Things Fall Apart Exam
Review
You Should:
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Take notes to use on the exam
There are 40 multiple choice questions.-Do these on scantron.
There are 20 character matching questions.-Do this on your own
paper.
There are 11 quotes to identify.
There are two short essays – 2 to 3 paragraphs
There is one long essay – 5 to 7 paragraphs
Exam is worth 143 points.
Exams are worth 85% of your grade.
Chi
Personal god- one makes a contract with this
entity before birth as to what one wants to
achieve or not in life.
 Believed to be responsible for both good and
bad luck.
 Likened to a guardian angel that guides a
human on earth, steering humans away from
bad choices and towards good ones.
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obanje
A child believed to be an evil spirit that taunts its mother by being born
and dying shortly after over and over again.
 Ezinma believe to be one.
 A myth that explains why children die young.
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Iyi-uwa
A stone used by the obanji to link themselves to the spirit world.
 A child could be saved if a medicine man could locate the stone.
 Chielo takes Ezinma to try to locate her stone and enlists a medicine
man to help.
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egugwu
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Men of the igbo tribe that represent ancestor’s spirits.
Priests of the Oracle of Agbala.
Concealed by masks and costumes, not considered to be human when
disguised and are not to be touched by humans.
Address humans as “body” to emphasize the difference between the
human and spirit.
Are called on to make judgments in disputes that occur within the clan.
Okonkwo
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Tragic hero – begins in the story as a person of high status who falls from status as a result of bad
choices.
Revered in Umofia for being wealthy, prosperous, strong, good at wrestling, a brave warrior, has
two titles of honor, three wives.
Tragic fault – his inability to express emotion, anger, uses his fists instead of his words, inability to
adapt.
Regards emotion as weakness.
Ashamed of his father Unoka - represents weakness to him.
Ashamed of his son Nwoye – regards him as feminine and weak for converting to the Christian
religion.
Wishes Ezinma were a boy.
Dies in a shameful way.
Tall, huge, bushy eyebrows, wide nose and a severe look.
Motif
Any elements that recurs in one or more works of literature or art.
 Chi is a reoccurring element in this story.
 Okonkwo’s chi is mentioned when he is banished and again when Nwoye
converts to Christianity.
 Okonkow thinks chi is responsible for his bad fortune and that his chi is his
destiny.
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Themes
Things Fall Apart – literally, with the coming of
the white man, the Igbo society unravels and
falls apart.
 Tolerance of other cultures.
 Those who cannot adapt, cannot survive.
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Irony
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The difference between appearance and reality.
Okonkwo’s death and the title of the District
Commissioner’s Book: ”The Pacification of the
Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger”
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One of Umofia’s greatest men dies like a dog and cannot
even be touched or buried by his tribe because his suicide
makes him an abomination.
The Western European idea that the Igbo were savages
that needed to be pacified when in fact they had a
peaceful, working society in place.
Europeans did not bring peace, but violence and
confusion.
Tragedy
A drama or story that tells of the fall of a person from high status.
 Serious
 Celebrates the courage and dignity of a tragic hero in the face of inevitable
doom.
 Okonkwo embodies these traits as does the novel.
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Mr. Smith vs. Mr. Brown
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Mr. Brown:
– tolerates Igbo beliefs and traditions
– Restrains overzealous converts
– Opens schools and hospitals to help win converts.
– Criticizes the Igbo for worshiping false gods.
Mr. Smith:
 intolerant of Igbo beliefs and traditions.
 Encourages overzealous converts to behave
badly.
 Believes in conversion by force not choice
 Horrified when a woman allows her husband to
mutilate her child
Men vs. Women in Igbo Society
Male dominated
 Men hold authority in family and clan
 Men cultivate the king crop – yams
 Women cultivate smaller, less important crops.
 Men judge important cases
 Women judge minor disputes
 Women serve husbands and take care of children
 Men are allowed to beat their wives and children
 Men are allowed to have more than one wife
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Okonkwo vs. Unoka
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Unoka:
– Lazy, poor, cowardly, afraid of war
– Holds no titles
– In debt
– Loves music and celebrations
– Unsuccessful
Okonkwo:
hard worker
wealthy
holds two titles of honor
fierce and brave warrior
successful
Proverbs, Myths, Folk tales = oral
tradition
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Used to explain unexplained phenomenon
Used to teach children cultural values
– Tortoise and the Snake-Lizard = how the tortoise got the
cracks in his shell.
– Obanje= why children die young.
– “Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, you
know that something is after its life.”=when clan members
come out to meet early in the morning, its obvious their lives
are in danger.
– “Enke the bird was asked why he was always on the wing
and he replied, ‘men have learned to shoot without missing
their mark and I have learned to fly with perching on a
twig.”=Clan members must be willing to kill their own
brothers, something they have never done before.
– "Obodo N'ezu Ezu Azu Nwa“= Igbo Proverb: "It takes a
whole village to raise a child."
Quotes – who said these, to whom
and why?
 “I know you will not despair. You have a manly and proud
heart.”
– Unoka to Okonkwo
“When did you become a shivering old woman?”
*Okonkwo to self
“What you have done will not please the earth.”
*Oberika to Okonkwo
“Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?”
*Medicine man to Enzinma
“Body of Uzowulu, do you know me?”
*Evil Forest (Eguwgwu) to Uzowulu
Quotes part 2
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“ We all know that the man is the head of the family and
his wives do his bidding.”
– Uchendu to Okonkwo
“Unless you shave off the mark of the heathen belief I
will not admit you into the church.”
 Mr. Kiaga to the outcasts/Osu
“Kotma of the ash buttock,/He is fit to be a slave.”
 Song about the Igbo police
“You have all seen the great abomination of your
brother.”
 Okonkwo to his children
“I have asked you to come because of what happened
during my absence.”
 District Commissioner to the elders of Umofia
Characters- Know them and how to
identify them
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Okonkwo Nwoye
Agbala Ezinma
Ezeudu Ojiugo
Dist Commissioner
Mr. Brown
Oberika
Ekwefi
Unoka
Chielo
Ikemefuna
Uchendu Enoch
Mr. Kiaga Mr. Smith
Isaac
Aneto
Akunna
Setting
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Village/Clan of Umofia
Nigeria
Mbanta – Okonkwo’s mother’s village/clan
Mbiano- neighboring clan/village
Igbo/Ibo - Tribe
Facts to Remember
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Ikemefuna came to Umofia as an exchange for the woman his father killed.
Ikemefuna is killed because an oracle decreed he must die.
Okonkwo breaks the week of peace when he beats his wife.
Chielo takes Ezinma to see Agbala.
Oberika’s daughter’s wedding is interrupted when a cow gets loose.
Oberika’s daughter’s husband’s family brings pots of palm wine for her bride price.
During Ezeudu’s funeral Okonkwo accidently kills his son.
As a punishment, Okonkwo is banished from Umofia for 7 years.
People of Abame were massacred for killing a white missionary.
Facts to Remember
Continued
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An iron horse is a bicycle.
Efulefu = worthless people.
People of Umofia decide that the missionaries were
protected by their glasses which prevented them
from being killed in the Evil Forest.
People of Mbanta believe that the Christians killed
the sacred python.
Christian converts are compared to a hunter’s dog
that has gone mad and turned on its master.
Facts to Remember
End
Okonkwo kills a court messenger with his
machete at the clan meeting.
 Palm oil is a source of money for the people of
Umofia
 Enoch unmasks the Egwugwu.
 Clan members calm the Mother Spirit by burning
down the church.
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Know This Information
You will only have 90 minutes to complete
this exam.
 Make sure you review this information and
know it; you won’t have time to learn it
during the exam.
 Bring something to do if you finish early,
talking during or after the exam or relying
on your neighbor for answers will result in
a 0 on the exam.
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