Things Fall Apart | thewallsofenglish

In the Words of Chinua Achebe

"The last four or five hundred years of European contact with Africa produced a body of literature that presented Africa in a very bad light and Africans in very lurid terms. The reason for this had to do with the need to justify the slave trade and slavery. ... This continued until the Africans themselves, in the middle of the twentieth century, took into their own hands the telling of their story" (Chinua Achebe, "An African Voice",The Atlantic).

"I believe in the complexity of the human story, and that there’s no way you can tell that story in one way and say, ‘this is it.’ Always there will be someone who can tell it differently depending on where they are standing … this is the way I think the world’s stories should be told: from many different perspectives” (“Chinua Achebe: The Art of Fiction CXXXVIV,” interviewed by Jerome Brooks in The Paris Review, Issue #133: Winter 1994-5).

Things Fall Apart interposes Western linguistic forms and literary traditions with Igbo words and phrases, proverbs, fables, tales, and other elements of African oral and communal storytelling traditions in order to record and preserve African oral traditions as well as to subvert the colonialist language and culture. After situating the novel in its historical and literary context, students will identify the text’s linguistic and literary techniques and analyze the relationship of oral elements to the meanings and messages of the novel.

One of the most prominent literary devices used in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart is the proverb. Beginning with “He who brings kola brings life‚” on page three, Achebe reveals and explains the culture of the African Ibo through the use of proverbs. His technique is an effective tool because the reader is allowed to see the culture as the Africans live it; the reader needs no further explanation or clarification in the process.

As we read, keep a chart of the proverbs. At the end of the novel, you will locate twelve effective proverbs used in furthering the message of the novel or its thematic concepts. Complete your chart of proverbs by providing the page number of the proverb, your interpretation of its meaning, and why it is effective in the novel.

"He who brings the kola brings life" (3). A man should welcome others into his home is he is to be healthy and successful. The kola is associated with a sense of community and belonging among the men and the tribe.

Articles and Information of Interest:

Ngozi Adichie (1009) discusses the importance of not allowing one story to construct your understanding of the world. At the end of our journey, I want you to consider whether the novel addresses the concerns that Adichie raises.

How effective is Things Fall Apart as a counter-narrative to African stereotypes?
Does Achebe succeed at dismantling the stereotypes associated with Africans and African culture?

Let's Make Connections:

Before you begin reading the novel, read "The Scramble for Africa" by Mike Kubic (2016). You need to be aware of the historical framework that underpins the novel's narrative. Look into 19th century European imperialism and start gathering information on your wiki. Consider the impact European colonization has on the continent of Africa. What are the cultural implications of colonialism? Let's also listen to Cacee Hoyer discuss how the 1885 Berlin Conference changed European colonialism on the continent of Africa.

After reading chapter 2: Read "Invictus" (1875) by William E Henley. The speaker in this poem reflects on his struggles and how he faces adversity. Compare and contrast the opinion of the speaker in the poem to Okonkwo. What do you know about Okonkwo's fame, wealth, and family relationships?

After reading chapter 4: Read "If" (1910) by Rudyard Kipling. The poem centers on the advice that a father gives his son on how to become a man. Think of how Okonkwo reprimand Nwoye and Ikemefuna. Compare and contrast the advice given by the father in Kipling's poem with the parenting style of Okonkwo. What parts of the poem would Okonkwo reject, and what parts would he agree with?

After reading chapter 9: Read the "The Faith Cure Man" (1900) by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Compare and contrast the way Ekwefi responded to the medicine man with the trust that Martha Benson places in the faith curist in Dunbar's short story. How do the two women rely on their faith and their trust of others? How do the two women deal with adversity? Can the outcome of the two mothers' trust have an impact on their faith?

After reading chapter 10: Read "American Justice in the Supreme Court" (2016) by Jessica McBirney. This text discusses the workings of the Supreme Court. Compare and contrast the American justice system to the way justice is administered in Achebe's novel. What point is Achebe making?

After reading chapter 13: Read "The Code of Hammurabi" (1772 BC) and discuss what makes a punishment fair and unfair, and what the purpose of a law is. Does Okonkwo deserve to be exiled in keeping with law and tradition within his community? When do laws need to be revised and changed? Are there any laws that you can think of that you feel need to be revised or changed?

After reading chapter 16: Read "The White Man's Burden" (1899) by Rudyard Kipling about America's imperative to colonize and rule the Philippine Islands. How does the missionary's attitude in TFA compare with that of the speaker this poem? How do they both view non-white peoples? What set of assumptions do the missionary and the speaker to the poem make? How does Achebe seek to challenge these assumptions through the village people and their response to the missionaries? Then, let's read "The Black Man's Burden" (1899) bu Rev. HT Johnson. What assumptions do the village people make about the missionaries?

After reading chapter 21: Read "Manifest Destiny, I Do Believe" and compare Mr. Brown's motivations for coming to Umuofia with Cordelia's sense that it is her duty to God to travel west. How does each character make assumptions about their God-given "duties"? How does each use God for justification? How does Achebe use the characters in the novel to present a counter culture and civilization in opposition to the sens of duty that Brown and Cordelia promote?

At the end of the novel: Let's look at "The Second Coming" (1919) by William Butler Yeats again. Consider the themes in our novel and contrast them with the themes in this poem. Consider how both works examine how chaos can occur. How do the poem and the novel take on the theme of tragedy? How do Yeats and Achebe use their work as omens and fore warnings?

Make thematic connections between Things Fall Apart and George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" (1936).

Questions to Consider:

Explain how Okonkwo represents two or three specific values of Ibo culture, using examples from the text to support your points. When Okonkwo dies, do you think the traits and values he represents symbolically die with him? Why or why not?

What are Okonkwo’s greatest strengths? What are his greatest weaknesses? How do these traits work for or against him throughout the novel?

How do parent-child relationships shape the personalities of Okonkwo, Nwoye, and Ezinma?

Discuss two or three significant factors in the culture clash between the Ibo and the white missionaries and colonialists. How do they contribute to the downfall of Okonkwo and the Ibo villages?

Discuss two or three ways in which Christianity, as promoted by the missionaries, both enriches and destroys the villages.

Chinua Achebe has said that he wrote Things Fall Apart to educate both African and Western readers about the Ibo way of life and to help his people regain their belief in themselves and their culture. Identify three insights you gained into Ibo life, values, and beliefs by reading this book.

Do you feel Achebe is fair in his portrayal of the positives and negatives of Ibo culture? Is he fair in his portrayal of the white missionaries and the colonists? Why or why not?

Discuss the ways in which the District Commissioner illustrates intolerance and disrespect for cultures he considers inferior. Why do you think Achebe ends Things Fall Apart with the District Commissioner’s musing about the book he is writing on Africa?

The narrator observes that “[Okonkwo’s] whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness.” Discuss two or three ways in which Achebe demonstrates the power of fear in the novel.

With which character did you sympathize most? Why?

Clearly weather has a profound impact on the livelihood of the villages. Describe two or three ways in which weather also affects the emotional and thematic elements of the book.

Describe the role and the social status of women in Ibo culture. In what ways are women in the novel weak? In what ways are they strong?

How do you interpret the title of the novel? How does it relate to the story of Okonkwo and the Ibo culture.

PROVERBS from the NovelProverbs are an very important part of African oral culture, and therefore prominent in Things Fall Apart. Here are few sample proverbs and some questions. Proverbs are the glue that binds the whole book together, and their significance often spreads above and beyond their original context.

"A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness."

(Okonkwo explaining why he has come to Nwakibie)How does this sound in retrospect to Okonkwo's downfall?

"An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb."

(Okonkwo remembering his own father) In context of a joke about someone who refused to honor his fathers shrine with a fowl. Is there any fear in Okonkwo? Does he ignore his own proverbs?

"The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did."

(Okonkwo, explaining his capacity for hard work before Nwakibie, his sons and neighbors) What is the role of honor and praise in this novel? Is this a good or bad feature of a culture?

"Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble."

(Okonkwo's arrogance in calling Osugo a "woman" at the meeting of the people) Is Okonkwo himself humble? Who is the most humble character in the book? What relationship does humble have with femininity and death?

"The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger." "A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm.

(Okonkwo's role in Ikemefuna’s death) What role does guilt and punishment play in this story? Can you relate this to Okonkwo's later crimes also?

"As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled the others."

(Obierika’s mourning over Okonkwo's exile) How does this relate to Okonkwo's own family situation? To Africa and Europe as a whole?

"Living fire begets cold, impotent ash."

(Okonkwo's analysis of the conversion of his "degenerate and effeminate" son, Nwoye) In final analysis, is there any irony in this quote? What does this say about Ibo civilization?

"A man danced so the drums were beaten for him."

(Rev. Smith’s intransigence and hostility towards anything traditional) What does this say about cause and effect? Who is the cause or effect of the story - Okonkwo or the colonizers?

"Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then you know that something is after its life."

(Said at the meeting of Umuohia after the imprisonment of the six elders) Who is doing the metaphorical jumping in this quote?

"Eneke the bird was asked why he was always on the wing and he replied: "Men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly without perching on a twig."

How does this relate to Okonkwo's life? Is there any problematic assumptions in this proverb?

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