Things Fall Apart Test Notes

^^Intro to Achebe and Igbo^^

  • Where did Achebe grow up?: Nigeria
  • What is he known as?: the father of African Literature
  • Nigeria is a country in ____: West Africa
  • Why did the British colonize Nigeria?: for natural resources and they economically exploited them
  • Where does the story take place?: Igbo territory
  • The Igbo are ___: a group of people that share a common cultural background
  • What kind of schools did Achebe go to in Africa?: schools modeled after British public schools

^^Intro to TFA and Impact^^

  • When does the story take place?: Nigeria late 1800s
  • When was it written?: 1958 as the colonial system was falling apart
  • Importance of the book?: prior to it, most novels written in English about Africa and Africans were written by Europeans
  • What perspective did Achebe write this book?: perspective of the colonized, not the colonizer
  • Where does the title come from? The Second Coming

^^Characters^^

  1. Okonkwo: main character. Husband of three wives and father of eight children
  2. Ezeudu: He is one of the elders of Umuofia. He advises Okonkwo not to kill Ikemefuna. During his death ceremony, Okonkwo mistakenly kills his youngest son.
  3. Kotma: They are the court messengers. They are black people from Umuru. They are rude to the Igbo people. They work for the District Commissioner.
  4. Chielo: She is the priestess of Agbala and a close friend of Ekwefi. She is a widow with two children.
  5. Unoka: He is Okonkwo's father. He is lazy and careless. He borrows money from people but never returns it. He is buried in the Evil Forest.
  6. Okoye: He is Unoka's friend. He comes to Unoka to ask for the money he lent him But Unoka says he will repay him later.
  7. Ojiugo: She is the youngest of Okonkwo's wives. She gets beatings in the Week of Peace or the Sacred Week.
  8. Ezinma: She is Ekwefi's daughter. She is the only one out of ten children who survives. Okonkwo likes her the most. She calls her mother by name. She grows up into a beautiful woman.
  9. Nneka: She had four preganancies and delivered four sets of twins who were thrown into the Evil Forest. She was the first woman Christian convert.
    1. Obierka: He is Okonkwo's close friend. He doesn't like his killing of Ikemefuna. He helps Okonkwo when he is in trouble. His son wins the boys' wrestling match.
    2. Ikemefuna: He is from Mbaino. He lives in Okonkwo's house for three years. He is a close friend of Nwoye. Okonkwo and the village elders kill him outside Umuofia.
    3. Egwugwu: They are the village elders who wear and deal with justice.
    4. Evil Forest: He is the leader of the egwugwu. He has smoke coming out of his head. Everyone is afraid of him.
    5. Uchendu: He is Okonkwo's uncle. He helps Okonkwo by providing him land for farming and for building huts. His sons also give him yam seeds to start his farm.
    6. Enoch: He is one of the Christian converts. He unmasks an egwugwu due to which there is a lot of confusion in Umuofia. As a result, the egwugwu burn down the church in Umuofia.
    7. Nwoye’s mother: She is Okonkwo's first wife. She is a flat character who never changes.
    8. Ekwefi: She was a very beautiful woman. She loved Okonkwo in her days of youth. She ran away from her husband and went to Okonkwo and married him. Second wife. She loves wrestling.
    9. Obiageli: She is Nwoye's sister. She grows up into a beautiful woman. She listens to her half-sister Ezinma.
    10. Nkechi: She is the daughter of Okonkwo and Ojiugo.
    11. Maduka: He is the son of Obierika. He wins the boys' wrestling match.
    12. Amalinze: He was called the Cat because his back never touched the ground. Okonkwo overthrew him at the age of eighteen.
    13. Mr. Brown: He is a white man who comes as a missionary to speak about Christianity. He is kind and respects everyone. He is also liked by everyone. Towards the end, he has to leave due to his bad health.
    14. Osu: They are the outcasts in Igbo culture. They are supposed to have long hair. Many of them later convert to Christianity.
    15. Reverend Smith: He comes as a missionary after Mr. Brown. He is a white man who is very strict with people. He does not like black people or their culture.
    16. District Commisioner: He respects the village elders. At the same time, he tries to point out their mistakes to them. When Okonkwo kills the chief messenger, he comes to take Okonkwo to jail. But he sees that Okonkwo has hanged himself. He plans to write a book about Igbo people and wants to include information about Okonkwo.
    17. Nwoye: He is Okonkwo's elder son. He is a quiet boy who is considered lazy like Unoka. He is very sad when Ikemefuna dies. Later, he becomes a Christian and changes his name to Isaac. He is a round character.
    18. Mr. Kiaga: He is an Igbo missionary who comes to speak about Christianity. He likes Nwoye very much.
    19. Oracle: someone who predicts the future. In this case he is called the Oracle of the Hills and Caves, and he is a god to whom people come to seek knowledge. People go when they encounter misfortune, have disputes with neighbors, or need to consult with a deceased ancestor. To get there they crawl into a small cave and consult with a priestess who accesses the Oracle.
    20. Priestess: a woman who can access the Oracle and the one people actually speak with when they go to see the Oracle.

^^Locations^^

  1. Umuofia: Okonkwo’s village
  2. Mbaino: Ikemefuna’s home village
  3. Mbanta: Okonkwo’s motherland
  4. Abame: local village that is destroyed

Glossary of Ibo Words and Phrases

  • agbala: woman; also used of a man who has taken no title
  • chi: personal god
  • efulefu: worthless man
  • egwugwu: a masquerader who impersonates one of the ancestral spirits of the village
  • ekwe: a musical instrument; a type of drum made from wood
  • iba: fever
  • ilo: the village green, where assemblies for sports, discussions, etc., take place
  • iyi-uwa: a special kind of stone which forms the link between an ogbanje and the spirit world. Only if the iyi-uwa were discovered and destroyed would the child not die
  • kotma: court messenger. The word is not of Ibo origin but is a corruption of court messenger
  • kwenu: a shout of approval and greeting
  • nna ayi: our father
  • nso-ani: a religious offence of a kind abhorred by everyone, literally earth’s taboo
  • obi: the large living quarters of the head of the family
  • ochu: murder or manslaughter
  • ogbanje: a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn. It is almost impossible to bring up an ogbanje child without it dying, unless its iyi-uwa is first found and destroyed
  • ogene: a musical instrument; a kind of gong
  • osu: outcast. Having been dedicated to a god, the osu was taboo and was not allowed to mix with the freeborn in any way
  • ozo: the name of one of the the titles or ranks
  • udu: a musical instrument; a type of drum made from pottery
  • umuada: a family gathering of daughters, for which the female kinsfolk return to their village of origin
  • umunma: a wide group of kinsmen
  • Uri: part of the betrothal ceremony when the dowry is paid

Reading Checks

Chapters 1-3
  • Which of these inferences about Okonkwo is best supported by the opening paragraph of the novel?: Okonkwo is a self-made man because his fame is a result of his individual accomplishments
  • Which of the following best explains the role of wrestling in the village?: It is a tradition through which men gain fame and prove themselves
  • What is most likely Unoka’s intent when he tells Okonkwo not to despair, and distinguishes between general failure and failing alone? (pg 24-25): to console Okonkwo about his bad crops, and caustin him about future failures
  • What inference about Okonkwo is best supported by Achebe’s descriptions of his temper and fear?: Okonkwo is insecure deep down
Chapters 4-6
  • What about the Week of Peace is supported by Ojiugo’s beating by Okonkwo?: violence is uncommon during the Week of Peace
  • What is the role of drumming within the village?: drums are used ceremonially, during wrestling matches, funerals, etc.
  • How can Ikemefuna be decribed after being taken away from his family?: he is resilient and able to adjust to new situations
Chapters 5-7
  • How does Okonkwo win Ekwefi's heart when they are young?: by beating the Cat in a wrestling match
  • A shadow descends on Umofia. What is it?: a large swarm of locusts
  • On what character does Ikemefuna have a positive effect?: Nwoye
  • What are Ikemefuna's last words?: "My father, they have killed me."
  • What happens to twins?: They are placed in the forest to die
  • Why does Okonkwo shoot at Ekwefi?: because she takes leaves off a banana tree
  • What does Obiageli break?: a water pot
  • What is Chielo's role in the village?: she is the priestess of Agbala
Chapters 10-13
  • Why did Okonkwo feel so tired and sleepy the day after Chielo takes Ezinma?: he tries to hide it, but he is capable of feeling deep love and fear
  • What does the breaking of the kola nut mainly represent?: respect and hospitality
  • How does the author show that Ezinma is special and unique?: Chielo announces that the Oracle wants to see Ezinma, and takes her on a long, nighttime journey
  • When Obierka is reflecting/mourning after Okonkwo is banished, what does this show as a theme?: Obierka feels conflicted about some of the village’s customs
Chapters 14-22

  • What is one of the most common names given to children?: mother is supreme

  • What character is most struck by the teachings of the missionaries?: Nwoye

  • What land is given to missionaries in Mbanta?: the evil forest

  • According the villagers, what could white men see with their glasses?: evil spirits

  • Why is the family of Nneka, the pregnant woman, not too upset when she converts?: she always bore twins

  • What is Okonkwo’s nickname?: the roaring flame

  • What do Okonkwo’s cousins give him?: 300 seed yams

  • What are the “nuts of the water of heaven?”: rain

  • What does Obierka bring Okonkwo?: bags full of cowries

  • What do the people of Abame do with the white man’s iron horse?: they tie it to the sacred tree

  • Who says that the Abame were fools who had been warned of danger and should have armed themselves?: Okonkwo

  • Who says the Abame were fools becauase you should never kill a man who says nothing?: Uchendu

  • The Christian congregation in Mbanta consists of all of the following: osu, rescued twins, efulefu

  • When Okoli kills the sacred python, how to the MBanta decide to deal with this transgression?: They ostracize the Christian converts; they deny them access to the stream and the quarry

  • The Mbanta elder says he fears for the next generation because they do not understand the importance of what?: kinship

  • Identify the speaker. “How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us?”: Obierka

  • Does Mr. Brown support the colonial government in Umuofia?: yes

  • Does Mr. Brown forge a relationship with a respected man named Akunna?: yes

  • What biblical name does Nwoye take when he converts?: Isaac

  • Who is Enoch?: a convert who unmasked an egwugu and killed him

  • Why did Ikemefuma come to Umuofia? And why is it interesting?: His father was the one who murdered a woman of Umuofia. It’s ironic and interesting because the village’s customs aren’t supposed to judge someone based on their father’s doings, but Ikemefuna has to here.

  • Why does Okonkwo accept Ikemefuna as a son?: he’s not as idle as Nwoye, so he grows a soft spot for him and believes he’s a good influence on Nwoye

  • What is the significance of the flashback to Okonkwo’s first harvest?: he justifies that if he made it through that rough year then he can make it through anything (follow the rest of the story you’ll see how ironic this is)

  • How did the village react when Okonkwo called a man a woman at the meeting? (Another flashback)? : everybody took the insulted man’s side. This shows how they frown upon Okonkwo’s behavior and only respect him for his accomplishments

  • Why does Okonkwo seem like such a strange character?: He is very different on both sides he shows. There is the side that he feels and then how he acts. It’s the difference between what he inwardly feels and what he outwardly does and that’s why it’s hard to understand the things he does based on what he feels

  • What is an example of Okonkwo inwardly feeling something different from what he outwardly does?: When Okonkwo threatened Nwoye and Ikemefuna to understand the practice of seed yams even though he knew they were still too young to fully know. He was hard becuase he had a fear of him or them turning into his father.

  • What is identified as the violation of the week of peace?: During the Week of Peace, one of Okonkwo’s wives doesn’t make him dinner and is late home so he beats her even though there isn’t supposed to be any violence a week before planting season.

  • Who was Ani?: a god associated with fertility. The Yam festival is to celebrate her. She’s also the judge of morality and conduct

  • What is the Feast of the New Yam?: used to celebrate Ani and many families come from out of town every year before the harvest vegan and celebrate for a few days.

  • What does the wrestling match description show?: it shows a sense a community and the humanity of the members of the tribe. it also paints a pciture of what life is like in umoufia

  • Why didn’t Okonkwo stay home when Ikemefuna was to be killed?: He didn’t want to seem weak

  • What crises does the church face in its early days?: One of the Osu kills a sacred python snake and the church plans to go burn the gods’ shrines

Gender roles

  • gender roles lots of patriarchy

    • men are respobsible for providing for family and they farm yams and they are the head of household
    • women do cooking and cleaning typically
    • This matter is very complicated
    • Ex The Oracle is a male deity but can only be accessed through a female priestess
    • Ex Ani because they have to beg a female deity for yams which stood for manliness

  • Gender roles Nwoye’s preferene for his stories. As he is learning what it is to be a man by his father he finds himself still wanting the stories his mother told and those ways. He does realize that there is peace between him and his father as he starts to act like “a man” even if he is feigning interest in the “manliness”

  • Wedding How is it similar and different to our culture?

    • Everyone is invited to a party/feast
    • The narrator tells ius that this party is mostly about the bride and mother
    • people bring gifts but they are actually for the mother of the bride who cooks for the entire village
    • bride’s faily provides the meal but the groom’s family contributes the palm wine
    • people get dressed up
    • Obierka gives a toast but to the men for the “retired women”
    • the bride performs a dance but not a first dance bc by herself

How does Achebe overturn European depictions of the Ibo as savages?

  • they have families
  • they speak English
  • they have rules, culture, and hierarchies
  • they are big about hospitality
  • proverbs suggest that people learn from the past and value wisdom

Cultural Values

  • They value accomplishment over age and/or family legacy: seen with difference between Okonkwo and his father
  • They value the ability to provide for a family: this is seen with the mention of a barn full of yams and having multiple wives
  • They value physical strength: seen with Okonkwo’s fame as a wrestler
  • They value fighting in wars/being a warrior: seen with Okonkwo’s fame fighting in inter-tribal wars
  • They value the art of communication in the form of proverbs
  • They do not value debt: seen when Unoka dies with debt and how he was regarded because of the pileup