CC14S

eme
sterVI

Pos
tcol
oni
alL
it
era
tur
e

Chi
nuaAc
hebe'
sThi
ngsF
all
Apa
rt-ADet
ail
edAna
lys
is

Ov
erv
iew

T
itl
e

T
hing
sFa
llApa
rt

Aut
hor

Chi
nuaAc
hebe

Y
earPubl
i
shed

1958

T
ype

Nov
el

Ge
nre

Hi
st
ori
cal
Fic
ti
on

Pe
rspec
ti
vea
ndNa
rra
tor

T
hing
sF al
lApar
tistol
dinthethi
rdpers
onbya nomni
sci
entna
rra
torwhoha
sadee
plype
rsona
l
c
onnect
iontot
heset
ti
ng,a
n1890sNi
ger
ianvi
l
lag
e.

T
ens
e

T
hing
sFa
llApa
rti
stol
dpr
ima
ril
yint
hepa
stt
ens
e.

Aboutt
heT
itl
e

Thetit
leThingsFal
lAparti
stakenfromali
nef r
omWi ll
ia
mBut lerYea
t s
's"T
heS econdComing,
"apoem
thatdesc
ribesthestat
eoft hewor ldi
nthea f
ter
ma thofWor ldWa rI.Ache
be ,recog
nizi
ngpot
entia
l
chaosinNig e
ria
'sbidfori
ndepe ndenc
efrom Bri
tai
n,explor
est hethemesinY eats
'spoem—press
ing
quest
ionsaboutawor l
dorderbrokenbyvi
olenceanddiss
ent.

Cont
ext

Af
terbe
ingr
eje
cte
dbyanumberofL
ondonpubl
i
she
rs,T
hing
sFa
llApa
rtwa
sac
cept
edbyHe
inema
nn,
al
thoug hthepubl is
herwasa dmit
tedl
yuncert
ainaboutthenovel
'saudi
e nceanditsr e
cepti
on.Wr i
tt
en
i
nE ng
lis
h,t hewor kwa sunfla
tte
ringtowhitecult
ure,Bri
ti
shimperi
ali
smi nparticul
ar.Nonethel
ess,
Heinema nnr elea
sedthebookwi t
houtchangi
ngawor d.It
sini
ti
alpubli
shingrunwa s2,000.Fouryear
s
l
aterHeine ma nnchoseThing
sF al
lApar
tasthefir
stbookinit
sAfri
canWr it
ersSer
ies.Thebookha ssol
d
mor ethan10mi l
li
oncopie
sa ndhasbeent
r a
nslat
edintomorethan50lang ua
ges.

Cr
it
ic
alRes
pons
e

Crit
ic
spr ai
sedAc hebe'
swr i
tingstyl
e.Onecall
edi t" vi
vi
d,"whi l
ea notherde scr
ibedita s" c
lea rand
mea ty
."Achebe'sdepict
ionofI gboli
feandcult
urewa sals
oa ppr eci
ated.S ome ,howev er,weret urned
offbyhispor tr
ayalofmi s
sionariesandimper
ial
ism.T hesec ri
ticscl
a i
medAc hebewa sung rat
e fuland
questi
onedwhe t
herhewa ntedt oret
urnto"mindlessti
mes ."T odaythebooki svi
ewe da sapr ofound
stor
yt ha
tcha ngedthewa yt hewor l
dlooksa
tAf r
ica.Notet hatt hr
oug houtt hebook ,Ache berefe r
sto
theIgbope opleasIbo,anol der,andnowoutdated,s pel
li
ng.T hisst
udyg uidea ndothe rma ter
ia l
suse
theIgbospell
ing.

I
mper
ial
i
sma
ndI
mpe
ria
li
stL
it
era
tur
e

Thecol
oniz
ati
onofAfr
icabyEur
opeanc ount
ri
esisknowna simpe
r i
ali
sm.Duri
ngt
he19t
handea
rly
20t
hcentur
ies
,vi
rt
ual
l
ya l
loft
hecont
inentcameunderthi
sfor
mofg overnment
.

Amongt henov e
lsdepic
ti
ngtheimperi
al
is
te xper
ience
,JosephConrad'sHear
tofDa r
kness(1899)
conti
nuestobeviewedasamast
erwor
kinthehist
oryoftheEngl
is
hnovel.Ac
hebe,whorec
ogniz
edt he
novel
'spower,
foundit
sviewoft
henat
ive
sa se
xoti
ca ndpri
miti
vetobedeepl
yoff
ensi
ve.

Othe rnov
elst
hatpor
tra
yAfri
cansi nanegati
veli
ghtarePrest
erJohn(
1910)byJ
ohnBuchanandMi
st
er
Johnson(1939)byJoyceCary.S omec ri
ti
cshavea rguedthatthes
ewor ksr
ati
onali
zewhatwr
it
er
Rudy ar
dKipli
ngin1899call
edt he" whit
ema n'sburden":theimpera
tiv
etoe l
eva
teprimi
ti
vel
i
ves
throughconver
si
ontoChri
st
iani
tya ndeconomicadva
nc ement.

I
naPa r
isRevi
ewi ntervi
ew( 1994),Achebeasser
tst
hatheisahistori
ana nd"thatnoimpor t
antst or
yc an
fa
iltot el
luss omet hi
ngofv al
uet ous."PartofAchebe'
sa c
hievementi shi sbal
ancedf ocusont he
para
doxofc oloniali
sm,bothwha titoff
eredandwhatittookfromhi speople.In2007t heac c
ur a
cyof
hi
sr eport
sfrom t he"hea r
tofda rkne
ss"earnedhimt hehi
ghes tawa rdforE ng
li
shf i
cti
on,t heMa n
BookerInter
na ti
onalPrize.Oneoft hejudgesintheMa nBook ercompe tit
ion,Sout
hAf ricana uthor
NadineGordimer,dubbe dAc hebet he"fat
herofmodernAfri
canl i
ter
ature,
"a nunoffi
ci
altitl
ebywhi ch
hecommonl ybe camek nown.

Ni
ger
ianHi
st
ory
T
heBrit
is
hgai
nedafoothol
dinNi g
eri
aduri
ngthe1850s
,whentheyest
abl
ishedapr
esenc
ea r
ound
L
agosonNig
eri
a'
seast
ernc oa
st.By1861theBri
ti
shhadst
reng
thenedthe
irholdov
erNiger
iaand
g
over
nedbyi
ndi
rec
trul
et hr
oughloc
all
eader
s.

I
nt he1870semi
ssa
riesfr
omBel
giumest
abl
i
shedtra
dewithnat
iveAfr
icansi
nter
ri
torys
urr
oundi
ngt
he
CongoRiver
.Thi
sac
tinspi
redal
andgr
abbyvar
iousEur
opeanc
ountri
esforcol
oni
esinAf
ri
ca.

Germanc hancel
lorOttov onBi s
ma rc
kc onv enedtheBe rl
inConfer
e nceof1884– 85tof orma l
iz
ebor ders
dra
wnbyt heindivi
dua lEuropeanc ount r
iesinvolv
edi nt hecol
oni z
ati
onofAf ri
ca.Aus t
ri
a-Hungary,
Bel
gium, De nma rk,F rance, Gr eat Br i
tain, It
aly
,t he Ne t
he rl
ands
, Por tugal, Rus si
a,S pain,
Sweden–Nor way,andT urkeyattended. TheUnitedStateswa si
nvi
tedbutha dnointerestine s
tabl
ishi
ng
apre s
encei nAf r
ica.T her
ewer enoAf r
icanrepresentati
vesatt heme eti
ng,andt hebor dersthe
Eur
opea nsc r
eatedig noredt hedi f
fe r
e nc
esa mongg roupsdist
inctint he i
rbeli
e f
s,l anguages
,a nd
pra
ctic
es.T heimpe r
a ti
vef orea c
hE uropeanna ti
onwa stodeve l
opChr ist
iani
tya ndt rade.By1914
near
lyallofAfri
cawa scolonizedbyE uropeanc ountr
ies
.

Southe
rnNi ger
iaandNor thernNi geri
aoffi
ciall
ybe cameBr i
tis
hpr otectoratesi
n1906a ndwer eunited
astheColonya ndProt e
ctorateofNi geri
ai n1914.I n1958Br i
taina g
re edtoNigeria nindependenc e,
whichbecameof f
ic
ialin1960.Ni geri
awa sdec l
aredaf ederalr epubli
ci n1963.T he1960swer ea
tumult
uoust i
mef orNigeri
a.Di v
isi
onsbe t
we ent hes emi f
euda landMus li
mHa usa-Fulanipe opl
eoft he
sout
heast,themona rchi
stY orubaoft hesout hwest,a ndthepr edomina ntl
yChrist
iana nddemoc ratic
communi t
iesoftheIgbonor thresulte
dincivilconfl
icta ndpoliti
calinstabil
it
y.Bythemi d-20thcentury,
whenAc hebewa swriti
ngT hingsFallApar
t,the sevariouspe oplesha dspr e
adthroug houtt heci
ti
e sbut
hadnotintegr
ated,astheg roupsandt hei
rinterest
swe resodifferent.

I
ntr
oduc
ti
ont
otheCha
rac
ter
s

Ok
onk
wo

Okonk
woisaweal
thy
,re
spect
edl
eade
rinUmuof
iawhoi
suna
blet
oada
pta
ndwhok
il
lshi
msel
fra
the
r
tha
nli
vei
nacha
ngedsoci
ety
.

Unok
a

Unok
aisOk
onk
wo'
sfa
the
r.

I
kemef
una

I
keme
funai
saboyf
roma
not
herc
lanwhoc
omest
oli
vewi
thOk
onk
woi
nUmuof
ia.
Rea
dMor
e

Nwoy
e

Nwoy
eisOk
onk
wo'
sson.

E
kwef
i
E
kwe
fii
sthes
econdwi
feofOk
onk
wo.

E
zinma

E
zinmai
sOk
onk
wo'
sda
ught
er.

Obi
eri
ka

Obi
eri
kai
sOk
onk
wo'
sfr
iend.

Ag
bal
a

Agba
lai
sanI
gbog
odk
nowna
stheOr
acl
eoft
heHi
l
lsa
ndCa
ves
;hei
nfl
uenc
esa
lla
spe
ctsofl
i
fei
nthe
cl
an.

Ak
unna

Ak
unnai
sac
lanl
eade
rwhoha
sconv
ers
ati
onsa
boutr
eli
gi
onwi
thMr
.Br
own.

Ama
li
nzet
heCa
t

Ama
li
nzei
saf
amouswr
est
lerwhomOk
onk
wode
fea
ted,
bri
ngi
ngOk
onk
wog
rea
tres
pec
t.

Ami
kwu

Ami
kwui
sOk
onok
wo'
scous
in;
hei
nfor
msOk
onk
wot
hatNwoy
eisa
mongt
heChr
is
ti
ans
.

Ana
si

Ana
sii
sNwa
kibi
e'
sfi
rs
twi
fe.

Anet
o

Ane
toi
sanI
gboma
nha
nge
dforc
ommi
tt
ingmur
der
.

Ani

Ani
ist
hee
art
hgoddes
sint
heI
gbor
eli
gi
on.
Thepeopl
ewor
shi
pAni
toens
uret
hei
rcr
opswi
l
lgr
ow.

Chi
el
o

Chi
el
oist
hepr
ies
tes
sofAg
bal
awhoi
sanor
mal
woma
nwhe
nnotpos
ses
sedbyt
hes
pir
itofAg
bal
a.

Di
st
ri
ctCommi
ssi
one
r

T
heBr
it
is
hDi
st
ri
ctCommi
ssi
one
rrul
est
hea
reaa
ndha
snor
espe
ctf
ort
hec
lana
ndt
hei
rtr
adi
ti
ons
.

E
noc
h

E
noc
hisapa
ssi
ona
tec
onv
erta
ndc
aus
est
roubl
ewi
thhi
sfor
merc
lans
men.
E
zea
ni

E
zea
nii
sthepri
estofAni
,thee
art
hgoddes
s.Hec
has
ti
sesOk
onk
wof
orbe
ati
nghi
swi
fe,Oj
i
ugo,dur
ing
t
heWeekofPe
ace.

E
zeudu

E
zeuduwa
rnsOk
onk
wonott
opl
ayar
olei
nki
l
li
ngI
keme
funa
.Ok
onk
woa
cci
dent
all
yki
l
lsE
zeudu'
sson.

E
zeug
o

E
zeug
oisa
nIg
bol
eade
randpowe
rful
ora
tor
.

F
irs
tWi
fe

F
irs
tWi
fei
sNwoy
e'smot
her
.

Kot
ma

Ak
otmai
sac
our
tme
sseng
erwhowor
ksf
ort
heof
fi
ceoft
heDi
st
ri
ctCommi
ssi
one
r.

Ma
duk
a

Ma
duk
aisObi
eri
ka'
ssonwhowi
nsawr
est
li
ngma
tch.

Mr
.Br
own

Mr
.Br
owni
sthef
ir
stwhi
temi
ssi
ona
ryt
oar
ri
vei
nUmuof
ia.

Mr
.Ki
aga

Mr
.Ki
agai
sana
tiv
ewhobe
come
saChr
is
ti
anmi
ssi
ona
rya
ndc
onv
ert
speopl
e,i
ncl
udi
ngNwoy
e.

Mr
.Smi
th

Mr
.Smi
thr
epl
ace
sMr
.Br
owna
ndi
sapa
ssi
ona
tez
eal
ot.

Nne
ka

Nne
kai
sawoma
nwhoj
oi
nst
heChr
is
ti
anc
hur
ch.

Nwa
kibi
e

Nwa
kibi
eisas
ucc
ess
ful
Umuof
ianwhol
endsOk
onk
woy
ams
eedst
hatena
blehi
mtog
ethi
sst
arti
nli
fe.

Obi
agel
i

Obi
age
lii
sOk
onk
wo'
sda
ught
er,
ands
hei
srea
dyt
oma
rryuponr
etur
ningt
oUmuof
ia.

Of
oedu
Of
oedut
ell
sOk
onk
woa
ndObi
eri
kaa
boutt
hedea
thofNdul
ue.

Oj
i
ugo

Oj
i
ugoi
sOk
onk
wo'
sthi
rdwi
fe;
hebe
atshe
rdur
ingt
heWe
ekofPe
ace.

Ok
agbue

Ok
agbuei
same
dic
inema
nwhomOk
onk
woc
all
sont
ohel
pEz
inma
.

Ok
ika

Ok
ikai
sanI
gbol
eade
randoneoft
heme
nimpr
is
one
dwi
thOk
onk
wo.

Ok
oli

Ok
oli
ist
heI
gboChr
is
ti
anwhok
il
lst
her
oya
lpy
thon.

Ok
oye

Ok
oyei
sUnok
a'sne
ighborwhoa
tte
mpt
stoc
oll
ectade
bt.

Uc
hendu

Uc
hendui
sthel
eaderofOk
onk
wo'
smot
her
'ss
ideoft
hef
ami
l
y.

Br
iefCha
rac
terAna
lys
is

Ok
onk
wo

Okonk woi sama nwhov al

ue sma s
culinity,str
ength,andrespe cta
bovea l
lel
s e.Heisseenasal eader
withi
nhi sc l
ana ndhisfamily
,whi c
hi nc l
ude sthr
eewi vesandanumberofc hil
dren.Ama nofa ct
ion,
Okonk woov e
rcome shispoorba ckg
rounda ndachievesgreatsuccess
.Unoka ,Okonkwo'sfat
her,wa s
l
a z
ya ndapoorpr ovi
der,andOk onkwoi sdri
v entobee ver
ythinghisfa
therwa snot.Okonkwo'
srigi
dity
causesg r
ea tharm,fir
stwithi
nhi sfamily—t hek i
l
lingofIkemefunaa ndtherif
twi thNwoye—a ndthen
withi
ns ociety.Okonkwoisuna bletoa daptwhent hewhitema n/
missi
onari
esc ometohi svi
ll
age.He
commi tssuici
der at
herthanadhe r
etot her ulesofthechangeds oci
ety.

Unok
a

Unok ai
svie
wedbyOk onkwoa ndthecl
anaslazy,al
thoughhewa sa l
soagif
tedmusic
ianandag entl
e
ma n.Rat
herthanworki
ng,Unokapref
err
edtopla yhisf
luteanddrinkwine
.Hewa sseenasac oward
becausehewa sa
fra
idofwar.Hehadpoorha
r v
estsbecausehewa sunwil
l
ingtoputi
nthee f
fortt
oc a
re
forthela
nd.Whe nUnokadied,hewasindebttoa l
lofhisnei
ghbors.
Okonkwocannotseehisfat
her'
s
g
oodqua
li
ti
esa
ndha
teshi
m.Hel
i
veshi
sli
fewi
tht
hei
ntent
ionofa
voi
di
nga
nyt
hinghi
sfa
the
renj
oyed.

I
kemef
una

I
k emefunacomestotheclanasaformofpa y
me ntforamurderthatoneofhi
stri
besmencommit
ted.
Theel der
splaceI
kemefunawithOk onkwo,whoput shi
sfir
stwifeincharg
eoft heboy.I
kemefuna
mi s
seshisfamil
ybutc omestof eelathomei nUmuof i
a.Hebec omespopularwithi
nthefamily
,
pa r
ti
cula
rlywi
thOkonkwo'sol
destson,Nwoye.Okonkwoi
salsofondofIk
eme f
una
, t
houghhedoe
snot
revealhi
sfeel
i
ngsandeventua
ll
ypar t
ic
ipat
esi
nIkeme f
una
'smurder.

Nwoy
e

Nwoyes eemst ohaveadoptedsomeofUnok a'

strai
ts
,whichups etsOk onk
wo.Ok onkwowor r
iesthat
Nwoyewi llg
r owupbeha vi
ngashisgrandfat
herbehaved.Becauseofhi sconcer
n,Ok onkwoisev en
harde
ronNwoy ea ndbeat
shimr eg
ular
ly.Nwoyebeginstochangeunde rt
heinfl
uenceofIkemefuna.
WhenI k
e mefunaiski
ll
ed,Nwoyeretr
eatsint
ohimsel
fa ndi
scutof ffr
omhi sfat
her.Withthearri
valof
themiss
ionari
e s
,Nwoyerevi
ves.
Hebr ea
ksa wayf
romhi sf
atherandbec omesaChrist
ianconver
t.

E
kwef
i

Ek wefii
sOkonk wo'ssecondwi f
e.Ek wefiwa sattr
ac t
edt oOkonkwowhens hes awhimde f
ea tAma li
nze
theCa tinwr est
li
ng.Shec ouldnotma r
ryhi mbe causehewa stoopoor.Afterhea chi
eve
ss uc c
ess,she
l
e avesherhus bandandg oestoOk onkwo,whot akesherinwi t
hnoque s
ti
ons .
Sheispart
icularl
yc l
ose
wi t
hhe ronlychil
d,Ezi
nma .Af
terl
os ingninec hil
dren,E k
we f
iwa sabrokenwoma n.WhenE zinmalived
be yondinf
anc y,Ekwefirejoi
ced.Shet reatsherda ug htermorelikeanequa lthanac hi
l
d.T hel ossof
childre
nha sa l
socreatedac onnectiontoOk onkwo,whoa cceptsbehav
iorsfrom herthathedoesnot
fromhi sot
herwi ves.
Hes howshermor ec area ndconc er
n.

E
zinma

Ezi
nmaistheonlychi
ldofOkonkwo'ssec
ondwif
e,Ekwef
i.Sheispart
icul
arl
yc losetohermot her
.
Okonk
woa l
sof
avorsEzi
nma.Hefeelsac
onnec
ti
ontoherandapprec
iat
esherbol dness.Herbeha
vior
s
andat
ti
tudemakeOkonkwowis
hs hewer
eaboy.Ez
inmafe
elsasi
mila
rfondnessforhe rfat
her.

Obi
eri
ka

Obi
eri
kai
sthec
los
estt
hingOk
onk
woha
stoac
onf
ida
nt.L
ikeOk
onk
wo,heha
sac
hie
veds
tat
uswi
thi
n
theclan.Heha smultipl
ewivesandc hi
ldre
n.Hema r
riesoffoneda ughter
,andhissonisawr e st
li
ng
champion.WhenOk onkwoisfor
cedt oleaveUmuofia,Obieri
kacaresforhisl
andandpr opert
y.Unli
ke
Okonkwo,Obi eri
kai
smor enuancedinhisthink
ingandisabletoexpresshimsel
f.HerebukesOkonk wo
forparti
ci
patingi
nthemur derofIkemefuna,tel
lshi
mt oha v
epa ti
encewi t
hhischi
ldr
en,a ndcauti
ons
hima boutthepoweroft hemi s
sionari
es.WhenOk onkwodi es,Obier
ikaspeaksuponhi sbehalfand
cal
lshimag reatman.

Pl
otS
umma
ry

T
hing sF allAparttake
spl acei nthe1890si nIgbov i
ll
agesinNi geri
a.Atthi
stime,t
heBr i
tis
ha re
c
olonizingNi ger
ia.Missi
onari
e sarri
vea spartofthetakeov
er,a ndBrit
aini
mposesalega
ls y
stem t o
a
ssistthe mi nconver
ti
ngv i
lla
g erstoChris
ti
anit
y.TheIgboarethel as
tgrouptobeconv
ertedbec ause
t
heirc ultureisbothpr os
perousa nddemoc r
ati
c.Achebehighli
ghtsthenatur
eofawe ll
-f
unctioning
c
ulturea ndt hel
ossthatoccursintheinevi
tabl
eprogres
sofcoloni
a l
i
sm.

Readersareint
roducedtoOk onkwo,theprota
g oni
st.Okonkwoiswe l
lres
pectedinhisvi
ll
age,Umuofia
,
oneofni nev i
ll
agesofhi sclan.Heg ai
nedt hatre spec
tbywi nni
ngawr estl
ingma t
cha gai
nstthe
undefeat
edc hampion.Sinc
et hen,Okonkwoha sbe comewe al
thy,marry
ingthreewivesandf at
heri
ng
sever
alchil
dren.Hissucces
sc ontr
astswi
ththef ail
uresofhisfat
her,amus i
cia
na ndfun-l
ovinggentl
e
manbuta lsoanalcohol
icsl
ackerindebtt
ohise nti
rec ommunit
y.Okonkwoisa s
ha medofhisfat
herand
i
sdriventobef i
erc
ea ndma scul
ine,
unli
kehispa r
ent.

Becauseofhisfa t
her'
slazi
ne s
s,Ok onkwofendsf orhi
ms e
lfatane a
rlyage.Nwa ki
be,afar
me r
,v i
ews
Okonkwoa shardworki
nga ndr espect
fulandg i
veshimy ams eedstoplant.Yamsa r
ethema infood
source,andgrowingthemisama n'sjob.Droughtandviol
entrainst
urnhisfir
stpla
nti
ngseasonintoa
dis
a s
ter,buts
omehowhef indsawa ytosurvi
ve.Remembe ri
ngthatyear"
withac ol
dshiv
er,
"Ok onkwo
i
sc onvinc
edhec ansurvi
vea nyt
hing.

Asares
ultofhisposi
ti
oni
nsoci
ety
,Okonk
woi
schos
e nt
olooka
ftert
heboyI
kemefuna
. T
heboya
rri
ves
i
nt hev
il
lageasaf or
mofpaymentfr
omanei
ghbor
ingcl
anwhosemembershav
emur dere
dawoma n
fr
omUmuof ia
.

I
kemefunaadjust
stolif
einUmuof i
aa ndviewsOk onkwoashisf
ather
.Nwoy e,Ok onkwo'
sson,i
sfondof
I
kemefuna,whom hes eesasa nolderbrotheranda dmir
esforhiss
kil
latma kingbowsf r
om theloca
l
t
reesandbuil
dingtrapsforhunti
ng.Thisplea
sesOk onkwo,whosegr
eatestfe
a risthatNwoyewillt
ake
a
fterOkonkwo'sf
ather,Unoka.

Whenthepri
est
essChiel
oorderstha
tIkemef
unaistobeki
ll
ed,avi
ll
ageel
der
,Eze
udu,wa r
nsOk
onkwo
nottotak
epartinthekil
li
ng.Hedoe ssoanyway,f
ear
ingthati
fhedoesnotpart
ic
ipa
tehewil
llos
e
res
pect
.Themurderca
usesOk onk
wog rea
tdespa
ir,a
ndNwoy ei
sdevas
tat
ed.

E
zinma,daug
hterofOkonkwo'ss
econdwif
e,E
k wef
i,bec
ome sextr
emelyi
llwi
thafev
er,a
ndE kwef
iis
t
erri
fi
edthechi
l
dwi l
ldi
e.Alt
houghOkonk
wog ener
all
ykeepshisemot
ionsinc
heck
,herushesi
ntot
he
br
usha ndcoll
ect
she
rbsandt
reebar
ktobrewamedici
nefort
hegi
rl
.Afte
rarest
les
sni
ght,Okonkwo
us
esthec oncoc
ti
ontost
eamthef
everoutofE
zinma
.Thi
sdemons
tra
tionofc
arefal
l
swellout
sidehi
s
us
ualcharact
er.

Ezeududi
es,andduri
nghisfuner
almenbe atcer
emonia
ldrumsandf
iret
hei
rguns
.WhenOkonk
wo's
gunexpl
odes,heacc
ident
all
ykil
l
sE z
eudu'
sson.Thepuni
shmentf
orki
l
li
ngacl
ansmani
sse
venyea
rsof
exil
e.

Fl
eeingbe
for
eda wn,Ok
onkwoa ndhisf
amil
ys ett
lewit
hhismother
'sc
lans
meninMba
nta
.Whi
l
e
Okonkwol
ongsf
orUmuofi
a,hei
stre
atedwel
lbyhiski
nsmena
ndprospe
rsamongt
hem.

WhenOkonk
wo' sfr
iendObier
ikavi
sit
shede s
cri
best
hedes
truct
ionoftheAbamecl
ana tt
hehandsof
t
hewhit
ema n.Thec l
anha dk
il
ledthefir
stwhit
emanwhoca metotheirv
il
la
gebecaus
eofawa rni
ng
f
romtheOra
c l
e.TheOr a
clehadsai
dt ha
twhitemenwoul
dde sc
endli
kedevouri
ngl
ocust
sanddestr
oy
t
hem.

Whenmi ssi
onari
esarr
iveinMba ntaandrequestlandtobuil
dac hur
c h,thecl
anrulersgiv
et hempa r
tof
theevi
lfores
t,bel
ievi
ngt hatt
hec l
an'sgodswillst
ri
kethemi ss
ionari
esdown.Af t
e rthechur chisbuilt
andthemi ss
ionar
iessurviv
e,vi
ll
agersbeginattendi
ngservi
ces,inc
ludingthefir
stfe malec onvertand
Nwoye.S oonNwoy e'
sc ousi
nspotshima tt
hec hurchandg oesstra i
ghttotel
lOk onkwo.T hi
snews
dri
vesOk onkwotos everel
ybea tNwoye ,whot henleaveshomea ndmov e
st oUmuof i
a .Ok onkwo
wondershowhec ouldha veasonwhoi ssowea k
.Hede c
idesthisi
sj ustt
hewa ythingsare:"liv
ingfir
e
beget
scold,i
mpotenta s
h."

Okonkwo plansat r
iumphantre t
urn home.However
,hef i
ndsthatUmuofiahaschanged.The
miss
ionar
iesarees
tabli
shedther
enow.Hewa nt
stofi
ghtthem,butObie
rik
awa r
nsi
tistoolate
.The
miss
ionar
ieshavea
lreadybui
l
tac hurc
ha ndat
tra
cte
dfol
lowers
.Nwoyeiswit
hthemandhasconvert
ed
toChri
st
iani
ty.

Thewhit
ema n'
spres
enceextendsfur
thertha
nt hechurc
h.Br i
ti
s hof
fi
ci
a l
shavesetupag over
nment
wit
haDi s
tri
ctCommissi
onerjudgi
ngcases.Amissi
onar
y,Mr .Brown,hasbeena c
ceptedi
nt hevi
ll
age
,
ashedoesnotforc
ehisrel
i
gionuponthepeople.Hehasalsoope nedaschool
wher ecl
ans
menl ear
nto
r
eadandwr i
te.

Anothermis s
ionary,Mr.S mit
h,repla
c esBrown.S mi
thisfi
e r
ya ndr ouseshi
sfol
lower s.Enoch,azeal
ous
convert
,commi t
sac ri
mea gai
nstthec l
a n,andtheclanmembe rsthende s
troyE noch'scompounda nd
thechurch.Ok onkwoha ppil
ypa r
ti
ci
pa tesinthedes t
ruct
ion.S woopingdownont hec l
an,theDist
rict
Commi ssi
onerj ail
ss i
xl eaders,i
ncludingOk onkwo.T heirjail
erst akepleasurei nhumi li
ati
nga nd
punis
hingt hepr is
oners,forci
blysha vi
ngt hei
rhea ds,st
a r
vingt hem,a ndwhi ppingt hem.Ok onk
wo
become sea g
e rforrevenge.T heDistr
ictCommi ssi
onerimpos esahe a vyf
inefort heirrel
ease,whi
c h,
thr
eeda yslater,
thec l
anpa ys.

T
henextmor
ningt
heclanmember
s—ener
giz
ed,ang
ry,andf
ear
ful
—g at
hertodi
scus
sthetr
eat
mentof
t
hepr
is
oners
,cons
ide
ringi
ta"s
hamef
ulsac
ril
ege
."Okonkwoi
sseet
hingandhopesthec
lanwi
llf
ina
ll
y
fi
ghtback.Whencour
tmes
senger
sappr
oachdemandingt
hemee
tingbestopped,Okonk
wo'sra
geboil
s
over,a
ndhek il
l
sthemess
engers
'spok
esman.Se
nsingfe
ari
nhissta
rtl
edc l
ansmen,Okonkwoknows
theywil
lnotgotowar
.

Soont heDi st
ri
ctCommi s
sioneranda narme dba nda r
ri
vea tOk onkwo'scompoundt oa rresthim.
Obieri
kas ol
emnlyinformsthe mtha tOkonkwoisnott her
ea ndleadsthegrouptowhe reOk onkwoha s
hangedhi msel
f.S
uicideisana bominati
onintheirrel
igi
on,andOk onkwo'
sfri
endscannottouchhi sbody.
Theymus tr
e l
yont hes ol
dierstobur yhi
m.F uriousl
y,Obier
ikarebukestheDist
ri
ctCommi s s
ionerfor
destr
oy i
ng"oneoft heg re
atestmeni nUmuof ia.
"Ashewa lk
sa way,theDist
ri
ctCommi ss
ionerr ef
lect
s
thatOk onkwo'sstorymi ghtbewor thincl
udingi nabookhei swr i
ti
ng,whichwi l
lbec al
ledT he
Paci
fi
ca t
ionofthePrimiti
veT r
ibesoftheLowe rNiger.

T
hePl
oti
nPoi
nts

I
ntr
oduc
ti
on

1.
Growi
nguppoor
,Ok
onk
wog
ainsf
amebywr
est
li
ng.

Ri
si
ngAc
ti
on

2.
Okonk
woa
ndhi
sfa
mil
yta
kei
nIk
eme
funa
.

3.
Okonk
wopa
rti
ci
pat
esi
nthek
il
li
ngofI
keme
funa
.

4.
Okonk
woi
sex
il
edf
romt
hec
lanf
ora
nac
cident
alk
il
li
ng.

5.
Thewhi
tema
nandmi
ssi
ona
rie
sar
ri
vei
nthev
il
la
ges
.

6.
Nwoy
ele
aveshi
sfa
thera
ndj
oi
nst
hemi
ssi
ona
rie
s.

7.
Okonk
woa
ndhi
sfa
mil
yre
tur
ntoUmuof
ia.

8.
Enoc
hunma
sksa
neg
wug
wu.

Cl
i
max

9.
Theeg
wug
wu,
vil
l
agel
eade
rsdes
troyc
hur
ch.

F
all
i
ngAc
ti
on

10.
Okonk
wo,
fiv
eot
herc
lanl
eader
sar
eja
il
eda
ndbea
ten.

11.
Okonk
wok
il
lst
hec
our
tmes
seng
er.

Re
sol
uti
on

12.
Okonk
woha
ngshi
msel
f.
Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r1|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

T
hest
oryi
sseti
nt hefi
ct
ionalv
il
la
geofUmuofia
,Ni
ger
ia,i
nthelat
e1890s.Okonkwo,thepr
otagoni
st
,
i
samemberoftheIgbotr
ibe(s
pell
edIboint
henov
el)
,anethni
cgroupthatr
esidesi
nninevi
ll
agesby
t
hel
owerNi
gerRiv
e ri
nSouther
nNiger
ia.

Y
earsagoOkonkwogai
nedfa
mebecauseofhiswr
est
li
ngex
ploi
ts
.Heha
ssi
ncebe
comeas
ucc
ess
ful
f
armerwit
halar
gefa
mil
y,i
ncl
udi
ngt
hreewives
.

Reade
rslear
nthatUnok
a,Okonkwo'
sfat
her,wasalazymanwhoenjoy
edmusica
ndt a
lki
ng.Peopl
edi
d
notrespe
cthim,andhisfamil
ystr
uggl
ed.Unok aowedmoneyt oallofhi
sneig
hborsa ndhadno
i
ntent
ionofpayi
nghi
sdebt
s.Hisi
ndebt
ednessl
eftOkonkwoa
shamed.

Ana
lys
is

T
hischapt
eropensthefi
rs
tofthreepa
rtsofthenovel
.InPart1,re
adersmeetOkonk
wo,thenovel
'
s
l
arg
er-t
han-
li
feprot
agoni
st
,andga i
nasenseofhisal
mos tmythi
creput
ati
on.Ac
hebeals
oprovi
desa
t
horoughi
ntr
oducti
ontoI
gbocul
turebe
forethedeva
sta
tingef
fect
sofcol
oni
ali
sm.

I
nCha pt
er1,rea
der
sbecomeacqua
int
edwithbothOkonkwoandtheper
sonwhosebe
havi
orha s
shapedOkonk
wo'sc
har
acter
:hi
sdespi
sedf
ather
,Unok
a .T
hechapt
erpres
ent
sthes
edetai
l
sa bout
Okonkwo:

Hebec ameaher otohiscl

anwhe n,asat e
enager,hebeatawres
tl
ingcha
mpi
onwhohadbeen
undefe
atedfors
evenyear
s.Okonkwowa s"
assli
pper
ya saf
is
h"anddefea
tedt
hec
hampi
oni
nafi
ght
thatwasoneoft
hefi
erc
esthi
svil
la
g eha
de v
erseen.

I
nthefol
lowing20yea
rs,Okonkwo'
sfameandst
a t
urehav
egrown.Hi
ssta
tusa
sas ucc
ess
ful
far
merand
warher
owi t
hc i
vi
cti
tl
esandthreewiv
esmakeshim"oneofthegr
eat
estmenofhist
ime"i
ntheey
esof
hi
scl
anandinhisowne y
es.Hisj
aunt
ystepmakesita
ppeart
hathewal
ks"onspr
ings
."

Why ,then,doesOk onkwos or eadi

lyr esortt
ov iol
ence?Heha snopa t
ienc
e,parti
cular
ly"wit
h
unsucc
essfulmen."I
t'
snoc oi
ncidencetha tthemostunsuccess
fulmaninOkonkwo'sl
i
fei shi
sfat
her,
Unoka.Alt
houghUnok ahasbeendea dfor10y ea
rs,
hes t
il
linfl
uencesOk
onkwo'sl
if
e.Readersl
ear
nthe
fol
l
owinga boutUnok
a :

Ag
ift
edf
lut
epl
aye
randl
overofwi
ne,
Unok
awa
sha
ppi
estwhe
npl
ayi
ngmus
ic.

S
ucce
s s
fulinmusi
c,Unok
awa
saf
ail
urea
tthepr
act
ic
ala
spec
tsofl
i
fe.Hewa
sla
zya
ndpr
ovi
dedl
i
ttl
e
f
oodforhisfa
mil
y.
Hewa
sindebtt
oev
ery
onea
nd,
thoug
hhek
eptar
ecor
dofhi
sde
bts
,di
dnotr
epa
ythepe
opl
ewhol
ent
hi
mmoney.

Ok
onk
wowa
sas
hamedofhi
sfa
the
r,a
ndt
hats
hamedr
ive
shi
masa
nadul
t.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r2|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Nighthasfa
ll
en,andthec l
ani
snoti
fi
edofat
ownmee t
ingt
aki
ngplacethenex
tmor ni
ng.Itisaqui
et
nig
ht,asthenig
htswithoutmoonl
i
ghtar
einUmuof
ia.T
henarr
atornote
sthat"da
rknessheldavague
ter
rorfort
hesepeopl
e."

Okonk
wot hi
nksthemee
tingmig
htbeacal
ltowar.
Heha
dpr
evi
ous
lypr
ovenhi
msel
finwa
rfa
re,
hav
ing
br
oughthomefiv
ehumanhe a
dsasbat
tl
etr
ophie
s.

Att
hemee t
ing,E
zeug
o,apower
fulora
tor,ex
pla
insthatacl
a ns
womanha sbeenkil
l
edbysomeonefr
om
Mbaino.Cla
nme mbe
rsdeci
detosendade l
egatetoMba inotonegoti
ate.Thepeopl
eofMba i
nowil
l
hav
et hechoic
eofoff
eri
ngUmuofi
aay oungmana ndavir
ginaspay
me ntfort
heloss—orwag
ingwar.

Thenarr
atornot
estha
tUmuofi
ais"power
fuli
nwa randinmagi
c"a
ndi
sthe
ref
oref
ear
edbyi
ts
nei
ghbor
s.Thecl
ang
oestowa
ronl
yifi
tsOr
acl
edecl
arest
hewarj
ust
.

Okonkwoi schosenasthenegoti
ator
.Whenheg oestot
hepotenti
alenemytor
evie
wt heter
ms,heis
tr
ea t
edwi t
hg reathonorandrespec
t.Soonhebring
shomethev i
rginandayoungboy —I
kemef
una.
Giv
ent heresponsi
bil
i
tytoc ar
ef orIk
e mef
una
,Ok onk
woe ntrus
tshisfi
rs
twifetol ookaf
terthe
f
rightenedandhome si
ckyoungboy.

ReaderslearnthatOkonkwo" r
uleshi
shouseholdwithaheavyhand."Hiswivesandc hi
ldren"li
vein
perpetualfea
rofhisfi
erytempe r
."Okonk
wo'slif
eisdominat
edbyf ear
—pa rt
ic
ula
r l
ythef earthathe
wil
lendupl i
kehisf
ather
.Heha salotofenergyandworkshard,whi
chenableshi
mt ogrowwe al
thy.
Nwoy e,Okonkwo'sol
destson,i
sunlik
ehisfat
her.Okonk
wos aysheisla
zy,andhet r
iestoc or
recthim
"byconstantnagg
ingandbeati
ng."

Ana
lys
is

Okonkwo'si
ntens
itya ndhe a
vy-handednessarerevea
ledtobeac over-
upforhi
s"fea
roffa
il
ureandof
weakness
."Inhi
sdrivet osucc
ee danddeservetheres
pectofhisc
lan,Okonkwovowsnev
ertobegent
le
oridl
e,becausethati showhi sfatherwas.AllofOkonkwo'str
aitsandbehav
ioraredi
ctat
edbyhis
det
e r
minati
ontobet heoppos i
teofhisfat
her.

Okonkwoi
sthec
lea
rrul
eri
nhi
shous
ehol
d.Her
egul
arl
ybe
atshi
swi
vesa
ndc
hil
dre
n,a
ndt
heya
re
af
rai
dofhi
m.

Prefe
rri
nga
cti
ontoconv
ersati
on,heisnotint
eres
tedinha
vingtoexpl
ai
nhims
elft
oa nyone.Whenhis
fi
rstwif
eas
kshimaquest
ion,heanswers,"
Dowha tyouar
et ol
d,woman.
"Headdsthatsheisnotone
oft
hee
lder
s.T
hus
,her
efl
ect
sthepa
tri
arc
hal
hie
rar
chyoft
het
ri
be.

Okonkwoisj
udgment
alandbaseshi
sse
lf-
est
eemonhisperce
pti
onofmascul
i
nit
y.Wi
thg
rea
tpr
idehe
rec
all
shi
sexpl
oi
tsi
nwa randt
hes y
mbol
sofhisv
ict
ori
es,
fiv
ehumanheads
.

Okonkwoi
scomf
ort
abl
ewi
tht
hec
lan'
srul
esofc
onduc
t,a
sthec
lanha
sac
lea
rsetofbeha
vior
stha
t
appl
ytowar
.

Herereader
sseethatthea nge
randf
earthatdri
veOkonkwotobesoha rdonhisfamil
ya l
l
owhimt obe
succ
essf
ulatwa randrespect
edbyhisf
ell
owc l
anmembe rs
.Thesecha
r a
ctert
rait
s,howeve r
,al
l
owhi m
succ
essonlywit
hinhisIgbocul
tur
e;t
heywillc
reat
eincr
easi
ngconfl
i
ctforhimastheculturei
sgradua
ll
y
anni
hil
atedbyimpe r
ial
i
sm.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r3|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Thenarr
a t
ivei
nt hi
schaptertakesreadersbackint
oOkonkwo'spast
. Whe nOk onkwoi saboy ,
hisfat
her,
Unoka,consul
tsAg bal
a,theOr acleoftheHi l
lsandtheCav e
s,todi s
coverwhyhi sc ropsalwaysfai
l
.
Peopl
ec onferwithAg bal
a '
spriest
essbe ca
us enooneev erseest heg odhi mse l
f.T hepri
este
ss,as
sur
rogat
ef orthegod,scr
ea ms,"Gohomea ndwor kli
keama n."Unoka '
sfateisde t
ermi nedbyhisbad
chi
,orpersonalgod.Unokadevelopsas well
i
ngi nhi
sstomachandlimbs,whichi sconsideredanoff
ense
agai
nstt
heea rthgoddess
. Beca
us eofthi
s,heislef
ttodiei
ntheE vi
lForest.

Withnoi nf
luentialparent,Okonk wof endsf orhimself
.Hea pproachesNwa ki
bi
e,awe a l
thyvill
age
farmer.Pres
e nt
inghi mwi t
hwi ne,Ok onkwos ays,"
Ama nwhopa ysrespec
ttothegreatpavesthewa y
forhisowng reatness.
"Ok onkwot hena sksNwa ki
bietogivehims eed-
y ams(smal
lyamssavedfromt he
previ
ousha rvest)tos ow onhi sfarm,of fe
ringtog i
vet hebulkoft hec roptothefarmerinr etur
n.
Nwa kibi
erespondst hatma nyyoungme na r
el az
y,butiti
sc l
earthatOk onk
woi sdi
ff
erent
,andhel ends
himy ams.

T
hatyeartherai
nswerelate,andabla
zingsunbl
is
teredthel
and.Thus,"t
heharve
stwassad,l
ikea
f
uner
al,
"be c
aus
et hecropsfai
l
ed.Theme moryofthatyears
endsas hi
verupOkonkwo'
sspine
.His
s
urv
ival
confi
rmshisabi
l
ity,
however
,tooverc
omeallobst
acl
es,
natur
alandma nma
de.

Ana
lys
is

Asrea derslear
nde ta
il
sofOkonkwo'
sstar
tinfarming,t
heybecomemoreawar
eofthedeterminat
ion
thatdriveshiss
uccess,i
ncl
udi
nghis"
fea
rofhisf
a t
he r
'sc
ontempti
bl
eli
fea
ndsha
mefulde
ath."Eventhe
l
oc alpri
estessknowsthatUnoka
,Okonkwo'sf
ather,i
slazy
.Unoka'
sil
l
nes
sanddea
thintheE v
ilFor
e s
t
representhisfa
ili
ngsi
nlif
e.

Fr
om ane ar
lyageOk onkwoisdedi
cat
edtotheIg
bot r
a di
ti
onofha r
dworka ndtheideathatrai
si
ng
ya
msi sama n'
sjob.T hef
actthathehasnoinheri
tancefrom hi
sf a
the
rs i
mplyma keshim more
det
erminedtosucceed.Whenbadwe a
the
rdest
royshi
sfirs
tcrops
,theexper
ienc
efurt
he rdev
elopshi
s
cha
ract
era
nds e
rvesa
sani
nspi
rat
ionf
ort
hef
utur
e.Hebel
i
eve
stha
tbye
xer
cis
inghi
swi
l
l,hec
an
over
comef
ate
.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r4|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Al
waysi
mpat
ient,Okonkwoi
nsul
tsa
nunt i
tl
edtri
bes
mana
tac
lanmee
ting
.Ev
ery
onet
ake
sthes
ideof
Os
ugo,t
heot
he rman,andOk
onkwoa pol
ogi
zes
.

I
k emefunaishomesi
ckandwon'
teat.Okonkwoforc
esfoodontheboy,whothe
nvomit
sandisil
lfor
threewe ek
s.Oncerecove
red,I
kemefunaseemsoverhissa
dness
.Soonhebe c
omesafavor
it
ewi th
Nwoy eandotherf
amilymember
s.Ev
enOk onkwoisf
ondofhi
m,buthedoesnots
howit
.

Bef
oreplantingtheirc r
ops,theIgboobs er
vet heWee kofPea ce,duri
ngwhichnoonei sto"sayaharsh
wordtohisne ig
hbor "ortoc ommi tphysi
c a
la buse.Duri
ngt heWe ekofPe a
ce,Ojiugo,Okonkwo'st
hird
wif
e,leavesthec ompoundt opla i
therha i
rwi thoutprepari
ngfoodf orthefamily.Enrag
ed,Okonkwo
beat
sher,v i
olat
ingt heholidayinas eri
oust r
ans g
ress
iona gai
nsttheclan'
sreli
gi
ousbe l
iefs
.Ezeani
,the
pri
estofAni,theea r
t hgodde s
s,remindsOk onk wothattheyneedAni'sbles
singforthei
rcropstogrow.
Hecomma ndsOk onkwot obr i
ngas acr
if
icetot heshri
ne.

Whentheholidayends
,e a
chfamil
ycl
ear
sla
ndandpr
epar
esyamsf
orpl
ant
ing.Nwoyea
ndIk
emef
una
hel
pOk onk
wo.Hei sdel
ibera
tel
ytoug
honthem.T
hetwoboy
shavegr
ownc l
ose,a
ndIk
emef
unanow
fee
lsl
i
keaf amil
ymembe r.

Ana
lys
is

I
nthi
schapter
,thenarr
ator,hav
ingre
lat
edhowOk
onk
wo'
spa
stha
sinf
lue
nce
dhi
scha
rac
ter
,br
ing
s
r
eade
rstothepres
entdayinOkonkwo'
svi
ll
age
.

Okonkwohasal
readyshownhehasl i
tt
lepati
enc ewit
hpeoplewhoarelesssuccess
fultha
nheis.When
heinter
act
swithsucha ni
ndivi
dual,hisi
mpa tienc
eof t
enemergesa sbrusqueness—asitdoesata
vi
ll
agemeeti
ngwherehedisres
pectsOsugo.Ok onkwoisconc
ernedabouttheopinionsofot
hersandi
s
nowtakentot
askbyothercl
ansmen,whor emindhimnott o"f
org
ettobehumbl e."

Okonkwo'sf
ondnes
sf orIk
e mefunaput
shi minanawkwardposit
ion.Bel
ievi
ngtha
ttoshowaff
ect
ionis
toappearweak,Okonkwomus tkeepthosefeel
i
ngsunde
rwr aps.Hisonlyout
let
saretodemonstr
ate
st
rengt
ha ndtoshowa nger,s
ohet re
a tsI
kemefunai
nthes a
mehea vy-ha
ndedma nnera
shetreats
ever
yoneels
e.

Ok onk
woha snot r
oublev ent
inghisanger.Bea
tinghiswi
fedur
ingtheWeekofPeaceseemsjust
if
iabl
e
tohimunt i
lthepri
estpointsoutthatthi
st r
ans
gressi
on"c
a nr
uinthewhol
ecl
an."Okonkwoisinwardl
y
repentant
,buthisconst
antba tt
leofstre
ng t
hversusweak
nessdoesnotal
l
owhimt oadmitthathehas
ma deami s
take.
Okonkwoe nter
sintot
herout
ineofyam-pla
nt i
ngseasonwi
thgust
o.T
hes ki
l
lsneededforgr
owingyams
arecr
ucialt
os ucc
ess—asucc
essthathewa ntsNwoyet os
harei
n.Al
thoughIk
emef unaandNwoyeare
tooyoungt otakeinthedet
ail
sofprepari
ngs eed-
yams,Okonk
wowa ntstocrushsig
nsofla
zine
ssin
Nwoyea ndinst
ruct
sbothboyswit
hhisusualhars
hness.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r5|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Nowitist
imefortheFeas
toft
heNewYa m.Thecel
ebrati
oni
ncl
udesgi
vi
ngtha
nkst
ot heeart
hgodde
ss,
f
easti
ngwithrela
tives
,andenj
oyi
ngtheg rea
twr est
li
ngmatch."Menandwome n,youngandold,
l
ookedfor
wardtot heNewYamFes
ti
val
,"thenarr
atorsay
s.

Okonkwoishappierworki
nga nddoe snotenjoyfea
sts
.Sti
ll
,hehost
shislargefami
lyandinsi
st
s
ever
ythi
ngbepreparedpr
operl
y.Hissec
ondwife,Ek
wefi
,bear
sthebr
untofhi
sfoulmoodashefi
ndsa
rea
sontobeather.Hethennearl
yk i
l
lsherwhenshemockshi
spoorai
ma sahunter
.Heshoot
sa the
r
wit
hhisgunbutmisse
s.

Ekwef
ipart
icul
arlyenj
oyst
hefes
ti
val
'swrest
li
ngcontes
t.Eachyea
rthecont
estremindsheroft
het i
me
l
onga gowhens hefel
linl
ovewi
thOk onk
wo.Heha dwont hema t
ch—andherheart—in"thegr
ea t
est
cont
estwit
hinli
v i
ngmemory.
"Alt
houghtheydidnotma r
rythe
n,shela
terl
eftherhusbandtobecome
Okonkwo'
swi f
e.

Ez
inma,E
kwef
i'
sdaughter
,cal
l
shermotherbyherfi
rs
tname.T
het
woc
onv
ers
easi
fthe
yar
eequa
ls.
Okonk
woises
peci
al
lyfondofEz
inmabutr
arel
yshowsi
t.

Ana
lys
is

Thi
schapt
erpaint
sapic
tur
eofoneofUmuof i
a'
smostimport
antf
esti
val
s,t
heF ea
stoft
heNe
wYa
m.
Hel
djus
tpriort
othey
amha rv
est
,thef
est
iva
lisat
imeofrel
ati
vei
nact
ivi
tyf
orIg
bome n.

Okonkwo,however
,cannotcopewithi
dleness.Ner
vousenerg
ybui l
dsandexpl
odeswhenhefi
ndsan
outl
etinbeat
ingEkwef
i.Wif
ebea t
ingi
st ol
eratedi
nhiscul
ture.Onceagai
ntheacti
onsmot
iva
tedby
Okonkwo'
sangerdonotputhiminconf
li
ctaslongasheisi
nbalancewit
hIgbotr
adi
ti
ons.

Reader
sle
a rnmorea boutEkwef
iint
hisc
hapt
er.I
nl e
avi
ngherhus
bandtobec
omeOk onkwo'swi
fe,she
showsanindependenceanddesir
ethati
suni
quea mongthewomenofUmuofi
a.Herdaught
er,E
zinma,
hassi
mil
artrai
tsandisalsobea
uti
full
i
kehermother.

Thechapt
eristhefi
rsttoment
ionguns,as
ymbolofWeste
rncul
tur
e.Ok
onk
wo'
sine
xper
ienc
ewi
th
handl
i
ngag unwil
lpr
esentac
onfl
ic
tforhi
mlat
eri
nthenov
elaswel
l
.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r6|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

T
hev
il
la
ger
sga
thera
tthei
l
o,orv
il
la
ges
qua
re,t
owa
tcht
hewr
est
li
ngma
tche
s.E
arl
yma
tchesf
eat
ure
boy
swhoa r
e15a nd16.Onepart
ic
ula
rma tche
xci
test
hec
rowd,i
ncl
udi
ngOk
onk
wo.T
hev
ict
ori
s
Maduk
a,t
hesonofOkonk
wo'sf
ri
endObier
ika
.

Duringinter
miss
ion,peopl
echat.Ekwef
ispeakswit
hChiel
o,awidowwhoha stwochi
ldr
en.Chi
e l
ois
als
ot hepr i
est
essofAg bal
a.Chiel
oisfondofE zi
nmaa ndasksabouther
.Ekwef
isaysofE z
inma,
"Perhapsshehascomet os
tay.
"Chiel
orespondst
hatchi
l
dren"us
uall
ysta
yift
heydonotdi
ebeforethe
ageofs i
x.
"

Thepri
marywrest
li
ngmatc
hisale
ng t
hyaf
fai
rtha
tlook
sasi
fitwi
l
lendi
nadr
aw.F
ina
ll
yonewr
est
ler
makesata
cti
calmis
tak
eandlos
esthemat
ch.

Ana
lys
is

Alt
houg hOk onk
woi sgener
all
yinterest
edonl yinworkandwa rf
are,he
reherelax
e sa
nde njoysthe
spectac
le.Heha sbuil
tmuc hofhi sreputa
tionont hestr
engthofhispas
twr e
stl
ingchampi onshi
p.
Wa tchi
ngthema tche
snotonlyrela
x e
sbuta l
soinvi
gora
teshim,asi
tplay
stohi
sownbel i
efsa ndskil
ls
.
I
nt hissett
ingOk onkwobehavesjustaseveryoneel
sedoes.Hispas
sionf
orwre
stl
ingisc
lear,andhei s
i
nhi sel
e me nt.

Theseat
ingatt hematch,wit
hmenons tool
sinfrontandwomenint
heback,isanindi
cat
orof
Umuofi
a'spatr
iarc
halsoci
etyandi
tsef
fec
tonOk onkwo,hi
swiv
es,a
ndhisc
hil
dren.T
hes ex
esare
sepa
rat
ea ndnotequal
.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r7|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Aft
erthreey ea
rsinOk onk wo'shousehold,Ikemefunaha sbec omel ikea nelderbrothertoNwoy e.
Okonkwoi spl
easedbyt hei mpactI
k e
me funaha sonNwoy e.Hewa ntshissonto" growintoatough
youngma ncapabl
eofr ulinghisfat
her'shousehold.
"Nwoy eg rumblesa boutwome nwhe ntheyas
khi m
todochores,eventhoug hhei shappyt oprovehims el
f.Okonk woisg l
adt oseethisa
ttit
udebeca
us ea
ma l
ecl
anmemberi s"notr eal
lyama n"ifhedoesnotc ontr
olhi swome na ndchil
dren.

I
nhishut
,Okonkwotel
l
st heboysvi
ol
e nt
,bl
oodys
tor
ies
.Nwoy
epr
efer
shi
smot
her
'ss
tor
ies
,whi
ch
hav
eamoral
,buthes
tayswit
hhisfa
thertopl
eas
ehi
m.

WhileOkonkwoa ndtheboysareworkingtoget
her,locust
sde sc
enda nds ettl
eeverywher
e.Locust
s
rar
elyappear,andtheyarel
ookedupona sadelic
ac y.Ez
eudu,af e
a rl
essol dwa r
ri
or,st
opsbya s
Okonkwoa ndtheboysar
eeati
nglocus
ts.Pr
iva
tel
y,her epor
tstoOk onkwot ha ttheOrac
lehasorder
ed
thecl
antok i
llI
kemef
una.Hecaut
ionsOkonkwonottopl ayaroleinthisbeca usetheboy"ca
llsy
ouhis
f
a t
her.
"

I
kemef
unai
stol
dheisbei
ngtak
enhome.Whi
lewal
ki
ngthr
oughthef
orestwi
thOkonkwoandt
hemen,
I
kemef
unaf
eelsune
asy.Howev
er,hei
scomf
ort
edbythefac
tthatOkonkwoist
here.Whent
hemen
st
ri
keI
kemef
unawi
tht
hei
rma
che
tes
,hec
all
soutt
oOk
onk
wo,whog
oest
ohi
mands
tri
kest
hef
ina
l
bl
ow.

UponOk onkwo'
sretur
nhome ,hisfa
milyr
eal
i
zeswhatha shappene
d.Nwoy eisdev
a st
ate
d.Thi
nki
ng
aboutIkemef
una'
sfate,herecal
lsamemoryoftheEvi
lFor
e s
t.Heheardthecr
yoftwinswhowe r
elef
t
i
nt hefores
ttodie,ands omethingi
nsi
dehim" ha
dgivenwa y.
"Okonkwo'sret
urnfrom I
kemef
una'
s
execut
iongi
vesNwoyet hesamefeeli
ng.

Ana
lys
is

T
hischapterdepict
sthetransf
ormati
ont hatIkemefuna'
spre
senceha scausedi
nOk onkwo'sfa
mily.
I
kemefunaha sbe c
omear ol
emode lf orNwoy einawa yt
hatOk onkwoha sneve
rbe en,andhis
i
nfl
uencehelpstheyoungerboyma t
ure.Nwoy ehasbecomemor ema sc
uli
ne,whi
chpleas
esOk onkwo
a
ndbr i
ngsthet woofthemc l
oser
.Earl
ierint henovel,I
kemef
unawa sdescri
bedasasacr
if
iceand"il
l
-
f
ated.
"Thatforesha
dowingofIke
me f
una 'sfa
teha snowcometofrui
ti
on.

Thel ocusts'arri
valandrece pt
ionf oreshadow themiss
ionar
ies'incursi
oninCha pt
er15,whe r
et he
me t
a phorofwhi temena slocustsisintroduc
ed.Whenl ocus
tsa ppearinCha pt
er7,iti
sasthougha
"shadowf ellonthewor l
d,andt hesuns eemedhiddenbehindathickcloud."Thel
ocust
scaus
eda r
kness
.
There'sac ontrastbet
weent heda rknessthatannounc
esthelocusts'arr
ivala
ndt hej
oypeoplehavein
s
ee i
nga ndea t
ingthem.

Okonkwo'
sfearofbe ingv i
eweda swe akforceshi
mi nt
oa na ct
ionher e
grets
:pa r
tici
pati
ngin
I
keme f
una
'smurder.Despi
tenotbei
ngabl etolookwhe nt
heinit
ial
blowisst
ruc
k,Okonkwos tr
ikest
he
fi
nalbl
owbecauseheis" a
frai
dofbei
ngt houghtweak."Histr
uewea kne
ss—anexces
siv
ec oncer
nwi t
h
howother
sseehim—ov erri
deshi
saff
ect
ionf orhi
sadoptedson.

T
hec
hapt
ere
ndsona
nomi
nousnot
eandf
ore
sha
dowsade
eperc
hang
einNwoy
e.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r8|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Okonkwodoesnothi
ngbutdr
inkwinefortwodays
.Hecall
sforNwoye,
whole
a v
eshimwhenOk
onkwo
dozesof
f.Okonkwoc a
n'tes
capet hought
sofIke
mefuna.Thef ol
l
owi
ngday,Ezi
nmabri
ngsf
oodto
Okonkwoandsi
tswit
hhimwhi l
ehee ats
.Okonk
wowishesthatE
zinmawer
eaboy.

Hev i
si
tshi
sfriendObieri
kaandt e l
l
shimhei sworri
edaboutNwoy e.Hea ddsthathis"
chil
drendonot
res
e mble[
him]."Obi
erik
ar ea
s onsthatthechildr
enarest
il
lyoung.Thetwodi s
cussIkemefuna
'smurder
.
Obieri
kadecl
inedtopa r
tic
ipatea nda s
ksOk onkwowhyhet ookparti
nt hekil
li
ngofhisowns on.The
twoofthema reinf
ormedoft hedea thofsomee lder
lype
opleintheclan.

Ok
onk
wos
tar
tsf
eel
i
ngbe
tte
randbe
li
evest
hatt
hepr
obl
emi
ssi
mpl
ytha
thi
smi
ndi
sunoc
cupi
ed.
Later
,Okonkwor e t
urnst oObi eri
k a
'scompound, whe reac eremonyi staki
ngplac etosetthebride -
price
forObieri
ka'
sda ughter.T hebr i
de-pri
c eist hea mountt ha tthes uit
or'sfamilywi l
lpa ytoobt a i
n
Obieri
ka'
sda ughterasabr idef ortheirs on.Duringt hebe trothalceremony,theme ndr i
nkwi nea nd
negoti
atethepr i
ceusingbr ooms tick
stos y mboli
zethe i
roffersa ndcounteroff
ers.Thene got
iat
ionsov er,
Okonkwoa ndt heothe rsdiscusscustomsofot herc l
a nsthatthe yregardasoutl
a ndis
h. T
heya l
sobe l
i
ev e
theconceptofwhi teme n—be ingswiths kinwhitea schalkwhowa l
konf eetwithnot oes(mea ningt he
whitemenwe arshoes)—t obef antas
ti
c .Theme ndoubtt heex ist
enceoft hes
ebe i
ngs,whomt heyha ve
heardofbutha venev ers een.Onej okinglycompa reswhi teme ntolepers,astheIgbot ermforle prosy
tra
nslat
esto" whiteskin."

Ana
lys
is

T
hischapt
erdeal
swi t
htheemot i
onalafter
ma t
hofIkeme
funa'
smurder.Okonk
wodr ink
sasafor m of
e
scapebutc a
nnotridhimsel
fofg ui
lt.Enzima'
spres
encecomfor
tshim.Hes eesi
nhi sdaughtera
s
trengt
hthati
smis
singinhi
sotherchi
ldren,exc
eptI
kemef
una.Thi
sdis
turbi
ngre
ali
zat
ionrea
wa k
e nshis
g
uilt
.

Okonkwo'
sconnecti
onwit
hNwoy ei
scl
ear
lybr
oken.
WhileNwoy
ec omestoOkonk
wowhenhei
sca
ll
ed
f
or,helea
vesassoonasposs
ibl
e.Nwoy
edoesnotwantt
obenearhisf
ather
.

Obieri
kas e
emsa nunl ik
elycompanionforOkonkwo.Alt
houghtheyareont hesames oc
ialand
economiclevel
,Obier
ikadoesnotfeelt
hesamec ompul
si
ontowardmasc
uli
ni
ty.Rea
dersl
earntha
ta
fearofappear
ingwe a
kwoul dnoti
nfl
uenceObi
eri
katoass
isti
ntheki
l
li
ngofhi
sson.Hedis
agre
eswith
Okonkwo'skil
l
ingofIkemefuna
.

Thi
sisthefi
rstti
met hattheconceptofwhit
eme nisi
ntr
oducedinthenovel
.Thecompa
ris
ontolepe
rs,
peopl
ewi t
hadi sea
set hatcause
ss ki
nsoresandnerv
eda ma
g e,i
sa pt
.Thewhit
eme nwil
ldes
troyt
he
vi
ll
ager
s'cul
turejus
ta slepr
osydestr
oysit
svict
ims.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r9|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

E
kwef
ibangsonOkonkwo'
sdoori
napanic
."E
zinmai
sdy
ing
,"s
hewa
il
s.Ok
onk
wor
unst
oEk
wef
i'
shut
a
nddecl
are
sthatE
zinmahasi
ba(f
eve
r).

Reade
rslear
nE kwefihadninechi
ldr
enbe
foreE
zinmabutal
lofthe
m die
d.Bef
oreEzi
nmawasbor
n,
Ekwef
iwasbitt
era nddespondent
.WhenEzi
nmareac
hedtheageofsi
x,"
lov
eretur
nedonc
emoreto
hermothe
r,and,withlov
e,anxi
ety
."

Aft
erE k
we f
i'
sthirdchil
ddied,Okonkwoc al
l
e di
namedi ci
neman,whomut i
lat
e dthechild'
scorpseand
buri
editint heEvilFore
st.I
gbobe l
i
e v
et hatsuchacorpsei
sanog ba
nje.(Anog banj
ei sachildwho,
upondea t
h,reentersi
tsmother'
sbodya ndwa i
tst
obebornagai
n.)F
oranog banjetosurvivec
hildhood,
i
tsiy
i-uwa(thestonethatli
nkstheogbanjeandthespi
ri
tworl
d)mustbefounda ndde s
troyed.
Ez
inmaisbel
iev
e dtobea
nog
banj
e.Ay
eara
goame
dic
inema
nse
arc
hedwi
thhe
rforheri
yi
-uwaa
nd
dest
roy
edthestone.

T
hisi
sthefi
rstt
imeE
zinmaha
sbee
nsi
cks
inc
ethen.S
het
ake
stheme
dic
inet
hatOk
onk
wopr
epa
res
a
ndfal
lsa
sle
ep.

Ana
lys
is

I
nthischapt
er,readersseeonceag
aintha
tOkonkwore
presse
shisemoti
onsbecaus
ehevi
e wsthema s
f
eminine.Hi
sr eac
tiontoE z
inma'
ssic
kness
—runni
ngtoher,col
lect
ingi
ngredi
ent
stomakeme di
ci
ne,
a
ndf orci
nghert otakeit—showsthathehasacompass
ionat
es i
de.Okonkwohasemot
ions,andhe
c
aresabouthischi
ldren.

Ekwefi
'shis
toryofchil
ddeat
hr et
urnstohauntherasEzi
nmafal
l
sill
.WhenE zi
nma '
siyi
-uwawa sfound
anddes t
royeday e
a rago,E
zinma'sl
inktothewor l
dofogbanj
eswa sbrok
en,sot hegir
lshouldnow
remaininthewor l
doft hel
ivi
ng.Withtheg i
rl
'si
ll
ness
,however
,Ekwefiquest
ionsthev a
li
dit
yoft he
prev
iouscure.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r10|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Crowdsha veas
sembleda tt
heil
o(anopenspa
cewhe r
evil
l
agegatheri
ngsar
ehe l
d)tovi
ewatri
altha
tis
ta
k ingpla
ce.Nineegwug wu(mask
edv i
l
lageelder
swhoimpersonate/
repr
esentanci
entspi
ri
tsofthe
cl
a n)actasjudges.Thenineegwugwua r
e" t
hemos tpower
fula ndmosts ec
retofthecl
an."Each
represent
savil
lageofthecl
an.

Amancl
ai
msthathi
swi
fe'
srel
ati
vesk
idna
ppe
dhiswif
eandc
hildr
en.Hes
ayshewentt
ohi
sin-
lawsa
nd
as
kedt
hemtoret
urnhi
sbr
ide-
pri
ceascal
l
edf
orbythela
wofthecla
n.

Thewif
e'sfami
lyadmi
tst
hatal
lofthi
sist
rue.However
,the
ysaythemanbea
thiswif
eeve
rydaydur
ing
t
heniney e
arsthe
yweremarri
ed.Onebeati
ngnearl
yki
ll
edher
.Theysa
ysheshoul
dnothav
etopaythe
money,becaus
eshefl
edtosa
veherli
fe.

Theegwug
wui ns
truc
tthema ntogot
ohi
sin-
lawsa
ndbe
gtoha
vehi
swi
fer
etur
n.T
heya
dvi
set
he
wif
e'sf
ami
lyt
oa c
cepthi
sreques
t.

Ana
lys
is

Ma nyoft hev il
lag
ersreal
iz
eons omel ev
elthattheegwugwua r
ea ct
ua ll
yme nfrom thearea."Butif
theythoug htthe s
ethings,
"thenarrat
orsays,"t
heykeptthem wit
hint hemselv
es."Thec l
anbe l
ieves
thattheirtr
ibe'sanci
entspi
rit
saretheonespermitt
edtojudget
hem, andas el
ectgroupofclanleaders
i
mpe rsonatet heseancie
nts pi
ri
tssothatcl
a nme mberscansee,hear,a ndbeli
eveint hi
sjudgme nt
process.Theni nemenpor t
rayi
ngtheegwugwut akecar
et ocos
tumethems el
vesanda l
terthei
rvoices
t
ofur
thert
heiri
mpersona
tions
.Ther
ema
ini
ngc
lanmember
sgoa
longwi
tht
hei
mpe
rsona
tions
,ev
eni
f
t
heys
uspectt
hetrut
h.

Throughthi
srole-
pla
ying
,theegwugwufil
lanimpor t
antfunct
ionfort
hec l
a n.Theyacta
sjudgea
ndjury
.
Theytaketheserol
esseri
ousl
y,andthepeopleobeytheirver
dicts
.Thisbelie
st hevi
ewoftheIg
boa sa
pri
mitiv
epe opl
ewhobel i
evemightme ansrig
ht.Whi l
eOk onkwoc ert
ainlybe l
iev
esinstr
engt
ha nd
ma sc
uli
nit
y,heisanegwugwua ndbyext
ensionrecogni
zesthelaw.

Thepa tr
iarc
ha l
na t
ureofthec l
ani sonc
ea gai
nnot e
d:"I
twa scl
ear.
..thattheceremonywasformen.
"
Wome nareont heoutsi
de,a l
thoughthec our
tca s
efocusesonwome n'
srights
.Ama nisnotfr
eeto
tre
athiswi f
ea nywa yhec hooses.Thehusbandisshamedforthewa yhet reat
shiswif
eandmustbeg
for
giv
e ness.Howe ver
,thewifedoesnots peakatthetr
ial
,andherre
t urni
saf oregonec
oncl
usi
onifhe
r
husbanda pologi
zes.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r11|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Ekwe f
itel
lsE
z i
nmaas t
oryaboutTortois
e,ac unningcr
eatur
ewhooutwi
tsbi
rds.Tort
ois
ee njoysthe
bestofafeastthatthebir
dswe r
einvitedto,whilethebir
dsares
tuc
kwit
hscr
a ps.Thebi
rdsg etthei
r
revenge,whi
chl ea
dst oTort
ois
e'sshellbreak
ing.Amedi ci
nemanputst
heshellbacktogether,and
"thati
swhyT ort
ois
e'sshel
li
snotsmoot h.
"

Chi
elocomestoOk
onkwo'
scompoundt of
etchE
zinmabe
causeAgbal
a,theOracl
e,wa
ntstos
eet
hegi
rl
.
Okonkwoplea
dswit
hhert
oc omeba c
k,sa
yingt
hechi
ldi
sasl
eep.Ekwef
i want
stogowithhe
rda
ught
er
buti
stoldc
omingt
oAgbal
awi t
houtbei
ngsummonedwouldbri
ngaboutacurse.

Chiel
oc a
rri
esEzinmaaway.Lat
er,Ekwefit
ell
sOk onkwosheisgoi
ngtof ol
lowChi
elo,r
egar
dles
soft he
punishment.S
hef ol
l
owsheral
lnightthr
oughallninevi
l
lag
es.Chi
el
ot ak
esE zi
nmaintot
heOracl
e'scave,
andE kwefiwait
soutsi
de.Okonkwoa ppear
sa nds i
tswit
hE kwef
i.Shea ppr
eci
ateshi
scominga ndis
remindedofwhens hef
ir
stca
met oOk onkwo'
shuta ndhetookherin.

Ana
lys
is

I
nthischa
pter
,themoralofEk
wef i
'
sfolk
tal
eisc
lea
r:don'
tbegre
edy.T
hepowerofl
angua
ger
esounds
wit
hinthefol
ktal
e.Tor
tois
euse sla
nguagetooutwi
tthebir
ds.Thebir
dsar
eg ul
l
ibl
eandl
oseout
beca
useofthe
irhone
styanddecency.

Reade
rsg e
talooka tChiel
oi nherrol
eofpri
est
esstotheOrac
leAgba
lawhenshec
omestof
etc
h
Ezi
nma.Comma ndi
nga nde er
iei
nhe rspe
echandappea
r a
nce
,sheishar
dlyt
hewomanwi
thwhom
Ekwef
ispokea
tthewr est
li
ngma t
ch.

Anot
hersi
deofOk
onkwo'schar
act
eri
sreveal
edwhenhetr
iest
oconv
inc
eChie
lonottota
keEzi
nma.
Heiscl
ear
lyf
ri
ght
ene
df orhischi
l
d.Thi
stender
nes
sdoesnotendwi
thEzi
nma.Okonkwoisa
cutel
y
a
war
eoft
hec
los
ene
ssofE
zinmaa
ndE
kwef
i.

Ekwefi
'sma t
ernalf
eeli
ngsdri
vehertofoll
owChi el
oa ndEzi
nma .Shewil
lgotoanyle
ngthtoprotect
Ezi
nma ,evenifitmeansgoi
ngagainstt
heg ods
.Ok onkwo,i
nt urn,f
oll
owsEkwe
fiandther
e f
oreals
o
defi
esthegods.Okonkwoshowshisconc
ernforhiswifewhenhes ays
,"Gohomeandsl
eep.Ishal
lwait
here.
"T hi
sinter
acti
on,al
ongwit
hE kwefi
'sreac
ti
on,isthefi
rstdispl
ayoflov
ebetweenhusbandand
wif
eint hebook.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r12|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Chiel
oret
urnsEzi
nmatoOkonk
wo'
scompound.T
henar
ratorr
eveal
sthatOk
onkwohad"
notsle
ptata
ll
[theni
ghtbef
ore]
...
.Hefe
ltve
rya
nxious
."Hemademult
ipl
etri
pstothecavebe
for
ehefoundEk
wefi
therewai
ti
ng.

T
hev i
ll
ager
sa r
einafesti
vemooda stheypr
eparef
orObier
ika
'sdaughter
'suri(
partofthebe t
rothal
c
eremony).Obi
eri
kahaspurc
hasedala
rgegoati
nafar
-offma
rketpl
aceandplanstopres
entittohisin-
l
aws.Ever
yoneprepar
esfoodforthecer
emony.Whi
lethewome narecooking,acowg et
sloose,and
t
heyruntoretr
iev
eit
.

Obier
ika
'sin-l
awsa r
ri
v ebeari
ng50potsofwi ne,alar
genumber.Asthefea s
tprogres
sesthe
reare
toa
sts,s
ingi
ng,andda nci
ng.Thebri
deappea
rsa nddanceswhi
l
ethecrowdc heers
.Asthebri
delea
ves
wit
hhers ui
tor'
sfa
mily,theypayvi
si
tst
oprominentpeopl
e,whopr
esentthemwi t
hg i
ft
s.

Ana
lys
is

Dis
pla
yingemoti
onspubl
i
cal
lydoesnotf
itwit
hOk onk
wo'sperc
ept
ionsofmanl
ines
s.I
nthischa
pter
,
however,
hisg
ravec
oncer
nforEz
inmaisa
nindi
cat
orthatheca
resagrea
tdeal
abouthi
schi
l
dren.

Cultur
aluni tywi
thi
nt hec l
anisde pi
ct
edi nthepr e
par
ati
onsfortheuri
,inwhi chthec ommunity
functi
onsa sonebi
gfamily
.Everypa
rtoftheceremonyisc
ooper
ati
ve:thepr
eparat
ionofthefeasti
ts
e l
f,
ther et
ri
eva loft
hec ow,thegenerouscontri
buti
onsofpal
m wine,thegi
ftofthebigg oa
t ,a
ndt he
recogni
tionthatt
hejoini
ngoftwofamili
escontr
ibut
estot
hejoi
ni
ngoft wov
il
lag
es.

TheUmui kema rk
etpl
acewher et heg oatispurchasedislargea ndc r
owded.Umui kepe oplewa ntthei
r
ma r
ket" togrowa ndswa ll
owupt hema rketsoftheirneighbors."Thisthi
rstforsuccessa ndpowerha s
creat
edama r
ketthati
suns a vorya ndfil
ledwiththieves."Theyc anstealyourclothfromof fyourwais
t
i
nt hatma rket,
"observesoneofObi eri
ka '
sguests.Obieri
kaa ndot hersbeli
evet heUmui k epeopleuse
medicine(ma gi
c)toena bl
et heirthievery.TheUmi ukema rketc anbes eena sasy mbolfort henegati
ve
el
eme ntsofc ommer ci
alis
m.I tpre sentsama rkedc ontras
ttot hec el
ebrati
onoff ami
lya ndc ommuni t
y
atthee quall
ycrowdedur i.

Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r13|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry
Umuof
iaawa
kestot henewsthatEzeudu,thecl
ansmanwhot ol
dOkonk
wonott opart
ic
ipat
ein
I
kemef
una
'sex
ecut
ion,ha
sdied.
"Acol
ds hi
ver[r
uns
]downOkonk
wo'sba
ck"asher
eca
ll
sthewarni
ng.

Ez
euduwastheoldestma ni
nhisvi
ll
ageandhada chiev
edther a
reaccompli
shmentoft
aki
ngthr
eeti
tle
s.
Dr
umsa r
ebeaten,andg unsandcannonarefi
red.Beforehisfi
nalr
ite,"
thetumulti
ncr
ease
dtenf
old.
"
Wordsa
respokenintri
bute.Thet
umultconti
nuesa ndreac
he s"f
eve
r-heat
."

Okonkow joinsotherfuner
alguestswhos hootthei
rgunsinas al
utetoEzeudu.Howe ver
,hisgun
expl
ode s,
andt heshr
apnelki
ll
sEzeudu'
s16-year
-ol
dson.Ki
l
li
ngac l
anmemberisanoffe
ns eagai
nstthe
eart
hg oddess.Okonkwomus tfl
ee,butsi
ncethekil
li
ngwasacc
identa
l,hewi
l
lbea ll
owe dtoretur
nt o
theclana ft
e rsev
eny ears
.Ga t
heri
ngtheirmos tval
uabl
ebelongi
ngs,heandhisf amilygot ohis
mother'svi
ll
age,Mbanta.

S
oonE ze
udu'sneig
hborsstor
m Okonkwo'scompounda nddes
troyi
t,s
ymboli
cal
lycl
eans
ingthela
nd
t
hatOkonkwoha ssoi
ledwiththei
rcla
nsman'sbl
ood.Oneoftheme ni
sObieri
ka,whoquest
ionsthe
t
radi
ti
onalc
leans
ingri
tual
becausetheki
ll
i
ngwa sa
na cc
ident
.

Ana
lys
is

Chapt
er13c onc
lude
sthefi
rstpar
toft
henov
el,endi
ngwi
tha
nev
entt
hati
sunt
hink
abl
eto
Okonkwo—hi
sexi
lefr
omthev
il
lag
e.

Okonk
woc annotescapethek i
ll
ingofIkemefuna
.T hedea
thofE ze
udu,whowa r
ne dOkonk
woa gai
nst
har
mingIkemefuna,isareminder,anditfor
eshadowsyetanot
herk i
l
li
ngthatOkonkwocommits
.This
ki
l
li
ng—a tE
zeudu'sfuneral
—isunintenti
onal
.WhileOkonkwoconti
nuestofe
elguil
tfort
heint
enti
onal
murder
,anexerci
seoffreewil
l,hesuffe
rsnooutwa r
dreper
cuss
ions.

However,t
heuni
ntenti
ona lcri
mec a
usesag r
ea tupheav
alinhisli
fe.Onc
eaga
in,hi
sinexperi
encewi
th
gunsleadstoconfl
ic
t.T hiscrimeofk i
l
lingE zeudu'
ss onisc onsi
der
ed"femal
e"bec auseitwas
i
nadver
tent,a
nactoffat
e. YetOkonkwohasoffendedthee a
rthgoddessa
ndmustpayfortheoff
ens
e.

T
hena r
ratorpoi
ntsoutt
ha tnothi
nglik
et hi
scri
meha sev
erhappenedint hevi
ll
age.Thetri
beuses
v
iol
enceasaf or
mofexpressi
on.Attheburia
lofEze
udu,cl
ansmenbrandi
shma c
hetesandshootguns
a
ndc a
nnons ;af
tert
hema n'ssoni ski
ll
ed,theme ndes
troyOkonkwo'scompound.Itiscontr
oll
ed
v
iol
enceanddoneforace
r e
moni al
purpose.

Obi
e r
ikaischar
act
eri
zeda sthought
ful
.Heques ti
onsOk onkwo'
spunishmenta ndwhyhi sowntwin
i
nfantshadt obea bandoned.(InIgbocul
ture,mul t
iplebir
thsare" ana bominat
ion.
"Twinsare
abandonedt
odieofnaturalc
a us
esintheE
vil
F ores
t.)Obier
ikaf
oll
owstheclan'scus
tomsbutdis
agr
ees
wit
hs omeofit
sways.

Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r14|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry
I
nhi smot
her
land,Ok
onk woi
swelc
omedbyUchendu,hismat
erna
luncl
e.Heandhischi
l
dre
ng i
ve
Okonkwol
andandass
isthimi
nbui
l
dingac
ompound.The
ya l
sos
uppl
yhimwiths
eed-
yamstopl
anthi
s
f
arm.

Thi
sne wbeginni
ngrequir
eshar
dwork,whichOk onkwoisal
wayswil
l
ingt
odo.Yetitnol
ong
erspa
rks
theenthus
ias
mt hatOkonkwooncehad.Hi
sg oa
lha dbee
nt obec
omeoneofthelor
dsoft
hecla
n,and
hewa sonthepathtoachi
evi
ngi
t.However
,thegoa l
nows e
emsveryf
araway
.

Uc
henduisthefamilypatr
iar
ch.Oneofhi ssonsi
sma rr
yinganew wi
fe.Fol
lowingthecer
emony ,
Uc
hendugat
herseveryonet
ogethe
ra nds peak
stoOk onkwo,remi
ndi
nghi
mt hatothersha
vesuff
ered.
Uc
hendu'
spers
onallosshasbeengreat,asheha sburie
df i
vewiv
esand22c hi
ldr
en.Hismessa
gef or
Ok
onkwoist
oa c
cepthisexi
leandmak ethebestofi
t.

Ana
lys
is

Okonkwohasbeenamanofact
ionupunt ilt
hispoi
nt.Wor
khasbeenhi
scopi
ngmechani
sma ndt
he
for
cethatal
l
owshimt
oover
comehi spoorupbri
ngi
ng.Hi
snewbeg
inni
ngr
equir
esag
reatdeal
ofwork,
butheisuna
blet
omust
ermuchenthusi
asm.

Okonkwoisdepr
essed.Hehasc ometot
heconcl
usi
onthathi
spers
ona
lgod,orchi
,i
snotdes
ti
nedfor
gr
eatnes
s.Okonk
wonowdi s
agreeswi
thasa
yingoftheel
ders
,"I
famansai
dy e
ahischi
als
oaff
ir
med."
Unti
lnow,thi
sbel
iefhasdr
ive
nOk onk
wo.

Uche
ndunot
esthatev
eryones
uff
ersbutthattheymus
tgoon.Hebel
i
eve
stha
tOk
onk
woi
sfor
tuna
te
tohav
ethes
uppor
tsyst
emofhismother
land.

Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r15|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Obie
rikapa
ysavisi
tinthes
econdy e
arofOk onkwo'
sexi
l
e,andthet
womengotospea
kwi t
hUc he
ndu.
Uchendunote
st ha
tmeni nhisday" hadfri
endsindi
st
antcl
ans,
"whi
l
ethecurr
entgenerat
ionsta
ys
homea ndi
safr
aidofit
snex
t-doornei
g hbor
.

Obie
rik
at ell
sthemt heAbamecl
anha sbeenwipe
dout.
Awhitemanhadappea
redinthevill
age.When
theOraclewa sconsult
ed,hedecl
aredthattheman"woul
dbrea
kt hei
rcl
anands prea
ddes tr
ucti
on
amongt hem."T heOr a
clewar
nedt hatothe
rwhitemenwouldf
oll
ow.Hec al
le
dt hem locus
ts.Cl
an
memberst henkil
ledtheman.

Uche
ndua s
kswhatthest
rangers
aid.Atf
ir
st,
hei
stol
dtha
tthema
nsa
idnot
hing
.Ac
tua
ll
y,t
hes
tra
nger
ha
ds pok
en,buthewasnotunder
stood.

La
ter
,Obieri
katel
lsthe
m,s ome"ordina
rymenli
keus"l
edt
hreewhi
tementothecl
an.Theme ns
a w
t
hes t
ranger
'sbic
ycleti
edt oatree.Theyl
eft
,ret
urne
dwit
hr e
inf
orc
ement
s,and,sur
roundi
ngthe
mark
etinAbame ,s
hotever
y onet
here.
Uche
ndus a
ys,"Neverk
il
lamanwhos
aysnothi
ng.ThosemenofAbamewe
ref
ool
s.
"Ok
onk
woa
gre
es.
Hesayst
heyshouldhav
earmedt
hems
elv
esandbe enre
a dyf
orda
nge
r.

T
hec ha
ptercl
oseswitha nexa
mpleofOk onk
woa l
l
owinghisemoti
onst
oshow,al
thoug
hinas ubtl
e
f
ashi
on.Obie
rik
aa ndOk onkwoha v
eag enuinef
ri
endshi
p.Obie
rik
ahandl
esOkonkwo'
saff
air
sa nd
i
nsi
st
sther
eisnone edforhi
sfr
iendtot
hankhim.

Ana
lys
is

T
hewhi
temanhasa rr
ivedi
nAba me,andtheOr a
clesa
yst
hatmorewhi
temena reonthe
irwa
y.
L
ang
uag
eisaba
rri
er,
asthevi
ll
age
rscannotunder
sta
ndthema
n,nordoe
sheunder
sta
ndthe
m.

Usingame t
aphor
,theOr acl
ecal
lsthewhitemenlocust
s.Ear
li
er,i
nChapter7,thearr
iva
lofa c
tua
l
l
ocustsbroughtj
oytothepeople
;theinse
ctswereadiet
aryt
reat
.Thei
rappe
aranceals
ofores
hadowed
theeventthati
snowha ppeni
ng,t
hea r
ri
valoft
hefi
rs
tmissi
onar
ies
.

Thelocustsre
presentthepa ra
doxofcolonial
is
m:t headvanc
eme nttheybri
ngthrougheducat
ionand
medici
nec omesatt hecostoftheoppr
essionofindig
enouspeopl
ea ndtheeradi
cati
onofthei
rcul
ture.
Achebe'suseofl
oc ust
stos ymboli
zede
structi
onc anbecomparedtot hel
ocus
ts'appear
anceasoneof
10plaguesagai
nstE gy
ptintheBibl
e(Ex
odus10: 1–20)
.

Okonkwosugges
tsthatthemenofAba meshoul
dha v
earme
dthemsel
ves"evenwhentheywentto
market.
"Typi
cal
l
y,hisinit
ialr
eact
ionist
ofi
ght.Thi
sgoe
sagai
nstt
heclan'
sesta
bli
shedpra
cti
ceof
tur
ningtov
iol
enceonl
ya salas
tres
ort.

Reade
rsseetha
t,a
lthoughther
ea r
ema nyappea
ranc
esofma
lebondi
ngi
nthenov
el,Obi
eri
kai
sthe
onema nwi
thwhomOk onkwoistr
ulyc
onnec
ted.

Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r16|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Twoy earsl
ater
,Obier
ikaret
ur nstoMbanta.Si
ncehislastvi
si
t,herepor
ts,mi
ssi
onari
eshavearr
ived
andbuiltachurchi
nUmuof i
a .Theyhav
ea l
soc onv
ertedsomev i
ll
ager
stoChri
st
ianit
y.Theel
dersare
dis
pleasedbutdon'
tbel
iev
et henewr el
i
gionwilll
ast
.Obieri
kahasnoti
cedNwoyea mongtheconve
r t
s
andwa ntst
otellOk
onkwooft heboy'
sacti
vi
tie
s.

However,Okonkwowon' tdisc
us shisson,soObier
ikalear
nsfromNwoy e'
smotherhowNwoy ebeca
me
i
ntri
guedbythemi ss
iona r
ies
.Initi
al
ly,onewhi t
ema nands i
xconver
tscametoMba nt
a.Thewhit
ema n
hadac omma ndi
ngpr esencea ndspok ethroughaninter
preter
.Hedec l
aredt
hattheIg
bog odswere
"pi
ecesofwooda ndstone"andwe ntontot al
kabouttheHolyTri
ni
ty.

Okonkwo,whohadbee
nhopi
ngthec
onvers
ati
onwit
hthemiss
ionar
ieswoul
dleadt
oaf i
ght,wal
ked
away,thi
nki
ngtheywer
ecr
azy
.Nwoye,however
,wasfa
sci
nat
e d.T
hehy mntheysang"s
ee me
dt o
a
nswerav
aguea
ndper
si
st
entque
sti
ont
hatha
unt
edhi
syoungs
oul
.
"

Ana
lys
is

Somet
hingi
nsi
deNwoy ehadbrokenwitht hekil
l
ingofIk
eme f
una .
Thenewreli
gi
onandChri
sti
anhymns
gi
veNwoyeas e
nseofful
fi
ll
menta ndprovide"ar e
li
efwithi
n...hi
spar
chedsoul
."T
hene wrel
igi
onal
so
gi
vesNwoyeac hanc
et obrea
kf rom hisf a
ther.Thi
sruptureinthefami
lyhasbeeninev
ita
blesi
nce
Okonk
wopa r
ti
cipa
tedinI
kemefuna'sdeath.

Okonkwoisme ntionedi nthi

schapterbutplaysnoa c
ti
ver ol
einit.Thepurposeofthechapteri
sto
documentNwoy e
'sf as
cinati
onwiththemiss
ionari
esandhisjoi
ningthechur
ch.Hisat
ti
tude
sa ndbel
ief
s
havedri
venhi
ma pa r
tfr
omOk onkwo.Aft
erj
oiningthemis
sionari
es,
Nwoy eisask
e da
bouthisfa
ther
,to
whichherepl
i
es,"I don'
tk now.Heisnotmyfather.
"

Readersseetha
tNwoy eandObieri
kahavesomes i
mil
ari
ti
es.Bot
hquesti
ont hewayt hei
rsoci
ety
func
tions
.Obi
eri
ka,hav
ingabet
terunder
sta
ndingoft
heyoungma ntha
nOk onkwodoes,encour
ages
hisfr
iendtobepati
entwit
hNwoy e.However
,asthest
oryhasshownrepeatedl
y,Ok
onk wohasno
pati
ence.

Themis
sionar
iesha
vespre
adj us
ta st
heloc
ustsdi
d.T
hefirs
tma nwasaharbi
nger
,li
kethefi
rs
tswa
rm
ofl
ocus
ts.However
,themis
sionar
iesca
nnotbekil
l
edoffa
nda r
eslowl
yinf
il
tr
ati
ngthecl
an.

Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r17|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Themi ssi
onari
eshavebeenpreachi
ngintheMbantamarketpl
ace
.Nowt heyr
eques
tlanda
ndr ec
eiv
ea
plotint heEvilFor
estthatthev i
l
lager
sbeli
eveisfi
ll
ed" wi
thsini
st
erforc
es.
"Noonee x
pectsthe
mi s
sionari
estoacce
pttheland.Theeldersa
reconvi
ncedthemissi
onar
iesdonotknowwhattheyare
doinga ndtha
ttheywil
lfai
lmiser
ably.

Aftert
hemi ssi
onari
esbuildthei
rchurc
h,thevi
ll
a gerswai
tfort heirgodsandanc
est
orstotakere
v enge
.
The yexpectthegods'veng ea
ncet ooccurwithin28da ys.Whent he28thdaypassesandnot hi
ng
happens,themi ss
ionar
ieswi naf ew moreconv erts
.Theyi ncludeawoma nnamedNne ka,whoi s
pregnant.Herprevi
ouspr eg
nanciesr
esult
edint wins—ana bomi nati
onintheIg
bofait
h.Thoseinfant
s
wer ea
ba ndonedtodie
,a ndNnekadoe snotwantt ori
skt
hes amef a
te.

Nwoy eha dbeena tt

ractedtot hemi s
sionarie
sf r
om thebegi
nni
ng,but" heda r
ednotg otoone a
rthe
miss
iona r
ies..
.forfea
rofhi sfather.
"Whe nNwoy edoesgotothechurch,hiscousinAmi k
wus eeshim
andtellsOkonkwo.Nwoy ecome shome ,andOk onkwobe g
inst
obea thim,butUc hendustepsinand
dema ndstheboy '
sreleas
e.Ok onk wocontempl at
eswhathashappenedwi thhisson,butitma ke
slit
tl
e
sens
et ohim.Af teral
l,Okonkwoi scal
l
edt he" Roari
ngFl
ame"forhisstrengt
ha ndbol dness
.Howc an
Nwoy ebes owea kandpa ss
ive?I tt
henoc curstohimthat"l
ivi
ngfirebeg etscold,impotentash."
BecauseNwoy eishisson,thi
sist henat
ur a
l order,
andheispowerl
esstodoa nythi
nga boutit
.
Ana
lys
is

T
heeldersa
ndc l
anle adersbel
ievethe
ya recl
evertoletthemi s
sionari
eshavelandint
heE vi
lFores
t.
T
hiswil
lsur
elyme a
nt hemi ss
ionari
esaredoome dtofail
ure.Thec l
an'sgodsandances
tor
swi l
lstr
ike
t
hemissi
onar
iesdown.T henthec l
ancanreuni
te,andf
a i
thwi l
lberestore
d.Yetthechur
chisbui
lt,a
nd
t
heti
meofpunishme ntpasses
.T heI
gbogodshavefai
le
dt opunishtheintruder
s.

Upt ot hispoint,Nwoy eha sbeena t

tract
e dtot hemi ss
ionari
esbutha sacceptedhisf
ateofli
vingwith
hisfa milyinOk onkwo'scompound.I nt hischa pter
,howev er,Ok onkwobea t
sNwoy efora ttendi
ng
church.T hisma ybeonebea ti
ngtooma ny .Nwoy eex erci
sesfreewi l
lbyretur
ningtothechur chand
dec i
dingt obec omeas tude ntatthechurchs choolinUmuof ia.Thel e
aderoftheMba ntachurch,Mr.
Kiaga,bl es
sesNwoy ebe causehe" for
sakeshi sf a
ther.
"I nane x
ampleofs it
uati
onali
rony,Nwoy eis
returningtoUmuof ia
,Ok onkwo'shomeland, t
ol earnski
ll
shisfatherwouldneverdreamofteachinghi
m.
Heha sforsak
e nOk onkwo'swa yofli
fe.

Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r18|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Thechurchfa
ceschal
le ng
esbecauseitwe l
come sosu,oroutcas
ts.Whe
ntwoos ucomet ochur
ch,the
cong
regati
onprot
e s
ts.Mr .Ki
againsi
ststhateveryoneisaccept
ed.Oneper
sonlea
v esbeca
useoft hi
s
whil
e" t
hewa ver
ingc onvert
sdrew inspi
rati
ona ndc onf
ide
nc e
."Theosubecomet hemos tzea
lous
conv
erts
.

AChr i
sti
anhaski
ll
edapy t
hon,a
ndt heMba nt
aleader
sg a
t he
rtodeci
dehowtoproc
eed.Thepythoni
s
areveredani
ma l
thattheI
gboref
ertoa s"
OurF a
ther.
"Ok onkwowantstof
orc
ethemiss
iona
rie
soutof
thevil
l
a g
eforthi
soff
ense.Howeve
r,thegr
oupde ci
desthema tt
eri
sbetweent
hepers
onwhok il
l
e dt
he
pythonandthegod.

Ok
onkwosa
yst
hisi
scowar
dlya
ndv i
ewsthecl
anaswomanl
y,unl
ik
ethec
lanofhi
sfa
the
rla
nd,
Umuof
ia.
Hi
sspee
chc
aus
esthecl
antodec
idetoos
trac
izet
hei
rChr
is
ti
ans.

ThenOk ol
i,t
hema nwhoi saccusedofk i
l
li
ngthepython,f
all
sil
landdi
es.Thec l
ans
eesthisa
s
confi
rmati
ontha
t" t
hegodswerestil
labl
etofig
htthe
irownba t
tl
es.
"Asaresul
t,t
heyde
cidenott
o
ostr
aci
zetheChr
ist
ianc
lanmembe r
s.

Ana
lys
is

I
nt hi
sc ha
pter,theChr i
st
iansshow awi ll
ing
nes st oa cceptev e
ryone.Thei
rcompa s
sioninspi
resthe
conv e
r t
sandattractst
hosewhoha dbeena tthebot tomoft hes oci
ety,s
uchastheosu.Theya r
eg i
ven
ac hancetobes ee nasequa l
s.Accepti
ngtheos ut eststhes t
rengthofthechurch,a
ss ev
eralconvert
s
t
hre atentolea
v e
, buti
teventuall
yhe l
psthemi s
sionariestoincreasethenumberofnewmembe rs
.

Onceaga
in,Okonk
woisreadyt
otakeact
ion.Hewantst
odr i
vetheChri
sti
ansout,byanymea ns
nec
ess
ary.Ag
ainhisr
eac
ti
onisatoddswi
tht ha
tofthecl
an.Theangerthatf
ueledhi
ss uc
ces
si n
Umuofi
adoesnothel
phiminMbant
a,a
ndt
hec
hur
ch'
sinc
rea
singa
uthor
it
yov
ert
hepe
opl
eoft
he
vi
l
lag
efurt
herunde
rmi
neshi
sown.

Okonkwoha safoilinMr .Kia

ga.Af oi
lisac hara
cterwhos equali
ti
escontr
astwiththequali
ti
esof
anot
herc har
act
er( usua
ll
yt heprotagoni
st)
.T hi
sc ontr
astservestohighl
i
ghtthema i
ncharact
er'
s
qual
it
ies
.BothOkonk woandKiagaarezeal
ousmenwi t
ha nunwaveri
ngvi
si
onofhowt hi
ngsoughttobe.
However,unl
i
keOkonk wo,Mr .
Kiag
aisa bl
etoinspi
rethosearoundhimtobel
ieveashedoes.

Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r19|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Sevenyear
shavepa s
sedinMbanta
,a ndOk onkwoha sprospe
red.However,heisanxioustoret
urn
home,and"he[reg
rets
]ever
ydayofhisexi
le."Okonk
wos endsmoneyt oObieri
kat
oc onstr
ucthut
sin
hisf
ormercompoundsotha
thisf
amil
ywill
ha veaplac
et os
t a
ywhent he
yreturn.

Okonkwogat
her
shist
hreewivesa
ndi
nst
ruc
tst
hemt
opr
epa
reag
rea
tfea
st.T
hef
eas
twi
l
lbehi
swa
y
oftha
nki
nghi
smother
'ski
nsmen.

Anol
dfamil
yme mberma ke
sas peec
ht ha
nkingOkonkwoforthefea
st,whic
hisevenbi
ggerthanthe
y
ex
pec
ted.Headdsthati
tisgoodforki
nsment ogat
her.T
hema nconfi
desthathef
earsf
ortheyounger
ge
ner
ati
onandforthecl
anbec a
useofthe"abominabl
erel
ig
iontha
thassettl
edamongyou.
"

Ana
lys
is

Okonkwo'
sins
ist
enc
eona dheri
ngtotra
dit
ionandexpecta
tionsi
sonc
ea gai
nondis
play
.Thefeas
tmust
bebigbec
ausehe"cannotl
iveonthebankofarive
ra ndwa shmyhandswiths
pit
tl
e.
"Ok onk
wov i
ews
thef
easta
sbothasocial
obl
igat
ionandachanc
et oshowhowheha sprospe
red.

Okonk
wor egre
tsha
vingle
ftUmuof
ia.
Hebel
ie
vest
hee
xil
ehashel
dhi
mba c
k;hewoul
dhavepr
osper
ed
evenmoreinUmuofia.Okonk
woal
sofee
lsmorec
omf
ort
abl
einUmuofi
abecaus
ethe"me
nwe rebol
d
andwarl
i
ke .
"

Theelderkinsman'sspeechi sme la
nchol
y.Heapprec
iate swhenk i
nsmeng a
thera
nds t
rengthe
nthei
r
bonds.Heisworriedaboutt hefutureandsayst
henewg enerat
ionmustknow"whatiti
stospeakwi
th
onevoice.
"T henovel
'stit
le,ThingsFal
lApart
,res
onat
e sa sthema nspe
aksoffami
li
esbreak
ingupand
theyoungerpeoplenotunder st
a ndi
ngthebondofki
nship.

Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r20|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Eversinc
eleavi
ngUmuofi
a,Okonkwoha spl
annedhisret
urn.Hei
sdete
r minedto"regai
nthes e
ven
wa s
tedyear
s.
"Ok onk
woint
endstobuil
dabiggercompound,t
aket
wonewwi v
es,andgetti
tl
esforhi
s
sons.Hehasre
covere
dfr
omt hebrea
kwithNwoy eandexpect
sto"
bri
ng[hisot
hersons]upintheway
oft
hec
lan.
"

Okonkwoals
opl anst
ofindahusbandf orEz
inma ,wit
hwhom heisespeci
al
lycl
ose.Sheunder
sta
nds
himandcarr
iesouthi
sreques
ts,
inc
ludingpersua
dingherhal
f-
si
st
er,Obi
agel
i,t
owa i
tformarr
iag
eunti
l
theyr
etur
ntoUmuof i
a.OkonkwowishesEzi
nmawa saboy
.

However
,whenOk onkwoarr
ivesinUmuof ia
,hef indstha
tt hev il
lagehaschangeddramati
cal
ly
.T he
chur
chcontinuestogrowandi ncl
udeshigh-r
ankingmen.Ina dditi
on,ther
eisac ourtandaDi s
tric
t
Commiss
ionerwhoj udge
slegalcases.Arr
ogant,heavy-
hande dc ourtmesseng
e r
s,rec
rui
tedfrom the
l
ocalmen,guardapris
onandmi st
reatthepri
soners.Oneofthec lansmenwa sc
ondemne dbythecourt
andhangeda f
terk
il
li
ngaman.

Okonk wodi scus

sesthec hange
swi t
hObieri
kaandask
swhyt hepeopledonotfight
.Obi
erik
ar eminds
hi
m oft hefateoftheAba mepe opl
eanda dds
,"I
tisal
readytool
ate.
"Clansmenhaveabandonedt he
tr
ibea ndj oi
nedwiththes t
ranger
s.Obi
eri
kasayst
hewhitemanwa ssmarti
nthathecame"quietl
ya nd
pea c
eabl y
."Henote sthewhitema nhas"putakni
feonthething
sthatheldustoget
herandweha ve
fa
llena part.
"

Ana
lys
is

Chapt
er20begi
nsPart3oft
henov
el,whi
chs
howst
hedev
ast
ati
onwr
oug
htbyt
hewhi
teme
nandi
ts
fa
tale
ffe
ctonOkonk
wo.

AsObieri
kas ays
,Igbos oci
etyhasfal
lenapartbe c
ausetheclanc a
nnol ongeractasone .Thewhitemen
hav
edes troyedthethingsthatonceunit
e dthec l
an.ButOkonkwoi ssl
owt orealiz
ewha thisfri
endsees
socl
ea r
ly.Hec l
aimst or e
cogniz
et hechang e
si nthevil
la
g e,buthisplanstel
ladi ff
erents t
ory.Heis
det
ermine dthathissonswi l
lgai
ntitl
esbutc annotseethatthetit
lesdonotma tt
erany more.Hisgoal
s
donotr efl
ectthef a
ctt hatpowerha sshif
tedt othechurcha ndtot herepre
s enta
tiv
e softheBr i
ti
sh
gov
ernment .

Okonk
wo'
spat
ri
arc
hal
bel
i
efsa
rea
lsounc
hang
ed.Hec
ans
ens
ethef
ir
ewi
thi
nEz
inmabutc
an'
tva
luei
t
i
nawoman.

T
hecha
pterendswi
thOk onkwoandObi
eri
kas
it
ti
ngtoget
herinsi
l
ence.T
heyhavenoa
nswe
rst
othe
c
hal
l
engest
heclanf
aces
.Ok onk
wo,t
hemanofact
ion,
isl
efts
it
ti
nganddoi
ngnot
hing
.

Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r21|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Manyint
hecla
napprec
iat
es omeofthec
hangesbr
oug
htbyt
hewhi
temen,pa
rti
cul
arl
ythet
radi
ng
s
torea
ndthemone
ythati
sflowi
ngi
ntoUmuofi
a.

Mr.Brown,thewhit
emissi
onary
,isapat
ientma nwhotreads"sof
tl
yonhisfai
th.
"Hebec
omesfri
endly
withthecl
an'sl
eader
s,i
ncl
udingama nname dAkunna.Thetwodi s
cussr
eli
gi
on,andBr
ownbe c
omes
convi
ncedthatt
hewa yt
oc onver
tthepeopleisnott
oa tt
ackthei
rreli
gi
on.I
nste
ad,hecour
tsi
nter
est
bybui
l
dingahos
pit
ala
ndas
chool
inUmuof
ia.

Browna sksthatchi
l
drenbecomest
udent
sa tt
hes c
hool
.Atfi
rs
t,f
amil
iess
endonl
ythei
rla
zychi
ldrenor
sl
aves.Browns aysfut
urel
eader
softhel
a ndwil
lbethosewholear
nt or
eadandwrit
e.I
fthecla
nsdo
notha vee ducat
edpeople
,outsi
derswi
lllea
dt hem.Inti
me,famil
iesar
econvi
ncedandsendt hei
r
chil
drentos c
hool.

Br
ownc ome stoOk onkwototel
lhi
ma boutNwoye'seducat
ion,thi
nki
ngtha
thewi l
lbeha ppy
.Ins
te ad,
Okonkwodr i
veshima waywitht
hreat
s.Okonkwo'
sreturnhasproventobeunremarka
ble.Vil
l
agersar e
pr
eoccupiedwiththechangesbr
oughtbythewhitemen,nott heret
urnofaonce-
powe r
fulfar
mer .He
mournsforthec hangest
hathaveoccur
redinthecla
n,whic hhas"sounac
counta
blybecomes of
tl i
k e
women."

Ana
lys
is

Mr.Brownisadecentmanwhodoesnotf orc
ehisrel
i
gionupont hec l
an.Heint
erac
tswi
ththepeopl
e,
enabl
i
nghimt of
igureoutthebestwaytodrawthemtowa rdChris
ti
a ni
ty.Heappea
lst
otheirs
enseof
i
ndependencewhenment i
oningtheneedtorea
da ndwr i
te.Howev er,Brownhasanult
eri
ormotiv
e:
"
F r
omt hever
ybeginni
ng,r
eli
gionandeduc
ati
onwentha ndinhand."

T
hepeopleofUmuofianowappr
eci
atet
hetradi
ngstor
e,sendthe
irc
hil
drentothemi s
sionar
yschool
,
a
nduti
liz
ethehospi
tal
.The
yhaveac
cept
edthepres
enceofthenewrel
ig
ion.E
vent hegr
ea tmenofthe
c
lant
alkwit
hBrown.Its
eemsj
ustamatt
eroft
imeuntil
lar
gernumber
sofpeopl
ec onver
t.

AsOk onkwomour nsforthecl

an,hei si
nc r
e a
singl
youtoft ouc
hwi t
ht henewr eal
it
y.Hedi
spl
ayshi
s
unwil
ling
nes st
oa daptwhe nhechasesMr .Brown.Ok onkwobe li
eveshec a
mehomedur i
ngt
hewrong
yearbecausehissonsc a
nnotente
rintoozos oci
ety(oneoft herank
sinIgboc ul
ture)f
ortwomoreyear
s.
Howev er
,theimpor t
a nceoft
hissoci
etyi
nt hev il
l
ag eisnolongercl
ear.Incontra
s t
,Nwoye,t
hesonhe
hascursed,hasadaptedtothenews oci
etyandi sprosperi
ng.

Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r22|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Mr.Brownlea
vesthev i
l
lageandissucc
eededbyMr .Smi
th.Smit
hisast
ri
ctzea
lotandsee
sthi
ngs"as
bl
ackandwhite.Andblack[i
s]ev
il
."Smithdoesnotca
rea boutt
henumberofconv
ert
stothechur
ch,
onl
ythatt
hosewhoc onverta
restr
icta
dherentst
othefai
th.

Enoch,a
nov e
rze
alousconv
ert,s
par
ks"t
hegre
atconf
li
ctbetwe
enchurc
handclan.
"Hec ommi
tsa
ter
ri
blecri
mewhe nheunma s
ksanegwugwui
npubli
c.Thenex
tda
y ,t
heegwug
wua ndc
lanel
der
s
dest
royEnoch'
scompound.

S
mit
ha ndhisf
oll
ower
shideEnoch.T
henSmit
handhi
sint
erpr
etermeett
hecr
owdouts
idethec
hur
ch.
T
hevil
l
a g
ersexpl
ai
ntheywil
lnotharmSmit
h.Howev
er,t
heyaregoi
ngtodes
troyt
hechur
chandwil
l
"
nol
ong
era
ll
owi
tinourmi
dst
."

S
mit
hcomma
ndst
hec
rowdme
mbe
rst
ole
ave,
butt
heyr
ema
ina
nddes
troyt
hec
hur
ch.

Ana
lys
is

Mr. S
mi t
hisma r
kedl
ydif
fere
ntfromhispre
decessor;heisall
fir
eandbri
mstone.
S mi
th'
sgoal
sar
eclear
fr
omt hebe gi
nni
ng.Theconver
tswil
lobeyanddisavowa nyatt
achmenttot
heoldrel
igi
on.T
henarr
ator
notesthatSmit
h"sawtheworldasabatt
lef
iel
d."Hispointofvi
ewfores
hadowsprobl
emstocome.

Enoch,Smi
th'
sdi
sci
pl
e,isreadyforafi
ght
.Int
hisre
spe
ct,
hemi r
ror
sOk
onk
wo.
Hewa
ntst
ofi
ghtf
orhi
s
bel
iefsa
ndfeel
sconf
ronta
tionistheonl
ywaytosol
veaprobl
em.

T
heinter
prete
rdoesnotunde r
s t
andthedia
lec
tofthemob'sspokesma nandcannotrel
ayhi
smessage
t
oSmith.Theinterpr
eterals
oc hang
estheme ani
ngofS
mith'srepl
y.Thus,nei
therSmit
hnorthegroup
f
romUmuof i
ac ommuni ca
tetheirmessag
es.Lang
uagei
sagainaba r
riertocoexi
st
ence.Asares
ult
,the
c
hurc
hisdestroyed,andaba t
tl
eisunderway.

Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r23|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Okonk
woi sr
ejuv
enat
eda ndf
eel
sthecl
anhasrec
lai
medit
sol
dwa ys
.Heha sc
onv
inc
edt
hemeni
n
Umuofi
atoar
mt hems
elv
essothe
ywil
lbepr
epar
ed—unli
ket
hepeopl
einAba
me.

Threedaysla
ter,mess
engersf
romtheDis
tri
ctCommiss
ione
r'sof
fi
ceinv
iteOk
onkwoa ndfi
veot
her
sto
hisoff
ic
e.Theyg obecaus
ea n"Umuof
iama ndoesnotref
useac a
ll
."However
,the
ybr i
ngmache
tes
,
al
thoughtheychoosenottocar
ryg
uns,
which"wouldbeunseeml
y."

AmemberoftheUmuof
iadelegat
ionbegi
nst
oe xpl
ai
nwhyt hechur
chwasdestr
oyed,andtheDi
s t
ric
t
Commi
ssi
onerask
shimt ostops ohec anbri
nginme ntohearthegri
evances
.Shortl
yaft
ert he
Commi
ssi
oner
'smenent
ertheroom, t
her
eisabri
efscuf
fl
e,a
ndtheyhandc
uffOkonkwoandtheothers.

Thec l
ans
me nar
eg i
venal ect
urea boutthei
ril
l-
trea
tmentofpe opl
e,andafi
neisset.Thekot
ma ,or
courtmess
enger
s,ar
et ol
dtotreatthepri
sonerswit
hrespect
.Ins
tead,t
heyf
orc
ibl
yshavethepri
soners
'
heads,bea
tthem,andwi t
hholdfooda ndwa t
er.Thecourtmessenger
sgotoUmuofiaandinf
ormt he
vi
ll
agerswhathashappened.Theme nofUmuof i
agatheranddec i
detopa
ythefine"toappeasethe
whiteman."

Ana
lys
is

Okonkwot hr
ivesonacti
on.Hei
scont
enta
fte
rt hecl
ans
tri
kesatEnoc
handdest
roysthechur
ch.T
he
f
a ctt
hattheclan"l
ist
enedtohi
m wit
hres
pect"lea
dshi
mt othi
nkthepas
thasret
urned,whenmen
tookact
ionandwe r
erespect
edf
ori
t.
Thei nv i
teest ot heDist
ri
ctCommi ssi
oner'
sof f
iceshow ac er
tainnaïv
eté.Onc etheyengag
ei n
conversation,theyexpec
ttheme et
ingtobec i
vi
l.TheDist
ri
ctCommissi
onersurpr
is
esthem.Thesc
uffle
i
sbrief,a ndt heydonotha v
eac hancetodrawt hei
rma c
hetes
.Thiscont
rast
swiththewarcounselin
Chapte r2,whenOk onk
wohol dsadis
cussi
onwi t
hhisopponentsandistr
eatedwithres
pect
.Therules
havec hang ed,andthemena r
enotprepared.

T
heDi st
ri
ctCommi ss
ioneri
sc ondesc
ending.Hetr
ick
sOkonkwoandtheothers
.Oncehehasdoneso,he
g
ivesthem alect
urea bouttreat
ingpeoplebadly
.Heservesasj
udg
ea ndjuryanddoesnothearthei
r
s
ide.Inaddit
ion,theDistr
ictCommi ss
ionershowsdis
res
pe c
tfort
hec l
an'swaysbycutt
ingoffthei
r
e
x pl
anati
on.

T
hecourtmesse
ngersarebot
hdisrespec
tfulandcrueltothepris
oners,humil
i
ati
ngthem bysha
ving
t
hei
rheadsandwhippi
ngandstar
vingthem.Theyalsoinfl
atethefi
nesot ha
ttheyca
ns t
ealtheex
tra
f
unds
.Asage
ntsofthecour
t,t
heyarefarworsetha
nt he"cri
minal
s"the
ydea lwi
th.

Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r24|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

Ok onkwoandtheother
saresetfree.Waryc l
ans
mendonotwelcomethe
m butsi
mpl
ymov
eoutof
theirway.
Okonkwo'
sma l
erel
ati
onsa ndfr
iendsga
thera
thi
shut
,butthe
ynoti
cet
hewhi
pmar
ksonhi
s
bac k,
andnobodyt
alkst
ohimexceptObier
ika.

Ameet
ingisc
all
edf
orthenex tday.
Inantic
ipati
on,Okonkwocannotsl
eep,
the"bi
tt
ernessi
nhishea
rt.
..
nowmixe
dwithaki
ndofchildli
keexci
tement."Okonk
woi spr
epa r
ingf
orwar,
andhes wear
svenge
ance.
I
fUmuofi
awil
lfi
ght
,hewil
ljointhem.Ifnot,hewil
laveng
ehims el
f.

Peopl
eentert
hemee t
ingplace"
fromeve
ryquar
teroftheninevil
l
a ges
."Oki
ka,oneofthesi
xpris
oners
,
speak
stothecrowd,l
a menti
ngthatt
hei
rgodsarewee pi
nga ndthatsomecla
nme mbershavejoi
ned
theBri
ti
sh.Hev owst
ha ttheyneedtofi
ght
,eventhoughi tmea nstheymust"shedthebloodofa
cla
nsman."

Theme et
ingisi
nterrupt
edbycourtmesse
ng er
sdemandi
ngthe
yst
opthemeet
ing.Us
inghi
smachete,
Okonkwobe headstheme s
seng
erinchar
geoft hegr
oup,a
ndthev
il
la
ger
sal
l
owt heothermes
sengers
togetaway.Okonkwonowr eal
i
zestha
ttherewill
benowar.

Ana
lys
is

Okonkwo'sretur
nt othevil
lageist
ense.Other
ssurr
oundhim,butther
eisnoint
erac
tionamongthem.
Hewilltakerevengea ndfig
ht,evenifitmeansdoingsoalone.Thenar
rat
ornote
st hatt
heme eti
ng
pl
aceisf i
ll
i
ngwi thpeoplef r
om alloftheninevil
l
a g
es.Howe v
er,ot
herthanabriefexc
hangewith
Obier
ika,Okonkwot a
lkstonoone.Heha ssepara
tedhimsel
ffromthecl
anmembersa ndwi
llj
oi
nthem
onl
yiftheyactashefee l
stheyshoul
da c
t.

Ok
onk
wo'
sang
erder
ivesf
rom hi
str
agi
cfl
aw:hi
sfe
art
hathewi
l
lbewe
ak,l
i
kehi
sfa
the
r.I
nthenew
s
oci
ety,hisf
inala
c tofmur
dersetshi
ma partf
rom t
herestofthec
lan.Hewil
lnotadj
usttothenew
s
oci
ety,andtheclanwil
lnotac
ta shebeli
evesi
tshoul
d,byg oi
ngt
owa r.Hei
sac l
ass
ictr
agi
cfig
ure,
c
aughtbetweenhisownneedsandval
uesandthos
eofhispeople
.

Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r25|S
umma
ry

S
umma
ry

TheDis
tri
ctCommissi
onerdes
cendsonOk onkwo'scompoundwit
hag r
oupofs ol
dier
sandcourt
mess
engers.
Heask
sforOkonk
wo, butObi
eri
katel
l
shimheisnott
here.
Aft
ertheDis
tri
ctCommi
ssi
oner
t
hrea
tensthemen,Obi
eri
kaag
reestoshowthemwhe r
eOkonkwoisa
nda s
ksfort
hegroup'
shel
p.

Obier
ikathenlea
dst heDi
st
ri
ctCommissi
onertothetr
eewhe r
eOk onkwoha shang
e dhimsel
fandasks
thement otakethebodydown.Beca
usesuici
deisanabominat
ion,Obie
rikasay
s,"Hisbodyi
se v
ila
nd
onlys
tranger
sma ytouchi
t.
"Heals
oe x
plai
nsthatonl
ystr
ang
ersma yburythebody.

Obie
rik
as peaksangr
il
yt otheDist
ri
ctCommi
ssi
onerandsa
ysOk onk
wowasag r
eatman.Obi
erk
a
decl
ares
,"Youdrovehi
mt okil
lhi
msel
f;a
ndnowhewill
bebur
iedl
i
keadog.
"TheDi
st
ric
tCommi
ssi
oner
te
ll
shisme ntoremovethebody.

Atthenovel
'send,theDist
ri
ctCommi
ssi
oner
,whoispl
anni
ngt
owr i
teabookabouthi
sexper
ienc
e s
,
dec
idesthi
se ventmightbewor t
hapa r
agr
aph.Hepl
anstocal
lthebookThePa c
if
ic
ati
onoft he
Pr
imiti
veTr
ibesoftheLowerNig
er.

Ana
lys
is

Okonk
wo'sphy
sic
alde
athi
sant
ic
li
mac
ti
c.T
hec
hang
esi
nhi
svi
l
lag
eanddemi
seoft
hec
lanha
vel
efthi
m
de
a di
nsi
de.

Thefamil
yisnot
iceabl
ya bs
entf
rom thi
scha
pter.Des
pit
ehisde
dicat
iontothecl
ana ndhi
sfami
l
y,
Okonkwodiesal
one.Evenhisgoodfri
endcannotgonearhi
m.Be c
auseofhiss
uici
de,Okonk
wois
cons
ider
edanabominati
on—atra
gicf
allf
oramanwhowa sonc
ehig
hlyres
pect
ed.

Okonkwo'
sde c
isi
ontoendhisl
i
fecanbeseenasheroi
c.Hewasapr
inc
ipl
edmanwhocoul
dnotsur
viv
e
i
nas oci
etythatdi
dnotabi
debyhisvi
ewofr i
ghtandwrong.Al
way
sama nofac
ti
on,het
ooktheonly
oneavai
labl
etohim.Unabl
etofac
echang
e, herej
ect
edit.

T
heDi
str
ictCommis
sionercl
ai
mstounder
sta
ndthepe
opleofAfri
caandpl
a nsonwri
ti
ngabooka bout
t
hem.
Hispropos
edti
tleshowshowl
it
tl
ethewhi
temenunders
tandthecul
turethe
yhavedes
troy
ed.

Quot
es

1.
Okonk
woha
dcl
ear
lywa
she
dhi
sha
ndsa
nds
ohea
tewi
tht
hek
ing
sandel
der
s.

Na
rra
tor
,Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r1

T
hisde
scr
ipt
ionma
kesi
tcl
eart
hatOk
onk
wo'
sambi
ti
ona
nddr
iveha
veena
ble
dhi
mtos
ucc
eed.Ha
rd
wor
kisv
alueda
ndr
espe
cte
dbyt
hec
lan.

2.
Okonk
wowa
srul
edbyonepa
ssi
on—t
oha
teev
ery
thi
ngt
hathi
sfa
therUnok
aha
dlov
ed.

Na
rra
tor
,Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r2

Okonk
woi sdri
venbyt
hisones
impl
egoa
l.Hei
sas
hamedofhi
sfa
thera
ndwa
ntst
ober
idofa
ny
remi
nderofhi
m.

3.
Hewa
snota
fra
idofwa
r.Hewa
s..
.ama
nofwa
r.

Na
rra
tor
,Pa
rt1,
Cha
pte
r4

Ok
onk
woi
sre
adya
ndea
gert
odohi
spa
rt.
Henee
dst
obee
nga
gedi
nac
ti
vi
tyt
ofe
elus
eful
.

4.
Tha
tboyc
all
syouf
ather
...
.Bea
rnoha
ndi
nhi
sde
ath.

E
zeudu,
Par
t1,
Cha
pte
r13

Okonk
wodoesnotheedt
hisadvi
ce.
Hede ci
deshemustbeinv
olvedi
nIk
emef
una'
sdea
thorhewi
l
llos
e
re
spect
.Thedec
isi
oni
sdi
sast
rous
,asitl
eadstother
uptur
ewithhiss
onNwoy
e.

5.
Itwa
sli
kebe
ginni
ngl
i
fea
newwi
thoutt
hev
igora
ndent
hus
ias
mofy
out
h.

Na
rra
tor
,Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r14

T
hesewordsdes
cri
beOk
onk
woa
shebe
ginshi
sex
il
einMba
nta
.Henev
erc
ompl
etel
yadj
ust
stohi
snew
s
urr
oundi
ngs.

6.
Nev
erk
il
lama
nwhos
aysnot
hing
.

Uc
hendu,
Par
t2,
Cha
pter15

Uc
hendos
ayst
hisa
boutt
heAba
mepeopl
ewhok
il
le
dthewhi
tema
n.Hea
ssoc
iat
ess
il
enc
ewi
thda
nge
r.

7.
Liv
ingf
ir
ebeg
etsc
old,
impot
enta
sh.

Na
rra
tor
,Pa
rt2,
Cha
pte
r17
The
sethoug
htsa
regoingt
hroughOkonkwo'
smindashecontempl
ate
sthel
ossofNwoy
e.Hewonde
rs
howhecoul
dhavepr
oducedasonsodif
fer
entf
romhimse
lf.

8.
Heha
sputak
nif
eont
het
hing
stha
the
ldust
oget
hera
ndweha
vef
all
ena
par
t.

Obi
eri
ka,
Par
t3,
Cha
pter20

Thi
sref
ere
ncetothebook
'st
it
lei
spa
rtofObi
eri
ka'
sana
lys
isofhowt
hemi
ssi
ona
rie
sandwhi
temen
des
troy
edthec
lan.

9.
Okonk
wowa
sde
epl
ygr
iev
ed.
..
.Hemour
nedf
ort
hec
lan.
..
fort
hewa
rli
kemen.

Na
rra
tor
,Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r21

Okonk
woissadde
ne dov
erthest
ateoft
hec
lan.Hei
snos
tal
gi
cfort
het
imewhent
heme
nwer
evi
ol
ent
andwoul
dfi
ghtbackwhenwronged.

10.
Heha
dal
rea
dyc
hos
ent
het
it
le.
..
ThePa
cif
ic
ati
onoft
hePr
imi
ti
veT
ribe
soft
heL
owe
rNi
ger
.

Na
rra
tor
,Pa
rt3,
Cha
pte
r25

T
heDist
ri
ctCommiss
ioner
'schoi
ceoftit
leforhi
sbooks
howshi
sla
ckofunder
sta
ndi
ngoft
heI
gbo
c
ult
urea
ndunder
scor
eshisrol
eindes
troyi
ngit
.

S
ymbol
s

Ac
hebeus
ess
ymbol
i
smt
hroug
houtt
hebookt
ost
reng
the
nit
sce
ntr
alt
heme
sandi
dea
s.

F
ire

F
irer
epres
entsOk
onkwo'
sra
gea
ndc
ombus
ti
bl
ena
tur
e.Ok
onk
wo'
sni
ckna
me,"
Roa
ringF
lame,
"re
fer
s
t
othesedef
ini
ngt
rai
ts
.

Okonk
wo'sragei
sneverfa
rfromt
hesur
face
.Thenar
rat
orme
nti
onst
hat"
whenev
erhec
oul
dnotg
et
hi
swordsoutqui
ckl
yenough,
hewoul
dusehi
sfi
st
s.
"

AsOk onk
wor efl
ectsonthelossofNwoy einChapt
er24,heacknowle
dg estha
teventhemostpower
ful
fi
reproducescol
d,us el
essa
s h.Inthi
sstat
ementOk onk
wor ef
erstohimsel
fa safi
re—bot
hstronga
nd
fi
erce—whil
ehes ee sNwoyea sash—wea kandlaz
y.Attheendofthenov e
l,Okonkwosuc
cumbstohis
rageandkil
l
sthec ourtmess
e nger,l
eadi
ngtohisowndownfal
l.

Y
ams
Y
amsa r
eg r
ownbyI g
bome nands y
mboli
zemas
cul
ini
ty,we
a l
th,a
ndrespec
t.Ok
onk
wobe
ginst
o
i
ncr
eas
ehisst
atur
eint
hec
lanaf
terhebor
rowsa
ndpla
ntsyamseedsi
nCha
pter3.

Growingyamsist
houghtofa
sama n'
sjobbecauseiti
scha
ll
eng
ing.Thisi
snot
edinCha
pter4:"
Yam,t
he
ki
ngofc r
ops,wasav eryexa
c t
ingk ing.
"Ac lansmanwhos uc
ce edsatgrowi
ngyamsproveshi
s
ma s
culi
ni
tyandearnst
heres
pectofthos ear
oundhim.

L
ocus
ts

Thelocust
srepr
esentt
hearr
iva
lofthewhi
tema
nandmi
ssi
ona
rie
s.I
nCha
pter15,t
heOr
acl
est
ate
s
dir
ectl
ythatt
hewhitemena
relocus
ts.

I
nCha pter7,a c
tuall
ocus
tsar
ri
veinthev i
lla
g e,a
ppear
ingasacloudbloc
k i
ngthesunlig
ht.Throngsof
them descend,and"thewhol
ecountry[become s]t
hebrown-ea
rthcol
oroft hevast,hungryswarm."
Okonkwo a nd the othe
rsviewt he locustsa sa deli
cac
ya nd munc h on them ha ppi
ly.T hi
s
appearance
—a ndenjoymentbytheclansme n—ofthereali
nsec
tsstr
engthensthesymbolism use
di n
Chapt
e r15.

I
nCha pter15,onewhi t
emi ssi
onarycomest othearea.T
oldbytheOraclet
hatt
hewhi temanwil
l
sprea
dde st
ruct
ion,t
hepeopl ekil
lthema n.Heissoonfol
l
owedbyma nymorefor
eigner
s,unt
ilt
hei
r
prese
nceisfel
tina l
lthevi
lla
ges.Likel
ocusts
,theybri
ngbenef
it
s—educa
tionandmedici
ne—yett
hey
als
ode v
ourtheclan'
stra
dit
ionsandc ul
tur
e.

T
hemes

Cul
tur
eandCha
nge

Thetitl
eoft hebookr efer
stot hepr e
ssur
et ha
tthec l
anfac
esf
rom t
hea r
ri
valofwhiteme na
nd
missi
onari
es.Thecoloni
zersbri
nganewr el
i
giona ndcourts
yst
emandgi
veli
tt
leconsi
der
ati
ontohow
I
gbos ocie
typr ev
iouslyfunct
ioned.Theya ssumet hatthecl
ani
swithoutcul
tureandl i
vi
ngina
haphazar
dma nner,i
nne edofenli
ghtenment.

Yetthec l
anha safull
yfunc
tioni
ngsoci
etythati
ncl
udestr
adit
ionsandholi
days
.Vi
brantcel
ebrati
ons
ma r
kt hebeginni
ngandendi
ngoft heharv
estsea
son,whi
l
ede tai
ledri
tua
lsac
companybot
hwe ddi
ngs
andf uneral
s.Theyhaveaj usti
ceproc
ess,andthei
rcul
tureisr i
chinmusic
,dance,f
olkt
ales,and
proverbs.

Changescomea boutra
pidl
ywhenthewhit
emena ndmis
siona
rie
sarr
ive.Thei
mpac
tofthechangesi
s
negl
igi
bleatfi
rst,butitgrowsandbe
ginstodomina
tethec l
an.Outc
a s
tsar
ethefi
rs
tt oabandon
tr
adit
ionsandadapttochange.

Eventhecla
nl e
ader
sevent
ual
lyrecogniz
ethattheya r
eunabletostopthechang
es.Okonkwoist
he
onl
yme mberlef
twhoref
usestoal
terhisbel
ief
sa ndbehav
ior
.Hisr
efusal
toadaptl
eadst
ot r
age
dyand
tohi
ssuic
ide—theul
ti
matet
ransg
ressi
ona ga
insthisbel
i
efs
.
F
atev
ers
usF
reeWi
l
l

I
nt heIgbor eli
gion,a nindiv
idual
'schi,orpers
onalgod,issai
dt odetermi
neape rson'
sfat
e.Thus,a
person'
sf a
il
ur ea nds uc
cessa rebotha tt
ri
butedtot hatpe r
son'schi.Thisindic
a t
esthatthec hi
predeter
mine stheg ooda ndba dthathappenstoanindiv
idual(
fate)
.Howev er,t
hisisnotal
waystr
ue.
Asa nIgbopr overba boutthec hireve
a l
s,"
Whe nama ns aysyes,hi
sc his
ay syesalso.
"Thi
sshowsa
beli
efthatape r
son'sc hicanals
ober ul
e dbyfr
eewill
.

Okonkwowor k
sha r
dt obecomeawe althyandr e
spect
edl eaderofthec lanandi ssai
dt ohave
over
comehischi.Helivesl
if
eonhi sownt er
msbye xer
cis
ingfre
ewi ll
.Howev e
r,whe nheacci
dent
all
y
ki
l
lsEzeudu'
ssona ndisforc
edi ntoexi
le,hecurseshi
sf at
e.Henow be l
ievesthatfat
e—notfree
wi
ll—rul
eshi
sdes t
iny.T
hischang
ei nbel
i
efwilla
ffe
cthimlater
,afterhi
sarr
estandreleas
einUmuofi
a.

Be
tra
yal

Ac c
ordingtoOk onkwo,theme nofthecl
a nshouldres
isttheinc
ursi
onsofthewhit
ema nandus ethei
r
I
g bowa rri
orski
ll
stodriv
et hemissi
onar
iesfromtheirt
erritor
y.I
nOkonkwo'seyes
,thecl
anrespondsto
theseforeig
nerswithpassiv
ityr
athert
hans t
rength.
Hes eesthecl
an'
saccepta
nceofthemis
sionari
esas
abet r
ay a
lofthecla
n'str
a di
ti
ona ndoft
heirwa r
li
keancestors
.

Al
thoughIkemefuna'
sexecuti
onisdemandedbyt heOr
a c
leandi
stheref
oreanacc
ept
edpa r
tofIg
bo
tr
adit
ion,Okonkwo'spar
tic
ipat
ionintheactc a
nbes eenonape r
sonalle
vela
sa nactofbet
rayal
.
Okonkwo—t houghwarne
dnott o—hel
pskil
ltheboywhocall
edhi
mfathe
r.

Hi
ss on'
sdepa
rtur
efrom t
hecl
anmakesOk
onk
wowonderhowama
ncoul
daba
ndont
heg
odsofhi
s
f
ather.T
his
,Okonkwobel
iev
es,
ist
heul
ti
mat
ebetr
aya
l.

Chi
nuaAc
hebe

Bi
ogr
aphy

AlbertChinual
umog uAc he
bewa sborninOg idi,Nig
eri
a,onNov ember16,1930,at i
meofr el
igi
ous
uphea va
l.Hisparent
s,conver
tstoChr
ist
iani
ty,shunnedthoseloyaltothetradi
ti
onalI
gbo(al
sospel
led
I
bo)r eli
gi
on.Ac hebewa sf
asci
nate
d,however ,bytri
balpract
ice
.Ate i
g hthelear
nedE ng
li
shandwa s
exposedt oEurocentr
icnoti
onsofAfr
ica
nsa sba ckwar
dpe opl
e,ada te
d,i mper
ial
is
tviewhespenthis
l
if
er efut
ing.

Atuniversi
tyhebe gantorecl
a i
mhi sAfr
ica
nhe ri
tage, droppinghisf
irstna me, Albert,i
nfav
orofChinua,
ashor t
enedv ersi
onofhi sIgbomi ddl
ena me,ands witchinghisstudiesf r
om me dici
netoli
beralart
s.
Achebebe lie
veditwa se ss
entialthatAfr
icanvoic
est ellthestori
esoft hei
rpe ople.Hehadcomet o
recogni
zet heinherentraci
sm ofBr i
ti
shnoveli
st
soft heea r
ly20thc enturywhoc hoseAf
ric
afortheir
set
t i
ngs.Acheber efer
sinhiswr i
ti
ngsandpubl i
cl ecturest othewr iter'
sr espons i
bil
i
tytohisorhe r
communi tyandtot heimportanceofcreat
ingauthenticc ri
teri
aforwriti
ngi nAf r
ica.
Thi
ngsFallApartwa sAc hebe'
sfirs
tpubli
s hednov el
—a nditwa sabookt hata l
mostdidnotse etheli
ght
ofday.Achebeha dha ndwr i
tt
enhi sbooka ndsentthema nuscri
ptofftoL ondont obety ped.When
monthspassedwi thoutt hetypedma nusc ri
ptturni
ngup,Ac hebewa sdis t
raught
.Final
ly,a
fteraf r
iend
vi
si
tedthet ypings ervi
ceonhi sbe hal
f,t hema nuscr
iptarriv
ed,a ndAc hebes e
ntittopubl is
hersfor
rev
iew.Thi
ng sF a
llApa r
twa spubli
shedin1958.T wofoll
ow-ups ,NoLonge ratEase(
1960)a ndAr r
owof
God(1964),concernt hesamet heme:thec l
ashbetweentraditi
onalAfr
icanwa ysofl
ifeandther el
igi
ous
andsoci
alpractic
esi mpos e
dbyt heBrit
ish.

I
nT hingsF al
lApa rtAchebev oi
ceshisg ri
ev ancesa gai
nstthei ne pt i
tudea ndr a
cism ofBr it
ishc olonia
l
rule.F oll
owingNi geria
ni ndependenc ein1960,Ac hebe '
sfoc usev olvedtoc ri
ti
c i
s m oft hec ountry'
s
corruptAf ri
candictatorsandt heci
tizenswhoa c
ceptedt hei
rv i
ol entlea dership.Af i
c t
iona l
mi l
ita r
yc oup
i
nhi snov elAMa noft hePe ople(1966)c onv i
ncedNi geri
a'sg ov ernmentt ha tAc hebehel pedpl ant he
Janua ry1966c oupt hatledt othe1967out breakoft heNi g
er i
a nCi vilWa r.Conflicte ruptedwhe nt he
sout heastprovi
nc esofNi ger
ia—whi chha dal ar
g el
yIgbopopul ati
on—s ec
ededt of ormt heRe publicof
Biafra.Ac hebeandhi sf amil
yf l
edt oE ngl
a nd,whe r
et hec i
vi
lwa rbec amet hesubj ectofma nyofhi s
essa ys,shortst
ories,andpoe ms,incl
udingt hev ol
umesMor ni ngY etonCr eati
onDa y(1975) ,Girlsat
Wa r(1972),andBe wa r
e ,
Soul-Brot
her( 1971) .Achebe'sautobiog raphica l
memoi r,Ther eWa saCount ry
:
APe rsonalHis
toryofBi af
ra(2012),recountshi sroleinthec i
vi
l wa ra sBi af
ra'sinternational amba ssador
andc ommuni cat
ionsmi nis
ter.

I
na dditi
ont ohi swri
ting
,Ac hebesha re
dhi sviewsontheimport
ancea ndresponsi
bil
i
tyoft hewr it
er
duringstintsa saprofes
s orattheUni ver
s i
tyofIbadan(Ni
ger
ia)
,Universi
tyofNigeri
a ,Univer
si
t yof
Ma ssac
hus etts(Amherst
),Uni v
ersi
tyofConnec t
ic
ut,Bar
dColl
ege(NewY ork
),andBr ownUni versi
ty
(Pr
ov i
denc e,RhodeIsl
and).Inthe1970shehe l
pedshapeNig
eri
anli
ter
aturewhi l
eservi
nga sdir
ectorof
twopubl i
s hi
nghous e
s:Hei nemannE ducat
ionalBooksandNwankwo-I
fej
ika.Hewa sfoundingedit
orof
Heinema nn'sAfri
canWr i
tersSeri
es.

Part
ial
l
yparal
yze
di nacaracc
ide
nti
nAfricai
n1990,Ac
hebemovedtotheUni
tedS
tates
,wherehe
coul
drecei
vebet
termedi
cal
care.
Hecont
inuedt
owrit
eandtea
chunt
ilhi
sdea
thonMarc
h21,2013,
at
age82.

Di
scus
sionQue
sti
ons

1.InThi
ngsFal
lApa
rt,whydoe
sOk
onk
woc
ons
ideri
tapr
obl
em t
hatUnok
awa
s"qui
tei
nca
pabl
eof
thi
nki
ngaboutt
omorr
ow"?

Unokai
sapa re
nt,andi
tishi
sres
ponsibi
li
tyt
ocareforhi
schil
dren.T
obeag oodparent
,onemus
tthink
aboutachi
ld'
sneedsforthef
uture,j
ustasOkonkwoplansforhischi
l
dren.Unokafai
l
sinhi
spare
nt a
l
res
ponsi
bil
i
ty,put
ti
nghisowndes i
resaheadofhisfami
l
y '
sneeds.Thi
scanbes eenwhenUnokagets
money .Hec hoosestos penditonwineratherthansavingit.Hisinabi
li
tytothinkoftomorrowa lso
aff
ect
shi swor k
.Unok adoest hemini
mum wor kpossi
bleonhi sf
arma ndissurpri
sedwhenheha sa
poorcrop.Thepoorc r
opl eaveshimunabl
etoa dequat
elyprovideforhisf
amily
.Her el
iesonothersfor
hel
pa ndisindebtedtoe very
onea r
oundhi
m.Hi sbehavi
orbringsshamet ohi
sfami l
y,i
ncludi
nghisson,
Okonkwo, whobui l
dshisli
fearoundbei
ngtheopposit
eofhisfather.

2.
Wha
trol
edoe
swr
est
li
ngpl
ayi
nUmuof
ianc
ult
urea
ndT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt?

Wr estl
ingi sreveredinUmuof i
a,a sinot hera r
ea sofNi ge r
iaa ndAf rica
.InI gbos ociety
,wr estli
ng
promot e ss oci
alsol
idar
ityinthev il
l
agea ndg oodr el
a t
ionsbet we env i
l
lages.Itidentif
iess omec ultura
l
dif
ferenc es,s howni nregi
ona lwrestl
ings tyl
es.S uccessfulwr estl
ersa l
sor i
sei ns oci
a linfl
ue nce.T he
nov elope ns20y ear
sa f
terOk onkwode feat
e dAma l
inzet heCa tinawr estl
i
ngma tch.I twa ss aidthat
"heha dbr oughthonortohisv i
ll
age."Ok onkwoi sstil
lident i
fiedbyhi svictory
.T hev i
ctoryinfluenc edhis
ri
sei nt hec l
an.Inaddit
ionitwa shiswr e s
tl
ingpr owe sst ha tma dehi ma ttr
activet ooneofhi swi ves
,
Ekwe fi
.S hede ci
dedtoma rryhima ft
ers eei
nghi mwi nawr e st
lingma tch.Awr estl
ingma tchisdepi c
ted
i
nCha pte r6.T heexcit
eme ntispa l
pable,witht hepeopl es urgingforwa r
da ndt hedr umsbe a
t i
ng .The
winne roft hema i
neventisrevered:"Theys anghispr ais
ea ndt hey oungwome nc l
appe dt hei
rha nds."

3.WhenOkoyevi
si
tsUnokainThi
ngsFal
lApa
rt,wha
tins
ight
sint
oUnok
a'sc
har
act
erdor
eade
rsg
ain,
andwhatdot
heyrev
ealaboutI
gbocul
tur
e?

Readersle
ar nthatUnok a
,whoc ouldbec onsidere
dt heleastresponsibleI gbocha r
acterinthenov el
,
nevert
heles
sobs erv
esba si
csoci
alniceti
esa ndha sasenseofhonor .Hewel comeshi svisi
torbyofferi
ng
thetradi
ti
ona lkol
anuticebreakera ndlist
enspol i
tel
ya sOk oyespea ks.Ok oyeha scomet oc oll
ecta n
oldbutrel
ativel
ysma l
ldebt.Onhea ri
ngt his,Unokadumbf oundshisnei ghborbyl aughingupr oari
ous l
y
andthenpoi nti
ngouthisa cc
ounti
ngs y
stem.E achde btisl
istedont hewa llofhishut,froml arg
estt o
small
est,a
ndhet el
l
sOk oyeheintendst opa ythelar
ge s
tdebtsfirs
t.Howev er,Okoyek nowstha tUnok a
rare
lyhasanymoneya ndspendsitwhenhedoe s.Thushisplantopa yt hela r
gestdebtsfir
stisahollow
promiseatbe st
,anditisdoubtf
ultha tevenUnok abe li
evesit.Thi
sinter c
ha ngerevealstheimpor t
anc e
ofri
tualt
ot heIgbo.Unokooffer
sthet radit
ionalhospit
ali
tytoOk oyee vent houghhel ackstheme anst o
payhisdebts.

4.HowdoesUmuofi
a'
scr
eed,"
Agewa
sre
spe
cte
d,buta
chi
eve
mentwa
srev
ered,
"impa
ctOk
onk
wo
t
hroug
houtt
henov
el?

Gai
ningtherespectofhisf
ell
ow vil
la
ge r
st hrougha c
hiev
ementist hemot i
vati
ngforcethatdri
ves
Okonkwo.Okonkwobuil
dsonhisear
lysuccessa sawrest
li
ngchampionandreachestheupperechel
ons
ofsoci
etydes
pit
ehispoorback
g r
ound.Laterint henovel
,however
,hisopportuni
ti
esforac
hievement
shr
ink.Whenhei sexi
l
ed,hede s
pai
rsa thavingt ost
artoveragai
na safarmerinanewv i
ll
age.The
peopleofMba nt
aandUmuof i
arefuset
ofig
htthewhit
emen.Des
troy
ingthechurc
hinUmuof
ia,whi
ch
gi
veshims uchpers
onalsat
isf
act
ion,al
sobri
ngstr
oubl
e.F
ina
ll
yandtragi
cal
ly
,hismurde
roft
hec our
t
me s
sengerle
adstohiss
uic
ide.

5.Contr
astthewayinwhic
hthec l
anr
ega
rdsOk
onk
woa
ndUnok
ainT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt.Wha
tca
n
rea
dersconc
ludea
boutI
gbocul
tur
e?

Okonkwoi srespectedbythec l
anbecauseheisma scul
i
ne ,warl
ike,wea l
thy ,
a ndaclanleader.
Hei sa l
so
aprosperousf ar
merofy ams ,
whicharethemselvesasymbol ofrespect.Inc ontr
ast,Unokaisrespec ted
bynoone( includi
ngOk onkwo).Whileheisagoodmus i
cia
n,hei sl
a z
y,c owa rdl
y,anduna bl
etoc ar efor
hi
sfamilypr operly
.Hebor rowsmone yf r
om hisneighborswithoutpa yi
ngba ckt heloans.Thec l
a n'
s
at
ti
tudet owa rdeac hmanr eveal
sthefactthattheyvaluephysicalski
ll,har dwork,andbra v
e r
y .T hey
l
ookdownonmenwhoa recowa r
dsanddonotpr ovi
dea dequatelyfort heirfamil
iesorparti
ci
pa t
ei n
cl
anleadership.Mus i
chasapa rti
nthecult
ure,butnotatthee xpenseoft hef amil
y.

6.I
nChapter2ofThi
ngsF
all
Apa
rtawa
risa
ver
ted.
Howdoest
heI
gbo'
sjus
ti
ces
yst
emc
ompa
ret
otha
t
oft
hecoloni
zer
s?

Thec ol
onizersfeelt hatbye stabli
shingg ov
ernmentsa ndchurc hesinAfric
at heya rehe lpingpr i
mit
iv e
people.Howev er,t heUmuof i
ans'jus ti
ces ys
tem ishighl
yde v el
oped.Whe nt heya rewr ong e
dbya
neighbor
ingc l
an,t he ydisc ussthei ssue .Thewa risdeterminedt obeaj ustwa r,andt heUmuof i
ans
preparetofight.Be forestrikingthee ne my,howev e
r,Umuof i
as e
ndsOk onkwot oneg oti
a t
eape aceful
sett
lementwi ththeMba inoc l
an.Whe nthepeopleofMba inoa c
ceptUmuof ia'
st erms ,wa ri
sa vert
e d.
I
nc ontra
s tthec olonizers'jus t
icesyst em iscorr
upta ndone- s
ided.T heDistri
ctCommi s
sione rdoesn't
giv
et hec la
na noppor tuni t
yt oex pla inthei
rdes tr
ucti
onoft hec hurch.Thec ourtmes sengersar e
dis
respectf
ult ot hepr isone rs.Whi l
et hec ol
onizer
sbel i
evet heyha vebr oughtor de rtoapr i
mit
iv e
soci
e t
y,i
tistheywhoa ret heba rbari
a ns .

7.I
nThi
ngsFal
lApar
t,howist
heI
gbov
iewofwa
rfa
rea
ndv
iol
enc
eil
l
umi
nat
edwhenUmuof
ia'
senemy
tr
eat
sOkonk
wowi t
hrespec
t?

T
alksbe t
weentheoppos ingsidesa r
ec iv
ila ndrati
onal;Ok onkwois"treat
e dwi t
hg re
a thonorand
r
espect.
"Bothsidesa c
treasonably.TheUmuof i
ans,whilemor epowerful,arecontentwithpayment
r
atherthanfi
ght
ingawa r.Theothersiderecogniz
esitscr
imea ndact
saccordi
ng l
y.Bl
oodshedisavoi
ded.
I
nthissceneandthroughoutthenov el,v
iol
e nceisalastresortinIg
boculture.Wher eOkonkwo'sf
irs
t
i
mpulsesareoft
env iol
ent
,hei satoddswi thhisclaninthisrespect
.Atthee ndoft hestory
,whenhe
r
eali
zesthecl
anwillnotgotowa r,hefina
ll
yunde rst
andsthatt hecul
tur
eha strul
y" f
all
enapart.
"
8.Chapt
e r2ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rtnot
est
hatOk
onk
woi
sdomi
nat
edbyf
ear
.Howi
shi
sfea
rOk
onk
wo'
s
tr
agicf
law?

Cha pte
r2not estha tOk onkwoi s"domi natedbyf ear,thef earoff ail
urea ndofwe akness.
"Hisf ea rof
beingl i
keUnok a,hi sl azy,uns uc
c essf
ulf athe r,s hapesOk onk wo'swor kethica ndhi sc hara cter
.
Ok onkwo'sfearsourshi sr e
la ti
onshipwi thhiss onNwoy e.Ok onkwoi ssoc oncernedt hatNwoy ewi l
l
turnoutl i
keUnok at hathei spa rti
cularl
yha rshwi thhi m.Whe nNwoy eleavesthec l
an,het urnsa wa y
from Ok onkwoinapa infulbet rayalofhi sfa the ra ndt heIg bor espe c
tf orfamily.Feara l
soc a uses
Ok onkwo'sdownf all
.Wi tht hea rriva
loft hemi ssionari
es,t hec l
anunde rgoesma ssi
vec ha ng e
s.
Ok onkwoha sspenthi sl
ifefoc usedonr ea
chinga ne xa l
tedlevel i
nt hec l
an,buthisa chi
ev ementsa reno
l
ong erva l
ued.I
nmur deringt hec ourtme sseng er,hea ttemptst oinc i
teawa randdr iv
et hewhi t
eme n
outt oreconst
ructthes ocietyinwhi c hhewa sr e spec t
ed.Itisnotf ea r
,howev er,thatimpelshissuic i
de.
I
ti sins
teadhisconscious,eve nbr ave,decisi
ont obr eakwi ththes ocietythathasbet r
a ye
dhi m.

9.I
nChapt
er3ofThi
ngsFal
lApa
rtUnokaisdesc
ribe
da sla
zya
nda
sha
vingaba
dchi
.Whyi
sthe
di
st
inc
ti
onbet
weenl
azi
nes
sandha
vingaba
dc hi
importa
nt?

Ac hiisape rs
on'
spe r
s onalgod,whichc a
nbee it
hergoodorba d.Ifaperson'
schii sbad,itdoesnot
ma tt
erwhe t hert
heindividualworksharda nddoest heri
ghtthi
ng :t
hatpers
on'sfateisdecided.Ont he
otherha nd,ifanindi
vi
dua lhasag oodchi,thentha tper
sonwillf
indsucces
s.There
for eUnok a
'slaz
iness
i
sirrel
e vant.EvenifUnok awe r
eaha rdwor k e
r,hewoul df
ailbecausehehasaba dc hi.Howev e
r,there
i
sas aying,"Whe nama ns ay
sye shi
schisay syesalso.
"Sothenov elas
ks:I
sfatedeterminedbyama n's
chi,orca nc hibecontroll
ed?T heclanseemsuna bl
etoanswert hequesti
on.Doings owoul drequire
reconsi
der i
ngabe li
efthatiscentral
totheirreli
gion.

10.Wha tist
hesigni
fi
canceofUnoka'
sadvi
cetoOk onkwo(
"Donotdes
pai
r.Ik
now y
ouwi
l
lnot
despa
ir.
")whi
chhedel
iversi
nCha
pter3ofThi
ngsF
all
Apa r
t?

Okonkwo'sgoa li
nlifeistobee verythi
nghi sfa
therisnot.Nea rthee ndofhislif
e,Unok apr ai
ses
Okonkwo'sworkethicandg eneralcharacter
.Hesays,"Donotde s
pair.Iknowyouwillnotdes pai
r.
"He
goesontopra i
seOk onkwo's"ma nl
ya ndpr oudheart
,"whic
hc anwithstand"ageneralfai
lurebecause
suchafail
uredoesnotpr i
ckitspride."T hi
sspeechisUnoka'satte
mptt omakea mendsf orhowhe
negl
ecte
dhisy oungson. I
tals
os howst hatUnokaisproudofthema nOk onkwohasbec omede spi
tehis
poorupbri
nging.YetOk onkwodoe sde spair
.Hecan'thandl
et hechang e
sbroughtbyc ol
onizati
ona nd
hangshi
ms e
lf.Unoka'swordsareme antt obeatypeofbless
ing,buttheycannotsa
vehi sson.

11.Whe
nOk
onk
wov
isi
tsNwa
kibi
einT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt,wha
tist
hes
igni
fi
canc
eoft
hea
rri
valof
Nwa
kibi
e'
sfi
rs
twi
feAna
si?

The reisas t
ri
cthierar
chyamongwi vesint heIgboc ul
ture.Fi
rs
twi veshavethehighestst a
tus,and
succe edi
ngwi vesa r
erankeddependi
ngonwhent heyma rr
yint
ot heg r
oup.AfterOkonkwoa ndthe
othe rme nha vedrunkpalmwine,Nwakibi
ei nvi
teshi
swi vestoal
soha v
eadr i
nk.Fourwivesa rr
iveand
standwa it
ingforAnasi
,si
nce—a sf
ir
stwife—s hehasthepr iv
il
egeofdrinki
ngbeforethem.S hee nt
ers
,
l
ook ingv erymuc htherul
erofthehousehold'swome na nd—mos tli
kel
y—ma ki
ngapoi ntofhe rhig
her
statusbyc ausi
ngt heother
stowa it
.Af t
ers hedr i
nks,theothe rwiv
e sal
sodr i
nkinor deroft hei
r
senior i
ty.

12.
InT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt,
wha
tar
ethes
oci
alr
ami
fi
cat
ionsofOk
onk
wo'
sina
bil
i
tyt
oshowa
ffec
ti
on?

Okonkwobel i
ev esiti
snotma nlyt oshowf ondnessforot hers
.Whi l
ehec er
ta i
nlyfe elsemot i
ons,he
ref
usestoa ck
nowl edgeanybuta nger
.Ok onkwothinksthisma keshimstrong,buti nsteadhi sref
usali
s
asocialhandi
ca pthatprov
esde tri
me ntaltobothhimselfa ndhisfamil
y.Hisr el
ations hi
pwi thhisson
Nwoy e
,inpa rt
icular
,ishamperedbyhi sla
ckofa f
fecti
ont owardtheboy .Ok onkwobe li
evestheonly
waytog etNwoy etoacti
nama nlyma nnerist
ousef orc
e ,andher egul
arlyberatesa ndbea t
stheboy.
I
nsteadofma kingNwoy emorema nl
y,asOk onkwohopes,t heabusepushestheboya wa y.

13.Whydoe
sOk
onk
wodi
sr
uptt
heWe
ekofPe
acei
nThi
ngsF
allApa
rt,a
ndwha
tdoe
sthi
ssa
yabout
hi
m?

TheWe ekofPeaceisaseasonalreli
gi
ousfestival
.Itisati
meofr elaxationa ndeasebef orethepl anti
ng
seas
ona ndincl
udesanumberofr i
tual
s.Duringthistimea llv
iol
e nce—e ventheus eofha rshwor ds—is
tobea v
oided.Okonkwo,howe v
er,doesnote nj
oyr el
axi
ng .Heisr est
les sandanxiousa ndpr eferswork
torel
axati
on.Hebreaksaruleoft heWe ekofPe acewhe nhebea tshiswi f
eOjiugof ornotpr epa r
inga
fami
lyme al
.Whi l
ehewi shest obeal eader,hei sa l
soat ra
ns gressor.Hisa c
tionsl e
a dr eadersto
quest
ionwhe t
herOkonkwoc onformsonlytot herulesofthec ul
turetha ta r
econvenie nt
.

14.InThingsFal
lApart,Nwoyebe
ginst
omodelI
keme
funa
'sbeha
vior
.How doe
sthi
sadv
anc
ean
under
sta
ndingofgende
rr ol
es?

Whi l
eI gbowomena ndc hi
ldrena reex pe ct
edt obesubservi
enttomen,t heme noft hecl
ana re
expe c
tedtor ul
eov erthe i
rhous eholds
.Ok onkwobeli
evest
ha ti
fama n" wasunabletorulehiswome n
andhi schi
ldren(andes pe ci
allyhiswome n)hewa snotreal
lyama n."Throughhisfri
endshipwit
ha nd
desiretoimitateIkeme funa,Nwoy ebe ginsa ct
ingi
namor e" masculi
ne"wa y.I
npa r
ti
cularhesta
r t
s
tr
ea ti
ngwomeni nawa yt hatpleaseshisfa t
her.Whenthewome ns endhimt odoadi ff
ic
ultmascul
ine
task,hepretendstobea ngr
y ,butinwa r
dl yNwoy ei
spleas
edbec a
usehek nowsthisiswha tOk
onkwo
wa nts:f
orhissontobet oug ha ndc apabl
eofr uli
ngthehousehol
d.
15.Howdoest
hel
ocus
ts'
dua
lna
tur
ema
kest
hema
napts
ymbolf
ort
hewhi
tec
oloni
zer
sinT
hing
sFa
ll
Apart
?

Thearr
ivaloftheloc us tsinChapt er7c ause s"ashadow[ t
o]f al
lont hewor l
d."Atfirsttheya r
eas mall
swar
m,buts oonama ssoft hem a rrives.T heysettl
ee ve r
y where,ca us
ingtreebranchest obr eak.The
l
ocust
sc hangeev e r
yt hinga s"thewhol ec ountrybe camet hebr own-earthcoloroft hev ast,hung r
y
swar
m."Whi lethel oc ustsdevourc rops ,theya rethems elvesag oodf oods ourc
e,a ndt hev il
lager
s
gl
adl
yc oll
ecttheins ec tstoe a
t.InT hingsF al
lApart,thel ocustsopenlys y
mbol i
zethec ol
onizers
.One
whit
ema nappea r
s,a ndt heelde r
sc ons ulttheirOraclea boutwha tt odo.TheOr acl
es ays,"Thes t
range
manwoul dbr eaktheirc la
na nds prea dde structi
ona mongt hem"a nda ddsthatmor ewhi teme nont he
wayarelocusts.Li
k ethel ocusts,ma nymor ec ol
onial
istsarriveaft
e rthe"smallswarm"a nddev ourthe
I
gboculture.Atthes amet ime,muc hlikel ocusts
,theya lsobr i
ngsomebe nefi
ts:tr
adingpos t
s,as chool,
andahos pi
tal.

16.I
nThing
sFa
llApa
rt,whydoesOk
onk
woi
gnor
ethewa
rni
ngt
oav
oidI
kemef
una
'sk
il
li
ng,a
ndwha
tis
theef
fec
tonhi
sfami
ly?

Okonkwot r
eatsI
kemefunaasas on,andtheboyc onsidershimhisfat
her.Ik
e mefunai
soneoft hef ew
charac
tersofwhom Ok onkwoisfond.Whe ntheOr aclede c
idesthatI
keme f
unai stobekil
l
e d,Ezeudu
tel
lsOk onkwonott opa r
ti
ci
pate.T obetr
a yIkemefunai nt hi
swa ywouldv iol
atethesanctit
yoft he
famil
y,af oundat
ionofIgbocul
ture.Despi
tethewa rning,Okonkwoa c
compa nie
st heex
ecutioner
sa nd
deli
versthef i
nalblowthatkil
l
sI kemef
una .Toa dmi ttohisa f
fect
ionfortheboywoul dbet os how
we ak
nes s
,a ndama nwhoi swe akisnotr espected.Ok onkwo'sa l
l
-consumingdesir
ef orr e
s pec
t
fr
actureshisrel
ati
onshi
pwithhissonNwoy e,whoa dor edIkemefuna.

17.Howdoe
sthel
ossofI
kemef
unai
nThi
ngsF
allApa
rtc
ont
ri
but
etoNwoy
e'sde
cis
iont
obec
omea
Chr
is
ti
an?

Nwoy eisbr ok
enwhenher eali
zeswha tha ppenedt oIkeme f
una .Hef e
els"as na ppi
nginsi
de"himself
thathelastfel
twhenhehe ardthec r
iesofba bieswhoha dbee nleftfordeadint heE vi
lFor
est.
Nwoy e'
s
connecti
ont ohisf at
her,andtot heclana ndi tsways,isdestr
oy ed.Hec annol ong erabi
dethec l
an'
s
tra
diti
ons.Hi sfather'
sbl i
nda dherencet ot heOr acl
ea ndi nvolvementi nI keme f
una'
sk i
ll
inga r
e
unpardonableac t
ions.Thena r
rati
veremi ndsust hatindiv
idual
sha veanee dtobe l
ong.Si
nceNwoy e'
s
connecti
ont othec lanhasbee nsevered,hel ooksforanewhomea ndfindsitint hechurc
h.Simil
arl
y
theoutcastsoftheIgboa r
ea mongthef i
rstc onv er
tsbecausethe yfindaccept
anc ea mongtheChris
ti
ans.

18.
Wha
tist
hes
igni
fi
canc
eofOk
onk
wowa
nti
ngE
zinmat
obeaboyi
nCha
pter8ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt?

Ok
onk
wobel
i
evest
hatboy
sshoul
dbebol
d,s
trong
,andt
oug
h.Ok
onk
wos
eest
hes
etr
ait
sinE
zinmaa
nd
fee
lssaddenedthatshec annotde velopa ndusethesetr a
itsbec auseshei sag i
rl
.T hec ult
ureisa
patr
iar
chaloneinwhicht hehus bandr ulesthehouseholda ndwomena res ubservi
entt ome n.Si
nce
boysaremoreval
uedi nUmuof i
a nsoci
et y,Okonkwoisdisa
ppoi ntedthathisbestc hi
ldisag ir
landnota
boy.Genderrol
esextendbe yondt hefa milyinI
gboc ul
ture.Forex ample,cri
mesa ndc ropsa r
eeit
her
mascul
ineorfemi
nine.WhenOk onkwoa cci
dental
lyki
ll
sEzeudo' sson,hecommi t
sa" fe
mi nine"murder
.
Yamsare"ama n'
scrop,"whil
ec oco-y
ams ,beans
,andc a
ssavaa rewome n'scrops.

19.
Howi
sEk
wef
i'
sconc
ernf
orE
zinmar
ela
tedt
ohe
rfa
mil
yst
atusi
nThi
ngsF
all
Apa
rt?

Ekwefil
ostni nec hi
ldrenbe f
oreEz i
nmawa sborn.Shebe cameabr okenwoma nwhof e l
tbit
tertowa rd
herowns oul .WhenE zinmawa sbor nandliv
edbe yondav e
ryy ounga ge,"l
ov ereturnedonc emor eto
hermot her
."Howev er
,be c
auseofthema nylostchi
ldren,Ekwefiwor r
iesaboutEz i
nmaex cess
ively.She
bel
ievesEzinmawi lll
iveon,buts hene veresca
peshe rfearwhent hec hildgetssick.Ek wefi
'
sc oncerns
areundersta ndablet or ea
ders.Howev er,inUmuof i
ans oci
etyawoma n'srolesa res tr
ict
lydefined,
whichhe i
ghtensE k
wef i'
sfear
s.Shei sexpect
edt oproduc echi
ldrena nds ofarhasj ustonelivi
ngc hil
d.
Hersolerespons i
bilit
yistoserveherhus bandandf a
mi ly.
Withoutc hil
dren,sheha slit
tlepurpose.S i
nce
ther
eiss c
ante v
idenc eofromanticinvol
vementbe twe enOkonk woa nda nyofhiswi ves,shewoul da l
so
havenoout letforhe rlove.

20.
InT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt,
wha
tist
her
oleoft
hee
gwug
wua
ndwhya
ret
hei
rtr
uei
dent
it
iesnotdi
scus
sed?

Theeg wug wua r e"themos tpower fuland. ..secretcultint hec lan.

"The ypor tr
ayt hec l
an'sancest
ral
spir
its
.T he rea r
eni nee gwug wu,e achrepr esenti
ngav i
ll
a geinUmuof i
a .Tri
ba ll
e aderswe arma sk
sto
representt hes piri
ts.Theiride nti
tyiske ptsec r
et,asthe ynev err emovet heirma sksinpubl i
c.Wome n
andc hil
dr eng re at
lyfea rthee gwugwu.Dur i
ngt ri
a l
seg wug wuf unc
ti
onmuc hli
k eac ourt.Theyhe ar
bothpa rti
e s,recesstoj udget hec ase,andha nddownav erdic
tt hatbecomesl awa ndmus tbeobey ed.
Theircour tsyste mthusdef i
est hecolonizers
' percepti
onoft heIgboa sunc ul
tured.Whi lema nysuspect
thatOk onk woi soneoft heeg wug wu,i tisnotdi scuss ed.Apos si
bl
ee xplanati
oni sbe causetheir
authorit
ywoul dbeunder mi nedi fthei
ri dentit
ieswer er evealed.Anotheri stha tthisma l
e-onlyri
tual
helpsma inta i
nt hesociety'spa t
riarc
ha l
structure.

21.HowdoesE
kwe
fi'
sst
oryofT
ort
ois
eandt
hebi
rdsf
ore
sha
dowt
hef
ateoft
heI
gbope
opl
einT
hing
s
Fal
lApar
t?

I
nE kwef
i'
ss t
ory,Tortoi
seisve rycunning.Heus eshi
scunningtotakeadvantageofthebi r
dsa ndta l
ks
themi nt
oma k
inghimt heirl
ea der
.T hebirdslendhimfeather
ssohec anf
ly.Thewhol egroupg oestoa
greatfeasti
nthes ky.Tort
oiseus e
sat ric
kt og ett
hebestfood,whil
ethebirdsareleftwit
hs cr
a ps
.T he
birdstaketheirfeat
hersba c
ka ndlietoT ortoi
se.Heplummet stotheground,break i
nghisshellinto
pieces.T
or t
ois
ec anbes eena ssymbolicoft heBri
ti
shcolonia
li
sts
.Li
kethem,T ort
oiseuseslanguaget o
manipul
atet
heg ul
l
ibl
ebirds.Heta
kesa
dva
nta
geoft
hebi
rds
'dec
enc
y,s
tea
lst
hei
rre
sour
ces
,and
l
eavesthemwit
hnexttonothi
ng.

22.InChapt
er11ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rthowdoesOk
onk
wobeha
vedi
ff
ere
ntl
ytha
nhedoe
sinot
her
chapt
ers
?

WhenE zinmai st ak
enbyChi elotos eeAg bal
a,E k
we fiisoverc
omewi thg ri
ef.Shor tlya f
terE zi
nmai s
t
aken,Ekwe fifoll
owsChiel
odes pit
eha vi
ngbee nwa rnednott o.E
kwef i
s pendsa llnightf ol
lowingChielo
ar
oundt hev ariousvil
l
ages.Ok onkwor ealizesChiel
oi staki
ngE zi
nmat ot heOr acle'ss hri
nea ndg oes
t
herefourt i
mest olookforE k
we fi
.Fi
na l
lyhef indshe rwa i
ti
ngoutsidet hes hri
ne.Ok onk wot e
llsEkwe f
i
t
og ohomebe causehek nowss heha sha dar oughnight.Sheist oowor ri
edt ol eave.Whi l
ewa i
ti
ng,
Ek
wefirec a
llswhe nshefirs
tcamet oOk onk wo.Hisa ct
ionsshowt ha tOk onkwoi sc onc erneda bouthis
wi
feandda ughter'
shealt
ha nds a
fety
.Hes howsg enuinec a
re,evenl ove—emot ionst hatheus ua l
lytri
es
t
ohide.

23.Compar
eandcont
ras
ttheef
fec
tsoft
her
it
ual
dis
pla
ysofg
ener
osi
tyi
nCha
pte
r12a
ndCha
pter19of
Thi
ngsFal
lApa
rt.

I
nCha pt
er12Obi eri
ka'
sdaug hterha sas uit
or.They oungma n,hisfather,a
ndhisma l
er el
ati
v esc
ome
toUmuof i
aa spartofthebe tr
ot halceremony .The ybr i
ngat reme ndousamountofwi newi ththem,
muchmor ethanObieri
ka'
speopl eex pect
e d.Theg i
fthelpsuni teObierika'
sfami
lywi t
htha tofthesuit
or.
Si
mila
rly
,inCha pt
er19,Okonk wopr ov i
desaf eastforhi sMba ntak i
nsme ntoma rkthee ndofhi sexi
le.
Oneofhiskinsment ha
nksOk onk wof orbe i
ngs oge ne r
ous .Howev er,hea l
sotakestheoppor tuni
tyto
expr
esshisfearsforthey oung erg enerati
onbe c
a uset heChr i
st
iansa rebreakingupf amilybonds .
Okonkwo'sgenerosi
ty,unl
iket hatoft hes uitorofObi erka'
sda ug hte
r,cannothol dt ogetherthe
f
ragmenti
ngf amil
y.

24.I
n Chapter13ofT hi
ngsFal
lApa r
tOkonk
wo ac
cident
all
ykil
l
sE z
eudu'
sson.How a
ret
he
r
amif
ic
ati
onsofthi
sboy
'sde
athdi
ff
erentf
romt
hos
eofI
kemefuna'
ski
l
li
ng?

WhenE zeududeliverst heme ss

aget hatOk onkwo' sa dopt
e dsonI kemefunaist obek i
lle
d,hewa rns
Ok onk wo," T
ha tboyc a l
lsyouf ather.Donotbe araha ndinhi sde ath.
"IgnoringEzeudu,Ok onk wo
stri
ke sthefatalbl
ow.S inc etheOr ac
lema ndatedtheboy '
ssacri
fi
c e,i
tisnotacrime.Howev e
r,bec ause
ofI kefuna'sadoptioni ntoOk onkwo'sf ami l
y,Ok onkwoi ss kat
ingont hi
nice.Ikemefunai sa l
mos ta
kinsma n,a ndk i
ll
ingak insma nisas er
iousof fense.S l
ayi
ngak i
nsma nint
entional
lyisc onsi
der eda
ma sculinecri
me, punisha bl
ebyper ma nente xil
e.AlthoughOk onkwoi snotpunis
hedf orhisinvolv
eme nt
,
hissonNwoy eturnsawa yfrom hima sar esul
t.Hei sa l
sotrauma t
iz
ed.Hek i
ll
edI k
eme f
unat oappe ar
strong ;hisr emorse,howe v e
r,ma ke shi m we a
k.Ok onkwog oesont oa c
cidental
lyk il
lE zeudu's
son—whoi soffi
ci
a l
lyak i
nsma n.Thet ri
bec onsidersthisafemininec ri
mebec auseofitsunintentional
nat
ure.S
til
lOkonk
woi sdeva
sta
tedt
orecei
vethepunis
hme nt
:sevenyear
sofex
il
e.Alt
hought
hes
e
dea
thsar
ev i
eweddif
fer
ent
lybyI
gbos
oci
ety
,Okonkwosuff
erssi
gni
fi
cant
lyf
orea
chofhi
sdeeds
.

25.Afoi
li
sachar
act
erwhosecontr
ast
ingqual
it
iess
ervetohi
ghl
i
ghtt
hos
eofa
not
herc
har
act
er.How
doesObi
eri
kas
erv
easafoi
ltoOkonkwoinThi
ngsFal
lApar
t?

Obieri
kaisOk onkwo'sfr
ienda ndconfi
da nt ,butthetwome na reverydi
ffer
ent.Obie
rikai sopenmi nded,
will
i
ngt oques t
ionIgborulesthatOkonk woa ccepts
.Obieri
kaisa l
socompassi
onate,offer i
ngsupportto
hisfri
endaftert hedeathofI kemefuna ,whe reOk onkwor ar
elyshowsa nyemot i
onse x ceptforpride,
anger,andfea r
.Pe r
hapsmos tsigni
fic
a ntl
y ,Obieri
kareali
zesthattheIgbocult
ureha sc hangedbey ond
repai
r,whil
eOk onkwobelievesthatwa rc oulderadic
atethepre s
enceofthewhi t
eme na ndreversethe
changesofre centyears
.ItisObi eri
kawhout tersthephrase" weha v
ef al
le
na part
."T hi
se c
hoe sthe
Yeatspoemf romwhi chthenov eltakesitstitl
e.

26.I
nThi
ngsFal
lApart
,whydoesOk
onk
woha
vedi
ff
ic
ult
yst
art
inganewf
armi
nMba
nta
,andwha
tis
t
hesi
gni
fi
canc
eofhispl
ight
?

Thelandands e
ed-ya
msheha sbee ngi
vens houldc
hee rOkonkwoa ftert
hetre
kt oMba nta.
Af t
erall
,he
hasbee nr
eceiv
edwithopena rmsbyr el
a t
ivesheha s
n'tseenin30y ears
—ifever.Howe v
er,hebelie
ves
heha slos
ttoomuc hinthisbanishmentfrom Umuof ia.Hisdrea
m ofbe comingalordoft heclanli
es
shatt
eredathisfeet
.S t
il
lhewor ksharda tplant
ingt henewf i
elds,alt
houghhec a
nnotmus terthe
enthusi
asmheus edtofeel
.Whe r
eonceOk onk wocontroll
edhischi,nowhebe l
ievesthatf
a t
eha scas
t
outfreewil
l,
andheha sset
tledintodepress
ion.

27.Howmi
ghtthecha
ngesthatUchendodi
scus
sesi
nCha
pter15ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rtha
vema
det
he
I
gbomorev
ulner
abl
etocol
oniz
ati
on?

Uc hendus ay
sinhisda ypeopleha dfri
endsindi
stantclans,butt
hesedays,peoples ta
ya thomea nda r
e
afraidoftheirnext-doorneighbor.Thisl
ackoffr
iendshipa nduni
tyamongt hec lansma kesthemmor e
vulnerabletooutsideforces.Ifthebondsbetweenthec l
anshadbeens t
ronger,indivi
dualsmighthave
feltmor eloyalt
ytoea c
hot he randa ct
edinamor ec ohe si
vewaytooppos et hewhi temen.I nst
ead
somec l
anme mbers—pa rt
ic
ula rl
ythosewithl
owers t
atus—j oi
nthemissi
onarie
s .Thosewhoc onver
tto
Chr i
sti
anit
ytendt obondwi thot herchurchmembe r
sa ndlosethei
rconnecti
ont ot hei
rneighbors.T
hus
"thingsfal
lapart.
"
28.I
nChapter15ofThi
ngsF
a l
lApar
tcons
ide
rthedi
ff
erentr
eac
ti
onsofOk
onk
woa
ndUc
hendut
othe
whit
eman'sarr
iva
landt
heviol
encei
nAbame.

Alt
houg hbot hOk onkwoa ndUc he ndubel ievetheme nofAba mea c
tedf oolis
hly,theyha vedi fferent
opinionsast owha ttheme ndidwr ong.Uc hendus ayst hatbecauset hewhi t
ema nsa i
dnot hing ,they
couldnotk nowwhet he rk ill
i
nghi mwa snec essaryore vens af
e.Uc hendus ug ges
tstha tspeec he nable s
peopl etoa ppreciatee a chot her'spe rspec t
ives.Ofc ourse,theset wog r
oupswer eliterall
ya nd
me taphori
call
ys peakingdi ff
erentl anguag es.Ok onk wobe l
ievesthatt hemenofAba mes houldha v e
heededt heOr acl
e'swa rni nga boutt hea r
rivalofot herwhi temen.Af t
erk i
ll
ingthef i
rstwhi t
ema n,t hey
shouldha vea rmedt he ms el
vesa ndpr e paredt owa rdof fana tt
a ckbyot herss e ek
ingr e veng e.
Okonk wo'sinst
inctis,t ypic a
ll
y,towa r
dv iolence.Hebe l
ievesmens houlda lwaysbepr eparedt of i
g ht.
Whi l
ebot hmena cce
ptv iolencea sar esponset os i
tua t
ionss uc
ha sthisstrangercomi ngintot heirmi dst,
Uche ndupreferstoinv estig at
efirsttode terminewhe t
he rviol
enceisa na ppropri
ateopt ion.Ok onk wo' s
responseistoempl oyv iolenc eand, i
fneces s
a r
y,followupwi thmor ev i
olence.

29.I
nChapt
er16ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rthowdot
hemi
ssi
ona
riese
xpl
oi
tIg
bot
radi
ti
ont
owi
nthei
rfi
rs
t
conv
ert
s?

Thei nit
ialconv e
rtstoChr i
sti
anit
ya r
epe oplewhoha vebeenma rgi
nali
zedbyI gbot r
a di
ti
on.Thec l
a n
ha sstr
ictex pect
ationsforme mbe rs'behavior
,andt hosewhodonotme etexpec t
ati
onsa recastout.
Theyi ncludet heefulef
u,or" worthless,emptyme n.
"Wha tmakest hem wor t
hlessorempt yisnev er
ma dec lear,yetthe sepeoplea r
el ookeddownuponbyt hec l
ana ndma detof eelunworthy.Chielo
l
a belsthe s
epeopl ethee xc
rementoft heclan.Peopleneedhuma nconne cti
ons,soitislog
icalt
hatthe
efulefuwoul dbeope nt oli
steni
ngt ot heChr i
st
ians'messag
eofi ncl
usi
on.L iv
ingout si
dethec ult
ure,
theywe repe r
hapsa l
somor eopent oc hange.

30.I
nThing
sFal
lApar
t,howisNwoye'si
nter
esti
nChr
is
ti
ani
tyf
uel
edbyt
hec
ont
ras
tofhi
sper
sona
lli
fe
andwhathepe
rcei
vesofthechur
ch?

Nwoy eha stoleratedOk onkwo' sst

ori
e sofv iol
encea ndbl oodshedbe causehea ndIkemef unali
stened
tothemt ogethera ndbe causeitpleas
e dhisf at
her.Howe ver,hepr ef
ershismot her
'sgentlerst
oriesand
songs.Ik e
funa '
sdea thde str
oy sNwoy e'sfa i
thinOk onkwo,t heIgbog ods,andt heclan.Sincethenhe
hasbe ens ubcons cious lylookingforsomet hi
ngelset obelievein.Whe nhee ncounter
st hemi ss
ionari
es
i
nMba nta,hei sripef ort heirinfl
uence .Theirhymna boutbr otherstogetherindarknessa ndfearma y
remindhi m ofhi ms elfa ndIkeme funa—a ndhi smot he r
'ss ongsa boutme r
cya ndthe" suf
feri
ngoft he
sonsofmen. "T hehy mnr evivesNwoy ea nda wakenshi mt oadi ffer
e ntvie
wofl if
e.Af terOkonk wo
severelybe atsNwoy ef ora t
tendingchur ch,Nwoy ede cidest hatOk onkwoi snothisfather.Againhe r
e
hema yber elati
ngt ot hehy mnsa ndBi bles t
ori
esheha shea rda bout"theloveofGod"a ndthe" t
ender
shephe rd'
sc are."
31.Part
sofChapt
ers16and25ofT
hingsF
allApa
rtinv
olv
eOk
onk
wo,buta
ret
oldf
romt
hepe
rspec
ti
ve
ofothercha
rac
ter
s.Whatist
hei
mpactonrea
ders?

Okonk woishardlyment ionedi nCha pter16.Whi lehei scert

a i
nlypartoft hea c
tion,hispresenceis
barelyacknowl
edg ed.I tisOk onkwo' sf i
rstwife,Nwoy e'
smot he r
,whot ell
sObi erik
aa boutNwoy e'
s
att
racti
ona nde ventua lmov et ot hemi ssionari
es.Ok onkwo" didnotwi s
ht ospeaka boutNwoy e.
"
Okonk woissoenragedbyt hebetrayalofhisoldests onthathec annote
v enta l
kaboutit.Dist
ancingthe
readerfr
om Ok onkwo' spoi ntofv i
ewa l
l
owsr e a
de rstolearna boutNwoy e,as ympa theti
ccharacter,
wit
houtt hebiasofOk onk wo'sperspe c
tive.Thelastc hapterofthebook ,Cha pt
er25,t akespl
acea f
t e
r
Okonk woha scommi tte ds uic
ide.S eei
ngt hea c
tionf rom Obierka'
sandt heDi s
tri
ctCommi s
sioner'
s
perspect
ivesal
lowsr ea derstodi s
cer nfir
sthandObi e r
ika'
sgri
efov erhi
sf r
iend'sdea t
ha ndtheDi st
rict
Commi ss
ioner'
scolda ndi gnorantrea ct
iontoi t
.

32.InChapt
er17ofThi
ngsFal
lApa
rt,t
hecla
neldersg
ivet
hemi
ssi
ona
riesl
andt
obui
l
dac
hur
ch.How
doesthi
sdec
isi
onf
urt
herunder
minethecl
an'
sunit
y?

Thelandtha ttheel dersg i

vetot hemi ssi
onariesi
slocatedintheE vilForest
.Whe nt hemi s
sionari
es
acc
epttheland,t heel der
sex pectthemt odieonc etheytrytobui
ldi nthef or
e s
t.Thee nt
ir
eope rat
ion
i
sa l
mostac hallenget otheChr is
tians.Cantheyov erc
omet heEvilForesta ndprosperi nitsconfi
nes?
Whent hec hurchi sbui l
twi t
hnof atal
it
ies
,t heeldersarespeechless.TheChr is
tianss eemt oha ve
over
comet hec l
a n'
sg ods,whichleav e
sthec l
anmembe rswonderi
nga boutt hei
rbelie
fs .Onceitiscl
ear
tha
tthemis si
ona ri
esa renotbeings tr
uckdownbyt heIgbogods,t
heel dersmus tadmi tdefeat
, andthe
miss
ionar
iesg a
in" aha ndfulofconverts,
"inc
ludingthefi
rstwomant ojointhec hurc
h.

33.
HowdoesNwoy
e'sde
par
tur
einCha
pte
r17ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rtf
ores
hadowt
hedec
li
neoft
hec
lan?

Nwoy e'
sde partureforeshadowst heclan'
sde cl
ineint ha thereprese
ntsat hirdlev elofconverttothe
missi
onaries.Thee f
ulefu(wor t
hlessmen)we r
eana t
ura lfi
rstwaveofc onverts,foll
oweds oona ft
erby
theosu( outcasts
).Theseg roupsha dnothingtol osea ndmuc htoga i
nf r
om j oi
ningt hemi s
sionari
es:
soci
alacceptancea ndequa l
i
tywi t
hinthec hurch.Nwoy ea ndother
slikehim wi ths omes t
atusinIgbo
soci
etyha vethe i
rstandinginthec la
nt olosewhent heyj ointhemissi
onaries.Yeta smor eindivi
dual
s
l
ikeNwoy ebr eaka waytoj oi
nt hechurch,i
twi l
l hav
eadomi noeff
ect,astheira c
tionse nt
ic
emor ecl
an
me mberstoc onvert.

34.HowdoesMr.Ki
aga
'ss
tandi
nCha
pte
r18ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rthel
ptof
urt
hera
nchort
heChr
is
ti
an
pres
enc
einthev
il
lag
e?

WhenMr.Kiag
at a
kest
hes t
andtha
ttheosu—andot
herpar
is
hioners
—arewel
comeinthec
hur
ch,t
his
c
ausesmostofthepar
is
hioner
stores
pecthi
sacc
ept
anceofonea ndal
l
.Thi
sisc
ruc
ial
,bec
aus
esome
e
xis
ti
ngpari
shi
onersobj
ecttotheosu,oroutc
asts,becomingmember soft hec hurc
h.Theybeli
evethat
t
heosuarenotworthyofjoi
ningthecongr
egati
on.AlthoughMr .Kia
g a
'sdec is
iontoall
owt heosuinto
t
hechurc
hcausesoneconverttolea
veinprot
est,therema i
ni
ngc onvert
ss tandsteadf
ast
lybehindhim,
t
huscement
ingtheChri
st
ianpresencei
nthevil
la
g e.Thustheconvert
sa cquiescetothedis
place
me ntof
t
ri
balj
udgmentbyChri
sti
anva l
ues.

35.
Whydot
her
ule
rsa
ndel
der
sofMba
ntaos
tra
ciz
ethemi
ssi
ona
riesI
nCha
pter18ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt?

InChapter18aChr i
st
ianc onvertdeli
be r
atel
yk i
l
lsaroyalpython—a ni nconc e
ivabl
ea c
tt othecla
n,
whoseme mbe rsrev
erethes nake.Thee l
dersofMba nt
aarer e
a dytofig
ht ,buttheya r
ereluct
anttogo
towarwi t
hf e
ll
owc l
ansme n.Inst
eadthe yostr
aci
zetheChri
stianmember s.L at
eront hema nwhok i
ll
ed
thepythondies.Theclanbelieve
st ha
tt hi
sme ansthei
rgodsa reabletos afeguardthemselv
es,andso
theysee" nor ea
sont henf ormol es
tingt heChri
sti
ans.
"T hi
sde c
isi
onbyt hec lanisoneofma ny
examplesprovi
dedbyAc hebet oshowthes ophis
ti
cati
onofthet ri
balval
ues .

36.Cons
iderOkonk
wo'
spl
ansf
orr
etur
ningt
oUmuof
iai
nli
ghtoft
heev
ent
sinCha
pter
s20a
nd21of
Thi
ngsFa
llApar
t.

Okonk woha sbee npl a

nninghisretur
nt oUmuof iae versi
ncehel eft
.Heisa nxioustoha vehi ssons
i
niti
atedintos oc i
e ty
.Hewa nt
stoa rr
angema r
riag
esf orhisdaughter
s.Hewa ntst oma rrytwomor e
wives,andhewa ntstobuil
dabi ggerc
ompound.Ok onkwoa l
soenv i
si
ons"taki
ngthehi ghestti
tleinthe
l
and."Inthee nd,f ewofOk onkwo'splansc ometof r
uiti
on.TheUmuof iaheleftnolong erexist
s.Now
evenc l
ansme nwi thtit
leshavejoi
nedt hec hur
ch,discar
dingthei
rt i
tl
esinthepr ocess
.E conomica nd
governmentalc ha ngeshavebe endrama t
ic.Far
me rswhopr oducepalm oi
lnows e l
ltheirgoodst othe
whitema n'sstor e.Disputesprevi
ousl
yha ndledbyt heeg wugwua retri
edint hewhi t
ema n'scourts
,
wherene i
therIg boc ustomsnortheirl
angua gear
eunder st
ood.

37.
InCha
pter20ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rtt
hek
otmaa
reme
nti
one
d.Whya
ret
heys
oha
ted?

Thek otmaa reAf ri

canc ourtme ssengerswhoa rr
ivewiththewhi t
ema nf romUmur uont heRi verNiger
.
Vieweda sf orei
g nersinUmuof i
a ,theya r
edisli
kedbe caus
et heya r
ea rrogantandhi gh-handed.T hey
sol
ici
tbr i
best oinfl
ue ncetheDis tri
ctCommi ss
ioner'
sruli
ngonc asesinthec ourt
.Aspr i
song ua rds
,they
beatt heprisoners,a ndforcethem t odome nialt
asksfortheDis t
ri
ctCommi ss
ioner.I
na dditi
on,they
arethieves,asthe yincreas
et hef i
net hatt
heDi s
tri
ctCommi ssi
onersetsforthereleaseofOk onkwoa nd
theot herpr is
oner s.Whent he ytellthev i
ll
agersaboutt hef i
ne,theyt hreatent hepr is
oner swith
hangingifthev i
ll
a gedoesnotpa ythef i
neimme diat
ely.
Ma nyinthec l
ans tr
ug g
letoa dj
ustt othea r
riva
l
ofthewhi t
emen.T he i
rchall
eng esareincrea
sedbec aus
eoft hekotma ,whos eabusiv
et reatme ntofthe
l
oca l
sma kesamoc keryofl
a wa ndor der.
38.I
nCha pt
er20ofThi
ngsF
all
Apa
rtObi
erk
ata
lksa
boutt
hec
lev
erne
ssoft
hewhi
tema
n.I
nwha
twa
ys
hav
et heybeencl
eve
r?

Thewhitema ndidnotf orcehi

ms el
fupont heclan.Themi ssi
ona ri
espr eachar el
igi
onthatisfor
e i
gnbut
notthr
eatening.Ac cordingtoObieri
ka,thewhi tema n" camequi etl
ya ndpe aceabl
ywi t
hhisreli
gion.
"
However,itiswha tt hewhi t
ema nha sbui l
tthatdr awspe ople.T hewhi tema ne st
abli
shedat radi
ng
st
orethatbringsmoneyi ntoUmuof i
a.As c
hool andhos pit
alha vebe enbuilttoservethepeople.Those
whoa t
tendthes chool gainst
atusandgetg overnme ntjobs.Thehos pit
a lpr
ov esmoree f
fect
ivethanthe
medici
neme nthatpe oplehavereli
edupon.E achoft hesei nsti
tuti
onsof fersbenefi
tstothepeopl e
,
whobeg i
nt oa c
ce ptthemi ssi
onari
esandt hec oloniz
ers.Thisa pproachwa sef f
ecti
vewhe re"afrontal
att
ack..
.woul dnot[ha ve]succ
eed[ed].
"

39.I
nT hi
ngsFa
llApa
rt,howdoesMr
.Br
own'
spa
tienc
eena
blehi
mtoc
onv
ertc
lanmember
stot
he
Chri
st
ianf
ait
h?

Mr .Browni sac alma ndr easona bl

eperson.Thec l
ana ppr
e c
iat
eshiswell
-balanc
eda pproac
ha nddoes
notf eelthre
atenedbyhi m. Becauseheisnotvieweda sthreat
ening,Mr.
Browni sabletoconvers
ewi t
h
someoft heg reatmenoft hec la
n.Ones uchconversa
tion,depic
tedinChapter21,isabouttherel
igi
on
oft hec lanandChr isti
anity.F orMr .Br
own,t heseconv ers
ati
onsa r
enots implyawa ytoingrat
iat
e
hims el
fwi t
ht hec l
an.Mr .Br ownha sult
e r
iormotives
.T hepointoftheconversat
ionsistounderst
and
thec laninordert oconver titsme mbers
.Conve r
ti
ngthec lanwil
l t
aketi
me ,butMr .Br
owni swil
li
ngto
bepa t
ienttoac c
omplishhi sgoa l
s.

40.
InT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt,
whydot
hemi
ssi
ona
rie
sope
nas
chool
,andwha
trol
edoesi
tpl
ayf
ort
hem?

Mr .Brownbui l
dsaschoolandhospit
a li
nUmuof ia.Hedoe sthi
saft
erhe" cametot heconclus
ionthata
fr
ont a
la t
tackoni t[t
hec l
an'srel
igi
on]woul dnots ucc
eed."T heschoolandhos pit
ala r
epa rtofMr.
Brown' smethodtowi nni
ngfoll
owers.T hepeopleofUmuof iaarequicktonoti
cet hatthewhitema n'
s
me dic
a lt
reatmentsareeff
ecti
ve.Onc etheschoolisbui
lt
,Br ownbe gspeopletoattend.Hema k
esthe
pointthatfutur
eleaderswil
lbethosewhok nowhowt or eadandwr i
te,sayi
ng,"S
tr a
nge r
swouldc ome
fr
omot herpl
a c
estorule[
Umuof i
a]"ifthepeopledonotbe comee ducated.

41.
InCha
pter21ofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rtwha
tist
hes
our
ceof
Okonwk
o'smour
ning
?

Okonkwoi smourningforthecl
an.Whil
ehel ong
sfortheolddaysf
orpersonalre
asons
—hea ppr
eci
ate
s
thetr
adit
ions—itisthewhiteman'sdes
truc
tionoft
hes oci
etyt
hatmostdist
urbshim.I
tisnotcle
arhow
hefi
tsint
ot henews ociet
yorevenifhewa ntst
ofi
tin.Inaddi
ti
on,helongsforati
mewhenme nwere
warl
ik
e.Henow bel i
evesthemenofthec l
an"ha
d. .
.unac
count
ablybec
omes of
tlikewome n.
"
Okonkwounders
tandsti
meshavec
hange
d,buthei
sstr
uggl
i
ngtoli
veinasoci
etyt
hatdoesnotv
alue
hi
sdominantt
rai
ts,mas
culi
ni
tya
ndstr
engt
h.

42.
Howdot
hephi
l
osophi
esofMr
.Br
owna
ndMr
.Smi
thdi
ff
er,
andwhyi
sthedi
ff
ere
ncei
mpor
tant
?

Whi l
eMr .Browna ndMr .Smithha v
ethesameg oals
—t oc onverttheclanandt og etthemt oacc
e ptthe
Bri
tis
hpres e
nc e—theirst
ylesa r
er adic
all
ydiff
erent.Smithi saze a
lotwhof e elsiti
sbe t
tertoha v
eaf ew
tr
uebelieversthanma nyconv ertswhor et
aintracesoftheirpa stwa y
s.Mr .Brown, hispredecess
or ,wa s
pati
entandwi l
li
ngtowor kwi tht hepeople
.Hebui l
tas choola ndhos pi
tala ndenc ouragedthec la
nt o
ma keuseoft hem.Br owns oug htt owinpe oplethrought hei
rhe art
sa ndmi nds,a ndhes ucc
es s
fully
encouragedthe mtoa tt
ends choola ndusethehos pita
l.Smi thcaresonlya boutt heirsouls.Hisforceful
naturei
sadr ast
iccontr
asttot ha tofBrown,a ndhedi st
ur bsbot hthoses til
lloya ltothec lanandt he
convert
s.Hisinfl
uenceoverE noch, whounma sksa negwug wu, l
ea dstothede st
ruct i
onoft hechurch.

43.
InT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt,
howi
sEnoc
hli
kea
ndunl
i
keOk
onk
wo?

Thetwome nholdoppos i
tebelief
s:Enoche mbracesthemi s s
ionari
es'rel
igi
on,whi l
eOk onk
wodef ends
theoldwa y
soft hec l
an.I
na nea rl
ierti
me,E nochandOk onk wowoul dha vebeenont hesa mes i
dea s
me mbersofthec l
an.Nowt heyha vespli
tapa r
t.Thei nt
e rnalrupture
st hatthec l
anha ssuffer
eda re
l
eadingtoaninev i
tabl
ec l
ash.Howev er,t
het wome na r
es i
mi lari
nbeingz eal
ots.Enochisac onvertto
Chri
sti
ani
ty.Heispreparedtof i
ghtthosewhodon' tfol
lowhi sbe li
efs
.Si
mi l
arly
,Ok onkwoiszealouswith
regar
dt ohisbelief
s.Hedi strust
sc hangea ndbelievesa nyonewhog oesa ga
insttheoldwa y
sha s
committedanactofbe tr
ayal.Heisreadytofightf
orhist r
adi t
ionalwayoflife.

44.
InThi
ngsF
all
Apart
,whentheegwug
wua
ndot
herc
lanl
eader
sdes
troyt
hec
hur
ch,
howi
sthi
sev
ent
mor
ethanasi
mplea
ctofre
venge?

Thede s
tructionoft hec hurchisajust
ifi
ableactofrevengef ortheclan.T hehe adegwugusays ,"T
his
shrine...mus tbede str
oy ed.Wes hallnolongera l
l
ow iti nourmi dst.
"T heybeli
evedestr
oyingt he
chur c
hi saj us tpaymentf ort
hec ri
meE nochc ommi tt
ed.Howe v
er,bur ningapl a
ceofwor shipisa
radicalact.Apl aceofwor shipcanbeuniversa
ll
yr e
cognizeda speacef
ul ands acr
ed.Burni
ngthec hurch
showsnoc ons i
der
a ti
onorr espec
tf ortheChr ist
iansa ndt hei
rr eli
gion.F orthesereasons ,the
destructi
onoft hec hurchs er
vesnor ea
lpurposeot hert hant oinfl
amet hemi ssi
onar
iesa ndt he
colonizer
s.

45.I
nThi
ngsF
allApa
rt,c
ons
ide
rthea
rres
toft
hes
ixc
lanl
eade
rsf
romt
hepe
rspe
cti
veoft
hea
rre
sted
l
eade
rsa
ndt
hatoft
heDi
st
ri
ctCommi
ssi
one
r.

Okonkwoa ndf iveothe rc

lansmena rei nvit
edt ospea kwiththeDi s
trictCommi ssi
oner.Ok onk wosa ys,
"AnUmuof i
ama ndoe snotr efuseac all.
"Whi lethemenbr ingt heirma chetes
,uponent eri
ngt he
Dis
tri
ctCommi ssi
oner'soffi
ce,t heyta ke" thei
rs heathedma c hetes,putt hem ont hef loor,a nd[sit
]
down."Af ewmi nuteslat
ertheDi s
tri
c tCommi ss i
onerhaltstheme e t
ings ohec anbringi nhisme nt o
part
ic
ipate.Onc et heme ne nt ertheys cuff
lewi t
ht heclansme na ndha ndcuffthem.F r om theIg bo
pers
pecti
v e,theDistri
ctCommi ssi
oneri sduplic
itousandc onniving.Heha shel dpeacefulc onversat
ions
wit
hc l
ansmeni nthepa st
.Ok onk woa ndt heothe rsexpectthisme et i
ngt obes i
milar
.Af t
e rtheirar
re s
t
theDist
rictCommi ss
ionera r
rog antl
yl ecturestheme na bouthow t ot rea tothers
.F rom t heDistric
t
Commi s
sione r
'sperspecti
ve,thea r
restc ouldbes eena sjusti
fiabl
ebe causet hemena r
ri
v ea rmed.He
maybea fraidtobea lonewitht hem.

46.
Dis
cus
sthedi
shones
tyoft
hek
otmai
nli
ghtoft
hei
rgov
ernmentr
ole
.

Aspa rtofthec our tsystem,thek otmaa reobl i

gatedtouphol dthel aw.Ye tperhapsbe causetheya r
e
muchmor efami l
iarwi ththewhitema n'ssociety,
theylookont heUmuof i
a nsasunsophistica
tedpeople
tobet akena dv a
nt ageof .Thi
sopinione asi
lyleadstoc ontemptf orthepubl ic
.Inex c
ha ngeforbribes,
theypr es
e ntfalsee videncea ndt est
imonyt oswa yjudgeme ntsinc ourtc as
e s.Thei
rc ontempta l
so
extendstot heirprisoners,whomt heybe a
ta ndhumi li
ate.Theyta k
ea dvant ag
eoft hec ourt'
sfi
nancial
pena l
ti
est os tealmone y.Ast hec oloni
zersa ndmi ssi
ona r
iesenc ourag
et hepeopleofUmuof i
at o
abandont heirwa ysa nda dapttothec hangeds oci
ety,muc hofther el
uctancet heymee tisli
kel
yduet o
thecorruptbe havioroft hekotma.

47.
HowdoesOk
onk
wo'
sex
per
ienc
einj
ai
li
nThi
ngsF
all
Apa
rts
ethi
mona
nir
rev
oca
blec
our
se?

Thepunishme ntOk onkwor e

c eiv
esinj a
ilaff
e ct
shi mde epl
y.Hei sapr oudma nwhobe l
i
ev esinrespec
t.
Hisdis
respec
tfult r
eatme nta ndbe atingscarsre qui
reretali
ati
on.Anypos si
bi l
i
tythathec oulda daptt
o
thechangedsoc i
e t
yisnowg one.Ashel iesa wak eaft
erhisrelease,hedec idesthathewi llgetrevenge
whetherornott hec lang oest owa r.Okonk wo'sdes i
reforwa rha sthes upportofa notherleaderwho
hasbeenimpr is
one d.Okikaur gesthec l
ant ofight.Butthearri
v a
l ofthecour tmessengerswi t
ha norder
tostoptheme et
ingpus he sOk onkwot oc ommi tmur der.Heg etshisreveng e,buttheclandoe snotgo
towa r
—ma kings ui
c i
dehisonl yoption.

48.Di
scus
sthek
il
li
ngstha
tOk
onk
woc
ommi
tsi
nThi
ngsF
allApa
rt.T
owha
tex
tentc
anea
chonebe
j
usti
fi
edbyIg
boc
ult
ure?

Theext
enttowhi
chOkonkwo'sk
il
li
ngscanbejust
if
iedshowsthecomplex
it
yofIg
bos oci
ety
.Okonkwo
hast
akenfi
vehumanheadsi
nwarfa
re,whic
hisjus
ti
fi
e dbyhi
scult
ure.
Hea l
soc
ontri
butedtotheki
l
li
ng
ofIk e
me funa.Theboy'
ss acr
ifi
ceisordai
ne dbyt heOr acl
e ,butOk onkwoha sbeenwa r
nednott otake
pa r
tbec auseIkemef
unai shi
sa dopt
e dson.Althoug hnotpuni shable,thi
sa ctisles
sjusti
fi
ed.Ok onkwo
nexta cci
dental
lyki
l
lsEzeudu'sson.Thismightbes eena sjusti
fi
edbe c
auses hooti
ngg unsisapa r
tofthe
I
g bof uneralce
remony.Howe ver,eventhea ccidentalkil
l
ingofak insma nisas eri
ousc r
iminaloffe
nse
withinI g
boc ult
ure
.Hi spunishmentf orthec rime:s e
v eny earsofe x i
l
e .Obieri
ka,evert hevoiceof
reason,c onsi
derst
hepuni shme ntsevere
.Hi sk il
l
ingoft hec ourtmes sengerisnotj usti
fi
edbyI gbo
culture.Okonkwotakesrevengeforhistr
eatme ntinjail
.Hek nowst hec lanwillnotfi
ghtba c
k ,
sohea ct
s
alone.

49.
IsOk
onk
wo'
sde
cis
iont
ota
kehi
sownl
i
fei
nThi
ngsF
all
Apa
rta
nac
toff
ate
,fr
eewi
l
l,orbot
h?

Ok onkwo'sde c
isi
ontoc ommi ts
uici
dema ybev i
ewedbothwa ys.Itma ybeconsidereda na ctoff a
t e
bec ausehisbel
ief
sdonota l
lowhimt oconti
nueli
vi
nginas oc i
etychangedbyout si
defor ces.Obieri
k a
sug g
e st
sthispers
pectiv
ewhe nhes ays,"Thatmanwa soneoft heg reat
estmeninUmuof i
a.Y oudrov e
himt ok i
llhims
elf
."Atthes ametime,Ok onkwosome t
imeschoos estoactinawa ythatc ontradict
sthe
cl
a n'
sbel i
efs.F
ore x
ampl e,heparti
cipat
esinIkemefuna'
sk i
l
linga l
thoughheha sbeenwa r
nednott o.
Hebe at
shi swi
feduringt heWe ekofPe acetoventhisanger.Hisactofs ui
ci
de,ana bomi nat
iont othe
I
g bo, a
lsoshowshims electiv
elyabi
dingbyI g
borules
.Inthi
swa y,hissuic
ideisanactoffreewi ll.

50.
Wha
tdoe
sthet
it
leoft
heDi
st
ri
ctCommi
ssi
oner
'sbooki
nThi
ngsF
all
Apa
rts
aya
bouti
mpe
ria
li
str
ule?

TheDi stri
ctCommi ssionerint endstodoc umenthi sc areerinthebookhei swr i
ti
ngc al
ledT he
Paci
fi
cat i
onofthePrimi t
iveTribesoftheLowerNi ger.Thet it
leref
lec
tsthecoloni
ali
st
s'vi
e wofAf r
ica
ns
asprimiti
vesinne edofpa ci
fi
ca t
ionandla c
kingaleg alsystem,soci
alcust
oms ,andrel
igion.Itfail
sto
rec
ogniz ethatt heI gboha ds ophis
ti
cateds oci
als truct
uresi nplacepr i
ort othea r r
ivaloft he
miss
iona ri
esandg overnme ntof f
ici
al
s.Theywe renotwa it
ingindarknessfortheenli
ghtenedWes tto
res
cuet hem. Norweret heyinne edofpa c
ifi
cati
on;asthenov el
showsa gai
nanda gai
n,vi
olencei salast
res
ortf ortheIgbo.T het i
tl
ei sr i
chindra mati
cironys i
nceitisthec ol
onial
is
tswhog a i
nt heirends
thr
oug hv i
ole
ntmea ns.

T
enT
hing
stoKnow

ChinuaAchebehasoftenbeencal
l
ed"thefat
herofmodernAfri
canli
ter
atur
e"—andri
ghtl
yso.Before
thepubli
cat
ionofT hi
ngsFal
lApar
t,mostnovel
saboutAfr
icahadbeenwr i
tt
enbyandforEurope
a ns
anddepic
tedAfri
cansassav
ageswhoneededtobeenli
ght
enedbythewhiteman.

Thi
ngsFal
lApar
twasoneoft
hefi
rs
tnovel
stotel
lthest
oryofEur
opea
ncol
oniza
tionf
rom a
nAfr
ica
n
per
spec
tiv
e.I
twas,
inAche
be'
swor
ds,"
as t
oryt
hatonl
ysomeonewhowentt
hroughitc
oul
dbetr
ust
ed
togi
ve.
"
S
inceitspubl
ic
ati
onin1958,ThingsFal
lApar
thasbecomeac la
s s
icofwor
ldl
it
eratur
e.I
tisr
equi
red
r
eadingforst
udentsi
nschool
sac r
ossAf
ric
aandtheworld.He
raldedasgi
vi
ngAfr
icait
sfi
rs
taut
henti
c
v
oice,Thi
ngsFal
lApar
thasals
oinspir
edagener
ati
onofbl
a c
kwrit
e r
s.

1.
Thet
it
leoft
henov
elc
ome
sfr
omaW.
B.Y
eat
spoem.

Chi
nuaAc
hebec
hos
ethet
it
leofhi
sfi
rs
tnov
elf
romal
i
nei
nYe
ats
's1921poemT
heS
econdComi
ng:

T
hing
sfa
lla
par
t;t
hec
ent
rec
annothol
d;/
Mer
eana
rchyi
sloos
edupont
hewor
ld.

T
hes
eli
nesf
ore
sha
dowAc
hebe
'st
heme
sofCul
tur
eandCha
nge
,al
ongwi
thF
atev
ers
usF
reeWi
l
l.

2.
Thi
ngsF
all
Apa
rtwa
sloos
elyba
sedonAc
hebe
'sownf
ami
l
yhi
st
ory
.

Li
keOk onkwo'ssonNwoy e,ChinuaAchebe'sparent
swer econver
tedtoChr i
st
iani
tybymi ssi
onar
ies
.
Theychangedtheirnamest oIsai
ahandJa netandnamedt hei
rsonAlber
t.Asana dul
t,Acheberea
cted
agai
nsttheli
eshef el
ttheBrit
ishhadta
ug hthima sachi
ld.
Hebe ganusi
ngChinua—as hor
tenedvers
ion
ofhi
smi ddl
ena me—i npla
c eoftheEng
lis
hna me, Al
bert
.

3.
Chi
nuaAc
hebe
'sde
cis
iont
owr
it
einE
ngl
i
shc
aus
edc
ont
rov
ers
y.

S
omepe opl
ecri
ti
ci
zedAchebe'
sdecis
iontowriteThi
ngsFa
llApa
rti
nE ng
lis
h—thelangua
geofthe
c
oloni
zer
—ins
tea
dofhisnat
ivet
ongue,Ig
bo(or"
Ibo"asus
edi
nthenov
el)
.Achebedef
endedhisc
hoi
ce:

Wec hoseEngl
i
shnotbecaus
et heBri
ti
shdesi
reditbutbeca
use.
..
wene
ededi
tsl
ang
uag
etot
rans
act
ourbus
ines
s,i
ncl
udi
ngthebusi
nessofover
thr
owingcol
onia
li
smits
elf
.

Ac
hebe
'sde
cis
iont
owr
it
einE
ngl
i
shma
dehi
swor
kac
ces
sibl
etomi
l
li
onsofr
eade
rs.

4.
Thi
ngsF
all
Apa
rtwa
swr
it
tenpa
rtl
yasar
ebuk
etoHe
artofDa
rknes
s.

Bef
oret hepublic
a t
ionofT hi
ngsFal
lApa r
t,oneofthemos tfa
mousnov el
swr i
tt
ena boutAfri
cawa s
HeartofDa r
kness,anovelwrit
tenbyJosephConrad,awhit
ema n.Achebewi del
ycr i
ti
ci
zedConradfor
hi
sde pi
cti
onsofAf ri
cansassavag
esandc al
ledhima" t
hor
oughgoingraci
st.
"Publi
shednea r
ly60years
af
terConrad'snovel
, T
hingsFal
lApar
tshowsIg bocul
tur
eascontr
adict
iontothestereoty
pesinHeartof
Dark
ness .

5.
Thi
ngsF
all
Apa
rtwa
sal
sowr
it
teni
nre
spons
etoMi
st
erJ
ohns
on.
I
nc ol
l
e ge,Achebewasrequi
redt oreadMi s
terJohnson,a1939nov els
e ti
nNi g
e r
iaandwr i
tt
enbya n
I
rishma n.Mos twhit
erevi
ewer sandAc hebe'
swhi t
epr of
essor
sc ons
ideredthenov e
loneoft hebest
aboutAf ri
ca.Achebeandhisc l
assmatesdis
agreed.Theyfoundt hechi
ldli
keportr
ayaloftheNiger
ian
protagonistt
obede meani
nga ndrespondedwith"exasper
ati
ona tthi
sbumbl i
ngidi
otofacharact
er.
"

6.
Ache
bewa
sins
pir
edt
owr
it
ehi
snov
ela
fte
rent
eri
ngawr
it
ingc
ont
est
.

Hi
spr
ofess
orannounc
edthatnobodywhoent
ere
dwasgoodenoug
htowi
nbutt
hatChi
nuaAc
hebeha
d
"s
omepromis
e"thoughhi
sstor
y"lac
kedf
orm.
"Ache
beexpl
ai
ned:

ButwhenIt henappli
edsomepress
ureonthisprof
ess
ortoex
plai
ntomewha tf
ormwa s,itwascl
ear
t
hatshewa snotpr
e pa
red—thats
hecouldnotexpl
ai
nittome.
..
.S
hewasnotc
apableoft
ea c
hingac
ross
c
ult
ures,
fromhe rEngl
ishc
ult
uretomine.

Hewa
sthe
nmov
edt
owr
it
ethes
tor
ytha
tbe
cameT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt.

7.
Eng
li
sht
ypi
st
sal
mos
tlos
ttheonl
ycopyofT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt.

Ache bema il
edhi
sha ndwrit
tenma nusc
ript—theonlycopyinthewor l
d—fromhi shomeinNig
eri
atoa
typingagencyinLondon.Hepaidthe£32f eeandthenwa i
ted..
.andwai
ted..
.a
ndwa it
ed.Mont
hspassed,
andhedi dn'
theara nyt
hingfr
om t heagency
.F i
na l
l
y,heas k
edhi sBr
it
ishbosstos t
opbytheagency
duringat riptoLondon." Whent heysaw ar ea
lper s
onc omeoutoft hev agueme ssoft
heBrit
ish
colonies
,"Achebeexplai
ned,"t
heyk newitwasnol ongeraj
ok e
."

8.
Sev
era
lpubl
i
sher
srej
ect
edi
timme
dia
tel
y.

Chi
nuaAc hebeexpl
a i
nedina
ninter
viewthataBr i
ti
shauthorhek news ubmit
tedthenov
elforhi
mto
sev
eralpubli
sher
s.Somedidnotevenbothertoreadthema nuscr
ipt.Theybeli
eve
dthatanovels
eti
n
Afr
icawouldnotsel
l
, ast
heyf
oundthe"veryconc
e ptofa
nAf ri
cannov ela
musing.
"

9.
Thenov
elr
ecei
vedas
hor
t,butg
lowi
ng,
rev
iew.

Ac hebe'
spubli
sher
,Hei
nema nn,
s e
ntThingsFal
lApa r
ttoaprofessoratt
heL
ondonSchoolofEc
onomi
cs
forhisopini
ononitsli
ter
aryval
uea ndma rk
etabil
it
y.Thepr
of ess
or,whohadj
ustr
eturne
df r
omav i
si
t
toAf ri
ca,wrot
eba ckwit
ht heshort
estreporttheyeverre
c eiv
edona nynov
el:"
Thebe stf
irs
tnov
el
sincethewar."
10.
Thi
ngsF
all
Apa
rtha
sins
pir
eds
eve
ral
ada
pta
tionsa
ndt
ri
but
es.

Theyinc
ludea1970fi
lmstar
ri
ngPr inces
sE l
i
zabethofToro(
aUg andanki
ngdom),ast
agepla
ypr oduced
i
nNi ger
ia,aradioprogr
am pr oducedbyt heNi ger
ianBroadcast
ingCorpor
ati
on,andas ucc
es s
ful
mini
seri
esbroa
dcastonNigeri
ant elev
isi
on.TheAme ri
canhip-
hopba ndTheRootscal
le
dt heirfourt
h
al
bumT hing
sFal
lAparta
sat r
ibutetothenov el
.

S
ugg
est
edRe
adi
ng

Herearesomes ug
gestedreadingmat
eri
al
sa ndonli
neres
ourcestohel
pyougetabe
tterunders
tandi
ng
ofChinuaAchebe'
sT hi
ngsF al
lApar
t.I
na ddit
ion,we'
veli
st
eds omearti
cl
esandot
herbook st
ha ta
re
si
mila
rt oThi
ngsFal
lApartthatyoumayenjoy.

Re
adi
ngMa
ter
ial
s

Ac
hebe
,Chi
nua
.Thi
ngsF
all
Apa
rt:
Wit
hRel
atedRe
adi
ngs
.St
.Pa
ul,
MN:
EMC/
Par
adi
gmPub.
,2002.
Pri
nt.

Ac
hebe
,Chi
nua
.TheAf
ri
canT
ril
ogy
.NewY
ork
,NY
:Al
ber
tA.
Knopf
,2010.
Pri
nt.

Br
ooks,J
erome."Chi
nuaAchebe,TheArtofFict
ion,No.139,"ThePa
risRevi
ewNo.133,Wi
nte
r1994,
ht
tp:
//www.the
paris
rev
iew.
org/i
nter
vie
ws/1720/the-
art
-of
-fi
cti
on-
no-
139-chi
nua
-ac
hebe.We
b.

F
anon,
Fra
ntz
.TheWr
etc
hedoft
heE
art
h.NewY
ork
:Gr
ovePr
ess
,1963.
Pri
nt.

Ogede,Ode .Ache
be'
sThi
ngsF
allApa
rt:Re
ader
'sGui
de.L
ondon:Cont
inuum I
nte
rna
tiona
lPubl
i
shi
ng
Gr
oup, 2007.Pr
int
.

Okpewho,Is
idor
e.Chi
nuaAc
hebe
'sT
hing
sFa
llApa
rt:ACa
sebook
.Ox
for
d,UK:Ox
for
dUni
ver
si
tyPr
ess
,
2003.Pr
int
.

Pe
t e
r s
,Jonat
han."Eng
li
sh-
Lang
uag
eF ic
ti
onf
rom Wes
tAf r
ica
."Cha
pter1inAHist
oryofTwent
iet
h-
CenturyAfr
ica
nLit
erat
ures
,ed.Oyek
anOwomoyel
a.Li
ncol
n,NE:Univ
ers
it
yofNebras
kaPr
ess
,1993.
Pr
int.