THINGS FALL APART QUESTIONS FOR SOCRATIC SEMINAR DISCUSSION
Write answers to these questions with enough detail so that you can use
them competently during the discussion. You must include citations! I
expect that you will use direct quotations or paraphrases during the
seminar, and that you will have the page number as well.
ONE MANDATORY QUESTION:
Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel Heart of Darkness is one of the most famous stories about
Africa in Western literature. In it, a European man, Mr. Kurtz, who is a colonial agent
sent to "subdue" a jungle region, is reduced to insanity after being exposed to an
African society that is untouched by European contact, perhaps because he realizes
that that his own society, an imperial European society conquering the world, is not the
only real one. He can't handle this realization, and goes mad. Marlow, the story's
narrator, is sent up the Congo River to find him, working hard not to have the same
experience. Here is part of what Achebe has said about Heart of Darkness:
"...It is the desire...the need—in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil for Europe
...Heart of Darkness projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,' the antithesis of
Europe and therefore of civilization, a place where man's...intelligence and refinement
are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality. ...The real question is the dehumanization of
Africa and Africans. ...And the question is whether a novel which celebrates this
dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race, can be called a
great work of art. My answer is: No, it cannot."
Do you agree with Achebe? Can a work like Conrad's be considered great, or does its
portrayal of Africa and Africans keep it from truly speaking to all readers?
THREE CLASS PICKS:
1. Think about the role of weather and nature in the novel. How does it work,
symbolically or otherwise, in relation to important elements of the novel such as
religion? Are rain and drought significant? Explore the ways in which nature affects the
emotional and spiritual realms of the novel as well as the physical world.
2. Women suffer great losses in this novel but also, in certain circumstances, hold
tremendous power. What role do women play in Okonkwo’s life? Is there any difference
between his interaction with specific women and his understanding of women and
femininity in general?
3. Animal imagery abounds in the folktales and proverbs circulated among the clan
members. What is the significance of some of the animals they discuss? What does the
prominence of animal figures suggest about Igbo culture and about Achebe’s larger
goals?
4. In what ways does the idea of progress shape the novel? If Unoka, Okonkwo, and
Nwoye are symbolic of three successive generations, how does society in Umuofia
change over the course of their lifetimes? Where does Ikemefuna fit into this picture?
5. Throughout the novel, drums, music, and the town crier’s voice punctuate the
narrative at key moments. When does silence occur and what does it mean? Is there
more than one type of silence? Can silence be characterized as a positive or negative
occurrence? What are the implications of the fact that Unoka takes his flute with him to
the Evil Forest when he dies?
6. Is change destructive? Explore how change reshapes the Ibo culture and
community. Is this a good or a bad thing? Why? How does Nwoye figure into the
change? How does his character conflict with Okonkwo, and why might Achebe be
offering this contrast? Should change come only from within, or is it only possible from
an individual or group arriving from the outside? What might Achebe be saying about
the colonizing force that arrives in Umuofia?
7. The novel gives many wonderful insights into one of the oldest religions, perhaps the
oldest, found in many variations around the world. Scholars call it "animism" because it
identifies the world of the spirit (Latin, anima) with the world of nature, identifying the
gods in terms of natural forces and phenomena. What examples of animism can you
find in the novel?
8. We can say about social organization what we said about religion: The novel gives
many wonderful insights into what is probably the oldest approach to social organization
found in many variations around the world. Scholars call this a "kinship society."
Characteristics of kinship society include the extended family (rather than the individual
or the nuclear family) as the meaningful unit of social organization. Moreover, a strongly
defined division of labor in terms of sex has been normal in kinship societies. There is
also likely to be division in terms of age or other criteria. Can you think of why this might
be so under conditions that existed before recent times? Certainly in many kinship
societies it is common to speak of male dominance. What evidence of this do you find in
the book? Is it the whole story? Does life in the kinship society give the individual more
freedom of choice, or less than we are used to? Would the answer be different for
Okonkwo? For his son, Nwoye? Okonkwo's wives? For the priestess?
9. Compare the impact of white missionaries on Umofia with that of the political and
military officers. How were they different? Which was worse? What do you think Achebe
is trying to tell us in the presentation of the two missionaries, Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith?