Study Guide
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
chapters that follow, think about why Achebe
chose to end the first chapter with this reference.
Consider the connections between Okonkwo's
feelings about his father, his own value system and
character traits, and his feelings about Ikemefuna.
Part One
One
1. Chapter One establishes Okonkwo's character
in contrast to the character of his father Unoka.
Discuss specific examples that illustrate these
opposites:
wrestler vs. musician
Two
1. One of Okonkwo's accomplishments is that he
has brought home the heads of men he has killed.
How do you react to his account of this
accomplishment?
Why do you think Achebe presents this rather
shocking behavior in the way he does?
personal achievement vs. failure
brave warrior vs. coward
2. Why is Ikemefuna brought to Okonkwo's
village and why is he designated the caretaker?
anger vs. gentleness
hard work vs. passive enjoyment
3.What explanations are given in this chapter for
Okonkwo's fiery temper?
wealth vs. indebtedness
Compare Nwoye to his father and grandfather.
Compare the values of the two men. What
positive and negative qualities do you see in each
of them?
2. What is your reaction to Unoka's plan to pay
back his biggest debts first and his refusal to pay
back Okoye?
4. Sketch a picture of Okonkwo's
compound.
Note: The chapter ends with a reference to
Ikemefuna, a character who becomes very
important to Okonkwo's fate. As you read the
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rituals are in the life of the tribe. What do they
show about hierarchy?
courtesy and respect?
Does Western society have comparable rituals?
4. Why does Okonkwo continue to suffer despite
Nwakibie's help?
Notice the way the weather--especially the
extremes of rain and sun-affects the behaviors and
emotional states of being of the characters.
5. Unoka offers praise to Okonkwo at the end
of the chapter. Why is the son so unreceptive to
this support?
Three
1. Explain what Unoka was told when he went to
the Oracle of Agbala to question his lack of
success as a farmer.
Four
1. What evidence is there that his fellow tribesmen
disapprove of Okonkwo? Is their disapproval
justified?
Priestesses of the Earth Mother and this goddess
herself play a very important role in Okonkwo's
life. How do you explain their powers?
2. Consider the contrast in Unoka's death of shame
and the importance of Nwakibie in the tribe. Does
Okonkwo deserve the help he is given?
What does the help given show about the social
structure of the tribe?
2. Okonkwo's behavior in.relation to his family
and his adopted son Ikemefuna is explored in this
chapter. What are your reactions to this revelation
of his character?
3. What does Ezeani prophesy will happen as a
result of Okonkwo's beating of his wife during the
Week of Peace?
4. How do you react to Okonkwo's treatment of
and feelings about his son Nwoye?
3. Examine the ritual of eating that precedes
Okonkwo's request. Notice how important eating
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Why is this an important event for the village?
5. What is the effect of Ikemefuna's story telling on
Nwoye?
Five
1. The events of this chapter mirror the preceding
one. How does Okonkwo's bad temper mar the
preparations for the Feast of the New Yam?
How does Ekwefi insult Okonkwo?
2. Describe the double life of Chielo, the priestess
of Agbala.
Seven
1.
Throughout the novel, Achebe includes
examples of African folk tales. Review the tale of
the Earth, Sky, and Vulture. Is the story in any
way connected to the events of this chapter?
2. Why does Ekwefi love the wrestling matches?
2. What effect does the coming of the locusts have
on the village?
3.What contrasting characteristics of Okonkwo's
relationship with his second wife are brought out
in this chapter?
Do you think this event has anything to do with the
decision to kill Ikemefuna?
3. Why does Ezeudu advise Okonkwo not to
participate in the killing?
4. How do you think Okonkwo feels about his
two daughters Ezinma and Nkechi as he
interacts with them when they bring him food at
the end of this chapter?
4. Describe the reactions of Ikemefuna and Nwoye
to the events that immediately precede the killing.
5. What eating rituals are illustrated in this
chapter?
5. Why does Okonkwo not heed Ezeudu's advice?
Six
1. Describe the ceremonies and social conventions
that accompany the wrestling matches.
6. What is meant by the phrase "a snapping inside
him" with reference to Nwoye's reaction to the
killing? What other event had this same effect
on him?
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place is bad in another"-and of rumors about the
white man. What is the significance of Achebe's
juxtaposition of these two issues?
Begin making a list, from what you have read so far
and as the novel continues, of events and situations
that lead to Nwoye's increasing separation from his
father.
Nine
1. Does the story of the Mosquito and the Ear have
any significance for the circumstance of Okonkwo's
uneasiness about the killing of Ikemefuna? Explain.
Eight
1. For two days Okonkwo cannot eat and for three
days he focuses on the death. How would you
evaluate his response to the killing?
2. Describe the beliefs about the cause of the deaths
of Ekwefi's children.
2. In this chapter Okonkwo keeps repeating his
wish that Ezinma had been a boy. Why does this
wish emerge after Ikemefuna's death?
What are an ogbanje and an iyi-uwa?
3. What is Okonkwo's opinion of the mutual
dependency of Ndulue and his wife?
What is your reaction to the search for the iyi-uwa
and to Ezinma's directions to its hiding place?
What does this detail reveal about his concept of
manliness?
4. Examine the the discussion about the value of
titles between Obierika and Okonkwo. Then trace
the pattern of the eating and negotiation rituals for
the betrothal of Obierika's daughter.
3. What evidence is there in this chapter of a close
tie between Ekwefi and Okonkwo?
What binds them together?
What social values of the tribe are illustrated by
these passages?
Ten
1. Describe the ritual of the appearance of the
egwugwu.
5. At the end of this chapter there is a discussion
of cultural differences-"But what is good in one
2. Describe the "court system" for solving the
conflict between Odukwe and Uzohulu.
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Do you think it is effective? Explain.
Eleven
1. Review the tale of the greedy Tortoise who
falls from the sky. How is the story is a
parable connected to the events of the novel?
2. Chapter 13 is a mirror to Chapter 12, for its
focus is on a funeral ritual rather than a marriage
ritual. Describe the funeral ceremony.
How is it like and different from the betrothal
ceremony?
3. Ezeudu, the old man who dies, has already
played an important role in Okonkwo's life. What
advice did the older man give the young one?
2. Why does Chielo "kidnap" Ezinma and what
does she do with her?
Can you see a meaning or purpose in this ritual?
3. What do Ekwefi and Okonkwo each do to show
their concern?
4. The tragedy that comes inadvertently to
Okonkwo is connected to Ezeudu. How do
you think Achebe intends us to interpret this
connection?
Is it mere coincidence?
Is it the irony of fate?
What effect do the events of the night have on their
relationship?
Is there some cause and effect relationship?
What new information is revealed about their
relationship at the end of the chapter?
Twelve/Thirteen
1. Review the steps in the ritual celebrating
Obierika's daughter's uri--a part of the betrothal
ceremonies. What do the behaviors reveal about
the social values of the tribe?
4. Why is it shameful to be forced into exile in the
motherland?
5. After the "cleansing ceremony" Obierika
expresses his reservations about the laws of the
tribe-the killing of twins, the punishment for an
unintentional killing. He says, "The Earth had
decreed that they [twins] were an offense on the
land and must be destroyed. And if the clan did
not
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exact punishment for an offense against the great
goddess, her wrath was loosed on all the land and
not just on the offender. As the elders said, if one
finger brought oil it soiled the others." Why is this
kind of belief system important for a tribal
society?
3. Distinguish between a female crime and a male
crime.
Fifteen
1. What tragedy has the white man brought to
the Abame tribe?
Why does this tragedy occur?
What are the positive and negative results of the
laws that maintain tribal unity?
Is either side to blame? Support your opinion.
What are Uchendu's and Okonkwo's responses
to the story of Abame?
Does Western society share any of the traits of
tribal society?
How do their responses characterize them?
How does the story of Mother Kite explain the
tragedy?
Part Two
Fourteen
1. What evidence is there that Okonkwo's life can
be happy and productive in exile?
2. What evils does Obierika associate with the
white man?
What is lost because of the exile?
What is his attitude toward cultural differences?
2. Uchendu teaches Okonkwo a lesson on the
meaning of the statement, "Mother is Supreme."
What is his argument?
3. What act of friendship does Obierika do for
Okonkwo?
What do you think motivates his kindness?
Does Okonkwo accept his teaching?
4. Throughout the novel Achebe refers to the
"art of conversation" among the people of
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Umuofia. How does Okonkwo's effort to thank
his friend and Obierika's response illustrate that
"art"?
3. What is Okonkwo's reaction to Nwoye's visiting
the missionaries?
What feelings do you imagine Nwoye has as he
"walked away and never returned"?
Sixteen
1. At first Christianity seems to attract only the
efulefu, the empty and worthless. Why would these
people respond to the new religion?
4. How does Okonkwo characterize Nwoye and the
Christians?
What qualities does he possess in contrast to them?
2. What evidence of a lack of logic do the people
of Mbanta see in the new religion?
3. What causes Nwoye to be attracted to the new
religion? Is he one of the efulefu?
What earlier experiences set the stage for his
conversion?
How does he finally explain to himself the mystery
of the "Roaring Flame" giving birth to a
"womanish" boy like Nwoye?
Eighteen
1. Okonkwo believes that Mbanta is a "womanly
clan" because it allows Mr. Kiaga's church to
prosper. Such a thing would never happen in
Umuofia, he thinks. What is ironic about his
misunderstanding?
Why do you think the narrator says Nwoye's mind
is "callow"?
Seventeen
1. What is ironic about Uchendu's proposal that the
missionaries be given land in the Evil Forest?
2. How do you react to the fact that the Christians
save the twins and take in the osu?
Is Mr. Kiaga heroic?
2. What psychological reasons might account
for Nneke's conversion?
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3. Why does Okonkwo grind his teeth when
Mbanta decides to ostracize the Christians?
4. What evidence is there that the gods of the
clan can defend themselves?
How does this discovery change the clan's
behavior?
Nineteen
1. In what ways has Okonkwo
prepared for his return to his
fatherland?
2. What news does Obierika have about the
effects of the white man's coming on Okonkwo's
tribe?
Why does he conclude "we have fallen apart"?
3. What are the characteristics of clan life and of
the character of these Africans that make them
susceptible to the influence and dominance of the
Europeans?
Twenty-One
1. What qualities of Mr. Brown make him
admirable to the Africans?
In what ways do the African and
Christian beliefs coincide?
How does he express appreciation to Uchendu?
2. Why does Uchendu fear for the future of the
clan?
Why is Mr. Brown's ministry successful?
Part Three
Twenty
1. What losses must Okonkwo face upon his return
to his tribe?
How has he prepared to compensate
for these losses?
2. Why does Okonkwo connect the new religion
and the collapse of the tribe to "womanliness”?
What childhood influence makes him especially
susceptible to overreacting to this trait?
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Twenty-two
1. What makes Mr. Smith a more destructive
missionary than Mr. Brown?
2. Enoch commits a great crime against the clan by
unmasking the egwugwu. What is your reaction to
this deed?
What does this difference suggest about the court
messengers?
3. Why does Ezinma break her visit to the family
of her future husband?
What effect does it have on the tribe?
What is her attitude to the events in Umuofia?
Do you feel their distress and their condemnation of
Enoch are justified?
How is it like Okonkwo's attitude?
Why does the tribe attempt to protect this ritual and
belief system?
Twenty-Four
1. Okonkwo blames Egonwanne for the current
situation. Do you think matters would have been
different had Okonkwo been in Umuofia five years
earlier? Explain.
3. Describe the conflict that results from this
desecration of a tribal rite.
How do the egwugwu get revenge?
2. What had the head court messenger done earlier
to cause Okonkwo to tremble with hate and become
speechless when he approaches?
Twenty-Three
1. Why does Okonkwo feel "almost happy again"?
What does Okonkwo do?
2. Give examples that distinguish between the way
the white District Commissioner treats the leaders
of Umuofia and the way the court messengers treat
them.
How is his action in keeping with his character?
Is his action out of character with his tribe?
Twenty-Five
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1. What is the attitude of the leaders when the
District Commissioner leads a band of armed men
to arrest Okonkwo?
What accounts for this attitude?
2. When he discovers the hanging body of
Okonkwo, why does the District Commissioner
change instantaneously?
What do this change and the subsequent revelation
that he is writing a book suggest about him?
3. The narrator's closing paragraph suggests that
Okonkwo would be the subject of a "reasonable
paragraph" in the Commissioner's book. Given the
topic of the work you have just read, what is ironic
about that statement?
What is the significance of the proposed title of the
Commissioner's book?
Compare/contrast this novel to the meaning of
Heart of Darkness.
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