*****The following study guide questions are for reference. You DO NOT have
to turn in these questions. They will not be graded. However, most test
questions will come directly from this study guide.
Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe
Study Questions
Chapter 1
1. This novel starts out with a description of a wrestling contest twenty years before. What is
the effect on the reader of such an opening?
2. What is your impression of Okonkwo, based on the physical description?
3. What is your impression on Unoka, based on the physical description?
4. What is the importance of the kola nut, pepper, and chalk when visitors arrive?
5. Why doesn’t Okoye mention the debt until after they discuss other subjects?
6. Why would a person speak in proverbs in such a situation?
7. What is the significance of the statement, “Among the Ibo the art of conversation is
regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten”.
8. Why does a society use shells such as cowries for money?
9. How does Unoka skillfully tell Okoye that the money will not be forthcoming?
10. The book reads, “...among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not
according to the worth of his father.” Why is this important?
11. What is going to happen to Ikemefuna?
Chapter 2
12. Summarize what has happened that has called all 10,000 men together from the nine
villages.
13. What is the purpose of an oracle?
14. What is a “fight of blame”?
15. Why is Ogbuefi Ezeugo an important man?
16. Why is Ikemefuna sent to Okonkwo’s village to live, and why is this act considered a just
way to resolve the problem?
17. What cruel acts does Okonkwo commit in this chapter?
18. “His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper
and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the
forest, and of the forced of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw”; “malevolent, red in
tooth and claw” from In Memoriam by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, stanza. What does this tell us
about Okonkwo?
19. Okonkwo is “ruled by one passion—to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One
of those things was gentleness and another was idleness”. Comment on this quotation.
20. Umuofia is the name of Okonkwo’s village. Draw a sketch of it.
21. Nwoye is Okonkwo’s first son. What is he like as a person?
22. Achebe delays having Okonkwo speak until the end of the chapter. Why does he do this?
23. Why were children warned not to whistle at night?
24. Describe what was believed to be the magical source of strength for Umuofia: agadi-nwayi
25. What was the option the village of Umuofia gave the village of Mbaino after a member of
Mbaino had killed a daughter?
26. On a blank piece of paper, draw Okonkwo’s house as described.
Chapter 3
27. What is the function of the Oracle in Umuofia?
28. Why is Unoka buried in the Evil Forest?
29. Despite his willingness to work hard, why is Okonkwo still “possessed by the fear of his
father’s contemptible life and shameful death”?
30. Why does Okonkwo say, “A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own
greatness”?
31. Why does Ogbuefi Idigo say, “A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing”?
32. Why is Okonkwo uneasy when “dry bones are mentioned in a proverb”?
33. Why does Okonkwo refer to the lizard who jumped from the tree to the ground?
34. What is the meaning of the proverb, “Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to
shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching”?
35. Why does Nwakibie give Okonkwo seed yams?
36. What does it tell us about Okonkwo that he has an “inflexible will”?
37. What side of Okonkwo do we see here in the face of drought and loss of crops?
38. Why don’t Unoka’s words at the end of the chapter help Okonkwo?
39. Explain how one entered the sacred shrine of Umuofia.
40. Who was Nwakibie and what role does he play in the life of Okonkwo?
41. Why doesn’t Okonkwo laugh at Nwakibie’s joke?
42. Explain why Okonkwo’s first year as a farmer was so difficult. Use one direct quote from
the novel to aid in your description.
43. What is Unoka’s advice that ends chapter three?
Chapter 4
44. What is the significance of the saying, “Looking at the king’s mouth, one would never think
he sucked at his mother’s breast”?
45. How does Ikemefuna adjust to his new home?
46. Why does Okonkwo believe that “to show affection” is “a sign of weakness”?
47. Why does Okonkwo beat his third wife, and what are the possible consequences of
breaking the peace?
48. What is the purpose of the Week of Peace?
49. Why do Okonkwo’s enemies say that he is “the little bird nza who so far forgot himself after
a heavy meal that he challenged his chi”?
50. Why does Okonkwo treat the boys so harshly when they are preparing the seed-yams?
Chapter 5
51. What is the purpose of the Feast of the New Yam (also called the New Yam Festival)?
52. Why does Okonkwo beat his second wife and then try to shoot her?
53. What were the circumstances surrounding Okonkwo’s marriage to Ekwefi, his second wife?
54. Why does Ekwefi answer, “Is that me?”
55. What is Obiageli’s “mournful story”?
56. Why does Okonkwo tell Ezinma to “sit like a woman”?
Chapter 6
57. What is the purpose of the wrestling match?
58. What is the significance of Ekwefi’s comment about Ezinma, “Perhaps she has come to stay”?
59. Why does Chielo refer to Ezinma as “my daughter”?
60. What is the significance of the song at the end of the chapter?
Chapter 7
61. How has Nwoye begun to "act like a man"?
62. What values does Okonkwo associate with manliness?
63. How does Nwoye relate to these values?
64. How does the village react to the coming of the locusts?
65. Why is Okonkwo asked not to take part in the killing of Ikemefuna?
66. Why do you suppose they have decided to kill the boy?
67. Why do you think Achebe does not translate the song that Ikemefuna remembers as he
walks along?
68. Why does Okonkwo act as he does?
Chapter 8
69. What is Okonkwo's attitude toward his daughter Ezinma?
70. Bride-price is the converse of dowry. Common in many African cultures, it involves the
bridegroom's family paying substantial wealth in cash or goods for the privilege of
marrying a young woman. Do you think such a custom would tend to make women more
valuable than a dowry system where the woman's family must offer the gifts to the
bridegroom's family?
71. How is the notion of white men first introduced into the story?
72. Why might Africans suppose that they have no toes?
73. What sorts of attitudes are associated with white men in this passage?
Chapter 9
71. What does the story of the mosquito explain? Why do you think they tell these stories?
72. Why does Ekwefi prize her daughter Ezinma so highly?
73. In this chapter the notion of the ogbanje is treated at length. What attitudes toward
children does it reflect?
74. Does Achebe seem to validate the belief in ogbanje?
Chapter 10
75. The egwugwu ceremony of the Ibo has been much studied. The women clearly know on
some level that these mysterious beings are their men folk in disguise, yet they are terrified
of them. Why do you think they have this attitude toward the egwugwu?
76. What seem to be the main functions of the ceremony?
77. How does Evil Forest refute the argument of Uzowulu that he beat his wife because she was
unfaithful to him?
78. How are problems like this affected by the fact that whole families are involved in
marriage, unlike in American culture where a man and woman may wed quite
independently of their families and even against their families' wishes?
79. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each system?
Chapter 11
77. What is the moral of the fable of the tortoise? What values does it reflect?
78. What does the incident involving the priestess of Agbala reflect about the values of the culture?
Chapter 12
79. Notice the traditional attitudes of all small villagers toward large marketplaces like
Umuike. How is the importance of family emphasized in the uri ceremony?
80. Notice that the song sung at the end of the chapter is a new one. Why do you think Achebe
did this?
Chapter 13
81. How does the one-handed egwugwu praise the dead man?
82. What is the custom for announcing the death of a villager?
83. Who is Ezeudu?
84. Why does Okonkwo have a cold shiver when he hears that it’s Ezeude who has died?
85. Summarize the funeral rituals described in this chapter?
86. What happens to Ezeudu’s son?
87. If the killing is an accident, why must Okonkwo leave for 7 years?
Chapter 14
88. What is the significance of comparing Okonkwo to a fish out of water?
89. How does Okonkwo's lack of understanding of the importance of women reflect on him?
90. How does his mother’s family help Okonkwo become established in the village?
91. The description of the weather is given. What is the tone of this description?
92. Why is it important to Okonkwo to become “one of the lords of the clan”?
93. Why does Uchendu call everyone together?
94. What advice does Uchendu give Okonkwo?
95. The final part of the marriage ritual is the isa-ifi. Once the ceremony is over, the couple is
considered married. How does the marriage ceremony differ from those in today’s world?
Chapter 15
90. How does the story of the destruction of Abame summarize the experience of colonization?
91. Note that although the people of Abame acted rashly, they had a good deal of insight into
the significance of the arrival of the whites. How do the Africans treat the white man's
language?
92. What sorts of stories had Okonkwo heard about white men before?
93. In the final exchange with Okonkwo Obierika is good-naturedly refusing to accept
Okonkwo's thanks by doing what with him?
94. What comment does Uchendu make about the old days in the clan?
95. Why is the white man referred to as an “albino”?
96. An iron horse is the name Obierika gives to a bicycle (movie Indians call a train engine an
"iron horse"). Why does Obierika call it that?
97. Why do the villagers kill the man?
98. What is the point of Uchendu’s story of the kite?
99. Why does Okonkwo wait until they have eaten before asking about the bags of cowries?
100.Why does Obierika tell Okonkwo to repay him by killing one of his (Okonkwo’s) sons for
him?
101.Why does he then say that Okonkwo can kill himself?
102.What is the significance of the story about Abame?
Chapter 16
103.How do the villagers react to the coming of the missionaries?
104.Why does Nwoye say about Okonkwo, “He is not my father”?
105.Why is it funny when the Ibo translator mistakes the word for “myself”?
106.What is the message of the missionaries?
107.What do the missionaries say about tribal gods, and how does it affect the villagers?
Chapter 17
108.What is the significance of the Evil Forest?
109.Why do the tribesmen give the Evil Forest to the missionaries?
110.One market week is four days long. What happens at the end of 28 days (7 market weeks)
after the church is built?
111.Why does Okonkwo begin to strike Nwoye, and what does this show us about his
character?
112.Why does Okonkwo think Nwoye is “not worth fighting for”?
113.What is his chi doing, according to Okonkwo?
114.What is the significance of the name, the “Roaring Flame”?
115.How is Nwoye like his grandfather?
Chapter 18
116.Why do three of the converts come into the village?
117.Why doesn’t the tribe unite and revolt against the outsiders?
118.What kind of person is Mr. Kiaga?
119.How does Mr. Kiaga save his church in the face of criticism about the osu?
120.Why is the sacred python important?
121.Why does the tribe agree to ostracize the Christians?
122.Who kills the python?
Chapter 19
123.In Okonkwo’s mind, how does Mbanta compare to Umuofia?
124.Why is the rainbow called “the python of the sky”?
Chapter 20
125.What clashes in values are created by the functioning of the British courts?
126.Note the final phrase of Obierika's last speech. Explain its relation to the title of the novel.
Chapter 21
127.Why do some of the villagers--even those who are not converts to Christianity--welcome
the British?
128.What does Mr. Brown learn about the conversion of the villagers in regards to their
idolatry? What assumption has he made that is wrong?
129.How is the phrase "falling apart" used in the last sentence of the chapter?
Chapter 22
130.How is Rev. Smith different from Brown?
131.What is the result of his black and white thinking?
Chapter 23
132.What does the District Commissioner say is the motive of the British in colonizing the
Africans?
Chapter 24
133.Once again Okonkwo uses his machete rashly, bringing disaster on his head. But he could
be viewed as a defiant hero defending his people's way of life. What do you think of his act?
Chapter 25
134.Why do you think Okonkwo kills himself?
135.What is your reaction to the final paragraph of the book? Analyze it.