Things Fall Apart

Plot

Chapters 1-3

• Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected man
• A villager is murdered; Okonkwo gains a new "son" named Ikemefuna as part of payment.
• We learn Okonkwo hates laziness and loves fortitude.

Chapters 4-6

• Ikemefuna slowly acclimates to his new life
• During Week of Peace, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife.
• Village holds a feast, wrestling match is held.

Chapters 7-8

• Ogbuefi Ezeudu visits Okonkwo to tell him the Oracle decreed Ikemefuna must be killed.
• Ikemefuna is attacked, Okonkwo kills him.
• Okonkwo hits depression.
• Visits his friend who argues whether he should've gone to Ikemefuna's murder.

Chapter 9-11

• Okonkwo learns that Ezinma is dying.
• Village holds a meeting to administer justice.
• Chielo informs Okonkwo that the Oracle of the Hills and Caves wishes to meet with Ezinma.

Chapters 12-13

• Okonkwos family prepares for Obierika's daughter's betrothal ceremony.
• Ogbuefi Ezeuda dies.
• At funeral, Okonkwo's gun goes off and kills Ezeuda's son.
• Because of this, Okonkwo must take his family into exile for 7 years.
• Villagers burn his buildings to cleanse it.

Main Characters

Okonkwo:

• Clan leader
• Driven
• Angry
• Tender yet hidden

Ikemefuna

• Boy from neighboring village
• Close relationship with Nwoye
• Killed by the town of Umuofia.

Nwoye

• Okonkwo's eldest son
• Appears weak and lazy
• Influnced by Ikemefuna

Ezinma

• Only child of 10 to Ekwefi
• Okonkwo's favorite child
• Wishes she were a boy

Unoka

• Okonkwo's father
• Lazy and cowardly
• Everything Okonkwo didn't want to become

Obierika

• Okonkwo's close friend
• Helps Okonkwo financially

Chielo

• A priestess
• Takes Enzinma one night

• Ojiugo, Ekwefi, Nwoye's mother

How does Obierika play a contradicting and opposite role to his friend Okonkwo and to the Igbo society?

In what ways does the author highlight traditional culture? Does he show it in a positive light or a negative light?

What is the purpose of gender-coding every aspect of society – right down to the crops?

In what situations does Okonkwo's obsession with strength and masculinity cause him to make rash decisions?

In what ways does Okonkwo overcompensate for his father's weaknesses?

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the social structure in "Things Fall Apart". How are they similar and different from the social structure in America today?

Knowing what we know from the background we received in class, what does the opening Epigraph by Yeats tell us about the novel? What themes does it introduce?

Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart, the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

- W.B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"

Discuss the ways this passage shows foreshadowing and also how Ikemefuna's situation reflects the author's opinion on the traditions and the religious obligations of the Igbo society

And that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their neighbors to avoid war and bloodshed. The ill-fated lad was called Ikemefuna. - Page 16

Things Fall Apart