Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Discussion Notes
Okonkwo/point of view
Not very kind to other members of his family, short-tempered, exacting, pg 85
Pg. 26, looks down on men who he thinks are less than him, demeaning, condescending,
sexist
Pg 4, takes his anger out with aggression and his fists, bellicose, belligerent
Okonkwo’s toughness toward his son and high expectations are rooted in the fact that he
wants his son to be successful, pg 52-53
His position is because of his hard work, pg 13, 27
Pg 1 and 8, he had many personal achievements
Pg 13 and 18, he rejected his past and his father’s ideas of idleness, feared ending up like
his father
His tragic flaw could be the fact that fear motivates him
Pg 175, Okonkwo wants his people to fight back so they don’t look week
Pg 172, He has compassion toward his children even though he is tough on them, pg 108
when he goes to the cave
Pg 28, 61 the only thing worth demonstrating is strength, he didn’t show any other
emotion that would make him seem weak
Pg 23-25, inflexible will
Atypical
Pg 39 shoots at wife
Pg 31 breaks week of peace
Pg 7, 25 not a talker in a society that values it
Pg 206 district commissioner thinks they talk too much
Killing of Ikemefuna
pg 61 kills Ikemefuna instead of following advice of elder and letting others do it pg 57
Obierika and society do not approve pg 67
follows rules except when trying to look strong
Ikemefuna was like the ram for Nwoye (Biblical story of Isaac)
Science
Primitive, provincial, barbaric
Agriculturally advanced, but still subsistence farmers
Pg. 85 Herbs used for medicine
Pg. 77 ogbanje, evil children who die and return to their mothers
Pg. 82 find an iyi-uwa (rock), to destroy the ogbanje
Pg. 61 Throw away twins
Religion
Christianity (Anglican) vs. Ibo
Pg. 31Week of Peace, honors Ani, earth goddess
Female goddess vs. male god
Pg. 57 oracle of the hill and the caves (Agbala), priestess (Chielo) represents her
Pg. 155 Outcastes and abominations accepted in Christianity
Pg 157 outcastes shaved their heads in opposition of Ibo religion
Pg. 91 Polygamy and beating of wives
Pg 151 women were punished by throwing away twins
Pg. 150evil forest=abominations, church given land there to punish them, nothing
happens, leads to questioning of Ibo faith
Pg. 178 Mr. Brown kind to the Ibos and their religion, seeks understanding, builds school
and hospital-medicine, fulfills people’s needs
Pg 179 Chukwu, created everything, overlord
Pg 184 Mr. Smith, authoritarian, condemns Mr. Brown, black and white, protects zealot
Pg 206 District commissioner nameless to remain faceless almost a machine instead of
human
Week of peace before planting
New Yam festival before harvest
Government
Pg. 114 Expect every one to pitch in, system for dealing with infractions, groups ready to
deal with problems
Oracle makes religious decisions
Kindred meeting of men, all connected
Egalitarian agrarian Jeffersonian democracy
Pg. 91 egwugwu, spirits to mediate disputes, judges, feared and revered
Lots of smaller committees
Pg. 6, 14 Gave Ikemefuna and a virgin to stop a war between cities
Compound-main house, wives houses, outdoor kitchen surrounded by fence
Missionaries separated from colonial government
Women
Priestess, oracle, and main goddess are women
Christianity allowed women to keep children and not mutilate ogbanje
Pg. 13, 26 men are strong, women need to be protected, men do not want to be seen as
womanly
Pg. 29, 39 beating wives is ok, one way street
Pg. 64 “she should have been a boy” men valued highly, but women still have power
Pg. 134-135 mother is compassionate and understanding, “mother is supreme” women
balance manly qualities, okonkwo has no woman in him-downfall
Pg 125 Obierika is thoughtful as a foil to Okonkwo
Okonkwo’s exile
Pg. 124 gun exploded at funeral and killed the dead man’s son
Pg. 124 Exiled 7 years for accidental death, “female crime” inadvertent
His compound is destroyed, but Obierika still plants his yams for profit
Safety issue to help both parties, cooling off period
Provides a bigger change through Christianity
Pg. 131 uchendu gives counterpoint to okonkwo with women
Is his chi bad?
The turtle parable
Very ambitious, wants to do remarkable things
Goes away from home expecting a soft landing, but does not get one because of changes
People like to talk in proverbs
Turtle works hard to get people to like him
Missionaries are turtle, they make promises that they do not deliver, manipulate Ibo for
their gain, expect a soft landing, but are fought against
Groups/people criticized
Ibo- throw away children, evil forest, beating of women, maybe others?, pg. 160 are
inflexible towards people they have outcast who to turn to Christianity, pg. 156
osu not accepted in society
Okonkwo- self centered, quick to anger, afraid of being like his father and being weak,
inflexible, too manly
British- pg. 174 build a court were the DC judged cases in ignorance, pg. 195 DC is
subversive is arresting prison’s, chapter 25 DC is ignorant of the ibo culture and
inflexible towards him, racist, ethnocentric, pg. 154 missionaries overstepped
bounds dealing with ibo gods, pg. 184 mr. smith doesn’t like ibos- intolerant, light
vs. dark, mad
Universal aspects
Balance between masculine and feminine
Importance of family
Conflicts between parents and children
Inflexibility causes problems
Inevitability of change
Culture clash
Questioning of society’s rules
Themes
***Imbalance between masculine and feminine traits may lead to personal
unhappiness/downfall.
Strong family bonds give one something to fall back upon in hard times.
Parent’s personal dreams often interfere with their children’s choices.
***Inflexibility to inevitable change causes problems.
An imbalance of power causes most cultural clashes.
An open dialog could solve many clashes.
An established practice is not always correct.
***Being controlled by fear can lead to unhappiness and destruction.
Ways Okonkwo causes suffering for others
Beats wife during Week of Peace – wife, family
Kills Ikemefuna – Nwoye, Ikemefuna, wives, Obierika, Okonkwo
Makes family work very, very, very hard – family
Kills messenger – community
Suicide – community
Negative attitude towards exile – Ezinma, family
Controlled by fear of being seen as weak – Ikemefuna, Nwoye
Inflexibility – Nwoye
Sexism – need for control – insulting others by calling them women – family, community