Turning and turning in the widening gyre

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

–– W.B. Yeats, “The Second Coming”

1. Write down what you think each

line means in your own words in a

Google doc.

CHINUA ACHEBE

(SHIN’WA ACH-AB-BA)

• Born 1930 in Nigeria

• An Ibo, Achebe was born into a Christian

family. His father, Isaiah Okafo, was a

Christian churchman and a teacher in a

missionary school.

• Writes about the breakdown of traditional

African Culture in the face of European

Colonization in the 1800s.

• Sought to educate his fellow Nigerians

about their culture and traditions.

•Achebe published Things Fall Apart when he

was 28.

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

His first novel, Things Fall Apart, depicts the

confrontation between the Ibo people of Southeast

Nigeria and the British who came to colonize

them.

“Achebe tells the story from an African point of

view, showing that the Ibo were not "savages”

needing to be civilized, as the European

conquerors believed, but intelligent human beings

with a stable, ordered society and rich tradition.”

ACHEBE’S STYLE

Achebe is a “social novelist.”

He believes in the power of

literature to create social change.

Achebe blends a formal European style of writing (the novel) with African story-telling

He influenced other African

writers and pioneered a

new literary style using

-Traditional idioms

-Folk tales

-Proverbs

QUESTION

2. List three facts about the author in your Google doc

There are two historical time

periods in Things Fall Apart. Part

one is set in Nigeria’s Pre-Colonial

time period. Part two is set in

Nigeria’s Colonial time period.

In 1884-1885, 14 countries in

Europe met at the Berlin

Conference to divide up the

continent of Africa into zones of

influence—so they wouldn’t fight

for colonies.

Most colonized countries follow this pattern:

Stage 1: Before the colonizers came(Pre-Colonial)

Stage 2: The Colonizers in control (Colonial stage)

Stage 3: Get rid of the Colonizers (Independence)

King Leopold II of Belgium called Africa “that

magnificent cake” and wanted to carve it up!

The Berlin Conference was Africa's downfall. After

Africa regained its independence it was unable to

recover politically.

This time period when Europe

controlled 85% of the world is called

The Age of Imperialism.

One of the many effects of World War

I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-

1945) was European imperialists were

no longer in a position of power. So

African countries began moving

toward independence.

Nigeria became an independent

sovereign nation in 1960.

Some people think the “Age of

Exploitation” would be a more appropriate

name.

Independence? From whom?

"After independence we will have to stand on our own and

rely on our own resources, the unifying force, the cement

which had hitherto been supplied by the United Kingdom

Government will be removed…” -Chief Obafemi Awolowo of

Nigeria

Europe Colonizes Africa

Why did industrialized countries take over

Africa?

Historians have identified 5 motives of

imperialists:

a. Political-so they could have power

b. Economic-raw materials for factories

c. Exploratory-safari anyone?

d. Missionary- to get converts

e. Ideological- Some colonizers had

attitudes of superiority or of helpfulness.

Dr. Livingstone, I presume? The famous

missionary and humanitarian David Livingstone lost

contact with the outside world for six years, until

journalist Henry Stanley found him in 1871 and

supposedly greeted him with these famous words.

…and we all know that absolute power corrupts, absolutely!

Nigeria’s huge coal deposits are some of the best in

the world.

QUESTION

3. List three facts about colonization in your Google doc

BACKGROUND ON

NIGERIA

History dates to Nok culture of

400 B.C.

The Niger River divides country

into three major regions.

The country is as large as Texas,

Louisiana and Mississippi

combined.

• There are over 100 million people in Nigeria today. The Ibo people are the third largest ethnic group.

• The Ibo people live in the eastern region – where Things Fall Apart is set – near town of Onitsha.

• The Yoruba live in the west and the Hausa-Fulani, an Islamic people, live in the north.

Background on

Nigeria

Nigeria was a center of the European slave trade for many

years – a dangerous and lucrative business.

It was colonized by Great Britain during the time of imperialism (18th and 19th

centuries) and finally granted its independence by Great

Britain in 1914.

Background on

Nigeria

QUESTION

4. List three facts about Nigeria in your Google doc

THE IBO

Third most populous ethnic group in Nigeria

16% of population

Live in southeastern part of country in tropical rain forests

deal with rainy season and dry winds

Subsistence farmers – raise their own crops:

Yam, cassava, taro, corn, etc.

Palm trees for oil and fiber

Crafts and manual labor also provide income

IBO CULTURE

It is a patriarchal society.

Decision making involves males only

Men grow yams and women grow other crops

Live in villages based on male lineage

- male heads of household all related on father’s side

(approximately 5,000 people per clan)

Women go to live with husbands

-prosperous men have 2 or 3 wives

Each wife lives in her own hut in the family compound

IBO SOCIETY

No single leader

-elders lead

Social mobility: Titles earned (not inherited).

High value placed on individual achievement.

Hospitality very important

Some Ibos owned slaves captured in war or as payment for debt.

Proximity to West African ports means many Ibo were taken in slave trade

IBO RELIGION

Chukwu – supreme god, creator of world

The will of gods was revealed through oracles.

Each clan, village, and household had protective ancestral spirits

• Chi – personal guardian spirit – affects one’s

destiny, can be influenced through individual

actions and rituals.

•Egwugwu – masked, ancestral spirits of the clan

who appear during certain rituals.

IBO IMAGES

Villager performing

role of egwugwu

IBO IMAGES

Traditional dibia, a medicine

man or healer.

Ibo rites of passage:

1.Ima akwa: Wearing clothes

(when boys and girls become

adults they get to wear clothes)

2.Iru-mgbede: Fattening of the

bride before marriage

3.Itu-anya: Initiation of a diviner.

For boys who have the gift of

wisdom

4.Igba Mgba: Wrestling your

opponents. This is required to be

a man of high standing

Make a chart that compares Ibo, American, and one

other culture’s rites of passage.

Rites of passage happen in every culture. It is a

ceremony or a celebration to mark a special event.

Who? Get it? Who, has the gift of

wisdom?

QUESTION

5. List five facts about the Ibo in your Google doc

The novel’s genre is considered a

Postcolonial critique as well as a

tragedy, or kind of literature that is

a serious narrative work.

In Things Fall Apart, the narrator is

anonymous, and tells the story in

the third person, with an omniscient

voice.

The topics and events of the story

are somber, and have a sad and

unfortunate outcome. As is often

common in a tragedy, the main

character is a great person who

experiences a reversal of fortune.

Characters are the people in the story. There are many different kinds of characters

in a story, just like there are many different people in the world.

A protagonist

is a main

character

who is a “good”

person.

An antagonist

is a person

(or thing)

who works

against the

protagonist.

The main character in the novel, and an

important clan leader in Umuofia. He is a

wealthy clan leader who fears looking

weak.

Okonkwo’s oldest son, whom he believes

is weak and lazy and repeatedly beats,

hoping to change him.

Oh-kawn-kwoh Nuh-who-yeh

A boy Okonkwo takes in from a

neighboring village and lives in the hut of

Okonkwo’s first wife. Okonkwo becomes

fond of Ikemefuna, and allows him to call

him “father”.

Okonkwo’s only child by his second wife.

Ezinma is Okonkwo’s favorite child.

Ee-keh-meh-foo-nah Eh-zeen-mah

The first white missionary to come to

Umuofia. He becomes friends with

important clansmen and builds a school

and a hospital.

Replaces Mr. Brown; Reverend Smith is

stubborn and strict. He demands those he

converts to reject all their clan’s beliefs.

The younger brother of Okonkwo’s mother.

Uchendu is a calm, compromising man,

who continually acts without thought.

A man of authority in the white colonial

government of Nigeria. A racist, the District

Commissioner thinks he understands the

native African traditions and cultures for

which he has absolutely no respect.

Ooh-chen-du

Okonkwo’s close friend. Obierika looks

out for Okonkwo and genuinely cares for

and comforts him when he is unhappy.

Okonkwo’s father. Without title all his life,

Unoka borrows money from his clansmen,

but rarely repays his debt.

Oh-bee-air-ee-kah Ooh-no-kah

Okonkwo’s second wife, and former village

beauty. She has only one surviving child,

Ezinma, who is Okonkwo’s favorite child.

A dedicated convert to Christianity. Enoch

is disrespectful to the tribal ways which

eventually leads to trouble.

Eh-kweh-fee Ē-nək

The most important man in the village, as

well as the oldest. He is a village elder and

leader who delivers messages from the

Oracle.

A widow with two children and an Umuofia

priestess dedicated to the Oracle of the

goddess Agbala.

Chee-eh-loh O-bou-EH-fee

A clan leader of Umuofia, who plays a

large role in Mr. Brown’s strategy for the

converting of clansmen.

A wealthy man who loans Okonkwo seeds

for yams. By doing this he builds up the

beginnings of Okonkwo’s personal wealth,

position, and independence.

Ah-kou-N-nah Ng-WA-KI-be-yeh

The native, now Christian, missionary who

converts Nwoye and many others to

Christianity.

A well-known medicine man who helps

with Ezinma’s medical problems.

Kee-ah-gah Oh-KAE-bou-ou-YANG-wah

Obierika’s son who wins a wrestling match

in his teens. Okonkwo admires Maduka

and wishes his son had such promise.

Daughter of Okonkwo’s first wife, she is

close to Ezinma who has a great deal of

influence on her.

O-bee-ki-GEL-ee MA-doo-KAH

Okonkwo’s third and youngest wife and

the mother of some of Okonkwo’s children.

Oh-jee-ooh-boh

QUESTION

6. List three characters you read about and explain what you are looking forward to learning about them in your Google doc