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Things Fall Apart – Study Guide
CHARACTERS
DIRECTIONS: Fill out the chart as and when we read the book so you can keep track of the characters.
(This DOES NOT need to be in complete sentences!  )
CHARACTERS
DESCRIPTION: WHO are they?
Okonkwo
(Oh-kawnkwoh)
Unoka
(Ooh-no-kah)
***FAMILY MEMBER***
Nwoye
(Nuh-woh-yeh)
***FAMILY MEMBER***
Ikemefuna
(Ee-keh-mehfoo-nah)
***FAMILY MEMBER***
Ekwefi
(Eh-kweh-fee)
***FAMILY MEMBER***
Ezinma
(Eh-zeen-mah)
***FAMILY MEMBER***
Ojiubo
(Oh-jee-oohboh)
***FAMILY MEMBER***
Obierika
(Oh-bee-air-eekah)
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Chielo
(Chee-eh-loh)
Agbala
(Ahg-bah-lah)
Mr. Brown
Mr. Kiaga
The Reverend
James Smith
The District
Commissioner
MAJOR THEMES
 _________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________
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AFRICAN/IBO CULTURE VOCABULARY
yam
Ani
obi
efulefu
egwugwu
ilo
kola nut
chi
Ogbanje
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ENGLISH II EOC VOCABULARY
DIRECTIONS: Fill out the vocabulary words on the lines below as and when we go over it in class.
Vocabulary Quiz 1 Words (Chapters 1-10)

Emissary – ______________________________________________________________________________________

Capricious – ____________________________________________________________________________________

Valediction – ____________________________________________________________________________________

Disquieting – ____________________________________________________________________________________

Splendor – ______________________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Quiz 2 Words (Chapters 11-17)

Sullenness – ____________________________________________________________________________________

Calamity – _____________________________________________________________________________________

Mirthless – _____________________________________________________________________________________

Heathen – ______________________________________________________________________________________
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Impudent – _____________________________________________________________________________________
Vocabulary Quiz 3 Words (Chapters 18-25)

Wherewithal – __________________________________________________________________________________

Parsonage – ____________________________________________________________________________________

Grievances – ____________________________________________________________________________________

Tumultuous – ___________________________________________________________________________________

Superfluous – ___________________________________________________________________________________
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OKONKWO’S FAMILY TREE
DIRECTIONS: Fill in the Okonkwo’s family tree below by putting the names in the correct place.
SETTING
Continent: __________________________________
Country:____________________________________
African Culture: ____________________________________
Community/Clan: ________________________________________
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CHAPTER READING QUESTIONS
DIRECTIONS: Answer the questions below as and when we do them in class. You may write the answers
directly below the questions. (Your answers DO NOT need to be in complete sentences!  )
Chapter 1-2 Questions (Pgs. 3-15)
1. CHARACTER CHART: Okonkwo’s physical appearance and/or abilities in the character chart.
2. CHARACTER CHART: Describe Okonkwo’s personality in the character chart.
3. Why is Okonkwo ashamed of his father, Unoka?
4. CHARACTER CHART: How would you describe Unoka? Describe him in the character chart.
5. Name one superstition from chapter 2.
6. Why is the village of Umuofia threatening war with the village of Mbaino?
7. What are the two things that the village of Umuofia receives for compensation in order to avoid war?
8. Why is the village of Umuofia considered so powerful?
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9. How do the men of Umofia decide what to do about the murder of a woman from their clan?
10. What role do the women of Umofia have in the decision?
Chapter 3-4 Questions (Pgs. 16-35)
11. Why does Unoka consult the Oracle?
12. What does the Oracle tell him?
13. What is the Week of Peace? What does Okonkwo do to break the Week of Peace?
14. CHARACTER CHART: Who is Nwoye? Describe him in the character chart.
15. How does Okonkwo treat Nwoye?
16. Okonkwo’s first year as a farmer is difficult. How is the difficulty due to Okonkwo’s family history and how was it
due to nature?
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Chapters 5-6 Questions (Pgs. 36-51)
17. When is the Festival of the New Yam held?
18. What is Okonkwo's attitude toward feasts?
19. What causes Okonkwo to shoot at Ekwefi?
20. What does this actions say about Okonkwo?
Chapter 6 SUMMARY (Pgs. 46-51)
The wrestling match takes place on the village ilo, or common green. Drummers line the field, and the spectators are so
excited that they must be held back. The wrestling begins with matches between boys ages fifteen and sixteen. Maduka,
the son of Okonkwo’s friend Obierika, wins one match within seconds. As the wrestling continues, Ekwefi speaks with
Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves. The two women are good friends, and Chielo inquires
about Ezinma, whom she calls “my daughter.” They conclude that Ezinma seems to have “come to stay” because she has
reached the age of ten.
Chapter 7 Questions (Pgs. 52-62)
21. “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his
women) he was not really a man.” (p.53)
What does this thought from Okonkwo show us about the Ibo attitudes about being a man?
22. What rare food item has appeared in Umuofia?
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23. What warning does Ogbuefi Ezeudu (the village elder) give Okonkwo?
24. What has the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves finally decided to do with Ikemefuna? How long has he lived with
Okonkwo?
25. Who delivers the killing blow to Ikemefuna?
26. What do the villagers do with twins?
Chapter 8 Questions (Pg. 63-74)
27. How does Okonkwo react to Ikemefuna’s death?
28. How does Okonkwo deal with the “ghost” of his father’s weakness?
29. A suitor wants to marry one of Obierika’s daughters. Describe how Obierika and the suitor’s father bargain to
determine the bride-price.
30. What is the meaning of the quote, “What is good in one place is bad in another place”? (p. 74)
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Chapter 8: Change in Okonkwo (Pages 63-74)
(1) “Okonkwo did not taste any food for two days after the
death of Ikemefuna. He drank palm-wine from morning till
night, and his eyes were red and fierce like the eyes of a rat
when it was caught by the tail and dashed against the floor.
He called his son, Nwoye, to sit with him in his obi” (Achebe
63).
“’You have not eaten for two days,’ said his daughter Ezinma
when she brought the food to him. ‘So you must finish this.’
She sat down and stretched her legs in front of her. Okonkwo
ate the food absent-mindedly. ‘She should have been a boy,’
(2) he thought as he looked at his ten-year-old daughter”
(Achebe 63-64).
“’When did you become a shivering old woman,’ Okonkwo
asked himself, ‘you, who are known in all the nine villages for
your valor in war? How can a man who has killed five men in
battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their
number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed (3)’”
(Achebe 65).
“’But someone had to do it. If we were all afraid of blood, it
would not be done. And what do you think the Oracle would
do then?’”
“’You know very well, Okonkwo, that I am not afraid of
blood; and if anyone tells you that I am, he is telling a lie. And
let me tell you one thing, my friend. If I were you I would have
stayed at home. What you have done will not please the
Earth. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out
whole families.’” (4)
“’The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger,’
Okonkwo said. ‘A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of
hot yam which its mother puts into its palm.’”
“’That is true,’ Obierika agreed. ‘But if the oracle said that
my son should be killed I would neither dispute it not be the
one to do it’” (Achebe 67).
“’It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white
like this piece of chalk,’ said Obierika. (5) He held up a piece of
chalk, which every man kept in his obi and with which his
guests drew lines on the floor before they ate kola nuts. ‘And
these white men, they say, have no toes.’”
“’And have you never seen them?’ asked Machi.”
“’Have you?’ asked Obierika.”
“’One of them passes here frequently,’ said Machi. ‘His
name is Amadi.’”
“Those who knew Amadi laughed. He was a leper, and the
polite name for leprosy was ‘the white skin’” (Achebe 74).
1. Describe the Okonkwo you know from Chapters 1-7.
How has Okonkwo changed since the death of
Ikemefuna?
2. Why does Okonkwo wish Ezinma had been a boy?
3. What does this and the lines from Question 2 show us
about how Okonkwo views women?
4. Obierika is foreshadowing what might happen to
Okonkwo and Umoufia. Predict Okonkwo and
Umoufia’s fate.
5. The men of Umoufia have not encountered the white
men very frequently up to this point. Why do you
think Chinua Achebe adds these lines in this part of
the text?
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Chapter 9 Questions (Pgs. 75-86)
31. CHARACTER CHART: Who is Ezinma? Who is Ekwefi? Write your answer in the character chart.
32. Describe the relationship between Ezinma and her mother, Ekwefi.
33. How many children has Ekwefi had that have died?
34. What do Okonkwo and Ekwefi do to treat the iba that Ezinma has caught/contracted?
Chapter 10 SUMMARY (Pgs. 87-94)
The village holds a ceremonial gathering to administer justice. The clan’s ancestral spirits, which are known as egwugwu,
emerge from a secret house into which no woman is allowed to step. The egwugwu take the form of masked men, and
everyone suspects that Okonkwo is among them. The women and children are filled with fear even though they sense
that the egwugwu are merely men impersonating spirits.
The first dispute that comes before the egwugwu involves an estranged husband and wife. The husband, Uzowulu,
states that the three brothers of his wife, Mgbafo, beat him and took her and the children from his hut but would not
return her bride-price. The woman’s brothers state that he is a beastly man who beat their sister mercilessly, even
causing her to miscarry once. They argue that Uzowulu must beg Mgbafo to return to him. If she agrees, the brothers
declare, Uzowulu must understand that they will cut his genitals off if he ever beats her again. The egwugwu decide in
favor of Mgbafo. One village elder complains that such a trifling matter should not be brought before them.
Chapter 11 Questions (Pgs. 95-109)
35. What is the purpose of Ekwefi’s etiological tale regarding tortoise?
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36. Chielo comes to Okonkwo’s compound to collect someone. Who?
37. What oath does Ekwefi swear as she waits at the cave’s entrance?
38. How did Okonkwo react when Ekwefi ran away to be with him?
Chapter 12-13 Questions (Pgs. 110-119 and pgs. 120-125)
39. What does the priestess do with Ezinma after coming out of the cave?
40. What joyous ceremony takes place the day after the return from the cave?
41. What sad news does the drum announce?
42. What terrible accident happens at the funeral?
43. What happens to Okonkwo’s family as a result of what happened at the funeral?
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Chapter 14 Questions (Pgs. 129-135)
44. Where does Okonkwo go during his exile from Umuofia?
45. Who is Uchendu?
46. How is Okonkwo feeling during his first season in exile?
47. Describe the last ceremony for marriage. Who is questioned? Who asks the questions? What types of questions
are asked?
48. Why do the Ibo say that “mother is supreme,” according to Uchendu?
49. How does Uchendu snap Okonkwo out of his depression?
Chapter 15 SUMMARY (Pgs. 136-142)
During the second year of Okonkwo’s exile, Obierika brings several bags of cowries to Okonkwo. He also brings bad
news: a village named Abame has been destroyed. It seems that a white man arrived in Abame on an “iron horse”
(which we find out later is a bicycle) during the planting season. The village elders consulted their oracle, which
prophesied that the white man would be followed by others, who would bring destruction to Abame. The villagers killed
the white man and tied his bicycle to their sacred tree to prevent it from getting away and telling the white man’s
friends. A while later, a group of white men discovered the bicycle and guessed their comrade’s fate. Weeks later, a
group of men surrounded Abame’s market and destroyed almost everybody in the village. Uchendu asks Obierika what
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the first white man said to the villagers. Obierika replies that he said nothing, or rather, he said things that the villagers
did not understand. Uchendu declares that Abame was foolish to kill a man who said nothing. Okonkwo agrees that the
villagers were fools, but he believes that they should have heeded the oracle’s warning and armed themselves.
The reason for Obierika’s visit and for the bags of cowries that he brings Okonkwo is business. Obierika has been selling
the biggest of Okonkwo’s yams and also some of his seed yams. He has given others to sharecroppers for planting. He
plans to continue to bring Okonkwo the money from his yams until Okonkwo returns to Iguedo.
Chapter 16 Questions (Pgs. 143-147)
50. How long has Okonkwo been in exile?
51. What sorts of people have converted to Christianity (the “white man’s god”)?
52. Why has Obierika come to visit?
53. What is an ‘iron horse’?
54. How does Okonkwo respond to the evangelists’ message? How does Nwoye respond?
Chapter 17 Questions (Pgs. 148-153)
55. What do the villagers put in the Evil Forest?
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56. Why do the leaders of Mbanta give the missionaries part of the Evil Forest?
57. Why do you think the woman Nneka joined the church?
58. How does Okonkwo react when he finds that Nwoye has joined the Christians?
59. What is Okonkwo’s nickname?
Chapter 18 Questions (Pgs. 154-161)
60. What happened when the missionaries “tried to overstep the bounds”?
61. What does Okonkwo want to do about the Christians?
62. What happened to Okoli?
Chapter 19 SUMMARY (Pgs. 162-167)
Okonkwo’s seven years of exile in Mbanta are drawing to an end. Before he returns to Umuofia, he provides a large
feast for his mother’s kinsmen. He is grateful to them but secretly regrets the missed opportunity to have further
increased his status and influence among his own clan. He also regrets having spent time with such un-masculine
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people. At the feast, one man expresses surprise that Okonkwo has been so generous with his food and another praises
Okonkwo’s devotion to the kinship bond. He also expresses concern for the younger generation, as Christianity is
winning people away from their families and traditions.
Chapter 20 Questions (Pgs. 171-177)
63. What has Okonkwo missed out on by being away from Umuofia for 7 years?
64. Name three things that Okonkwo has planned to do upon his return to the clan.
65. What has changed in Umuofia due to the white man’s influence?
66. According to Obierika, why would it be unwise to fight the white men?
Chapter 21 Questions (Pgs. 178-183)
67. Why do the villagers respect Mr. Brown?
68. Why does Mr. Brown encourage the villagers to send their children to his school?
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69. What is Nwoye’s new name?
70. Why is Okonkwo so upset by the changes taking place in Umuofia?
Chapter 22 SUMMARY (Pgs. 184-191)
Reverend James Smith, a strict and intolerant man, replaces Mr. Brown. He demands the utmost obedience to the letter
of the Bible and disapproves of Mr. Brown’s tolerant and unorthodox policies. The more zealous converts are relieved to
be free of Mr. Brown’s policy of restraint. One such convert, Enoch, dares to unmask an egwugwu during the annual
ceremony to honor the earth deity, an act equivalent to killing an ancestral spirit. The next day, the egwugwu burn
Enoch’s compound to the ground. They then gather in front of the church to confront Reverend Smith and his fellow
Christians. They tell the Christians that they only wish to destroy the church in order to cleanse their village of Enoch’s
horrible sin. Smith replies that he will stand his ground. He forbids them to touch the church, but his interpreter alters
Smith’s statement for fear that the unvarnished truth will be too harsh and that he will suffer as the messenger of bad
news. He tells the egwugwu that Smith demands that they leave the matter in his hands. They ignore Smith’s orders and
burn the church.
Chapter 23 Questions (Pgs. 192-197)
71. What is Okonkwo sort of happy about?
72. Who invites the leaders of Umuofia to a meeting?
73. Describe the imprisonment of the leaders.
74. What is the actual amount of bail posted?
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75. What do the villagers decide to do?
Chapter 24 Questions (Pgs. 198-205)
76. According to Okonkwo what is the “greatest obstacle in Umuofia”?
77. Why does Okika say that it is ok to fight with their “brothers”?
78. Why does Okonkwo kill the court messenger?
79. How does Okonkwo know that Umuofia will not go to war?
Chapter 25 Questions (Pgs. 206-209)
80. CHARACTER CHART: Who is the District Commissioner? Write this in the character chart.
81. Describe the District Commissioner’s attitude towards the Ibo people.
82. What is the Ibo custom for burying suicides?
83. What is the purpose of giving us a glimpse into the District Commissioner’s point of view?
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