Transcript Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart
PREMISES
Customs and traditions are undone, partly b/c
of the Ibo’s cavalier attitude about the white
Christians and also due to the limited views of
the whites.
Choices, both direct and indirect play a
significant role for Okonkwo as well as the tribe.
Alienation—How does this evergreen fit in?
Things Fall Apart
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Okonkwo feels betrayed by his clan that he
views as weak and “womanly.” His son,
Nwoye, also betrays him by being weak and
converting to European Christianity.
Umoufia undergoes a transformation during
Okonkwo’s exile from war-like to “woman-like”
The African and European cultures clash
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With the arrival of the whites comes evil
Chapter 1
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How is Okonkwo characterized and what
does this suggest at this point in the
novel?
What does the contrast b/w Okonkwo and
his father suggest?
P7—Keep an eye on proverbs and draw
conclusions about what they mean and
the role they play in the MOPAW
Chapter 2
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How is Okonkwo depicted within the
dynamic of his family?
What is his primary motivation for working
as hard as he does?
(Fear of becoming the failure his father
was)
Chapter 2
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9—Culturally superstitious
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Simple or sophisticated?
12—Umuofia is feared and powerful w/in
its regional culture
13—The private okonkwo and the roots of
his behavior
14-15—Women and kids as property
suggests the simplistic nature of
dominationprimitive
PROVERBS
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1. A short popular saying, usually of
unknown and ancient origin, that
expresses effectively some commonplace
truth or useful thought; adage; saw.
2. A wise saying or precept; a didactic
sentence.
3. A person or thing that is commonly
regarded as an embodiment or
representation of some quality; byword.
Example and further explanation:
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A proverb is such a saying popularly
known and repeated, usually expressing
simply and concretely, though often
metaphorically, a truth based on common
sense or the practical experience of
humankind:
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“A stitch in time saves nine.”
“It is wise to risk no more than one can
afford to lose.”
Chapter 3
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Oknokwo meets with Nwakibe and some
other men.
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Several spoken lines are proverbs
Identify a few of these proverbs and draw
conclusions about what they suggest
Chapter 3
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Religious faith is very elaborate in Ibo life.
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Is it treated as superstition or is it treated like
a profound foundation?
How ought we view it: As primitive
nonsense or a sophisticated definition of
the world beyond the superficial?
Chapter 4
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Okonkwo beats his wife during the Week
of Peace
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Does this suggest that he disregards tradition,
that he is violent and impulsive, or that he is
self-absorbed?
Please defend a response
Chapter 4
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31—Okonkwo’s pride undermines him in
Umuofia
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How so?
32-33—Scolds the boys—this is an
outward show of male domination
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This obscures his real thoughts
Chapter 5+6
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The New Yam Fest
This appears to subvert attention from
focus on Okonkwo’s story.
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What role does this fest play in the MOPAW
What is a story within a story, a play
within a play, a tale within a tale?
Chapter 7
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Ikemefuna settles in with Okonkwo
P53-54—How is Nwoye different from
Okonkwo?
P57—Ikemefuna must be killed
P61—Okonkwo fears appearing weak
Chapter 8
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P63—How is Okonkwo affected internally?
P65—How is Okonkwo being transformed?
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Does he understand that he is undergoing a
transformation?
P69-74—Obierika arranges son’s marriage
Chapter 9
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Ekwefi’s dead spawn
P77—Again we see some sophisticated
religious beliefs
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How might we view these beliefs—as
superstitions, as sophisticated beliefs, or
primitive fantasies created by an unrefined
culture?
Chapter 10
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This chapter introduces the egwugwu
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These are tribal elders who wear masks and
dress like dead ancestors
They function as a judicial system
What are they judging and what does this
suggest about the MOPAW?
Chapter 11
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95-100—Ekwefi’s story of the Tortoise
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This is a tale within a tale
This is a folktale or a fable—a story that
suggests a lesson or a subject beyond its
surface meaning—like an allegory.
What lesson does this tale that appears
independent of the novel suggest and how
might it tie in with the novel’s themes???
Chapter 12
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110—Obierika’ daughter’s betrothal
ceremony
113—Obierika prepares for the feast
Chapter 13
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121—Ezeudu is dead—Funeral
124—Okonkwo accidentally shoots a boy
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Tradition dictates that he must go into exile
for 7 years
This is an action w/o malice that occurs
as a matter of course
Chapter 13
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Ceremonies in literature are usually
incidental scenes and they can represent
broader themes of the work beyond what
occurs in that scene
As a result of the shooting, Okonkwo must
go away
During his exile, missionaries arrive and
essentially facilitate destruction of his
culture
Chapter 13
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When Okonkwo returns and finds Umuofia
transformed into a “woman-like” culture
he says that would never have happened
if he had been there.
Can we view the random shooting as a
pivotal event that set the stage for the
destruction of his tribe, or not?
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Define positions for both perspectives
Chapter 14
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This chapter begins Part II
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Okonkwo’s Exile with his maternal kinsmen
133-35—What does Uchendu’s lesson
suggest or teach??
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Does Okonkwo internalize this lesson?
Chapter 15
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Obierika comes to visit Okonkwo in
Mbanta
He tells of white encroachment and the
murder of a white colonialist
Chapter 16
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Two years have passed and Obierika visits
again
He reveals that missionaries have set up
churches, conversion, etc.
143—the nature and extent of conversion
145—How do the Igbo treat the converts
and the missionaries??
Is it a mistake for them to approach this
new element with jest??
Chapter 16
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147—The Igbo interpret the outsiders as
though they are mad
Europeans think the natives are lost
Igbo are overtaken not b/c of error or
weakness
Chapter 16
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They are overtaken b/c imperious selfperception of Europeans who think they
are right b/c they don’t understand they
are imperious, thus they don’t see the
absurdity of their behavior.
How is their behavior absurd???
Chapter 17
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149—Gift of the Evil Forest for the
missionaries
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Clueless on both sides
152—Okonkwo beats Nwoye’s ass
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He leaves to join the Christians
Chapter 17
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152—Okonkwo doesn’t understand what
has happened
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b/c of cultural and situational myopia
What does that mean???
153—Tragedy of cultural annihilation
Chapter 18
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155—tradition of ostracization perhaps no
longer a deterrent
157—Kiaga raises doubt about Igbo ideas
158-159—How does Okonkwo continue to
see things??
161—faith in their own traditions causes
the Igbo to respond how??
Chapter 18
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161—How does their faith in their own
traditions cause the Igbo to respond??
What effect does this have??
What does it prevent??
Chapter 19
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162—What continues to frustrate
Okonkwo?
What do you think Achebe is suggesting
with the dichotomy of the feminine
motherland and Okonkwo’s idea of the
manly Umuofia???
167—fragmentation and devolvment
Chapter 20
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Part III deals with Okonkwo’s return to his
fatherland that has in his view become
weak
174—The influence of the colonialists
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What is the nature of the District
Commissioner???
176—Black denizes of Umuofia are helping
to overturn their own traditions
Chapter 20
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What allowed the colonialists to convert
the natives and destroy the cohesion of
the clan???
Chapter 21
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178—What other than religion did the
colonialists bring to Umuofia???
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181—Mr. Brown Strategizes
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What impact did this have on the natives??
What does he resolve to do??
182—How has Umuofia transformed itself
during Okonkwo’s absence??
Chapter 22
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184—Rev. Smith is Mr. B+W
188-91—The revolt against the colonialists
191, second to last para—What wisdom
does this suggest???
Chapter 23
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6 Umuofia men go to the Commission
194—How is the Commission’s view
limited??
197—What does the treatment of the 6
men suggest about the intentions of the
colonialists???
Chapter 24
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198—How are the 6 men treated upon the
payment of their fine???
200—Full nature of change
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Viewed simplistically through masculinity
203—What is the nature of the cultural
tragedy??
204-05—Why don’t the Umuofians kill all
the messengers as they would have done in
the past??
Chapter 25
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207—Okonkwo is found dead.
208—Why did Okonkwo do what he did??
“The Commissioner went away…”
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Brutal Irony
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“If you didn’t have those ideas then we
would not have these problems.”
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A line paraphrased from the German film The
Tunnel
A line spoken by a Stasi agent to a man leading
an escape from East Germany
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What does the agent not understand?
What is the inherent problem with the
agent’s thought?
How does this apply to Things Fall Apart?