THINGS FALL APART
For whom was Chinua Achebe
writing this book?
“us”
Who is “us” then?
THINGS FALL APART
Where does this story take place?
Nigeria
AFRICA
THINGS FALL APART
Who is the author of this book?
Chinua
Achebe
This guy.
But who was he? In order for us to really understand the book,
we NEED to know who he was and why he wrote this book.
THINGS FALL APART
Who is the author of this book?
Born Albert Chinualumogu Achebe on 16 November
1930, he was raised by Evangelical Protestants parents
in the Igbo village of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria.
His upbringing, however, was a multicultural one and
many of the people (where he grew up) still respected
much of the Igbo culture.
Chinua Achebe
Achebe attended college from 1944-1947 in Africa
graduated from a university in 1953.
In the 1950’s Achebe was also the founders of the Nigerian literary movement
and by 1959, he published he published Thing Fall Apart.
One of the major reasons for his publishing of this novel, as well
as a reason for for helping found the literary movement, was to dismantle
European thoughts on African culture.
THINGS FALL APART
More about this book:
A QUESTION FOR THE CLASS:
What’s one of the most provocative aspects of this book?
That he wrote it in English.
Achebe wanted his novel to respond not only to earlier
colonial accounts of Africa, but also to show that an African
could write just as well in English.
Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart was written in Nigeria for Europeans.
So what about Nigeria at this time? What do we need to know?
THINGS FALL APART
Nigeria and Africa at this time:
As mentioned earlier, much of Africa at this time was still
colonized by the European powers and Nigeria was no
exception to this.
Nigeria
In 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from the United
Kingdom.
But the newly gained peace and sovereignty that they gained did not last very
long. By the late 1960’s not only had the (somewhat conservative) government
been overthrown, but there were many military coups.
The Igbo people suffered terribly under these conditions
and civil war eventually broke out.
THINGS FALL APART
The Second Coming
W. B. Yeats
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.
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The the
ceremony
of innocence
is drowned;
• What do we think
falcon
and falconer
represent?
The choose
best lackthis
all conviction,
while
thebook?
worst
• Why would Achebe
poem for
his
Are full of passionate intensity.
• What is this poem saying about culture and society?
THINK ABOUT WHAT THESE QUESTIONS ARE ASKING AND
REFER TO YESTERDAY’S LECTURE.
Quick write
• Which character makes a better impression on
you: Okonkwo or Unuoka? Give two reasons
• Read chapter 1
– c=culture
– O= Okonkwo Those who wrote about Okonkwo
put O where you see examples that support your
impressions
– U=UnokaThose who wrote about Unoka put a U
where you find examples that support your
impression
Discuss examples
• Did anyone change their opinion?
• What do we learn about culture?
– Titles are expensive
– A man is judged according to his worth not that of
his father’s.
– Age is respected, but achievement is revered.
– Kola nut is offered to guests to break, chalk, toe
Chapter 2
• What was Umuofia’s utimatum?
• Agadi-nwayi:
– name for old medicine woman
• Oracle of the Hills and Caves
• Mabaino
• P. 13: Why does he rule household with a heavy
hand?
• Agbala:
– old woman and man with no title
– Also name for the oracle
Nwoye
• 12
• Father thinks he is lazy
• Who does he resemble?
Proverb
A proverb is “an adage, saying, that expresses
conventional truth.”
• Proverbs are the palm-oil with which words
are spoken.
– They help the speaker say what they mean
without seeming offensive
– They help words go down smoother
– They help “deliver the point”
p. 7
• What does Unoka mean: “Our elders say that
the sun will shine on those who stand before
it shines on those who kneel under them.”
• What does he mean in the context of this
quote?
– I will take care of my big debts before my small
ones.