Things Fall Apart Study Guide For Test

**These are the answers for your test on Thursday. Your test will be multiple choice, so each answer/question will be turned into a multiple choice question for you to answer. Please note that not every answer/ question will be on the test; however, some of the following information may be used as short answer questions for extra credit.

These answers/questions are from our study guides which I have used to guide you through the book; some of you have chosen to complete these in class as your “packet” which will be turned in on the day of the test. These questions and answers are ones that we have discussed in class, and the questions are the same that I have passed out to you in class as worksheets, and the same as those on my blog. The only difference here is that I have included the answers to these questions and some notes on chapters 4 and 5. There is nothing new in this information; we have discussed it all. I suggest you review each one and highlight important notes.

*Also, Chapters 4 and 5 of the book we discussed in class and took notes. I have included those notes in yellow; these may be where you want to spend some time, reviewing the two chapters.

PART I

1. Okonkwo differs from his father in many ways; Unoka is described in the first several chapters as a lazy, a debtor, unsuccessful, and incapable of thinking about tomorrow. He is described as tall but thin and stooped wearing a haggard and mournful look except when he played his flute-which he did it very well; From a very early age as a man, Unoka was known as a failure; he was poor, and a loafer, and could not take care of his wife and children. Okonkwo is the exact opposite of his father. In fact he does everything possible to be the opposite of his father. At a young age he began building his wealth by sharecropping and worked through several difficult years due to the weather. He also turned away from everything his father loved—compassion, love, and music. He worked so hard, from sun up to sun down, and on days he did not work, he wished he was at work. He was considered very successful by his tribe, having earned two titles already, 3 wives and 7 or 8 children. He also has the legend of himself as the greatest wrestler who threw the cat in a fight that was very fierce. As his father was afraid of blood and disliked war, Okonkwo was a man of action, a man of war; he already had five heads from wars with other tribes. On special occasions he drank from his first head. Because Okonkwo realizes that his father is a failure, he does everything in life that he can to become the opposite—a success; he is terrified that he may be perceived as his father, even though this is a clan that judges a man by what he can do, not what his fathers have done before him; in addition, as Okonkwo grew up watching his father fail, rack up the debt, being unable to feed his family, Okonkwo is unable to forget the failure his father was, and he is forever haunted by the thought that he too may become a failure like his father. Indeed hi s one passion in life is to be opposite his father and everything he does is to this purpose.

2. We will see more of how women relate to the religion of this culture as we read the book, so leave more room for this question so we can add to it when necessary. However, in the first

three chapters we learn that women are closely related to the agricultural in the land; we also learn that they have priestesses who take care of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves; in chapter 6 we meet Chielo, the female priestess of the Oracle; later, in chapter five, we learn of Ani, the earth goddess and source of all Fertility, plays a greater part in the life of the people than any other deity. She is a woman, and the ultimate judge of morality and conduct. She was in close communion with the departed fathers of the clan whose bodies had been committed to the earth.

3. The cause and nature of the conflict with the Mbaino tribe comes down to the one girl from the Igbo tribe Umuofia, who went to the market in Mbaino and was killed by Mbaino men; not sure why she was killed; The entire 9 tribes’ men meet in the market place to discuss the issue and the elders of the Igbo tribe Umuofia, huddle around and decide to follow the “usual customary “way of handling these things. This tells us that this kind of thing has happened before. That the tribe has a past and has encountered issues with killing from other tribes.

4. Okonkwo is shown as different from his culture in several ways. One he is shown to have an “inflexible will.” In addition, Okonkwo did not start out his life as most men in tribe. He did not have a barn to inherit since his father was so poor; there is one physical difference in that Okonkwo has a stammer—this affects the ways he talks to others. In the treatment of women, Okonkwo does not treat them very well; he beats his wives and treats them like property. In fact, it seems that the only reason he married them was to effectively pay a bride price so they could be “his” and show the community how prosperous he was; not because he loved them. Okonkwo does not like Nwoye because Nwoye reminds Okonkwo of his father and Nwoye also shows feminine qualities(some of these things we learn later—he likes his mother’s stories better than his fathers, he cries when he learns Ikemefuna must go away; these things are considered weak and female to Okonkwo.)

5. Okonkwo reacts to the “worst year in living memory by surviving and saying if he can survive that, he can survive anything; he puts it down to his inflexible will—this will be important later on because Okonkwo does not want to change anything. His inflexible will has indeed helped him to remain “goal” oriented; he has focused on, to the point of obsession, his goals to succeed, to be everything his father is not, to attain titles and be a member of the elders in the tribe, to have more than one wife, to be able to hold his head high because he is a man, who takes care of his own and does not shy away from “blood” like his father, in fact, he has five human heads won in wars to prove his manly character—one head would have sufficed to prove he was unlike his father, but Okonkwo reacts with the extreme—“must have more heads to show how really different I am from my father. “

6. Even though the Igbo have a priestess, a woman, who serves the Oracle of the hills and caves, Agbala, she herself has little power still. The priestess in chapter 3 is Chika, who is the one who deals with Unoka, Okonkwo’s father. She is powerful with the spirit of her god. And she is the one who tells Unoka to stop being lazy and to become a man. She is the one who tells him to go out and work like a man(15-18); this only increases the belief that Okonkwo has for his father that he is more woman than man. In a way it is confirmation of what Okonkwo has known all along and she has just justified Okonkwo’s hatred for his father and his deep need to become the exact opposite of what his father is. Chapter 6: there is a new priestess at this time called

Chielo. It is said that Cheilo is an “ordinary” person except when the “spirit of her god” comes upon her (pg 49). Chielo is, in regular life, a widow with two children. She works in the market place where she shares a common shed with Ekwefi and Ezinma; she is very fond of Ezinma. However, when the “spirit of Agbala was upon her” no one would know it was Chielo the widow. Going back to the relationship with the religion and the Igbo, it appears the women are still subjugated to the men; Agbala, a male God, rules the Priestess, as a Husband rules his wife. There is very little else for women to do with the religion; priestess to Agbala is the only role mentioned that includes women in the religion of the people. It seems that for women, their role is subjugated to the men in all areas of their life, including religion.

7. We have learned a great deal about the Igbo culture from these first three chapters. They are a society with a working justice system, a way of deciding or judging wrongs done in and to their people; they are a society that has a clear view of the roles of men and women and how each should behave. The are a culture with a history rich in traditions and rituals still observed today through this book. Indeed their history is extensive as seen through the stories, legends, myths, folktales, and fables they tell to each other; they are also a culture that prizes conversation, which is also the wise conversation and wisdom transmitted through the elders to the younger men through the use of proverbs; stories are rarely used to back up their proverbs suggesting that young men have probably heard them before or that younger men must consider the proverb and discover the meaning for themselves. This culture also has relations with other tribes in the area, all Igbo, nine including the Umuofia tribe itself. They all travel back and forth between the tribes and trade in their markets, but they also war with one another as read in some of the chapters as well. The Igbo culture also has a religious system in place and a hierarchy in place with this religion; there is the worship of gods and goddesses and ancestors; all religious practice points to agriculture which is their main source of sustaining themselves. The Igbo also consider some things “manly” and other things “womanly” indicating there is a clear distinction between the genders.

CHAPTERS FOUR AND FIVE NOTES FROM CLASS DISCUSSION AND IMPORTANT EVENTS IN CHAPTERS

8. Chapter four goes on to describe Ikemefuna’s experience at first with Nwoye’s mother and Okonkwo’s family. He is confused and concerned but he quickly gets over it and starts to become close to Nwoye’s mother, and Nwoye himself. Even Okonokwo knows that Ikemefuna is having a good effect on his son Nwoye, whom Okonkwo thinks is too feminine. In fact, Nwoye almost worships Ikemefuna because he “knows everything.”

9. Okonkwo was very fond of Ikemefuna but could never show it because showing any type of emotion openly, unless it bewas the emotion of anger, was to show weakness—something his father might do, but he would never do. But sometimes Okonkwo will allow Ikemefuna to carry his stool or goat skin rug to a meeting or friends house for a visit—which is what a son would do for his father—and in fact Ikemefuna has begun to call him father.

10. This is also the chapter that Okonkwo breaks the Week of Peace. His youngest wife, Ojiugo, has gone to get her hair done and has not arrived back in time to make his lunch. He becomes so

enraged when she get s home he beats her badly, forgetting that it was the week of peace; but, even that would not have stopped him from beating her because he says, he “was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess.” Here we see Okonkwo’s inflexible will, and his uncontrollable anger toward anything that is not done correctly, anything exactly where it should be, or anyone acting like they should.(pg 29-30).

11. Okonkwo receives a punishment for beating his wife during the Week of Peace which is the week before the planting of the new crops and the Feast of the New Yam. He is reminded that his stupidity, for beating his wife during this time period, could endanger the entire tribe and so he must make restitution. Ezeani, the priest of the Earth Goddess Ani, tells Okonkwo to pay restitution which he does, but he does not act repentant outwardly where others could see him being repentant; he only held his emotion of repentance inside where he believes they belong—he does not want to appear weak before the other men in the tribe. (pg31) This makes other people think he is being selfish, judging, haughty; they think his fortune has gone to his head, that he has no respect for the gods of the clan.

12. The elders of the clan talk about this incident with Okonkwo and beating his wife. They can only remember one or two times when this happened. They also recall how the penalty has changed for those who break the peace of the week; they recall that men who broke the peace of the week were dragged by their ankles through the village until dead; they soon realized that this punishment for “breaking the peace” also broke the peace even worse, so they changed how they handed out judgment to those who broke the peace during that special week. This is an excellent example of how the tribe shows its willingness to change with the times and accept that there were areas that needed improvement among their own laws and customs; ironically, this is something that Okonkwo does not realize or refuses to realize in his own life—he believes all things are set and should not be changed; his “inflexible will” will not allow him to change. This chapter begins to show how Okonkwo and the tribe itself are different in some very crucial ways.

13. Also apparent in this chapter is the fact that other tribes have customs that the Umuofia consider wrong and believe they should change; for example, the Obadoania tribe (a new tribe name of the 9 we will get to know) have a custom of casting a dead man who has passed away during the Week of Peace into the Evil Forest; this is considered a bad custom because they “lack understanding”—the people who die during this time will become evil spirits of the unburied dead, hungry to do the tribe harm (pg 32).

14. Note Okonkwo’s attitude towards feasts of festivals. Okonkwo is uncomfortable around the gatherings for these festivals; he had to invite all of his wives relatives but did not enjoy having them there with him. He felt like he was sitting around waiting for the festival to begin or waiting for it to be over…he says he would be much happier working on his farm. One of the reasons he could possibly not like to have a great deal of people around is his stutter; it does set him apart from others in the community, especially where conversation and ability to talk is highly prized; if he can’t get his words out just right, he then becomes violent, which could be another reason he does not like these get festivals or feasts. But he does say he likes the food(37).

15. In this chapter, Okonkwo is agitated because of the festival. He is just looking for an outlet to his anger and spots the banana tree leaves gone. He immediately asks who killed the banana tree—which is really not dead—and then begins to beat Ekwefe when she admits to taking two leaves to wrap up food for later(38). After he is done beating her, he decides to go hunting. Ekwefe unfortunately mentions something about guns not being able to shoot—meaning he could not hit anything if he tried—and he gets so angry he runs to get the gun himself and comes back to kill Ekwefe with it (38); he shoots at her and she jumps behind a wall. He runs to the wall to see if he hit her, and sees her there alive (39). He walks away and goes hunting. This shows Okonkwo’s character again to be uncompromising when dealing with issues that are small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things; his world is black or white, but can never be gray.

CHAPTER 6

16. What is the “ilo” in the village? What importance does it play for the Igbo Tribe?a. The “ilo” is the “village green” or the center of the village where the playground is—the

village playground as it were; it is important because this is where all the important ceremonies take place, all the important meetings of the tribes, and where the “old woman” with the powerful “medicine” that helps the tribe with power in warfare.

17. The song in the end is significant. Why is it important? (Think about when you first heard “the Cat” being thrown.)

a. At the end of the chapter on page 51, the song references “the cat” and they sing Okafo “has thrown four hundred Cats” in reference to the fight Okonkwo had with the “cat” in the first chapter that made him a “legend” in Umuofia and the Igbo culture. This song is a tribute to the fight Okonkwo had in chapter one, and a tribute to the “new” winner, Okafo, (51).

18. How does the relationship with Okonkwo and Ikemefuna and Nwoye all appear to change in this chapter? What are they doing together in the first several pages of this chapter?

a. In this chapter, Okonkwo notices the changes in Nwoye, who begins to “act” more manly; the narrator tells us that Nwoye “no longer spent the evenings in mother’s hut while she cooked, but now sat with Okonkwo in his obi, or watched him as he tapped his palm tree for the evening wine.” The narrator further tells us that Nwoye liked it when he was given a “manly” job to do, like chop the wood, or pound the food. But we also learn that he grumbles and “feign annoyance” about “women and their troubles,” (52). Okonkwo is “pleased” with his son’s growth into a man and so then tells both Ikemefuna and Nwoye his stories of war and bloodshed;

19. How has Nwoye changed? What does he learn about himself during his time spent with his father?

a. Nwoye, although he likes to think he is growing up and becoming a man, he also has to admit that he prefers his mother’s stories and spending time with her instead of hearing about war and killing. He also realizes, however, that because he “acts” manly, his father does not “beat” him as much, nor does he find displeasure with him as much as well. So Nwoye learns how to “feign” or fake being like a man.

20. Again we see the description of the “manly” verses “womanly” things as viewed by the Igbo tribe. What are these “manly” things? What are these “womanly” things?

a. Manly things are things like “grumbling” about having to do work for the women, like chop wood or pound food, and controlling “womenfolk” like Okonkwo says; Also, speaking of war, bloodshed and violent stories are manly as well. Womanly things are those that are weak, such as the folk tales told by women to their children to teach lessons and pass on the history of the tribe, and cooking food and serving it to the men.

21. Can you compare the arrival of these “things” to some other story you may know about? What comparison do you think Achebe is trying to make?

a. The locust are one of the seven plagues seen in the Bible; Achebe would know his readers would have read the bible, especially the “white” readers, and so he compares how the “whites” viewed locusts as “plagues” and how the Igbo tribe views them as a “delicacy” that they love to eat; Achebe also could be making reference to the fact that in the Bible, the locust are only “one” of the “seven” deadly plagues, and so foreshadowing a greater plague to come—perhaps the death of Ikemefuna.

22. What does Ogbuefi Ezeudu come to tell Okonkwo? How does Okonkwo react to this information?

a. Ogbuefi Ezeudu comes to tell Okonkwo that the Oracle of the Hills and Caves has pronounced that Ikemefuna is to be killed; he is to be taken beyond the boundries of Umuofia, “as is the custom,” and killed. He also tells Okonkwo not to have any “hand in that boy’s death. He calls you father” (pg 57). Okonkwo is surprised and was “about to say something” but he is interrupted by Ogbuefi Ezeudu, so we never get to know what Okonkwo was going to say (pg 57). It is interesting that when the elders from all the villages come to get Ikemefuna the next day, Okonkwo sits “still for a very long time supporting his chin in his palms,” before he has to tell his family and Ikemefuna what is going on. This seems to indicate that Okonkwo was deep in thought, but the narrator does not tell us exactly what Okonkwo was thinking.

23. Okonkwo then tells everyone that Ikemefuna is to be “taken home.” What is that a euphemism for? How does Nwoye react when Okonkwo tells them all the news?

a. Being “taken home” or “going home” is sometimes a euphemism for “dying” or “going to heaven.” As a Christian, Achebe was raised as one, Achebe would have known this as well. Nwoye reacts like a little boy when he hears the news; he had become quite close to Ikemefuna and so Nwoye cries when he hears the news. Okonkwo then beats Nwoye because he is acting like a woman.

24. Where is Okonkwo as the men are all walking? Why do you think he places himself there?a. Okonkwo begins the journey right behind Ikemefuna, but as they progress in their

journey, he falls back farther behind. Perhaps he places himself at the end of the line because of the words of Ogbuefi Ezeudu or perhaps because he feels he can’t be any nearer to Ikemefuna when he is killed; the narrator does not tell us why he draws back but he does give us hints that Okonkwo is uncomfortable with being close to Ikemefuna when he is killed; the narrator says that Okonkwo “looked away” and was “dazed with fear” indicating that some part of him did not want to be there. (pg 61)

25. On page 60, at this point, when Ikemefuna turns around, he becomes concerned. Why is he concerned now?

a. Ikemefuna turns around and sees that his father is no longer right behind him; in fact, he sees that his father has fallen back to the very end of the line. Now that his ‘dad’ is no longer near him, and he is surrounded by men he does not know, who carry machetes and are fierce warriors, he finds himself very afraid.

26. What does Ikemefuna say last? What does Okonkwo do when Ikemefuna speaks? Why do you think he did this?

a. Ikemefuna says, “My father, they have killed me!” When Ikemefuna speaks, Okonkwo is dazed and looks up; he then brings up his machete and kills Ikemefuna. He did not want to seem “weak” like a woman, and so Okonkwo kills Ikemefuna.

27. At the beginning of this chapter we see Okonkwo after the “death of Ikemefuna.” Apparently he was not eating anything, or had not, in two days. What is bothering him and why does he have a problem with this?

a. Apparently, Okonkwo has a problem with the death of Ikemefuna; he tries to stop thinking about it, but the more he tries to stop, the more he actually does (pg 63).

28. What does Obierika think about Nwoye that he does not tell Okonkwo? Why do you think Obierika does not say this aloud?

a. (Note: this is on page 64 when Okonkwo is discussing how he is worried about Nwoye and how he is just not turning out like he thought he would. Okonkwo is saying that Nwoye has too much of his mother in him.) Obierika thinks that Nwoye has more of his “grandfather” in him than Okonkwo; Obierika does not say this out loud because he may be afraid that Okonkwo would get angry and hit him or that Okonkwo would become upset and leave before the bride price was set. (Note: what is interesting and ironic is that just as Obierika is thinking about Nwoye having too much of his grandfather in him, Okonkwo is thinking the exact same thing, yet neither one says it out loud.)

29. Obierika and Okonkwo have a disagreement. What do they disagree about? Why do you think Obierika feels the way he does?

a. Obierika and Okonkwo have a disagreement about Okonkwo going with the other men to kill Ikemefuna; Obierika feels that Okonkwo should not have gone along to kill Ikemefuna, nor does he think that Okonkwo should have taken part in killing Ikemefuna because it was against the “earth” and this is a thing Obierika feels like would not please the “Earth” and this kind of thing is what she punishes by wiping out entire families. Okonkwo disagrees because he is just following what the Oracle has pronounced—in other words, Okonkwo feels he has simply followed the “law” of the Oracle, but Obierika feels like regardless of the law, a father killing a son is “morally” wrong and against the idea of life itself. Okonkwo also points out that if everyone felt that way, there would be no one to do the job of the Oracle and then what would the Oracle do? Okonkwo feels the Oracle, if disobeyed, would make the whole tribe suffer. Obierika makes the point that it is not that he is afraid of blood or violence, but if it were his son, he would neither dispute the Oracle nor would he be there to take part in it. (pg 67)**Okonkwo’s beliefs are being called into question here.

30. What law of tapping palm trees is discussed on pg 69? Why do you think Achebe includes this discussion?

a. We learn a great deal of information from the conversation between Obierika and Okonkwo on pages 69-70; first, Okonkwo says at the beginning, he is beginning to “feel” like his old self again, all he needed was something to occupy his mind –if it had been in the planting season when Ikemefuna had to be killed, he would be fine—see how Achebe makes sure we understand that Okonkwo is still thinking about killing “the boy”; he also says that in the absence of work, talking was next best—something he actually “hates” to do because when he becomes angry he studders and then starts punching people—so his thinking about killing Ikemefuna must be pretty bad if he thinks “talking” is the next best thing to working; in addition, we learn about the “ozo” title and in Umuafia those who have taken that title can’t tap the tall palm trees for their wine—they can only tap the trees from standing on the ground; this centers on the customs of the tribe again and what the “law of the land” has stated and must be “obeyed,” as Okonkwo says. Again, Achebe goes back to the “law” and by bringing it up is actually having the characters present the facts on whether it is correct or moral and a law that should be followed or one that needs to be changed. Obierika says “I don’t know how we got that law” showing that some customs are so old that the reasons for creating some laws have been lost somewhere along the way (remember no written records here);

31. At the end of this chapter, Achebe introduces the “white man.” How does he introduce the white man into the story?

a. He introduces it through a story about an “albino” and all the men laugh. Apparently albino are rare but they do exist.

32. How does Okonkwo act with Ezinma in this chapter? Does this show a different side to his character?

a. Okonkwo actually goes to Ezinma in her hut when she is ill and then goes out and gets all the herbs needed to make a medicine for her; while Ekwefi actually does the cooking of the medicine, Okonkwo comes back to administer the medicine to her. These actions towards Ezinma actually show us how much Okonkwo cares about her. Perhaps this is because her spirit is very “manly” and he says “she should have been a boy” that he does this, but by allowing us to see this softer side of Okonkwo Achebe shows us the fullness of Okonkwo as a character to help us, the readers, see that perhaps he has been too harshly judged by earlier actions. (Or maybe not; while it is true he is caring in this portion of the book, we still can’t forget his actions earlier either; however, we can say that perhaps Achebe is giving us a dynamic character, one with more than one personality trait)

33. How does this chapter clarify the conversation between Chielo and Ekwefi in Chapter six?a. We understand now what is meant by the words of Chielo to Ekwefi –about “staying.”

Also, we understand better the relationship between Ekwefi and Ezinma, and to some extent, Ezinma and Okonkwo as well.

34. Why would the women be afraid of the masked men?

a. They represent the justice of the spirits of the clan. 35. Who are the two groups that come before the nine masked men? What do they want?

a. One group is a man with his father and one brother; the other group is a woman with her two brothers. Apparently the one man was beating the woman who is his wife. He wants to have his brideprice returned because he already paid for her to be his wife; the brothers of the woman, who was this man’s wife, took her back because he continually beat her. At one point he beat her while she was pregnant and she miscarried (lost the baby). The brothers said they would not put up with their sister being beaten.

36. In the end of the chapter, two men are talking. One says to the other, “I do not know why such a trifle should come before the “egwugwu”.” What does the other man reply? What does this tell us about this group the “egwugwu”?

a. This is included to show us that usually matters of marital strife are solved between the families or between the husband and the wife—that is why the men comment the way they do. This also lets us know that the “egwugwu” or “jury” is usually only consulted in matters that cannot be solved in other ways, and almost always are more serious than a “woman being beaten.” Perhaps this tells us that women being beaten is not that uncommon and the fact that the brothers interfere is an unusual situation.

37. Does the story (the tortoise) have any significance to Okonkwo or his family? Why does Achebe include it?

a. Okonkwo is expecting to have “more” in life than his father—he wants to be better than his father who had nothing and so goes to extremes; the other reason it could be included would be to have the tortoise shell represent or symbolize the “falling” apart of Okonkwo’s life or tribal society.

38. No one knows what Okonkwo did the night that Chielo takes Ezinma. What is it that he did? Why did he do this?

a. He travels back and forth, four times, from his compound to the cave where Agbala lives, waiting for the Priestess and Ezinma to appear at the cave. He did not want to “show” that he “cared” because he considered that a “weakness.” Outwardly, we now get the impression that he portrays a tough outer exterior that is “manly” and “strong” but that inside he feels something else but is afraid to show it because others might think less of him and appearances and how others think of him is everything.

39. On pg 114, what does it say is the reason for the penalty or fine for the cow “getting loose”?a. The reason for a “penalty or fine” for a cow getting loose is because this is an

agricultural society; cows eat things that grow and if a cow gets loose and eats someone’s garden, then that person lose money and food, which is a dangerous prospect for someone who lives off of the ground and nature’s good will.

40. Why do you think Achebe includes this chapter in the book? (wedding ceremony)a. We see the “tradition” of a wedding first hand; the ceremony shows us how they

celebrate a wedding as a clan. In addition it represents symbolically the “new beginning” or a “new life” of the two people who marry.

41. Why does finding out who is dead send a “shiver” down Okonkwo’s back?

a. Okonkwo remembers the last words this man spoke to him –don’t have a hand in this boy’s death, he calls you father. But Okonkwo did have a hand in Ikemeuna’s death. Perhaps Achebe is foreshadowing something bad coming for Okonkwo because he did not heed the words of this man.

42. What happens during the funeral? Whose fault is it?a. The man who died, his 16 year old son is hit with iron from the gun of Okonkwo when it

explodes.b. Although it is Okonkwo’s fault, it is an accident, because he did not mean to hurt the

boy with the iron. He did not do it on purpose. 43. Right before the event in the question above occurs, what does the “one-handed spirit” say to

the dead man’s body? How is this significant?a. The one handed spirit stands over the body and says, “If your death was a death of

nature, go in peace. But if a man caused it, do not allow him a moment’s rest.” (pg 123). b. Okonkwo was the last person this person, Ezeudu, had spoken to before his death.

Ezeudu tells Okonkwo, don’t kill Ikemefuna, that boy calls you father—and it is the law that we can’t kill a clansman! That is way the goddess is mad at Okonkwo—he killed a “clansman” an adopted clansman.

44. How does the “female” / “male” issue come up again?a. “Female” crime is one that is an accident; a “male” crime is one that is done on purpose.

Okonkwo’s crime is female and so he is only exiled for seven years, he is not kicked out of the tribe for good.

PART II

45. Where does Okonkwo and his family go after they have been exiled from Umuofia?a. To his Mother’s land, the tribe (clan) of Mbanta

46. How does he explain the phrase “Mother is Supreme?”a. Uchendu explains that when everything is going fine we are happy with living with our

father, but when we are in trouble with a father, and we are punished, we run to our mothers to receive comfort; mothers are the ones who comfort us in our sorrow, help to heal our pain, are there for us when we need them; that is why “mother is supreme” and why Okonkwo’s mother is returned to her Motherland when she died—so she is buried with her “mother”.

47. How does Uchendu explain to Okonkwo the situation he is in? (pg 134-135)a. Uchendu explains to Okonkwo that yes the situation is bad, but you are acting very

sorrowful when you go about your life; he reminds Okonkwo that he is not the only one that has been through bad times; he tells him of the 22 children who he has buried and reminds Okonkwo that suffering does not help one get on with life. Uchendu wants the young generation and Okonkwo to remember what he has said because he “worries” for the tribe. This is a sense of foreshadowing as well.

48. What does Obierika tell him about the village of Abame?

a. He tells Okonkwo that the village of Abame is no more; that the strange “white man” came to the village of Abame on a “iron horse” and the men of the village killed him because they did not understand the words he spoke; then later, more white men came and on a market day, they slaughtered the people in the village and only those who were at home that day escaped with their lives.

49. How does Achebe make fun of the “white man” in this chapter?a. Pg 139: “He seemed to speak through his nose.” Achebe makes fun of white men and

their speech—very cleverly, not outright disrespect, but subtle, through dialogue reveals the strange ways of the white man and how silly or absurd they seem to be.

50. Who is Obierika surpised to see among the missionaries in Umuofia?a. He sees Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son among the missionaries. (pg 143)

51. How is Achebe making fun of white people in this chapter?a. The translation is not what the missionary wants to say exactly; he wants to say “myself”

and instead the translation (from the tribal convert translator) comes out as “my buttocks.”

b. In addition, the tribe sees the “white man” as contradictory and ignorant when explaining the Holy Trinity, for how can God have a son if he has no wife?

52. Why do the village elders give them this land?a. They reason the elders give the missionaries this land is that they know the “evil” forest

will take care of the missionary problem; the elders fully expect that the evil in the forest will kill the missionaries in four days (pg 149). When they do not die within four days, everyone is puzzled, but they feel that the head missonary had unbelievable power—contained within his “eyeglasses”. However; they know their gods are patient, but still none of them would be patient past 28 days, so the tribe waits for the gods to take care of the missionaries. (pg 149-150)

53. What stories reach Okonkwo about the church who brought religion? What else did they bring?a. The stories tell of the central place set up in Umuofia for religion and they also brought

a government with laws to protect the followers of the new religion. (pg 155)54. Why could the people of Mbanto not just kill the kinsmen who join up with their tribe?

a. It is a crime in the tribe of the Igbo to kill a kinsmen or another clan member; so even though the members of their tribe had converted to christianity, the tribe could not kill a kinsmen because they were still a part of the clan. (pg155)

55. On pg 158, Okonkwo says something that may foreshadow the ending of the book. What is it?a. Okonkwo says “that until the abominable gang was chased out of the village with whips

there would be no peace.”56. How do the people of Mbanta solve the issue with the killing of the python? Why do they solve

the issue that way?a. They do not attack the man who killed the python; they “ostracize the men [the

Christians]”b. The people of Mbanta decide to let the “gods” fight their own fight; one of the men of

Mbanta says “ it is not our custom to fight for our gods….the matter lies between him

and the god. We did not see it. If we put ourselves between the god and his victim we may receive the blows intended for the offender.” (pg 158)

57. How does Okonkwo feel about this issue and how it is solved?a. Okonkwo thinks this tribe, the Mbanta, are a “womanly” clan. He thinks that this would

not happen in his fatherland, Umuofia. Instead of ostracizing the Christians, Okonkwo wants to go and crack their skulls and beat them out of the village. He is not at all happy with the way the men of Mbanta solved the issue.

58. This is the last year for Okonkwo in exile; what does he say of his time spent there? What does he say his time would have been like in Umoufia?

a. Okonkwo says that the seven years he has spent in exile have been “wasted” years. Even though he was prosperous in Mbanta, he had done so without passion because he was cut off from his fatherland and from his tribe, where he was known and respected. To Okonkwo, the exile was the worst of punishments because his ego has no one in Mbanta to show off to.

b. In his arrogance, Okonkwo thinks that if he had been in Umuofia, he would have prospered even more. He thinks that in the seven years that was wasted in Mbanta, if he had been in Umuofia, he would have climbed to the utmost heights in his clan—in title , and in power. (pg 162)

59. What does the oldest member of the family say to all the young generation gathered at the feast?

a. (pg 166-167) The oldest member of the extended family (umunna), stands and says he is worried for the younger generation; he says the younger generation does not know the strength, the bond of kinship. He says they do not know what it is to “speak with one voice.” He is worried that because they do not understand the ways of the clan, the laws, the customs, the traditions, that they will turn away from the clan and listen not to the voice of the clan, the one voice, but instead their own voices. He sees this already because the “abominable religion” that has settled in his tribe and how it has taken sons from fathers, and how sons can curse the gods of his father and ancestors. He tells all that he “fears for the clan.”

b. This is probably one of the most important speeches in the book. It represents the foreshadowing of the end of the clan, the breaking up of the clan over the “abominable” religion that has come into its mist and turned them against one another, like the “hunter’s dog that suddenly goes mad and turns on his master;” the sons and daughters who have left the clan for the new religion, we will soon see, have become the mad dog, turning on their families and clan, all in the name of Christianity.

PART III

60. What did the White man bring with them besides religion?a. (pg 174) The white man also brought a “government” where cases were heard and

judged by a District Commissioner; court messengers also were a part of the village now. They guarded the prison where the tribal men were held if they had broken the “white

man” laws, not tribal laws. For example, some prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had attacked Christians.

61. Why does Obierika say the white man is “very clever”? What has the white man done to divide the tribe?

a. (pg 176) Obierika says the white man is “very clever” because he “came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused with his foolishness and allowed him to stay.” Now, Obierika realizes it is too late to go backwards in time and fix their mistake; he understands that things change and they must move forward with this new world, but he does not know how.

b. (pg 175) Obierika says that the white man has divided the tribe; the white man has done this by winning “our brothers” to Christianity, so the tribe can no longer act as “one.” He further explains that the white man has put a “knife on the things that held us together [ religion, customs, traditions, laws, etc] and we have fallen apart.” The knife has cut the tribe in half because some are Christian now, some are still Igbo and worship the old ways. These things that held the tribe together have been “cut” by the white man, through the new religion and its questioning of the tribal laws, tribal religion, tribal customs and traditions. Through this questioning, the Igbo people come to question their own history and some start to believe the words of the white man, instead of adhering to their tribal ways.

62. Where in this chapter is the Title of the book referred to? How is it used?a. (pg 175) Obierika uses the title of the book at the bottom of this page. He uses it in his

speech to Okonkwo when he is explaining it is too late to do anything about the white man, they are too far involved in the clan and all its ways.

63. Why did some of the villagers, the clan, welcome the white man in the village?a. (pg 178) “The white man had indeed brought a lunatic religion, but he had also built a

trading store and for the first time palm-oil and kernel became things of great price, and much money flowed into Umoufia.”

a. For the first time, people in Umoufia were able to make money for things that they could get for free; this in turn allowed them to purchase things from the trading store that they had never had before. Not that they needed anything the trading store had to offer—they had lived very comfortably before the white men showed up with the trading stores. But, people are the same everywhere. Where there is money, people want it. And the tribe members become use to this money they are getting.

64. How did this conversation help Mr. Brown in expanding his church?a. (pg 181 Mr. Brown expands his church by creating a school and a hospital and persuades

the leaders of the tribes that the next generation of leaders will be those men who can read and write. He tells the great men of the tribe that if Umuofia does not send their children to school to learn to read and write, then others will come to rule over them.

b. This is ironic because even though none of the children speak English now, or write English now, the white man has come in to rule over them anyway.

65. What “great conflict” does Enoch spark between the tribe and the new church? What does he do that is the “greatest crime a man could commit”?

a. (pg 186) Enoch decided that during the annual ceremony which honored the earth diety, he would unmask a egwugwu, or ancestral spirit, one of the fathers of the nine tribes. He did unmask one after he provoked them by telling each one they would not dare to touch a Christian; the egwugwu each came back and touched him, where Enoch then fell upon one and tore the mask off of his face.

66. How do the remaining egwugwu of Umuofia respond to Enoch’s crime? a. (pg 186—191) They are very angry and at first they protect their fallen spirit by

surrounding him and not letting others see his face, because he is a spirit, a holy thing, and for women or children to see his face would be to profane his spirit. Then they gathered together, ALL of the masked egwugwu of all the tribes, and they go to Enoch’s compound and destroy it; then they head to the church to burn it down. They don’t hurt Rev. Smith because they only want to get rid of the church which has bred abominations in the clan.

67. Why does the interpreter for the new pastor NOT interpret what he says exactly? Why does he change the words the new pastor says?

a. (pg 190-191) IF the interpretor had interpreted what was said word for word, Rev. Smith would probably be dead. The interpretor knows how the tribe thinks and acts and for Smith to insult them so would have been much greater than Enoch having unmasked the egwugwu.

68. What does the District Commissioner say the motive of the British in colonizing the Africans?a. (pg 194) he says the reason they have brought the government to Africa is to make the

tribes “happy” to protect them if someone does them wrong.69. When one of the great orators of Umoufia starts speaking to the crowd; what does he say has to

be done, regardless of some of their laws?a. Okeke starts to talk to the tribe and tell them that they have to root out the evil, the

people who have come to their land, even if it means that they kill their brothers who have turned away from the tribe and converted, then it must be done, even though it is against their laws; otherwise they will never be rid of the abomination that is the white man and their religion and their government.

70. Why does Okonkwo kill the messenger?a. He is angry and filled with hate; he has been listening to Okeke talk about rooting out

the abomination and everyone is in agreement; Okonkwo is ready to stop the talk and take some action. He can hear Okeke talk but does not understand what he is saying because he sees the white kotma coming around the corner; he goes and confronts them, but he is so antry that he does not want to say anything so he stands there. Once the man breaks the silence and gives Okonkwo an order to let him pass, and tells the tribe that they must break up the meeting, Okonkwo must have snapped. Perhaps he was thinking since everyone was agreeing that the abomination had to be rooted out, they were also ready to fight, so they kill the white man now; if he kills first, perhaps the others will spring into action and help to kill the other messenger; but this is not what happens.

b. Instead, after Okonkwo kills the man, the Igbo scatter in fear and uncertainty. Okonkwo knows now that his clan, the warrior clan, can never return to the way it use to be. It is now a soft, womanly tribe, cowardly. So he turns and leaves the body and the scared kinsmen who are running around in turmoil wondering what has been done and what to do next. Okonkwo must finally realize that they are all talk and no action. There is no turning back from change. He will never be a great warrior again, one of the highest in his clan. He is a failure, just like his father.

71. Why do the other clans members need strangers to take down Okonkwo’s body?a. Because Okonkwo has killed himself, and it is a suicide, and it is against their custom to

take down a body of a person who has killed themselves. 72. Why do you think Okonkwo killed himself?

a. He knew the tribe would never be what it was; change was never going away and he could not deal with the changes his tribe had gone through; he wanted a warrior tribe, not a cowardly one. He knew they would never change back and so there was nothing he could do.

b. Other answers could apply; this is an opinion question, but you must be able to support your answer with facts/ or quotes from the book.

73. Look at the Last paragraph in the book: explain the meaning of the name the British soldier decides on for the title of his book.

a. The book title the British soldier decides on for his book is ironic. The title is The Pacification of the Tribes of the Lower Niger; what is ironic is that they did not bring pacification, they led the tribes to violence because the white man took away the tribal laws and customs that the tribes had followed.

b. It is also ironic that the man mentions that he might include the story of the man who killed himself in the book, but only as a chapter, or perhaps a paragraph at best—this is ironic because here we have the whole book Things Fall Apart on Okonkwo, one man and his life and trials, and yet this ignorant white man things the only thing worthy of him to discuss is his demise; this truly shows how very ill-prepared the British were and how arrogant and ignorant they were when they began colonization in Africa.

c. These instances of irony show the ignorance of the white man towards the tribes and their customs, religion, traditions, and civilizations; the white man considered themselves superior and they were not going to accept that a tribe that could not read or write could in any way be civilized.