Things Fall Apart
Chapter 1-4 Study Questions
1. Why is Okonkwo famous? How does this personal experience shape his identity?
2. What did you learn about his father, Unoka? How has Okonkwo been affected by his father’s
character? What does this tell you about the influence of family on Okonkwo’s identity?
3. Briefly explain the crisis that has occurred between Umuofia and the neighboring village?
How is the crisis resolved? What does this tell you about how the society solves conflict?
4. We learn on page 12 that Okonkwo’s ‘whole life was dominated by fear.’ What is he afraid
of? What does this suggest about his identity?
5. What upset Okonkwo most about his son, Nwoye?
6. Achebe uses the characters Unoka, Okonkwo, and Nwoye as symbols of three successive
generations of men in the Ibo society. Summarize the characteristics of each of the three men.
7. What did Okonkwo bring home from his trip to Mbaino?
8. Why did Unoka go to visit the Oracle of Agbala? What message did he receive? Why is this
important to our understanding of Okonkwo’s character? What does this tell you about the
spirituality of the people of Umofia?
9. We learn on page 18 that Unoka had “a bad chi or personal god.” What is a chi? What does
this tell you about the spirituality of the people of Umofia?
10. What is Okonkwo’s attitude towards men who are less successful than him? If Okonkwo
represents the ideal male in their society, what does this suggest about the societal view on
manliness?
11. What crime does Okonkwo commit during the Week of Peace? What punishment does
Okonkwo receive for his actions?
11. How are women viewed in this society? Provide specific evidence.
12. How did the people view yams in this society? Why?
Vocabulary- Chapters 1-4
1. improvident
2. capricious
3. incipient
4. brusque
5. benevolent
Chapters 5-7 Study Questions
1. Describe the Feast of the New Yam. What does this tell you about the society’s relationship
with spirituality?
2. Who was Okonkwo’s favorite child, and what did he often say about the child? What do his
comments suggest about a woman’s place in Ibo society?
3. What unacceptable thing did Okonkwo do just before the Feast of the New Yam?
4. Who is Chielo, and why was she important?
5. What sport did the villagers enjoy watching during their feasting? What does this say tell us
about the theme of manliness in the Ibo society?
6. What influence did Ikemefuna have on Nwoye?
7. While you were reading chapters 1-4, we discussed how Unoka, Okonkwo, and Nwoye are
are symbolic of three successive generations. Given what you know about these three characters,
what do you think Ikemefuna is meant to symbolize?
8. How did the villagers feel about the coming of locusts, and what did they do about?
9. What did the village decide to do with Ikemefuna? What does this suggest about the
importance of spirituality to the society?
10. Why did Okonkwo strike the last blow on Ikemefuna? What do you think of Okonkwo’s
actions in this chapter?
11. What effect does Ikemefuna’s death have on Nwoye? (Note: this will be important in Part 3
of the novel)
Vocabulary Chapters 5-7
1. intoxicating
2. feign
3. rebuked
4. harbingers
5. copiously
Chapters 8-10 Study Questions
1. What did Okonkwo do whenever he thought of his father’s weakness and failure? What does
this suggest about the long lasting impact of family on Okonkwo’s identity?
2. What did Okonkwo tell himself about his part in Ikemefuna’s death? What does this tell you
about how this personal experience is affecting his identity?
3. What did Obierika tell Okonkwo about his part in Ikemefuna’s death? What does this tell us
about Obierka’s spirituality? Did Okonkwo respond to spirituality or society more with regards
to Ikemefuna’s death?
4. Describe the meeting to determine Okonkwo’s daughter’s bride price? What does this tell
you about customs involved in preparing a wedding in Ibo society?
5. The men began discussing rumors about white men. Who do you think the white men were?
6. Describe the relationship between Ekwefi and Ezinma?
7. Describe Ekwefi’s difficulties in getting pregnant.
8. What did the medicine man tell Okonkwo after the death of Ekwefi’s second child? What does
this suggest about how the spirituality of the Ibo people interprets medical problems?
9. Describe the burial of Ekwefi’s third child, and the reason for it.
10. Explain the significance of Ezinma’s iyi-uwa. What does this suggest about the spirituality
of the Ibo people?
11. Chapter 10 describes a ceremony where the elders gather to resolve a dispute between
husband and wife. What does this chapter show about the system of justice in the community
and the roles of men and women?
Chapters 8-10 Vocabulary
1. elude
2. malevolence
3. approbation
4. pandemonium
5. esoteric
Chapter 11-13 Study Questions
1. What is the message or moral of the creation story about the Tortoise and the birds? What is
Ekwefi’s purpose in telling the story?
2. How is the story interpreted?
3. Read from pg. 91 to the end of the chapter. How does the writer create a sense of mystery in
this description of ekwefi’s journey to Agbala’s cave?
4. What different side of Okonkwo’s character do we see in this chapter?
5. What was the purpose of the uri ceremony? What does this suggest about family and society?
6. What was the significance in the amount of wine the family brought?
7. What happened at the end of the ceremony? What does this tell you about the customs in the
Ibo society?
8. What rituals and customs are involved in Ezeudu’s funeral?
9. What crime does Okonkwo commit during the proceedings?
10. What punishment does he receive? Why is this necessary according to the beliefs of the
tribe?
11. What did Obierika think about after this calamity, and what was his conclusion?
12. After reading Part 1, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Ibo society?
Chapter 11-13 Vocabulary
1. impenetrably
2. cunning
3. omen
4. discern
5. gravely
Chapters 14-16 Study Questions
1. Where did Okonkwo take his family to live?
2. What progress does Okonkwo make towards establishing his new farm in this chapter?
3. Comment on the following quotations. What do they show about Okonkwo and the way his
character has changed?

“It was like beginning life anew without the vigour and enthusiasm of youth, like
learning to become left-handed in old age.”

“He had been cast out of his clan like a fish on to a dry, sandy beach, panting. Clearly,
his personal god or chi was not made for great things.”
4. Why did Uchendu talk kto Okonkwo about the Mother Supreme?
5. Briefly retell the story of the destruction of Abame.
6. What lesson does Uchendu try to teach his family using the folk tale of Mother Kite?
7. What has happened in Umuofia since Okonkwo’s departure from the community?
8. What has caused Oierika to make the visit to Okonkwo at this particular time?
9. What is the effect of the arrival of missionaries in Mbanta?
10. Comment on the following quotations. What do they suggest about the white man’s attitude
towards the Ibo spirituality?

“Evil men and all the heathen who in their blindness bowed to wood and stone were
thrown into a fire that burned like palm-oil.”

“All the gods you have named are not gods at all. They are gods of deceit who tell you to
kill your fellows and destroy innocent children.”

“Your gods are not alive and cannot do you any harm…they are pieces of wood and
stone.”
11. How does Okonkwo react to the news about the white man’s God and his son “Jusu Kristi”?
12. How does Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son react to the news?
13. What attracts Nwoye to the new religion and how does this fit with what you have already
learned about Nwoye’s character since the death of Ikemefuna in Chapter 7?
14. How do you think this will affect Okonkwo’s character and his relationship with his son?
Vocabulary Chapters 14-16
1. requisite
2. diffused
3. mirthless
4. begot
5. derisive
Chapter 17-19 Study Questions
1. Why does the clan decide to grant the request of the missionaries and give them some land on
which to build a church? Where is it to be built and what is the significance of its location?
2. What do the clan expect to happen to them?
3. How does the whit man’s power increase as a result of their decision?
4. What is Mr. Kiaga’s role in the community?
5. What sort of people become converts to the new faith and why?
6. What evidence ist there that the missionaries are no longer respecting the views of the clan?
7. What role do “outcasts” play in the church community?
8. What action does the clan decice to take when they hear about that a member of the church as
killed the sacred python? What does Okonkwo feel about their decision?
9. What happens at the end of the chapter to temporarily ease the conflict between the clan and
the Christian community?
10. What does Okonkwo feel about his seven years in exile?
11. How does he prepare for his return to Umuofia?
12. What is the message of the speech which is delivered by one of the oldest members of the
clan at the feast? Why do you think it will be important in the events that follow?
Vocabulary Chapters 17-19
1. callow
2. perturbed
3. vile
4. emanation
5. ostracize
Chapter 20-25 Study Questions
1. How did Okonkwo feel about his return to the clan? How has their society changed?
2. What message did Okonkwo give to his sons and daughters after Nwoye left the family?
3. Describe the changes that had come to Umuofia in the seven years that Okonkwo was in
exiles? How has this changed the society and spirituality that Okonkwo had always known?
4. Okonkwo asked Obierika why the people had lost their power to fight. What was Obierirka’s
reply?
5. How did many of the other villagers feel about these changes?
6. What was Mr. Brown’s conclusion about the religion of the clan? How did he act to gain
converts?
7. Why was Okonkwo grieving?
8. Describe the conflict started by Enoch.
9. What was the result of the action taken by the egwuwu?
10. How did Okonkwo feel when he returned from the white man’s prision?
11. Why did the men meet in the marketplace?
12. What event happened in the marketplace?
13. What happened to Okonkwo?
14. What did Obierika tell the Commissioner?
15. What was the commissioner’s reaction to the incident?
16. 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?
Vocabulary Chapters 20-25
1. resilient
2. provoking
3. imminent
4. tumult
5. abominations