...Swan English IV Things Fall Apart Reading Notes 1. Motif: Yams – Page 6 a. “Okoye was also a musician. He played on the ogene. But he was not a failure like Unoka. He had d large barn full of yams and he had three wives.” i. Achebe makes it very clear from the beginning that yams are a very important sign of wealth and personal or familial prosperity. 2. Irony – Page 7 b. “As soon as Unoka understood what his friend was driving at, he burst out laughing. He laughed loud and long and his voice rang out clear as the ogene, and tears stood in his eyes. His visitor was amazing, and sat speechless. At the end, Unoka was able to give an answer between fresh outbursts of mirth.” ii. This is funny because the guy who is considered a failure is laughing at the really successful man. This is ironic because you expect Unoka to be aware of how inferior he is and to be respectful or even feel such emotions as shame because Okoye is so successful and is being so understanding about being reimbursed for his loan but he just laughs at him as if Okoye is a just a common fool. 3. Motif – Yams – Page 6 c. “Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things…He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of yams, and had just married his third wife” iii. Once again yams are used to represent a persons wealth and the success they have accumulated. Yams typically last a long time so if someone has two barns full of yams that means they have...
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...“By comparing the 2 texts you have studied, how do they reflect the concerns of their time?” Texts are shaped by the concerns of their time and the comparison of texts provides an extensive insight into these ideologies. With the consideration of Chinua Achebe’s novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ (1958) and Niki Caro’s film ‘Whale Rider’ (2003) in tandem, the similarity in their didactic principles of the condemnation of ethnocentrism explores the impact of European imperialism upon Ibo and Maori societies. Both texts also criticise the suppression of females in the patriarchal view of the tribes, emphasizing the significance of gender recognition and together, they delineate the concerns that arise from 1900s colonialism Within Things Fall Apart (TFA), Achebe reprimands the subservience of traditional Nigerian Ibo culture through colonialism in the context of the nation’s independence in 1960. Presenting the loss of traditions resulting from imperialism, Achebe deliberately includes William Yeats’ “The Second Coming” in the epigraph to the novel as a foreshadowing of the imminent collapse of the Ibo tribe, thus immediately establishing the Greek tragedy convention. His use of proverbs where they are the “palm-oil which words are eaten” is an allegory that captures the intricacy of Ibo language, emending the European portrait of a ‘savage’ Africa which was a notion popularized at the time by Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness” (1899). Furthermore, Achebe juxtaposes the Ibo’s...
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...Okonkwo A Tragic Hero Okonkwo's fortune really helped him become a tragic h Is Okonkwo from Things Fall Apart a tragic hero who dies at the end of the story.There are many ways that Okonkwo can be a tragic hero. Can Okonkwo and these three ways peripeteia,superiority, and his hamartia make him his own tragic hero in his life,village,or story. ero. From his farm to his titles he became a tragic hero of fortune. Okonkwo's farm helped him make fortune by his yams. His yams had stocked him up for the winters and he could also help his friends. Another way he has fortune is his wives. Okonkwo has three wives and with this he seems to have fortune to be able to have three wives to support.The last way okonkwo has fortune...
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...Colonization and Cultural Change in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe There is a major importance of customs and traditions in the African nations. The customs and traditions decide the fate of the men, women, and children of each separate tribe, as well as how the men are viewed from neighboring tribes. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart achieves the paradoxical effect of enabling African tribal life to be accessible to western society, while simultaneously excluding it. The incursion of the colonizing force is changing or threatening to change almost every aspect of their society: religion, family structure, gender roles, relations, and trade. In this novel Achebe uses the term Locusts to symbolize the arrival of white settlers who will feast on and exploit the resources of the Igbo. Achebe aims to show that Africa is not the uncivilized, simple country that it is portrayed as by other cultures. His work aims to show the reader to understand the tribe and assist the reader to think about the reasoning behind the beliefs that may be viewed as odd or illogical. For instance; that a child should be murdered or the spirits of the dead must be appeased, if not it can have grave consequences for some tribal members. Or the tribal concept of 'bloating' they simply take people suffering with it to the evil forest and leave them for dead, to them this perfectly logical. Paul Brians (Washington State University, 2002) states that "its most striking feature is to create...
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...Women in Okonkwo’s Life Okonkwo is considered the picture of masculinity. He has two barns full of yams, three wives, and is known throughout the village for defeating the undefeated Amalize the Cat in wrestling. He did not start out this great, for his father was lazy and improvident. He was unwilling to help while his loving mother had died when Okonkwo was young. In the book Things’ Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Okonkwo is a man determined to be strong, powerful, influential, courageous, hard-working, and able to provide for his family; everything his father was not, and somewhat of what his mother was like. The role of women in Okonkwo’s life seemed to be an unimportant role, but in reality, it is the key factor in running his life. Women’s role in Okonkwo’s life is huge, for his mother’s influence was able to get him a home to stay. His wives role in child bearing allows him to have children. His wives caring for the family run the household. Although Okonkwo has a rough exterior, inside he is a man determined to never be what his father was like. In his village of Umofia, Okonkwo is banished for seven years after accidentally shooting a boy, so customs stated that he pack up and leave, along with his family. Okonkwo, with nowhere else to go, went to his mother’s old village. The book states “It was a crime against the earth goddess to kill a clansman, and a man who committed it must flee from the land…Okonkwo was well received by his mother’s kinsman…” This means it is...
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...In the novel, “Things Fall Apart,” Chinua Achebe reveals symbolism, dialogue, and metaphor to show the characters’ culture and tradition. The purpose is to express kinship, loyalty, and respect by using images of the feast. Achebe suggests this idea by using dialogue as the speaker states, “ a man who calls his kinsmen to a feast doesn’t do so to save them from starving.” The speaker is explaining Okonkwo’s feast as a rich and respectful feast made traditionally. The dialogue represents the speaker’s admiration towards Okonkwo because he has respectfully given a wonderful feast; he is acknowledging his elders. The dialogue represents tradition as Okonkwo obtains three goats rather than two to show his gratitude and respect. Furthermore, Achebe...
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...English Literature Summer Reading Things fall apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe. In the novel of things fall apart there are many characters that stand out, such as, Okonkwo, Nwoye, Ikemefuna, Mr. Brown and more. One substantial character is Ezinma - The only child of The main character Okonkwo,'s second wife, Ekwefi. As the only one of Ekwefi’s ten children to survive past infancy, Ezinma is the center of her mother’s world. Their relationship is atypical—Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name and is treated by her as an equal. Ezinma is also Okonkwo’s favorite child, for she understands him better than any of his other children and reminds him of Ekwefi when Ekwefi was the village beauty. Furthermore, he wishes that Ezinma were a boy because she would have been the perfect son. In the novel "Things Fall Apart" there are many themes and backgrounds, such as fear, sin and traditions. But the most frequent is respect/reputation. Reputation is extremely important to the men in the novel. Personal reputation is publicly denoted by the ankle bracelets men wear, which signify the number of “titles” they have earned. Reputation is based on merit – men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist, is extremely concerned with reputation because he grew up with a...
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...EAP 223 Academic Reading – Outside Reader: Things Fall Apart PREREADING STUDY GUIDE – Chapters 1-4 Study Questions for Chapters 1-4 Use these questions to guide you through your reading of chapters 1-4. Document your answers on this sheet to help you study for the quiz on chapters 1-4. ANSWERS: 1. Why was Okonkwo famous? He was a well known, successful wrestler when he was young. As an adult, he was a wealthy farmer and strong warrior. 2. Describe Unoka. He was Okonkwo’s father. He was lazy and improvident. He constantly borrowed money that he didn’t repay. 3. Why had the men of Umuofia called a meeting? The men of Mbaino, a neighboring village, had murdered a woman of Umuofia, and the men wanted revenge. 4. Where does the story take place? It takes place in the village of Umuofia, in Africa. 5. What influence did the oracle have on decisions made in Umuofia? The men didn’t go to war unless the reason was accepted by the oracle. 6. What were Okonkwo’s greatest fear and greatest passion? He was afraid that he would resemble his father. His greatest passion was to hate everything his father loved. 7. What upset Okonkwo most about his son, Nwoye? Nwoye was lazy, not ambitious. 8. What did Okonkwo bring home from his trip to Mbaino? He brought home a boy from the village. His name was Ikemefuna. 9. How did Okonkwo begin his prosperous career? He took gifts to a wealthy man in the village and asked him for some yam seeds. 10. How did Ikemefuna react to living with Okonkwo’s family...
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...Given all the different outlets Okonkwo could have chosen, why did he commit suicide? Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, narrates the struggles and changes due to the white colonials that Okonkwo faces in his village, Umuofia,. Okonkwo strives to be the opposite of his weak and selfish father. As Okonkwo’s values grow outdated due to the new generation of weak men who betray their ancestor’s, he battles to stop the change and return to the comfort of the old customs. The continual friction between Okonkwo and the new religion, people, and values adopted by his society contributes to his downward spiral. At the conclusion of the novel, Okonkwo hangs himself; the suicide of Okonkwo was the result of Okonkwo’s struggle with the changes taking place, the loss of his status in his culture, and the fears he possessed....
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...A country takes over another country, tricking the citizens, taking their resources, land, and even people. Things Fall Apart and White Man’s Burden are strong examples of this. Imperialism. The Africans are taken over by the Europeans. Things Fall Apart is a book written from an African’s perspective, this African is Chinua Achebe who was actually from Nigeria. White Man’s Burden is a poem written from a European’s point of view. Rudyard Kipling wrote White Man’s Burden, he was a European. The authors of each of these texts clearly convey their opinions on imperialism. In White Man’s Burden, Kipling shows that imperialism is something to be proud of, a community is establishing their power. However, in Things Fall Apart, Achebe demonstrates that imperialism is not all glorious, it is humiliating to the imperialized country....
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...Feminism or Igbo Culture? Feminism is a body of social theory and political movement primarily based and motivated by the experiences of women. Feminist theory tries to understand the nature of gender inequality and focuses on gender politics and relations. Subjects explored in feminism range from discrimination to stereotyping and many more. As the history of feminism has been studied, feminist movements began in the late 1800’s. Feminist ideas were not only observed in the work place or social life, but also in readings. In Things Fall Apart, there is clearly a feminist point of view. There are certain behaviors that women do not attain, they serve a specific role in the community, have arranged roles in the family, and are limited by the extended family. Although women are “Mother Supreme”, they were looked upon differently by the Igbo because of their feminist views. The opening sentence in Things Fall Apart begins with the description of an alpha male. It is hard not to have a feminist view when a role of masculinity is observed as early as the first sentence. Okonkwo is a self-made, well-respected member of the clan. He has become a wealthy farmer through his own hard work. Behaviors and attitudes that he considers masculine are to have a patriarch mindset, not show love and affection, have a great sense of personal pride, work hard, provide for your family, and being brave. Okonkwo believes that any slight show of weakness is feminine. For example...
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...Things Fall Apart “As a young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat.” (Page 3) From the very beginning of the novel the author sets the violent tone. In this brief paper I will bring an article and parts of the novel together to explain a common ground in colonization, which involves violets’. Using, Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” and Fanon’s ideas, The Wretched of the Earth I will bring two powerful pieces together to explain colonization. Many of the characters suffer from fear of some sort. Okonkwo who is the novel’s protagonist fears becoming like his lazy, shameful father. “He (Okonkwo) was not afraid of war. He was a man of action, a man of war. Unlike his father he could stand the look of blood. In Umuofia’s latest war he was the first to bring home a human head.”(Page 8) Also, Reputation is extremely important to the men in the novel as well. The ankle bracelets men wear that signify the number of titles they have earned publicly denote personal reputation. Reputation is based on merit; men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives. Okonkwo is extremely concerned with reputation because he grew up with a father who was shameful and lazy which I stated before. “For showing matchless courage and prowess on the battlefield, Ezeudu is revered...
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...Jonathan Ellerbusch World Literature ENG 203 Paper One In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart many cultural ideals are passed between members of the tribes, cultures, and generations by proverbs and storytelling. One of these proverbs states “the lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did” (21). In telling this proverb Okonkwo is expressing his willingness and capacity to do hard work. Okonkwo in this story shows how he is determined to be a successful, respected, hard-working man unlike his father, who he resents for being soft and lazy. It is obvious to Nwakibie, the man in which Okonkwo is asking to borrow yams for seed crop, that Okonkwo is indeed a trustworthy young man and will work hard to repay hi for the yams he wishes to sow. For Okonkwo, there was no seed crop he could obtain from his lazy father, who had no yams to speak of. “Okonkwo did not have the start in life which many young men usually had. He did not inherit a barn from his father. There was no barn to inherit” (16). Nwakibie sees that Okonkwo has already cleared a farm from the forest. This makes it obvious that he is indeed a hardworking man. Through the rest of the book we learn about Okonkwo’s wish to be a strong and successful man in order to make up for his father’s shortcomings. In an effort to prove that he is a strong and respected leader, and in no way takes after his soft father, Okonkwo becomes a great warrior...
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...In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe the people of Nigeria are being colonized by Britain and trying to be converted to Christianity. For people that have only been familiar with one religion, learning new ways can be very controversial. When a civilization is predominantly led by chiefs of tribes these teachings make their status seem weak. All of the Igbos customs are based on religion, gender, and reputation. In chapter seventeen of “Things Fall Apart” Okonkwo and his son, Nwoye, get into a altercation. The reason being is Nwoye wanted to convert to christianity. To his father, this was considered ultimate dishonor. Although Nwoye felt as if it were the right choice, his father it, “Answer me!” roared Okonkwo, “Before I kill you!” (Achebe). Which expresses the importance of religion to Okonkwo. In this family, turning against customs is almost forbidden rejected but Nwoye thinks otherwise. The boy is content with leaving his father after all that has occurred. “Nwoye did not fully understand. But he was happy to leave his father. He would return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters and convert them to a new faith.” (Achebe). Okonkwo’s beliefs are far from christianity, as...
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...Okonkwo’s fall Max Mckeown, a famous writer said, “A failure is a failure to adapt, all success is successful adaption.” This concept comes across clearly in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Okonkwo try to succeed despite with the new changes the brought by the British colonizing Africa, but his inability to adapt he is doomed to failure. Okonkwo is ill equipped to adapt to the changes in his culture due to his fixed mindset, his arrogance, and his lack of resiliency when faced with challenges. Part of Okonkwo’s mindset came when he was a child after the death of his mother. Okonkwo suffers a lot from the death of his mother, when he was a child. Okonkwo father was his only role model when growing up a child, and seeing him as...
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