Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Discussion Notes

Okonkwo/point of view Not very kind to other members of his family, short-tempered, exacting, pg 85 Pg. 26, looks down on men who he thinks are less than him, demeaning, condescending, sexist Pg 4, takes his anger out with aggression and his fists, bellicose, belligerent Okonkwo’s toughness toward his son and high expectations are rooted in the fact that he wants his son to be successful, pg 52-53 His position is because of his hard work, pg 13, 27 Pg 1 and 8, he had many personal achievements Pg 13 and 18, he rejected his past and his father’s ideas of idleness, feared ending up like his father His tragic flaw could be the fact that fear motivates him Pg 175, Okonkwo wants his people to fight back so they don’t look week Pg 172, He has compassion toward his children even though he is tough on them, pg 108 when he goes to the cave Pg 28, 61 the only thing worth demonstrating is strength, he didn’t show any other emotion that would make him seem weak Pg 23-25, inflexible will

Atypical Pg 39 shoots at wife Pg 31 breaks week of peace Pg 7, 25 not a talker in a society that values it Pg 206 district commissioner thinks they talk too much

Killing of Ikemefuna pg 61 kills Ikemefuna instead of following advice of elder and letting others do it pg 57 Obierika and society do not approve pg 67 follows rules except when trying to look strong

Ikemefuna was like the ram for Nwoye (Biblical story of Isaac)

Science Primitive, provincial, barbaric Agriculturally advanced, but still subsistence farmers Pg. 85 Herbs used for medicine Pg. 77 ogbanje, evil children who die and return to their mothers Pg. 82 find an iyi-uwa (rock), to destroy the ogbanje Pg. 61 Throw away twins

Religion Christianity (Anglican) vs. Ibo Pg. 31Week of Peace, honors Ani, earth goddess Female goddess vs. male god Pg. 57 oracle of the hill and the caves (Agbala), priestess (Chielo) represents her Pg. 155 Outcastes and abominations accepted in Christianity Pg 157 outcastes shaved their heads in opposition of Ibo religion Pg. 91 Polygamy and beating of wives Pg 151 women were punished by throwing away twins Pg. 150evil forest=abominations, church given land there to punish them, nothing happens, leads to questioning of Ibo faith Pg. 178 Mr. Brown kind to the Ibos and their religion, seeks understanding, builds school and hospital-medicine, fulfills people’s needs Pg 179 Chukwu, created everything, overlord Pg 184 Mr. Smith, authoritarian, condemns Mr. Brown, black and white, protects zealot Pg 206 District commissioner nameless to remain faceless almost a machine instead of human Week of peace before planting New Yam festival before harvest

Government Pg. 114 Expect every one to pitch in, system for dealing with infractions, groups ready to deal with problems Oracle makes religious decisions Kindred meeting of men, all connected Egalitarian agrarian Jeffersonian democracy Pg. 91 egwugwu, spirits to mediate disputes, judges, feared and revered Lots of smaller committees Pg. 6, 14 Gave Ikemefuna and a virgin to stop a war between cities Compound-main house, wives houses, outdoor kitchen surrounded by fence Missionaries separated from colonial government

Women Priestess, oracle, and main goddess are women Christianity allowed women to keep children and not mutilate ogbanje Pg. 13, 26 men are strong, women need to be protected, men do not want to be seen as womanly Pg. 29, 39 beating wives is ok, one way street Pg. 64 “she should have been a boy” men valued highly, but women still have power Pg. 134-135 mother is compassionate and understanding, “mother is supreme” women balance manly qualities, okonkwo has no woman in him-downfall Pg 125 Obierika is thoughtful as a foil to Okonkwo

Okonkwo’s exile Pg. 124 gun exploded at funeral and killed the dead man’s son Pg. 124 Exiled 7 years for accidental death, “female crime” inadvertent His compound is destroyed, but Obierika still plants his yams for profit Safety issue to help both parties, cooling off period Provides a bigger change through Christianity Pg. 131 uchendu gives counterpoint to okonkwo with women Is his chi bad?

The turtle parable Very ambitious, wants to do remarkable things Goes away from home expecting a soft landing, but does not get one because of changes People like to talk in proverbs Turtle works hard to get people to like him Missionaries are turtle, they make promises that they do not deliver, manipulate Ibo for their gain, expect a soft landing, but are fought against

Groups/people criticized Ibo- throw away children, evil forest, beating of women, maybe others?, pg. 160 are inflexible towards people they have outcast who to turn to Christianity, pg. 156 osu not accepted in society Okonkwo- self centered, quick to anger, afraid of being like his father and being weak, inflexible, too manly British- pg. 174 build a court were the DC judged cases in ignorance, pg. 195 DC is subversive is arresting prison’s, chapter 25 DC is ignorant of the ibo culture and inflexible towards him, racist, ethnocentric, pg. 154 missionaries overstepped bounds dealing with ibo gods, pg. 184 mr. smith doesn’t like ibos- intolerant, light vs. dark, mad

Universal aspects Balance between masculine and feminine Importance of family Conflicts between parents and children Inflexibility causes problems Inevitability of change Culture clash Questioning of society’s rules

Themes Imbalance between masculine and feminine traits may lead to personal unhappiness/downfall. Strong family bonds give one something to fall back upon in hard times. Parent’s personal dreams often interfere with their children’s choices. Inflexibility to inevitable change causes problems. An imbalance of power causes most cultural clashes. An open dialog could solve many clashes. An established practice is not always correct.