Things Fall Apart



Things Fall Apart World Literature

As you read the novel you will construct a study guide. This will be extremely helpful to you on the exam. Your study guide will cover the following topics: literary terms, vocabulary, guiding questions, and proverbs. Work on this assignment consistently as we read the novel.

Literary Terms

We will define and apply the terms as we study the novel.

|characterization |conflict |foreshadowing |imagery |irony |

|personification |setting |theme |tragic hero |proverb |

Vocabulary

• Vocabulary for each chapter is to be completed before the reading assignment. Page numbers have been provided for most words. (Many words appear in more than one place in the novel.)

• Create a four-square for each term. Include the vocabulary word, its part of speech, the sentence in which it appears with the page number, and a definition or synonym(s).

EXAMPLE

|wily |“Amalinze was a wily craftsman, but Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water” (3). |

|adjective |cunning, crafty, sly |

|wily 3 |kindred 26 |(im)potent 154 |fermenting |

|improvident 4 |benevolent 26 |rent 124 |flourish 171 |

|plaintive 6 |communal 28 |calamity 125 |resilient 172 |

|mirth 7 |exacting 34 |refuge 134 |idolatrous 184 |

|discern 9 |arduous 34 |grievously |expedient |

|vibrant 10 |poignant 34 |fugitives 138 |zealots 185 |

|dispatched |vividly |woeful |desecrated 190 |

|imperious 12 |deft |ominous 140 |profane |

|perpetual 13 |feign 53 |derisive |desolate 188 |

|capricious 13 |harbingers 56 |callow 147 |discordant 188 |

|malevolence 13 |copiously 56 |impudent |pacified 191 |

|incipient 13 |succulent 71 |degenerate 153 |sonorous 196 |

|contemptible 18 |audacity 76 |adherents 157 |superfluous 206 |

|tentative |esoteric 88 |atonement 158 |appease |

|malicious 21 |approbation 91 |revered 157 |resolute |

|luxuriant 24 |voluble 97 |zeal 157 |ferociously |

|despair 24 |plumage |blaspheme 158 |enthralled |

Guiding Questions

Use the guiding questions to focus your reading and strengthen your comprehension. Give complete, specific answers and include the page number(s) where you can find support for your response.

|Ch 1 |

|Describe Okonkwo’s position in the clan and his personality. |

|Describe Okonkwo’s father. |

|Ch 2 |

|What does Okonkwo think when he hears the gong? |

|Summarize the conflict with Mbaino and explain how it is resolved. |

|Describe how Okonkwo runs his household and explain his reasons for acting this way. |

|Why do you think Okonkwo’s son is becoming a “sad-faced” youth? |

|Ch 3 |

|Identify Agbala. |

|Why did Unoka consult Agbala? What was the result? |

|How does Okonkwo earn his first seed-yams? |

|10. What does Okonkwo learn about himself after his first crop fails? |

|Ch 4 |

|What does Okonkwo’s criticism of Osugo show about his character? |

|How does the captive Ikemefuna fit into Okonkwo’s household? |

|Why must Okonkwo pay a fine? |

|Why do Okonkwo’s enemies criticize him? Is their criticism justified? |

|Ch 5 |

|Explain the importance of the feast of the New Yam. |

|How do you think the narrator feels about Okonkwo’s violence toward his second wife? Explain. |

|Ch 6 |

|Describe the wrestling matches. |

|What do you think Okonkwo’s second wife means when she says that her daughter “will stay”? |

|Ch 7 |

|Describe Ikemefuna’s position in the family after three years in Okonkwo’s household. |

|How does Nwoye react to the stories told by his father and his mother? |

|Describe the importance of the locusts. |

|What warning does Ogbuefi Ezeudu give Okonkwo about Ikemefuna? Why does Okonkwo ignore the warning? |

|Ch 8 |

|How does Okonkwo react to Ikemefuna’s death? |

|How does Obierika feel about Okonkwo’s part in Ikemefuna’s death? |

|Why does Okonkwo doubt Ogbuefi Ndulue’s strength? Do you feel his opinion of the elder is justified? |

|Describe the negotiation for the bride-price. |

|Ch 9 |

|Why is Wzinma so special to Ekwefi? |

|Explain why the villagers believe that a stone is important to Ezinma’s health. |

|Describe Okonkwo’s reaction to Ezinma’s illness. |

|Ch 10 |

|Who are the egwugwu? How do they represent the village’s history? |

|How do the egwugwu settle the wife-beating case? |

|Ch 11 |

|Why do you think Achebe includes the story of the Tortoise (purpose)? |

|Why do you think the priestess Chielo takes Ezinma to Agbala’s cave? |

|How is Ezinma restored to her family? |

|Ch 12 |

|How has Okonkwo tried to protect Ezinma? What does this say about his character? |

|Identify and describe the uri. |

|Explain the importance of the palm wine which the groom’s relatives bring to the wedding of Obierika’s daughter. |

|Ch 13 |

|Why are the villagers nervous when they hear the message of the ekwe? |

|How does the memory of Ezeudu suggest that trouble is coming for Okonkwo? |

|Why must Okonkwo leave his clan? |

|Ch 14 |

|How is Okonkwo received in his mother’s village of Mbanta? |

|How does Okonkwo react to his exile? |

|How does Uchendu encourage Okonkwo to combat despair? |

|Ch 15 |

|What news does Obierika bring to Abame? |

|What lesson does Uchendu find in the story of the Mother Kite? |

|What does Uchendu mean when he says, “There is no story that is not true”? |

|What is happening to Okonkwo’s farm in Iguedo? |

|Ch 16 |

|What news does Obierika bring on his next visit to Okonkwo? |

|Describe the arrival of the missionaries in Mbanta and the concerns they raise in the village. |

|How does Okonkwo react to the missionaries? |

|Why is Nwoye attracted to the missionaries? |

|Ch 17 |

|Why do the elders of Mbanta give the missionaries land in the Evil Forest? |

|What happens after the church is built in the Evil Forest? |

|What is significant about the conversion of Nneka? |

|How does Okonkwo react to Nwoye’s conversion? |

|Ch 18 |

|What is the status of the relationship between Mbanta and the church at the beginning of this chapter? |

|How does the church handle the issue of the outcasts? |

|Describe the logic behind the action taken by the clan over killing the sacred python. |

|Ch 19 |

|Summarize Okonkwo’s regrets during his time inexile. |

|Trace Okonkwo’s preparations for his return to Umuofia. |

|Why does Okonkwo’s old kinsman feel the Christians have come to Mbanta? |

|Ch 20 |

|How does Okonkwo feel about his social position? |

|Describe Okonkwo’s plans to rebuild his prestige when he returns to Umuofia. |

|What changes does Okonkwo find in Umuofia? |

|How does Okonkwo respond to the changes in his fatherland? |

|Ch 21 |

|What are some of the positive effects of the new government? |

|Compare Okonkwo’s actual return with the homecoming he planned. |

|Ch 22 |

|Contrast Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown. |

|What motivated Enoch to commit an offense against the Ibo religious customs? |

|How do the egwugwu respond to the crime? |

|Ch 23 |

|Account for Okonkwo’s high spirits at the beginning of the chapter. |

|How does the District Commissioner trick the leaders of Umuofia? |

|Summarize the District Commissioner’s decision. |

|Ch 24 |

|Why does no one in the village welcome the leaders when they return? How is Okonkwo’s mood different from the others’? |

|What does Okonkwo see as the greatest threat to Umuofia? How does he plan to respond to that threat? |

|What unprecedented action does Okika propose? |

|What happens when the court messengers arrive? |

|Ch 25 |

|Why do you think Okonkwo takes such drastic action? |

|Explain Obierika’s request to the District Commissioner. |

|Contrast the way Obierika and the District Commissioner react to Okonkwo’s action. |

|Why do you think the novel ends with the District Commissioner’s thoughts about his book? |

Proverbs

You’ve considered several of the proverbs out of context. Now, locate the proverbs as you read the novel. After reading the proverb in context, interpret it. Record the page number on which each proverb appears.

1. Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, then know that something is after its life.

2. When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk.

3. A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it is born.

4. …since men have learned to shoot without missing, [bird] has learned to fly without perching.

5. A child’s fingers are not scalded by a piece of hot yam which its mother puts into its palm.

6. When mother cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth.

7. If one finger brought oil it soiled the others.

8. There is nothing to fear from someone who shouts.

9. If a child washes his hands he could eat with kings.

10. There is no story that is not true.

11. I cannot live on the bank of a river and wash my hands with spittle.

12. If I fall down for you and you fall down for me, it is play.

13. A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness.

14. As a man danced so the drums were beaten for him.

15. The clan was like a lizard: if it lost its tail it soon grew another.

Schedule**

Reading—Chapters with vocabulary, study questions and any proverbs covered are due on the following dates:

2/20 Ch 1-3

2/22 Ch 4-6

2/26 Ch 7

2/28 Ch 8-9

3/6 Ch 10-12

3/8 Ch 13-14

3/12 Ch 15-18

3/15 Ch 19-20

3/19 Ch 21-23

3/21 Ch 24-25

Assessment—Major assessments are scheduled for the following dates:

3/23 Comprehension/Interpretation Exam

3/26 Vocabulary Test

3/27 Embedded Assessment One—Project and Oral Presentation

3/28 Embedded Assessment One—Project and Oral Presentation

3/29 Embedded Assessment One—Project and Oral Presentation

3/30 End of 3rd Quarter

**We will adhere to the schedule as closely as possible. Any changes will be announced in class. You should expect reading/vocabulary check quizzes once the chapter is covered.

Keep this sheet in your binder.

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