0
Things Fall Apart
Things Fall Apart is the novel by Chinua Achebe. The novel, the protagonist Okonkwo, and the various plot lines are discussed in this category.
1,374 Questions
How does Ikemefuna's siblings react to his death?
Nwoye feels grief and feels like something inside of him has broken.
Nwoye withdraws from Okonkwo and the world and values his father represents.
What are Okonkwo's feelings towards his father?
Okonkwo is ashamed of his father Unoka. He feels his father is weak, effeminate, and made fun of by other members of the tribe. Okonkwo feels a man should be strong like a warrior, but his father is shy of blood. Okonkwo feels a man should be hard working and provide for his family, but Unoka is lazy, and a very poor farmer. Okonkwo ends up inheriting nothing from his father.
What are the stylistic devices used in things fall apart?
Metaphors, similes, foreshadowing, hyperbole, imagery, sensory detail are used in Things Fall Apart. Most of the proverbs are forms of metaphor.
In the book things fall apart what warning does Obierika give Okonkwo?
Obierika warns Okonkwo to not ask how to pay him back for his friendship.
Okonkwo was a warrior in the war of Umuofia against Isike. In that war, 12 of Isike's men were killed to 2 from Umuofia. Before the end of the fourth market week (16 days) Isike sued for peace.
Why are some villagers not buried in things fall apart?
Some villagers are left to die in the evil forest instead of being buried.
Further, it is an abomination to touch someone who has killed themselves. Those bodies must either be buried by foreigners or left alone.
How did okonkwo begin his prosperous career in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe?
The start of Okonkwo's career is not explicitly mentioned, but one of the major events is the throwing of Amalinze the Cat in wrestling. Amalinze had never before been thrown in his 5 years of wrestling.
His farming career began with 2 failed crops in the same year: the first from drought, and the second from excessive rain.
How do people deal with fear of snakes at night in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe?
They don't go out at night unless there is enough light.
Social context
Who were the spectators during the fight in things fall apart?
The spectators to the wrestling matches came from the village and all of the neighbouring villages.
Ezinma grows up to be a crystal beauty like her mother Ekwefi. She is one of 10 or more children that Ekwefi has, but is the only one that survives. She is said to be an ogbanje, a wicked child that dies only to be reborn with its mother. They have an iyi-uwa, a totem that ties the ogbanje to the other world that the ogbanje buries. Further, she is the only one of Okonkwo's children who truly understands his desires.
Why would Nwoye pretend to be annoyed and grumble about women in chapter 7?
Nwoye wants to please his father and his adopted brother, and act more manly. This is the type of thing men do.
Does the novel Things Fall Apart connect to any others that Chinua Achebe wrote?
Yes, No Longer At Ease, and Arrow of God in particular.
Obi's response to the priest and his proverb?
Obi's response to the priest and his proverb was one of disdain.
- Why should a man be punished for an accident.
- What crime had his wife's twins committed.
How do Ekwefi and Ezinma harvest the cassava for the feast?
They each take a basket, a machete and a hoe. They use the hoe to dig out the tubers, and a machete to cut the stems.
What advice does Okonkwo's uncle give him?
Okonkwo's uncle gives Okonkwo several pieces of advice.
- Do not despair simply because you are in exile.
- If you die here (in Mbanta), you will never be a great man.
- It is wrong to despair because you are in exile and refuse to be comforted by your motherland.
- His duty is to comfort his wives and children and take them back to his fatherland in seven years.
- His mother's kinsmen are now Okonkwo's kinsmen.
- Never kill a man who says nothing (said to people in general).
In Things Fall Apart how does share-cropping work?
One man provides the seeds to another man whom does all the farm work.
In return for providing the seeds, this man receives 2/3 of the harvest. The man who does the work receives 1/3 of the harvest.
Why are Okonkwo and others imprisoned?
Okonkwo and the others are imprisoned as retribution for burning down the church. Further, this imposition of power onto the Igbo members was a show of positioning and intimidation as well as superiority. The imprisonment shamed the imprisoned tribesman.
What did the clansmen think the white man's glasses were really for in Things Fall Apart?
They were to enable the white man to see and talk to spirits.
What is a primary reason why people in Mbanta convert to Christianity?
They had been outcasts, but the church accepts them.
What are some weak points in the Ibo culture?
They do not have a centralized command structure. They are an agrarian society and so suffer famines together.
What double standards do the white men demonstrate to the native Ibo in Things Fall Apart?
The white man pretends to be reasonable, and willing to discuss issues, but only to trick the village leaders into being arrested more easily. They command without being willing to take orders. They are willing to kill many people for the death of one of their own without feeling guilt or remorse.
When does Okonkwo's uncle Uchendu say that people return to their mother's land?
People return to their motherland when they are suffering and in need of their mother's comfort.
What are some examples of peer pressure in the book Things Fall Apart?
The way people follow their religions could be consider examples of peer pressure. For example, the killing of twins, or the osu's following the rules by not shaving could be considered done because of peer pressure.
