Things Fall Apart - Reading Notes
Things Fall Apart Reading
Okonkwo - Son (main character?)
has personal achievments
brought honor to his village by throwing “Amalinze the Cat” (was a wrestler who was unbeaten for 7 years)
Amalinze was called the “Cat” because his back never touched the earth.
Okonkwo’s fame has grown since he threw the “Cat",” nearly 20 years ago
he was tall and huge
bushy eyebrows
wide nose
breathed heavily
he walked as if on springs (tippy toe type walk)
had a temper
has slight stammer
weathly farmer
3 wives
farm of yams
the very opposite of his father
Unoka - Okonkwo’s father (dead for 10 years)
lazy
owed money to his neighbors
tall
thin
mournful look
drinker
plays the flute
loved the music and feasting time of the year
failure
poor
wife and children barely had enough to eat
no one would lend him money because he never paid back
coward
loved music
Okoye - Neighbor of Unoka
musician
played the “ogene”
was not a failure like Unoka
had a barn full of yams
had 3 wives
great talker
Ogbuefi Ezeugo
powerful operator
always chosen to speak on such occasions (funerals)
daughter killed
Okoye came to visit Unoka to ask for the 200 cowries (African currency) Unoka had “borrowed” from Okoye 2 years before.
Unoka explains that he has many debts to people, but says that he must pay his “big” debts before he pays the smaller ones.
When Unoka died, he had no title to his name, and was heavily in debt.
Okonkwo had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the 9 villages.
Children of the village were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits. Dangerous animals became even more sinister and uncanny in the dark.
A snake was never called by its name at night because it “would hear”.
It was called a “string”
As the Ibo say: “The cripple becomes hungry for a walk.”
The daughter of Umuofia was killed. She went to a market in Mbaino, and was later murdered. She was the wife of Ogbuefi Edo.
Umuofia, the setting of the story, consisting of all the 9 villages.
The war medicine in Umuofia was called ‘agadi-nwayi’, or in other words “old woman.”
Ikemefuna - The lad of Okonkwo
Lived in Okonkwo household for 3 years
Okonkwo’s fear was to resemble his father.
Agbala: Another name for a woman OR a man with no title.
Obi: Hut
Nwoye - Okonkwo’s son
Began to develop scared and timid because his father did not like his laziness and other aspects.
Ikemefuna - Son of the man who killed the daughter of Umuofia
Chika - The priestess
Mbanto - The name of Okonkwo’s motherland
Suspect the Christians have killed and eaten a python
Mr. Brown was the first missionary to come to Umuofia
The white mans eye glasses are believed to be responsible for his miraculous survival after building his church in the Evil Forest.
Ogbanje - A changeling child
Okonkwo wishes Ezinma had been his son
A palm tapper taps a tree for wine
Okonkwo is exiled because he unintentionally kills a fellow clan member
The outcasts are required to shave their heads before they join the church
Ekwefi is the name of Okonkwo’s second wife
The Christian women are forbidden to go to the stream when the clan hears of the killing of the royal python
Okonkwo is advised not to kill Ikemefuma. He does it anyway.
The yam is king for Igbo
When the Igbo refer to the “Iron-horse",” they mean a bicycle
The polite name for leprosy among the Igbo is The White Skin
Clan members share the kola nut when gathering for social occasions
In the allegory of Tortoise, the birds give the Tortoise feathers
Enoch provokes the rage of the clan by unmasking an egwugwu
Okonkwo hangs himself
The villagers are happy when the locusts arrive because they taste good
Okonkwo fears becoming like his father
William Butler Yeats was the name of the poem that the title of “Things Fall Apart” was taken from
Okonkwo accidentally kills Ezeudu’s son at a funeral. Because of this, Okonkwo is told to leave the town for 7 years
When Okonkwo returns home and sees the new government and/or church, he destroys it
About The Author
From Nigeria
Ethnic group: Ibo