THINGS FALL APART
World Literature: Mr. Lancto
THEMES & ISSUES WITHIN TFA
•
Masculinity
• Agbala = means “woman” and is used to describe a man with no titles
• Yams  Man crop (Yams give life to Ibo without yams [men] Ibo do not survive)
• Wrestling and physical dominance are highly regarded
• But what truly makes up a man? (Okonkwo’s version or Obierka & Nwoye?)
•
Father/Son Relationships
• Unoka’s laziness drives Okonkwo to hate him and dedicates his life to becoming a “man”
• Nwoye grows to resent Okonkwo’s [Ibo] way of life
• Christianity and the relationship within The Holy Trinity [Father, son, and the holy spirit]
THEMES & ISSUES WITHIN TFA
•
Okonkwo as the Sophoclean Tragic Hero
• Areté: Striving to be a man of title in Ibo tribe & be better than his Father
• Hubris: Calling lesser men as women in meetings, beating wife during week of peace
• Até: Killing Ikemefuna [Going against the will of the gods in order to look strong]
• Nemesis: ??? {You will find out at the end }
• He ends up no better than his father at the end!
•
Old World Vs. New World: Ibo tradition ripped apart by European influence
• Religion (Christianity vs. Traditional Ibo)
• Missionaries attracted outsiders, the curious, and the tortured
• Christianity challenged the beliefs and actions of Ibo [Twins, Evil Forest, etc.]
• Government
• White court system went against the Ibo judicial process, causing conflict
THEMES & ISSUES WITHIN TFA
•
•
Fear
•
Okonkwo’s fear of being like his father drives him and dictates his actions/thoughts
•
Nwoye’s fear of his father forces him to rebel and leave Igbo way of life
•
Missionaries fear of the Igbo forces them to neglect & ignore a different way of life
Martyrdom vs. Extremism
•
•
•
Is Okonkwo a symbol & hero for the Igbo or is his way of life an extreme version of Igbo
culture and/or his own interpreted version of Igbo life?
Accountability/Responsibilty
•
Okonkwo blames chi, father, and weakness of tribe for shortcomings
•
British blame Igbo for not embracing their presence
Role of Women in Igbo Culture
•
Mother is Supreme…BUT women are not regarded in everyday society
CHAPTERS 5-7
•
Okonkwo rebels against tradition to preserve his “Manliness”
• Beats Ewefi in order to satisfy his boredom of the New Yam Festival
• Kills Ikemefuna despite Ogbuefi Ezeudu telling him not to “bear a hand in his death”
• Sin to kill a kinsman [family member] in Ibo culture
•
Nwoye and his struggle to find acceptance
• Tries to please his father by talking badly about women
• “That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk” (45)
• Enjoys his mother’s stories instead of Okonkwo’s about blood and war
• Questions Ikemefuna’s death and practice of killing Twins
• Mourns with his mother and cries in front of his father [Okonkwo beats him]
Chapters 8
•
Okonkwo’s inner struggle with Ikemefuna’s death
• He questions his manliness for feeling remorse
• Obierika does not take place in Ikemefuna’s death, yet his manhood is not
questioned
• Obierika tells Okonkwo, “It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out
whole families.” (67)
• Does this explain events in Chap. 13?
•
Obierika questions Ibo society
• Twins
• Ozo title
• Okonkwo’s banishment
Chapter 9 & 10
•
Ewefi’s story
• Ogbanje = wicked child spirit that when they died entered mothers womb to be born
again
• Iyi-uwa an object from Igbo mythology that binds the spirit of Ogbanje (many objects can
serve)
• What does this explain about Ibo religion?
• Using objects to hold significance?
•
Egwugwu
• Settled conflicts between people in the tribe
• “it is not bravery when a man fights with a women.” (93)
• What does this explain or not explain about Okonkwo?
Points of interest throughout 8-13
•
Ceremonies
• Wedding
• Bride-price settled by men with a bundle of sticks
• Ch.12 explains the entire process
• Funeral
• Chapter 13
• Conflict (court case)
• Egwugwu settled with compromise (their word is law)
•
Storytelling
• Tortoise and the sky
• Represents the trickery/influence of the European colonization within the Ibo
Points of interest throughout 14-19
•
Mother is Supreme
• Uchendu is trying to show Okonkwo that it is okay to show emotion
• Just as children seek comfort from their Mother, Okonkwo is seeking it in Mbanta
• Uchendu openly admits feeling pain for loss of wives and children
• Okonkwo is rejecting emotions & Ibo tradition by disrespecting his mother’s kinsman
• Story of Mother Kite
• “Never kill a man who says nothing.” (116)
• Okonkwo suggests they should have armed and fought
• Uchendu reflects the Ibo ideal of trying to solve a conflict peacefully before violence
POINTS OF INTEREST THROUGHOUT 14-19
•
Acceptance and Rejection of Christianity
• Nwoye, pregnant women, and Osu [outcast clansmen] find purpose, comfort, & meaning
• Okonkwo rejects because it would place blame and diminish his reputation
• Killing Ikemefuna would be pointless
• Nwoye and his relationship falling apart would be for nothing
• His entire life would be useless
•
Christianity destroys Ibo culture & traditions
• No negative consequences from evil forest, osu cutting hair, or caring for twins
• Dissolves traditional kinship and replaces it with a “spiritual” kinship through God
• Encourages the rejection of family “Blessed is he who forsakes his father…for my sake.” (127)
Chapters 20-25
•
“We were amused at his [the white man] foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won
our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that
held us together and we have fallen apart.” (145)
• These “things” that held them together were culture, tradition, and religion
• Missionaries caused them to question and reject these important aspects  Downfall
•
Mr. Smith and D.C. represents the ignorance of the western world when it comes to Africa
• Saw things as “Black” and “White”… “black was evil”
• Could write only a chapter on Okonkwo…Achebe writes an entire book
• Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger
•
Who is to blame for Okonkwo’s death?
• His own selfishness [thought he would be great when he returned, having to be manly]
• Missionaries? [Caused conflict amongst Ibo clan which in turn weakened them]