CU Things Fall Apart Discussions

IMPORTANT!! Each Discussion has to be 100 – 150 words for each Discussion.

Discussion Question #1 for Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

What decision did the Oracle make about Ikemefuna and what advice does Ogbuefi Ezeudu give to Okonkwo? Why did Okonkwo go out with the men who came to take Ikemefuna from Okonkwo’s compound? Why does Okonkwo end up killing Ikemefuna? When Ikemefuna runs towards Okonkwo saying, “My father, They have killed me!”, why does Okonkwo take an action against Ikemefuna? Is Okonkwo a violent man, or is he unable to control his fear of being seen as weak? How does Nwoye react towards Okonkwo after the incident of Ikemefuna? How would you characterize Nwoye? What does Nwoye think of the Oracle’s decision of killing Ikemefuna and the clan’s custom of throwing away twins to the Evil Forest?

Discussion Question #2

After Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna, he did not eat and sleep: “He tried not to think about Ikemefuna, but the more he tried the more he thought about him. . . . He was so weak that his legs could hardly carry him”. Do you think Okonkwo feels guilty about killing Ikemefuna? Okonkwo becomes emotionally shaken after he killed Ikemefuna, and he asks himself: “When did you become a shivering old woman?”. What do you make of Okonkwo’s understanding of manliness and womanliness? Does Okonkwo have a rigid (inflexible) understanding of masculinity? Later, when his favorite daughter Ezinma gets sick, Okonkwo makes a medicine pot for her. What does it say about Okonkwo? Why do you think Achebe created a scene of Okonkwo taking care of Ezinma?

Discussion Question #3

Okonkwo’s friend Obierika did not go with the men who carried out the Oracle’s decision on killing Ikemefuna. How would you characterize Obierika? Why did Okonkow follow the men, instead of staying home? What difference do you find between Obierika and Okonkwo in terms of their personality? When Okonkwo and Obierika hear the news of the death of Ogbuefi Ndulue and his wife who died on the same day, Obierika says, “I remember when I was a young boy there was a song about them. He [Ogbuefi Ndulue] could not do anything without telling her”. Then, Okonkwo responds, “I thought he was a strong man in his youth”. What do you make of Okonkwo’s understanding of being a strong man in that society? Does Obierika agree with Okonkwo’s view of manliness? How would you describe the similarities and differences between Obierika and Okonkwo?

Discussion question #4

What happens during the funeral for Ezeulu? What punishment does Okonkwo get for the incident? Why does a group of men sets fire to Oknokwo’s houses, kill animals, and destroy his barn? Obierika thinks, “Why should a man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently?”. What do you make of Obierika’s view of the punishment against Okonkwo? Does Obierika question the clan’s custom? Why do Okonkwo and his family move to Mbanta, and why is he no longer enthusiastic about his work in Mbanta? Who is Uchendu and why does he call Okonkwo “a child”? What do you make of Okonkwo’s attitude in Mbanta?

Discussion Question #5

Visiting Okonkwo in exile, Obierika tells Okonkwo about what happened to Abame. What happened to the people in Abame and why does Okonkwo say, “They were fools. . . .They had been warned that danger was ahead. They should have armed themselves with their guns and the machetes even when they went to market”. What do you make of Oknokwo’s reaction here? Were the people of Abame foolish? What does Obierika think of the arrival of the colonizers? What worries him [Obierika] about the influence of the colonizers, based on what he has heard about white men?

Discussion Question #6

Please note: The time period of the novel is around the 1880s

The novel is set in the Igbo/Ibo land (later called Nigeria) before the arrival of British colonizers (around the 1880s), and it unfolds the influences of British missionaries and the colonial government on the native’s way of life and the clan’s own governing system. The white missionaries told the people in Mbanta that they worship false gods of wood and stone. Why do the rulers of Mbanta decide to give a piece of the Evil Forest to the missionaries who want to build their church? What role does Mr. Kiaga have in relation to the white missionaries? Why do you think Nwoye has converted to Christianity (several reasons)? Why is Okonkwo upset at Nwoye’s conversion? Why does Okonkwo think that Nwoye’s conversion is a “crime”?