Things fall apart
Ysebel Peng 22006
I (Ysebel Peng 22006) do declare that this submission is entirely my own work. I
acknowledge that my work will be checked using anti-plagiarism software and
that if I am found to have copied directly from the internet or from any other
source, I will receive zero for my assignment and that a permanent note will go on
my school record.
Signed: Ysebel Peng 22006
Date: 2023.3.16
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Contents page
Family tree………………………………………………………3
Timeline of contextual historical events…………4
Character profiles……………………………………………5
Question A (1)…………………………………………………6
Question A (2)…………………………………………………7
Question B………………………………………………………8
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Family tree
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Timeline of contextual historical events:
1. In 1861, the British established their stronghold at Lagos, they continued to
expand inland in the following years.
2. In 1900, both Northern and southern Nigeria became a British protectorate.
3. In 1914, it was incorporated into the British Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria.
4. In 1947, the United Kingdom ratified its constitution and the Federal
government was formed.
5. On October 1, 1960, Nigeria declared independence and became a member of the
British Council.
6. On 1 October 1963, it became the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
7. On 30 May 1967, the Igbo Odumegwu Ojukwu declared his withdrawal from the
Federal Republic of Nigeria to form the Republic of Biafran.
8. On 8 June 1998, the head of the junta Abacha died at his villa, and his successor,
Abdelsalami Abubakar, decided to return power to an elected government.
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Character profile:
Okonkwo: He is a tragedy hero in this book. In their tradition society, he is a hero. He
defeated the well-known “Cat” and wins the status in his village. He becomes one of the
most powerful people in the village. He is strong and hard-working. He grows yams,
which is considered as the divine plants. Due to these events, he wins a lot of titles.
Because of his father, Unoka’s lazy, Unoka is laughed by villagers, and nobody respect
him, so “he hates everything that his father had loved’, including the characteristics of
lazy, incapable of thinking about tomorrow. This makes him a person that never shows
pity or any praise to his children even if he is satisfied with their behaviors. He makes
himself a man with muscles and courage.
He is also a person who is impetuous. To avoid showing his hesitate, he killed Ikefemuna
himself. In chapter seven, “Okonkwo drew his matches and cut him down”. But he
regrets after that, “He did not taste any food for two days after the death of Ikemefuna.”
In part 3, after the white authority preaches the Christianity and many clansmen join it,
Okonkwo is indignant. He proposes kill those white men instead of discuss peacefully
with them. Finally, he realizes that the tradition cultures are replaced by the
Christianity, he chooses hang himself, which is hated by himself because he thinks it
shows the weak and impotent.
Nwoye: He is the oldest child of Okonkwo. He is considered unpromising by his father.
He has the characteristic that women have. He likes those traditional fairy tales telling
by his mother instead of his father, but “He pretend that he loves those stories.”
However, Okonkwo just thinks that Nwoye is just like his father Unoka. Nwoye is always
compared with Ikemefuna before Ikefemuna died. He is weak and doesn’t have the
ability of strong, brave and fearless. Many years later, he joins the white and becomes a
christian. His father hates him a lot because Okonkwo betrays the clan. But Nwoye
doesn’t follows his father’s instruction and is flashed out. Nwoye does’t act like his
father. He has the emotions which is considered as women have. He in not as obstinate
as his father. He is a person that can accept new ideas but still respect others.
Ikemefuna: Ikemefuna comes from another village called Mbaino. His father killed a
woman of Umuofia so as exchange, his son and another virgin are sent to Umuofia. He
is settled in Okonkwo’s family. At first, he tries to escape, but later, he is well treated by
Okonkwo’s first wife. Later on, he and Nwoye becomes good friend. He plants yams and
he wins Okonkwo’s appreciate. But years later, he is decided to be killed. Okonkwo
killed him finally.
Reverend James Smith: He is the missionary who replaces Mr.Brown. He is
uncompromising about igbo traditions and customs, and regards their beliefs and
customs as insignificant, strict and impersonal, in sharp contrast to Mr. Brown's
kindness and understanding. He sees things in two ways -- right and wrong. He is too
absolute, even a little extreme. He is a fervent believer in Christianity, even disdainful of
villagers like Okonkwo who have always embraced igbo practices. He was intolerant of
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new rules or ideas, adamant that women should not have the same rights as men, so he
suspended a convert.
Section A:
Question1: How does Okonkwo differ from his father? What are his feelings toward his
father? How does his father shape Okonkwo’s character and actions as an adult male?
Cite examples in the attitude and actions of Okonkwo that show the Igbo division of
what is considered manly and what is considered womanly.
Okonkwo differs from his father in many ways. First, they have different personalities.
The description of Unoka in the book is such a "He was tall but very thin and had a slight
stoop". The author's description of his body makes it impossible for him to be a tough
guy. "He wore a haggard and mournful look except when he was drinking or playing on
his flute" indicates that he is not as strong as the men in the village, but that he is in a
poor state of mind and a little sluggish. But Okonkwo is different. He defeated cat, who
had not been defeated in seven years. It was clear that he was a very strong man. The
writer describe his like “He was tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose
gave him a very serve look. He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his
wives and children in their out-house could hear home breathe. When he walked, his
heels hardly touched the ground and seemed to walk on springs.” Okonkwo and Unoka
have different pursuits, as I mentioned before, “except when he was drinking or playing
on his flute”. This shows that Unoka is a person who likes drinking and playing Musical
Instruments. It can also be seen from the following text that he likes various activities,
parties or ceremonies, and he can play his flute to his heart's content. At this time, his
state is "His face beaming with blessedness and peace". He likes something sensual, like
music. There is a description of his childhood that shows him as someone who likes to
live a carefree life, unencumbered by some so-called morality. His son, Okonkwo, is
more pragmatic. He grew yam, was not afraid of war, married three wives and had many
children. Okonkwo clearly has very different aspirations from his father. He seeks to be
down-to-earth, forge a good name and give himself and his family a richer life. Unlike his
father, he had little regard for the family. Unoka often borrows money from his
neighbors and friends. But when his friends ask him for money, "He laughed loud and
long and his voice rang out clear as the ogene, and tears stood in his eyes" means he has
no money to pay. He had no great desire for fame or power. Even though the people in
the village thought he didn't have "the characteristics of a man," he went ahead. To
villagers, he is very lazy, so he is poor. He is indifferent to his wife and children. He never
gained any status in his life. His son Okonkwo, on the other hand, is hardworking, fierce,
and of course has masculinity. “That seemed the most likely reason, and he was not
afraid of war.” “On great occasions, he frank his palm-wine from his first human head.”
These behaviors all are all consistent with the traditional Igbo culture of “masculinity”,
so he ha s achieved a high reputation among the tribe.
He was very angry with his father, looked down upon his father's behavior and even
somewhat despised it. He felt that he was not responsible as a man and was not
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motivated at all. He desperately did not want to be his father's escapist, irresponsible
man. He hated all his father's qualities, all his character, because he had seen the pain he
had caused his family. He hated his father for his weakness, his inaction, his lack of
responsibility. So he was determined not to be like him. But at the same time, he was so
blinded by his hatred that he neglected to express his appreciation for his child. He
never said his appreciation for children, he thought only women so emotional. In the
article, Okonkwo tells himself this: "How can a man who has killed five men in the battle
fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number?" This sentence reveals that
men and women in Igbo society are supposed to be brave and fearless, while only
women can have such feelings of sympathy, regret and tenderness. Even men and
women tell stories with different themes. Okonkwo tells "masculine stories of violence
and bloodshed" and women's stories about ""Earth and Sky long ago, and how Sky with
held rain for seven years, until crashes with and the dead could not be bought because
the house broke on the stone Earth". In Igbo society, men without status or reputation
will be considered "womanly". Men with status may humiliate people without status. I
chapter four, he said to a men without any titles that “The meeting is for men.” He knows
how to killed a man’s spirit. For women, "women's crowing memory". A woman's
position in Igbo society is related to the birth of several children, and several of them are
boys.
Question2: What is the symbolic meaning of the Week of Peace for the Igbo people? How
does Okonkwo’s anger violate the custom and what are the consequences of his action?
An annual religious ceremony where no one hurts each other or uses harsh language.
This week is dedicated to the Earth Goddess and hopes to bring good harvests. Also,
villages live in peace and there is no violence during this period. The week is like a
symbol that represents that people can live peacefully and have a good harvest in the
following year. the week is quite important in Igbo society because in the society, it is
still dominated by the agriculture. The sum of the yams they can receive in the end of the
year is quite significant also because that people are judged by the amount they receive.
Also the writer may want to challenge what the Europeans considered. Africans are not
savages as the Europeans think before. Even if they may use violence in some occasions,
they still have the conscience to keep the peace. Okonkwo is the man who breaks the
rule in the recent years. Even the oldest can’t remember too many occasions that others
broke the rule. Okonkwo beat his wife very heavily because she forgot to prepare the
afternoon meal. This is a grave insult to the Earth goddess. The consequence is quite
serious. The priest of the earth goddess, Ani refused to eat Okonkwo’s kola nut. She is
quite angry with his behavior and finally she tells him “You will bring to the shrine of
Ani tomorrow one she-goat, one hen, a length of the cloth and a hundred cowries.” It is
used to to soothe the offended earth goddess. He does’t tell his neighbors that he is in
error. He is considered to show no respect for the gods of the clan. In the following
season, people start planting. Ikemefuna and Nwoye are allowed to help Okonkwo to
count the number of yams. Okonkwo is criticizing the work they have done. But
Okonkwo thinks that can help them increasing their masculinity. After that period, the
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raining season comes. There is a lot of rain which is good for the grow of yams. The
yams are keeping growing in a high speed and people all expect that they can gain a
great harvest in the end of the year. At the same time, the relationship
between Ikemefuna and Nwoye goes further and becomes more intimate.
Section B: At the end of Chapter Twenty, Obierika tells Okonkwo, “He [the white man]
has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” Explain the
significance of this statement.
Chapter twenty is the beginning of the third part. The main story is that the Igbo society
starts to collapse. Also, the main character returns his hometown. This chapter is the
beginning of the villagers' formal resistance. This sentence is like a summary of the
previous content. The following part of Umoufia villagers led by Okonkwo began to
make a series of negotiations and threats with the white government, and the whole
book reached a climax. Here I put forward the word "fall apart", which is not only
Okonkwo's feeling about the seven years he missed, but also a summary made by the
author based on the real historical events in Nigeria. This sentence is also a shadow,
revealing the end result, Igbo society will eventually fall apart. This echoes the title of
the novel, which not only highlights "fall apart" but also makes the article more
complete.
The word "put a knife" means that it is imminent. The white man will soon succeed in
destroying the society. The Igbo system will no longer be supported, which means they
will be colonized by the white man. Okonkwo, as the most traditional one, must be
opposed, he wants to get rid of the white people. And "one thing" refers to the social
order that the villagers of Umoufia once espoused: a society in which only the strong had
status and dignity, and the weak and women had few human rights. Women are like
appendages of their husbands, and their only right is to bear children. In this repressive
social order, the presence of the white man made all the difference. The arrival of the
second wave of whites has shaken some, "None of his converts was a man whose word
was heeded of in the assembly of the people. None of them was a man of title. They were
mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu, worthless, empty man. They were
mostly the kind of people that were called efulefu, worthless, empty man. And one of the
former mothers of four sets of twins is pregnant. This led more people to imagine that
Christianity was magical. God seems so charitable and kind that he seems to accept all
kinds of believers. This open and inclusive feature attracts more people to join. Their
ranks grew stronger and stronger, and support for the old religion became less and less
popular, which made the society to fall apart in the near future.
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