Name_________________
Humanities 9: Colonialism in Africa
Socratic Seminar: Things Fall Apart
Directions:
1) You must answer questions #1-5. For #6-11, you may skip 2 questions of your choosing.
2) For the questions: fully respond with thought and detail. Find as many examples from the
book that relate to or support your ideas.
1. In your opinion, why was Okonkwo unable to get the Igbo to fight with him?
2. One discussion question that YOU would like to ask the class, on any part of the novel. If
possible, include YOUR answer to the question.
3. What character traits does Okonkwo have that are admirable?
4. A “fatal flaw” is the character trait (a flaw) that causes a person to fail. What would you
argue is Okonkwo’s fatal flaw? Explain.
5. Do you have sympathy for Okonkwo at the end of the novel? Why or why not?
6. Why do you think Okonkwo killed himself? According to Okonkwo’s standards, was this a
masculine action? Why or why not?
7. Obierika accuses the British of being responsible for Okonkwo’s death, saying, “That man
was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be
buried like a dog” (Achebe 208). In your opinion, who was most to blame for Okonkwo’s
death?
8. Uchendu says, “The world had no end, and what is good among one people is an
abomination with others.” Do you agree and how might this relate to your experience of
reading about the Igbo culture? How were your ideas, cultural norms as an American
challenged by reading about Igbo culture in Umuofia? Did you try to understand their
practices & beliefs without judgment? Why or why not?
9. If this novel is supposed to be about colonialism, why do you think the author, Chinua
Achebe, chose not to introduce the Europeans until the second half?
10. Why do you think Chinua Achebe ended the novel from the British District
Commissioner’s perspective and with the title of the Commissioner’s book, The
Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger?
11. Another discussion question that YOU would like to ask the class, on any part of the novel.
If possible, include YOUR answer to the question.