Not planning ahead
Improvident
name two examples of things spinning or cycling from the poem
varies
Who is the focus of the narration at the very end of the book?
the District Commissioner, representing the shift to colonist rule
what is a kotma?
court messenger
Noisy, chaotic
Tumultuous
What two major events had depressed Yeats, the poet?
WWI and the death of his wife in the pandemic
What lie does the District Commissioner tell to get the six leaders into his office?
he wants to hear their side of the story
Convenient, Practial
Expedient
Restoration of peace
Pacification
the embodiment of the god of water killed by Christians
Python
Mr. Smith bans a woman from church whose husband mutilated her dead child, believed to be an _________________
ogbanje
what act does Okonkwo take without anyone following his lead?
beheading a messenger
the mean missionary who threatened people
Mr. Smith
How did Okonkwo plan to use his sons to help him regain power in Umuofia?
initiate them in the secret ozo society
Why did the price to release the men from prison go up by 50 cowries?
the court messengers inflated the price for themselves
Note 
Flashcards (28)