Major Works Data Sheet: - Weebly



AP English Lit Name: Jacob Howey and Arslan Ali4140200-50799Major Works Data Sheet: Do not cut/paste from a website, which is a form of plagiarism.Title: Things Fall ApartBiographical information about the author:Author: Chinua AchebeChinua Achebe was born in a village in Nigeria on November 16, 1930. He was the child of a Protestant Missionary and so learned English and European culture at a very young age. He attended Government College from 1944 to 1947. He then moved on to University college, which he graduated from in 1953. While in school, he developed a love for Igbo and other tribal culture, and sought to learn more about life before the Europeans. With this knowledge, he became one of the fathers of African Literature and became the voice of the underrepresented native population in the colonialism debate.Date of Publication: 1958Genre: Historical FictionHistorical information about the period of publication or setting of the novel:Things Fall Apart is set in the 1890s as the first Europeans are arriving in Nigeria. This novel portrays the conflict between the traditional Igbo culture and the European colonization. Chinua Achebe sought to provide a more accurate portrayal of the Igbo culture. He sought to respond to books like Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness that portrayed African culture as savage and backwards. This was the one of the first works to provide an African perspective to the colonialism discussion. Because it was written in English, it is a direct rebuttal to the classification of Igbo culture as barbaric.Characteristics of the genre:While the events of Things Fall Apart are not true, they very well could have occurred. Since Igbo culture used oral history to tell stories, first hand accounts of the Nigerian perspective of colonialism do not exist. This seeks to provide a scenario that is representative of the events that did occur as a result of colonialism.Plot Summary: Do not cut/paste from a website, which is a form of plagiarism.Okonkwo is a prestigious member of the Umuofia clan in tribal Nigeria. At this point, none of them have experience with white men. Okonkwo has worked very hard to earn his status because his father was regarded as a failure by his community. Okonkwo sees some of his father in his son Nwoye, who is lazy, and so rules his house harshly. During the Week of Peace, a week with no violence in any household, Okonkwo breaks the sacred rules and beats one of his wives, Ojiugo, which make the village very upset with him. Despite this, Okonkwo is given one of the boys that his village has taken from a neighboring village. This boy, Ikemefuna, is older than Nwoye and seems like a better son to Okonkwo since he is stronger and more diligent. Okonkwo is happy to see that Ikemefuna has become a good influence on Nwoye, and they both begin to mature and grow closer together. However, when the village elder, Ogbuefi Ezeudu tells Okonkwo that the Oracle sentenced Ikemefuna to death, Okonkwo agrees to help kill the boy. Ezeudu warns Okonkwo to stay away from the killing, but Okonkwo comes anyway. Ikemefuna runs to Okonkwo for help, but Okonkwo kills him to seem strong. The Oracle pronounces bad luck on him because of his misdeed. This comes true when Okonkwo’s gun explodes and kills a fellow tribesmen. He then is exiled for seven years with his family and all of him belongings he could not carry are burned. In his new area, six missionaries led by the peaceful Mr. Brown arrive. Mr. Brown becomes sick and is replaced by the cruel Reverend Smith. He allows his converts to run wild until they ruin a traditional ceremony. Because of this sacrilege, the tribe burns down the church. This District Commissioner becomes angry with Umuofia and fakes a diplomatic meeting to arrest and humiliate the tribal leaders. Because of this, Okonkwo kills the messengers that come to further restrict the meetings of the clan. When his clan does not back him up, he hangs himself before repercussions fall on him.Major Works Data SheetMemorable Quotes at least 3 – more is betterQuotationSignificance“As the elders said, if a child washed his hands he could eat with kings. Okonkwo had clearly washed his hands so he ate with kings and elders.”“He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough, he would use his fists. He had no patience with unsuccessful men.”Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw. Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external, but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father. Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken to title. And so Okonkwo was ruled by one passion – to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of those things was gentleness and another was idleness. This quote highlights the status that Okonkwo has at the beginning of the book. He is noted for being highly respected as a farmer and as a renowned wrestler. At the beginning, while he is admired by his isolated community, his respect is short-lived as the colonizers being to come to take over. He then loses his reputation, which practically eliminates his sense of self-worth especially upon realizing that his community is a small one that is almost insignificant in the eyes of the rest of the world.This description is of Okonkwo’s personality. The book, prior to this quote, explains that Okonkwo’s father was not a very successful man and had a lot of financial troubles. This has led Okonkwo to look at his father as a failure, and he now attempts to make up for that by developing an intolerance for people like that. Hoping to never have a reputation similar to his father’s, Okonkwo tries to isolate himself from that type of person by not having any patience with him or her, which coupled with his short temper, makes him consumed with pride, which eventually leads to his demise at the end of the book.This also explains Okonkwo’s belligerent personality. He was embarrassed by his father’s failures, and abhorred being teased in school due to his father’s inability to be successful. Okonkwo’s decision to go against everything his father stood for represents his arrogance and overzealous pride in being tough and stern with people. In an attempt to become an emotionless leader who needed to be above everybody else, Okonkwo develops harsh relationships with his family, and also becomes isolated when the Europeans encroach on his land. Major Works Data SheetCharactersNameRole in the storySignificanceAdjectivesOkonkwoNwoyeEzinmaIkemefunaMr. BrownReverend SmithProtagonist, fights against the colonization of his tribe, ends up broken.Son of Okonkwo, is seen as effeminate and weak. Questions his culture and converts to Christianity.Daughter of Okonkwo and the favorite child. She understands and caters to Okonkwo, keeping his rage more cooled.Given as tribute to Okonkwo’s tribe and entrusted to Okonkwo. Ikemefuna is a good influence on Nwoye, but is eventually killed by Okonkwo.Respectfully brings Christianity as an option to the tribe. He is not coercive and lets the tribe continue if it wants.Forces religion onto the tribe. Allows his zealots to ruin the traditions of the tribe and stirs up strife.Represents the patriarchy as he beats his wives. Is unable to adjust and so is consumed by the changes of colonialism.Nwoye is the person who doubts the manly warrior culture that has been cultivated. His own tribe consumes him.She is one of the main sources of stability and purity. She remains calm and stands up to Okonkwo in order to preserve harmony.Ikemefuna is everything Okonkwo could have hoped for from a captive, yet Okonkwo still does not hesitate to kill him to seem strong.An example of a European who respects Igbo culture. It is more fair to both sides than the novels Achebe is rebutting.The forceful, intolerant, and ignorant European who only sees other culture as barbaric culture.Temperamental, Cocky, Brutal, Unthinking, Incorrigible, Cruel, Self-serving.Lazy, Brooding, Physically weak, Open-MindedCaring, Aware, Smooth, Long-suffering, Brave, Pure“Manly”, Role model, Nurturing, Respectful, UnluckyRespectful, Calm, Gentle, Intelligent, Nurturing, HealingIntolerant, Temperamental, Judgemental, Arrogant, MaliciousMajor Works Data SheetSettingSignificance of the opening sceneThe book takes place in Nigeria, in a city called Umuofia. The city is inhabited by a tribe known as Igbo, who are an agrarian and isolated society. They live by a relatively conservative code of conduct, whereby everyone participates in certain rituals like the week of peace and wealth is accumulated in the ability to grow more yams than the other. The denizens of this tribe are very embedded in their culture, which is what sets up the major point of conflict between them and european colonizers when they arrive.The opening scene of the book is a description of Okonkwo’s father, Unoka. He conducts a meeting with higher authorities in order to discuss financial troubles that he is having due to his inability to produce sufficient crop. Unoka is characterized as a weak individual through this scene, which is something that Okonkwo does his best to never become. This leads him to practically be the exact opposite of Unoka. Unoka enjoyed the flute and language whereas Okonkwo viewed these things as signs of weakness. The true sign of strength, in his mind, are being able to win wrestling contests (which he did) and being wealthy in the society.Symbols or Motifs (at least three)Significance of the ending / closing sceneYams=PowerChi-- The idea of chi is discussed many times throughout the novel. Chi is an individual’s personal god, whose merit is determined by the person’s good fortune. Chi is interpreted in the book as being contingent upon the actions of the actual person. This essentially means that a person is in charge of their own moral standing. Throughout the book, Okonkwo’s chi is called into question as he beings to break many of the sacred rules of Igbo society. Locusts- Achebe uses the locusts to foreshadow the destruction caused by the white settlers. The locusts are pesky organisms to deal with while they drain the resources of the region while settling down there. This is similar to how the european colonizers essentially just intrude on the land and then decide to utilize the resources of the tribe for their own profit, while causing incredibly uncomfortable circumstances for the Igbo people.The ending of the book is characterized into two parts. The first of which is the death of Okonkwo. Faced with all the conflict from the colonizers, Okonkwo is unable to carry on and subsequently hangs himself. The people of the Igbo tribe blame the colonizers for Okonkwo’s death and then request that the commissioner help take down and bury the body. The Igbo people explain that they cannot do it themselves because suicide is essentially a crime, and Okonkwo’s body is considered evil. This represents the culture that the Igbo people still possess as they cling onto their customs. It also characterizes Okonkwo as a tragic hero whose own pride, upon being challenged, led to his demise. The second part of the ending is the commissioner documenting this exchange in his book. He believes that Okonkwo’s death will make a nice edition to his book, entitled The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of Lower Niger. This title reflects the arrogant nature of European attitudes towards African culture, which Achebe criticizes throughout his book.Possible Themes – Topics of Discussion (elaborate) minimum of 3The first theme that is most prominently represented is clashing of cultures. The premise of the book’s conflict is based around the disruptions that the European colonizers cause in the Igbo tribe. They attempt to influence the Igbo people to convert to Christianity and condemn those who refuse. This highlights Achebe’s criticism of European colonization by portraying the Europeans as brutes who coerce other people to blindly follow their set of beliefs. Another prominent theme portrayed in this book is what the definition of civility vs anarchy is. Achebe uses the book to explain that the whole idea of civilization is based on the point of view. In the Igbo tribe, the denizens view themselves as civilized with a complex society, but to the Europeans, the Igbo are a primitive group whose life is practically filled with anarchy. Acehebe criticizes the view of the time that a successful and civilized society is contingent upon European domination and Euro-centric rules. The final prominent theme is the subjective idea of manliness.. Okonkwo’s revolt against all of his father’s personality characteristics demonstrates his view of things such as liking art and music as signs of weakness. This is also seen in how he verbally and physically abuses Nwoye for having interest in art. Okonkwo exhibiting these characteristics is an attempt to hold up the image of manliness and prevent anyone in his family from succumbing to weakness. He is clearly consumed by his pride, which is the prime indicator of his personality as a tragic hero. ................
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