Things Fall Apart Web Quest
“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the
hunter”
Directions: Today you will be going on an internet based web quest to get a deeper sense of the
historical and biographical references in the novel. Things Fall Apart is a critically diverse novel that
explores several different aspects African history, society, and culture. On your own paper, answer
the following questions using the link.
1. Content Area- Geography:
Google Search:

Draw a map of NIGERIA only. Label cities, mountains, rivers, Highlight Igbo* (the
setting for our novel)

Locate the 4 major peoples, identify and read the linked information. Write down 1 fact
per people!
Using the following link: http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Igbo.html

Read the information about the Igbo culture and people. Identify 5 facts about the
people.

Using a site on the internet, write down 5 native Igbo words and their English
translation.

Use the following links to research Igbo customs, foods, traditions, festivals,
ceremonies, and the very important Kola Nut:
http://www.igboguide.org/index.php?l=chapter8
http://www.igboguide.org/index.php?l=chapter11
http://www.igboguide.org/index.php?l=chapter9
Explain and identify the following:
o FuFu (use Google search)
o The Kola Nut
o 1 Igbo Tradition
o 1 Igbo Ceremony
o 1 Igbo Custom
2. The Author- Chinua Achebe
ACHEBE, Chinua,
Full name Albert Chinualumogu Achebe (1930- ), Nigerian novelist, poet, broadcaster, and
educator. He was born in Ogidi, an Ibo village near the Niger River, and educated at University
College, Ibadan (1948-53) and the University of London (1953). From the mid-1950s to the mid1960s he pursued a career in broadcasting, holding executive positions with the Nigerian
Broadcasting Corporation and the Voice of Nigeria. In recent decades he has held a succession of
teaching posts, notably a professorship at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y.
Achebe's first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), set the theme for his subsequent work: the
impact of Western influences on traditional African society. Among his later novels are Arrow of God
(1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Achebe's other works
include a short-story collection, Girls at War (1972), and Christmas in Biafra and Other Poems (1973),
winner of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize.
Using the following link, and your own internet sourcing (NO Wikipedia!)
http://www.britannica.com/biography/Chinua-Achebe
research the life of Chinua Achebe. Among the information you are looking for, answer the following
questions:
1. Achebe was born in the country of? In what year?
2. What village was he raised in?
3. He graduated from where?
4. What did he do while first in the US?
5. Professor of English for what 2 American colleges?
6. He currently lives and works where?
7. List 1 other piece he has written.
3. PowerPoint:
1)
2)
What are ten facts that you learned by reading the PowerPoint.
What are three issues facing Africa that you found in your research?