Things Fall Apart
By Chinua Achebe
The Continent of Africa
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Why is it such an important
book?

Things Fall Apart is considered to be the
first truly African novel written in English –
other novels in English about Africa up
until this point were from a white, colonial
perspective
Colonialism:
The exploitation by a stronger nation of a
weaker one and the use of a weaker
country’s resources to strengthen and
enrich the stronger country.
 Until only recently, Great Britain
(England) was one of the most dominant
colonial powers in the world.

“The Sun Never Sets
on the British
Empire”
Former British Colonies:
 The
United States
 Africa (multiple nations)
 India
 Hong Kong
 Australia
British Colonial Power
Other Colonial Powers

France

Spain

Portugal

The Netherlands
Allusion:
 An
allusion is a reference to a
person, place, event or work of
literature.
 Allusions
are usually made to
well-known subjects – the Bible,
mythology, history, etc.
Examples of Allusions:
A Herculean task (a difficult task) is an
allusion to Hercules from Greek myth.
 The brand Nike is an allusion to the Greek
goddess of victory.

 The
title Things Fall Apart is an
allusion to the poem The Second
Coming by WB Yeats
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The novel is published in 1959, but takes
place during the 1890s
 The novel paints a picture of pre-colonial
Nigeria and the effects of British colonial
power on a particular tribe: the Ibo
 The story centers around Okonkwo, a
strong village leader of the Ibo tribe, and
his family.

Nigeria
Wrestling in Nigeria
Proverbs

A proverb is a short saying that expresses
a cultural wisdom or a truth
– It is better to give than to receive
– Don’t judge a book by its cover
– Truth is stranger than fiction
– Blood is thicker than water
– “Proverbs are the palm oil with which words
are eaten”
Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing in literature is a hint of
something that is to come in the future

At the end of Chapter 1, it is
foreshadowed that a boy will come to live
with Okonkwo and that the boy,
Ikemefuna is doomed
Chapter One

Okonkwo becomes famous by beating an
undefeated wrestler when he is only 18
– He is a huge, impatient man with a short
temper

Unoka was Okonkwo’s father
– He was a lazy man who owed a lot of money
and could not provide for his family
The Raffia Palm
Chapter 2 Vocabulary

Ultimatum - A statement, especially in
diplomatic negotiations, that expresses or
implies the threat of serious penalties if the
terms are not accepted.

Emissary - a representative sent on a mission
or errand

Orator - An eloquent and skilled public speaker
Societal Organization
Chapter Two
A woman from Umuofia has been killed in the
neighboring village of Mbaino
 Since Mbaino does not want to go to war with
Umuofia, they instead sacrifice to Umuofia 2
people: a young girl to take the place of the
murdered woman and a young boy
 The young boy, Ikemefuna, goes to live with
Okonkwo’s family although he belongs to the
village

Ch. 2 Key Points:
Okonkwo is deeply afraid of being
thought of as like his father. He therefore
hates anything connected with Unoka
 Okonkwo fears that his son Nwoye might
be becoming like Unoka
 Okonkwo is very strict and rules his
household with an iron fist

A Modern Yam Barn
Yam Barn and Small Field
Building the Red Earth Walls
An Ibo Hut (1)
An Ibo Hut (2)
An Ibo Hut (3)
Okonkwo’s Compound
Chapter 3 Vocabulary
Oracle - A shrine considered to be the
source of wisdom or prophetic opinions.
 Prophesy - to declare or foretell by or as if
by divine (godly) inspiration.
 Share-Cropping - A system of dividing a
crop into shares — in this case 3 -two for
the landowner and one for the worker.

Chapter Three
Chapter 3 goes back in time to when Okonkwo
was a young boy and then jumps to Okonkwo
beginning his first farm
 Unoka was a lazy farmer and left Okonkwo no
barn, title or wife when he died
 Unoka died a shameful death and was not
buried like the others
 Okonkwo was very ashamed of his father’s life
and death

Chapter Three
cont.
Okonkwo begins as a share-cropper for
Nwakibie, a very wealthy man who trusts
Okonkwo’s work ethic
 The year Okonkwo began his farm was
terrible – first a drought, then a flood
 He believes that since he survived that
year, he can survive anything

Writing About
Literature
 When we write about literature in
English class, it is necessary to use
examples from the reading in the
form of quotations.
 Quotations are used to prove that
what we say in our own writing is
true.
Example of using a
Quotation:
Okonkwo’s father Unoka was a very
lazy man who didn’t like to work.
When Unoka asked the Oracle
why he always had a bad harvest,
the Oracle told him to “go home
and work like a man.”
Chapter Four
Okonkwo becomes a lord of the clan
through hard work, not luck, but he is
mean to unsuccessful men
 Ikemefuna was very homesick when he
first came to Okonkwo’s compound
 Ikemefuna becomes very popular in the
household and all the other children look
up to him
 Okonkwo is fond of Ikemefuna (inwardly)

Chapter Four cont.

Okonkwo breaks the Week of Peace by
beating his wife, Ojiugo and is forced by
the priest to make sacrifices

Okonkwo is tough on Nwoye, but
(inwardly) knows that he is only a boy

Nwoye and Ikemefuna become very close
– like brothers
Chapter Five
The New Yam Festival is the celebration of
a new year for the people of Umuofia and
a major holiday
 Ikemefuna is respected by all Okonkwo’s
children
 Ekwefi’s daughter Ezinma is a beautiful,
outgoing and hard working child whom
Okonkwo is very fond of

Chapter Six
The people of Umuofia take the wrestling
match of the festival very seriously
 The match begins with the youngest
wrestlers and progresses to the strongest
men
 Ekwefi meets Chielo, her friend and the
priestess of the Agbala Oracle
 Chielo asks about Ezinma’s health,
suggesting that she had been very ill

Locusts

Locusts in Africa
Chapter Seven
Ikemefuna’s example makes Nwoye want
to work hard to please Okonkwo, and it
does please him, but Nwoye inwardly
misses his “old self”
 The locusts come to Umuofia and provide
a rare and exciting snack
 Ogbuefi Ezeudu comes to tell Okonkwo
that it is time for Ikemefuna to be killed,
but that Okonkwo should have “no hand
in his death”

Chapter Seven, cont.
Okonkwo ignores Ezeudu’s advice, goes
along on the sacrifice and kills Ikemefuna
because he was afraid of being thought
weak
 Nwoye senses that something is
fundamentally wrong with the killing of
the innocent, like Ikemefuna and twins

What is your reaction
to Okonkwo as a
person? Why?
Chapter Eight
Although he says nothing, Okonkwo is
clearly very upset about the death of
Ikemefuna: he can’t sleep or eat and he
drinks heavily
 In order to deal with the sadness, he
convinces himself that it was a manly
thing to do – he denies that he did
anything wrong
 We learn that Okonkwo wishes his
daughter, Ezinma were a boy

Chapter Eight, cont.
Okonkwo’s friend Obierika tells him that
he should not have gone along on the
sacrifice
 The deaths of Ndulue and Ozoemena:
Okonkwo should learn from the story that
a man can be a proud warrior AND a
gentle, loving person. He doesn’t learn
this important lesson.
 Settling a bride-price is an organized and
meaningful practice

Chapter Nine
 Chapter
nine goes back in time to
explain Ekwefi’s difficulty bearing
children
 We learn Ibo superstitions regarding
infant mortality (death)
 We see how clever Ezinma is
Chapter Nine
Ezinma develops a fever and Okonkwo rushes to
help her – we see his love for her
 We learn that Ekwefi has had 10 children and
Ezinma is the only survivor
 Ekwefi and Ezinma have a very close
relationship
 They tried various solutions from medicine men
– like the digging up of Ezinma’s iyi-uwa

Ezinma and the iyi-uwa
Ezinma is believed to be an ogbanje – a child
who keeps returning to his mother’s womb
 Ezinma’s cycle is “officially” broken when she
“finds” her iyi-uwa and calms her parents’ fears
 Ezinma is clever enough to see that the iyi-uwa
doesn’t actually exist, but that finding it will
bring relief to Ekwefi and Okonkwo
 This mythology of the Ibo predates their
exposure to Christianity and modern science

Chapter Ten
 Umuofia
has a very organized system
of justice - quite similar to our own
with plaintiff, defense and witnesses
 The egwugwu are symbols of the
ancestors who judge disputes
 This again shows us just how much
culture and tradition there is within
the clan
Folktales
a tale or legend traditional among a group
of people or, “folk”
 Folktales are especially considered to be
false or based on superstition.
 Folktales: 1. entertain, 2. teach a lesson
and often 3. explain nature, ie. the
tortoise’s shell
 American Folktales: Johnny Appleseed,
Paul Bunyan, Rip Van Winkle

Chapter Eleven
Ezinma is taken by Chielo to the Oracle
 Ekwefi bravely follows along – something
most other women would not do
 Okonkwo arrives and meets Ekwefi at the
oracle and walks home with her
 We begin to see the caring, human side of
Okonkwo, even though he doesn’t show it
to others

Irony
 Irony
is a contrast between
appearance and reality
 There is a difference between
what appears to be true and what
really is true
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic Irony is when the reader or
audience knows something that characters
don’t
 there is a difference between how things
appear to the characters and how things
really are as known by the reader


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
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Chapter Twelve
A wedding celebration in Umuofia involves
most of the village and is considered a
woman’s ceremony
 Every woman helps to cook and prepare
for the arrival of the in-laws
 The men slaughter the animals
 We also see how the clan even has a
system for dealing with a cow that has
been let loose

Chapter Thirteen
The death of Ogbuefi Ezeudu is announced to
the people
 Ezeudu is the same man who warned Okonkwo
about Ikemefuna’s sacrifice
 During the funeral ceremony, Okonkwo’s gun
accidentally explodes and pierces Ezeudu’s
son’s heart
 The death is ironic because Okonkwo has killed
the son of the man who tried to keep Okonkwo
from being involved in Ikemefuna’s death

Okonkwo’s Punishment
 Okonkwo
is banished from Umuofia
for 7 years for shedding the blood of
a clansman – a “female” or
accidental crime
 Okonkwo must flee to his motherland
– Mbanta – the village where his
mother was from
 Okonkwo’s compound is destroyed
Part One

Part One focuses on establishing:
–The character of Okonkwo and
his family members
–Ibo culture and traditions and
the similarities to our own
(Western) civilization
Part One

Part One focuses on establishing:
– Seeds of doubt exist amongst the
people:
 Nwoye
 Obierika
 Egwugwu
 Iyi-uwa
Chapter Fourteen
Okonkwo and his family are welcomed by
Uchendu, Okonkwo’s uncle in Mbanta
 Uchendu’s family helps Okonkwo with his
compound and his farm
 Uchendu is irritated by Okonkwo’s
seeming lack of gratitude
 Uchendu reminds Okonkwo to be grateful
for what he has rather than to sulk over
what he has lost

Chapter Fifteen
Obierika visits Okonkwo during his second
year in exile
 He explains that the village of Abame was
destroyed:
 A white man came to the village and the
clan killed him.
 Later, the clan is destroyed as retribution
 Uchendu is opposed to the violence

Chapter Sixteen
Obierika brings news that missionaries
have set up in Umuofia and that he saw
Nwoye with them
 We learn that most of the missionaries
that have come to Umuofia and Mbanta
are African with only a few whites – this
tells us that there has been a European
presence in the area for enough time to
make missionaries of Africans

Chapter Sixteen Cont.
The missionaries come to Mbanta and tell
the clan that their gods are false
 Most villagers see the missionaries as
foolish
 The head missionary in Mbanta is Mr.
Kiaga – an Ibo man
 Men with no social status join the
Christians – offer of equality and respect
 Nwoye is attracted to the respect for all
human life that the Christians preach

Chapter Seventeen
Umuofia is the center of the Christian mission –
the white men are in Umuofia
 The missionaries (Africans) ask for a plot of land
and they are given as much of the Evil Forest of
Mbanta as they want
 The clan is surprised when the Christians do not
die – even after 28 days – more people convert
 Okonkwo is furious that Nwoye was seen with
the Christians – Nwoye leaves for Umuofia

Okonkwo’s Reaction to Nwoye
Okonkwo tells himself that fighting for a
worthless son like Nwoye is not worth it
 He recognizes that “Living fire begets cold,
impotent ash.”
 He takes no responsibility for Nwoye
turning away from their traditions and
joining the Christians

Chapter Eighteen
Mr. Kiaga gets most of his converts from
the outcasts of the clan
 The clan is very tolerant of the Christians
– “live and let live”
 Some converts show disrespect to the
clan: the “killing” of the python
 The clan chooses to ostracize (exclude)
the Christians

Irony in Chapter 18
Appearance: Okonkwo thinks that
Umuofia would never allow the Christians
to live in their clan
Reality: Umuofia is the headquarters of
the Colonial Government and Christian
Mission
Chapter Nineteen

Okonkwo shows his gratitude to his
kinsmen by preparing a huge feast in
Mbanta before he returns to Umuofia.

An older member of the clan thanks
Okonkwo for preserving tradition during a
time when traditions are disappearing
Chapter Twenty
Part 3 is Okonkwo’s return to Umuofia
 Okonkwo is determined to make return to
Umuofia with a “bang” so he asks Ezinma
to refuse any proposals in Mbanta
 Okonkwo is disappointed in the way he is
received – people are much more
concerned with the Christians

Cont.
Ogbuefi Ugonna, a titled man, joins the
Christians – this shows that the new
religion is taking hold
 However – the white men also bring a
government and begin punishing clan
members for following their own traditions

Chapter Twenty-One
Many in Umuofia are not upset with the
white presence because their trading
brings money into the clan
 Mr. Brown – the head of the church in
Umuofia – is a tolerant man who is
respectful of the clan
 He engages them in conversation and sets
up a school and a hospital

Hypocrite:
A person who thinks they have virtues
that they don’t actually possess;
someone who does not practice what
they preach
EX: Mr. Smith preaches Christianity,
but he doesn’t act like a Christian.
** HYPOCRISY is IRONIC **
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mr. Brown’s successor, Mr. Smith, is an
intolerant man who does not respect Ibo
tradition
 A convert, Enoch, shows the ultimate
disrespect of the clan by unmasking an

egwugwu

The clan burns down Enoch’s compound
and the church
Chapter Twenty-Three
Okonkwo is happy the clan took action
against the Christians
 Okonkwo and 5 other leaders are captured
by the kotma
 The District Commissioner accuses them
of disrespecting the Christians – IRONY
 The prisoners are beaten and abused by
the kotma
 They are set free after paying a fine

Chapter Twenty-Four
The mood in Umuofia is very tense after
the prisoners are released
 The leaders hold a meeting to decide what
to do as a group, but Okonkwo is only
concerned with personal revenge
 As the men are deciding to take action
Okonkwo kills a court messenger -> he is
thinking about himself not the clan

Chapter Twenty-Five
The D.C. comes to Okonkwo’s compound
looking for Okonkwo
 Obierika leads him to a tree in the back
where Okonkwo has hung himself
 The clan cannot take Okonkwo down or
bury him
 The D.C. shows his ignorance by thinking
that the Ibo had no civilization and that
they needed to be “pacified.”

The Irony of Okonkwo’s Death
 Okonkwo
spent his life trying NOT
to be like his father and in death
he ends up just like Unoka
 Okonkwo
thought he could
endure anything – but in the end
he gives up.
The Paragraph
A paragraph is a group of
sentences that have to do
with the same topic
A good paragraph will
have:
 a topic sentence
 supporting sentences
 a closing sentence
Topic Sentence
The topic
sentence states
the main idea of
your paragraph
Supporting Sentences
 Supporting sentences provide
details that show your topic
sentence to be true
 Quotations from the text with a
corresponding explanation are
the best supporting details
 Supporting sentences must relate
to the topic sentence
Closing Sentence
 The purpose of the closing
sentence is to remind your reader
of the point you are making or to
make a transition to the following
paragraph
 Re-state the topic sentence in
other words and add an
observation