And what rough beast, its hour come round at last Things Fall Apart takes place sometime in the final decade of the nineteenth century in Igboland, which occupies the southeastern portion of what is now known as Nigeria. The British followed a policy in their colonizing efforts of designating local “leaders” to administer the lower levels of their empire. The best lack all conviction, while the worst What are the limits of the power of the village rain-maker? Hardly are those words out Obierika’s opening comment, that “he was not an albino. As is stated here very unambiguously, “Yam stood for manliness.” This is partly because preparing these crops is a “difficult art,” and presumably, not something to entrust to women. After a man from Mbaino, a neighboring clan, kills a girl from Umuofia, his village is given an ultimatum to deal with the situation: they must choose between violence or a human offering. Twenty-two. I have none now except that young girl who knows not her right from her left. How does share-cropping work? What does the incident involving the priestess of Agbala reflect about the values of the culture? The conflict established here will motivate the final section of the novel. The priestess of Agbala is introduced at the beginning of this chapter. Chinua Achebe (/ ˈ tʃ ɪ n w ɑː ə ˈ tʃ ɛ b eɪ /; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe, 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic. What values does it reflect? This seems reasonable enough as a sort of payback of principle and interest, but it is of note that one of the people traded over must be a “virgin.” This further highlights the masculine focus of this verdict and sexualizes the situation as a whole. https://www.thoughtco.com/things-fall-apart-quotes-741644 (accessed April 6, 2021). I did not hang myself, and I am still alive. Are full of passionate intensity. The egwugwu ceremony of the Ibo has been much studied. Note Nwoye’s affection for Ikemefuna. Achebe is trying not only to inform the outside world about Ibo cultural traditions, but to remind his own people of their past and to assert that it had contained much of value. It said that other white men were on their way. One has the sense of listening to another tongue, one with a rich and valuable tradition. Uchendu takes upon himself the difficult task of, essentially, kicking Okonkwo when he is down—a rather risky move. Note the continued treatment of the theme of the variability of values. Whoever the “albino” of times past was, he did not have with him an item of industry like these new Europeans do. Okonkwo’s lack of empathy and his willingness to use force to make his point is also evidenced in his physical nature—after all, he came to prominence in his clan as a renowned wrestler. As a young boy the “African literature” he was taught consisted entirely of works by Europeans about Africa, such as Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson, which portrays a comic African who slavishly adores his white colonist boss, to the point of gladly being shot to death by him. Why do some of the villagers–even those who are not converts to Christianity–welcome the British? Analyze it. How do you think such a system would affect the women themselves? What is Okonkwo’s attitude toward his daughter Ezinma?” Bride-price is the converse of dowry. Like many Nigerian authors, he was an exile from his homeland where a military dictatorship was in power until he was able to return for a brief visit in 1998. If a series of such deaths took place in a family it was believed that the same wicked spirit was being born and dying over and over again, spitefully grieving its parents. What mutual misunderstandings are evident in this chapter between the missionaries and the people of the village? What evidence is there in this chapter that customs have changed over time? Note how the introduction of this bit of knowledge is introduced on the heels of Ikemefuna’s death. Notice the traditional attitudes of all small villagers toward large marketplaces like Umuike. In Part One we were introduced to an intact and functioning culture. This sort of oversimplification was a constant theme of Christian arguments against traditional faiths throughout the world as the British assumed that the natives were fools pursuing childish beliefs who needed only a little enlightenment to be converted. In India the lowest castes were among the first to convert to faiths which challenged traditional Hinduism; and something similar seems to happen here. What effect does her status have on your judgment of the roles played by women in the culture? That customs differ among contemporary cultures? What sorts of stories had Okonkwo heard about white men before? “Inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand fully the difficult art of preparing seed-yams. Why is Okonkwo asked not to take part in the killing of Ikemefuna? Cohan, Quentin. —first Igbo, spoken with such eloquence by the old men of the village, and later English, which I began to learn at about the age of eight. Most historians agree that Abraham Lincoln was the most important man to ever occupy the White House because he abolished slavery and kept the states united through a bloody civil war. What are Okonkwo’s main characteristics as he is depicted in the first few chapters? Note how Achebe inverts the traditional dialect humor of Europeans which satirizes the inability of natives to speak proper English by having the missionary mangle Ibo. How is the notion of white men first introduced into the story? The idea that being able to feed a family year after year on a yam harvest makes someone a “great man” is subtle dig at Okonkwo’s father, who was unable to feed his family on yam harvests, and left his son with very few seeds to start his own farm. It is the end of an impromptu speech delivered by Uchendu, an acquaintance of Okonkwo’s in the village he and his family are exiled to for seven years, in which he attempts to show Okonkwo that his suffering is not as great as he thinks. Note how it balances against the “throwing away” of twins. What is the result of his black and white thinking? How is Rev. The Christian era, which followed that of the ancient world, was about to give way to an ominous period represented by the rough, pitiless beast in the poem. Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, is the seminal African novel in English. Mr. Brown here learns better. Whether or not this concern is actually true, it hangs around Okonkwo’s consciousness for the novel’s duration, until eventually he blows up at his son and ends his relationship with him. What is his attitude toward women? Although there were earlier examples, notably by Achebe’s fellow Nigerian, Amos Tutuola, none has been so influential, not only on African literature, but on literature around the world. Light Body Bad. The missionaries try to refute what they consider idolatry with the simplistic argument that the animist gods are only wooden idols; however the villagers are perfectly aware that the idol is not the god in a literal sense, any more than the sculpture of Christ on the cross in a Christian church is God. What roles does Chielo play in the village? It may have had its faults, and it accommodated deviants like Okonkwo with some difficulty, but it still worked as an organic whole. He has also published several other novels, a volume of short stories, and many poems and essays. Be sure to consult it whenever you encounter a new Ibo word or phrase. “Many others spoke, and at the end it was decided to follow the normal course of action. (4) 2,000 years; the creature has been held back since the birth of Christ. How does the village react to the coming of the locusts? The Second Coming! This is painful for the mothers, but it is done nonetheless. Smith different from Brown? Why do you think Nwoye has become a Christian? Why does he dislike his son Nwoye so much? Why do you think Achebe does this? What do you think the advantages and disadvantages of this form of social structure are? Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (/ ˌ tʃ ɪ m ɑː ˈ m ɑː n d ə ə ŋ ˈ ɡ oʊ z i ə ˈ d iː tʃ eɪ / (); born 15 September 1977) is a Nigerian writer whose works range from novels to short stories to nonfiction. Cohan, Quentin. Do you know that men are sometimes banished for life? Accordingly, the geography of the novel is dictated by precolonial norms of political and social organization. What sorts of attitudes are associated with white men in this passage? What is the relationship of women to agriculture? He has also published several other novels, a volume of short stories, and many poems and essays. What is your reaction to the final paragraph of the book? How does Okonkwo’s lack of understanding of the importance of women reflect on him? We are being systematically introduced to the major rituals of Ibo life. One of the most famous lines in the novel is “proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.” What does this mean? What is the significance of comparing Okonkwo to a fish out of water? He also fiercely resents the stereotype of Africa as an undifferentiated “primitive” land, the “heart of darkness,” as Conrad calls it. It provides an account of the clan's traditional way of life, and tells the story of its brave and self-made leader, Okonkwo. Additionally, the punishment, whichever one is chosen, is not directly vested upon the crime’s perpetrator—either the town as a whole is attacked, or the lives of two innocent young people are forever changed against their will. (Chapter 14). The first people who saw him ran away, but he stood beckoning to them. Most traditional cultures have considered twins magical or cursed. Note again the emphasis on differing customs, this time as it applies to palm-wine tapping. This is of interest because not only does it show an unfamiliarity between the two groups, but also, as bicycles are then-newly invented items of forged metal, reflects a lack of understanding or foresight on the part of the Africans about the oncoming of industrialization. Is his depicting it as an ideal one? Palm-wine is a naturally fermented product of the palm-wine tree, a sort of natural beer. He sipped his wine. It is also one ingredient after which Coca Cola is named. Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born? Does Achebe seem to validate the belief in ogbanje? "'He was not an albino. To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength. Note that a customary way of committing suicide in this culture is hanging. This passage arises from Okonkwo’s difficulty in accepting new circumstances. Similarly the missionaries have designated as their contact man an individual who lacks the status to make him respected by his people. The following selection of Things Fall Apart quotes illustrate Okonkwo's world and his struggle to adapt to the changing times and cultural invasion. How is the importance of family emphasized in the uri ceremony? If you think you are the greatest sufferer in the world ask my daughter, Akueni, how many twins she has borne and thrown away. One particularly notable fate is that of the woman who “has borne and thrown away” twins, as this reflects the tradition in this culture of discarding babies born in pairs as they are believed to be bad luck. How are problems like this affected by the fact that whole families are involved in marriage, unlike in American culture where a man and woman may wed quite independently of their families and even against their families’ wishes? It was a re-enactment of that other struggle. In this chapter the notion of the ogbanje is treated at length. The event reveals the highly masculine nature of this society, as the only way to account for violence is to rip the community even further apart. What is the purpose of the taking of Ikemefuna? “Even Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy—inwardly of course. Okonkwo then kills himself feeling that he has been cursed with his son, and feels that he failed to teach him the importance of the yams. Okonkwo has killed people before this. 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