Things Fall Apart Study Guide

Claire Chung
Pre AP English 10 Pd. 4
Things Fall Apart Reader Response
10/8/15

Chapters 1 & 2:
In “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, the protagonist, Okonkwo, is a prosperous, strong, and powerful leader in the traditional African village of the Ibo, one of the nine villages of Umuofia. He “ruled his household with a heavy hand”, and even his wives and children “lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (Achebe 13). His greatest fear is himself and of any resemblance of himself to his peaceful, lazy, and irresponsible father Unoka, an agbala – “a name for a woman or a man who had no title”. He resents his father’s “gentleness and idleness” which he associates with femininity, and he often acts out rashly and violently as a sign of masculinity,
This is especially evident during the incident when he tried to shoot Ekwefi and misses. Okonkwo is cowardly in the fact that he killed Ikemefuna primarily because of his fear of reputation and weak appearances. His actions damage his relationship with Nwoye, who prefers women’s stories to his father’s violent war stories, and he also damages Nwoye’s faith to Igbo society. The early chapters also foreshadow Ikemefuna’s death and the destruction European colonialism will bring to the Igbo. The “distant beating of drums” continues to beat in the heat of the festival and the people’s excitement. The drums are described as the “persistent and unchanging” pulse of the village heart which beats with an “intoxicating rhythm”. The diction used to describe the drum’s “intoxicating rhythm” indicates that the people are infected by their own ignorance and fail to see the “persistent and unchanging” European regulations that will destroy their African culture and pride. When the drummers rested, the surroundings became less savage and more peaceful, and the people were finally able to see one another clearly through the chaos in the village. Even the prophecy Chielo, whom the Igbo associate with as the messenger of god, is questioned by others for her normal and disbelieving appearance. In addition, the locusts descending upon the village also represent
Ezinma understands her father’s anxieties by urging him to eat. By wishing that Ezinma was a boy, Okonkwo also acknowledges the fact that he favors his daughter the most out of all of his children, and that he wishes to express affection towards his sons. During Okonkwo’s visit, Obierika advises Okonkwo that he should not take part in the killing of Ikemefuna simply because he disagrees with the authority and decisions of the Oracle. He is neither unmanly nor afraid of blood, but he believes that Okonkwo has committed a sin in Igbo culture by nearly killing a kinsman. In addition, Ekwefi receives a great deal of comfort, love, and companionship from Ezinma. Their relationship is close to equals and is further strengthened by the deaths of Ekwefi’s other nine children. The narrations of the egwugwu and iyi-uwa ceremonies are also ironic. The medicine men are confident in their own spiritual abilities that have failed countless times in healing Ezinma. The villagers also reveal to us that they know that the egwugwu are merely men impersonating spirits: “Okonkwo’s wives, and perhaps other women as well, might have noticed that the second egwugwu had the springy walk of Okonkwo. And they might have noticed that Okonkwo was not among the titled men and elders who sat...But if the thought these things they kept them within themselves" (Achebe 89). In addition, the Igbo describe