Things Fall Apart 4
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Note: Chinua Achebe has mentioned in one of his interviews that the scene of Uchendu calling Okonkwo "a child" is his favorite part. Achebe's statement reveals his view of Okonkwo and Okonkwo's idea of manliness.
Okonkwo does not find any pleasure in working on his mother's land because his sole passion to achieve the highest title by becoming the greatest farmer in Umuofia is thwarted by the punishment for the accidental crime (female crime) he committed. Okonkwo's uncle Uchendu calls Okonkwo a "child," because Okonkwo does not appreciate the balanced role of women/mother's land (He does not know the meaning of Nneka, "Mother is Supreme," 961), and he belittles the importance of the role of women in the family/land. Uchendu tells Okonkwo: "A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness, he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you" (962). Instead of showing appreciation for receiving a piece of land to farm and finding shelter in his mother's land during his exile, Okonkwo is still filled with bitter feelings and cannot control his sadness for losing his chance to earn the highest title in Umuofia. Uchendu chastises Okonkwo's impatience and his lack of balanced views of society (i.e. roles of men/women and his idea of masculinity/femininity).
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Discussion Question #1 for Achebe's Things Fall Apart (Ch. 18-25, pp. 969-989)
1. When Okonkwo is about to leave Mbanta after seven years and offers a feast, one of the oldest members in Mbanta says: "We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so. . . . But I fear for you young people because. . . you do not know what it is to speak with one voice. A man can now leave his father and his brothers. He can curse the gods of his fathers and his ancestors. . . . I fear for you; I fear for the clan"(974-5). What do you make of this? Why is it important for them to speak with one voice? How has Umuofia changed during the seven years Okonkwo was in exile? What action does Okonkwo want to take on the white man? Why does Obierika think that “it [fighting against the white man] is already too late” and "we have fallen apart” (977)? Why does he say the villagers who joined the white man's religion "help to uphold his government" (977)?
2. 2. Mr. Brown built a school and a hospital in Umuofia after he learned that Christianity and the religion of the clan cannot coexist and "a frontal attack on it [the clan's religion] would not succeed" (979). What does Mr. Brown try to achieve by educating the native children in the British way? Does the introduction of the white man's education and culture influence the minds of the villagers? Why did the white man bring a colonial government to Umuofia? What roles/positions do the villagers who learned to read and write in English take for the colonial administration? What happened to the people who threw away their twins to the Evil Forest? What power does the white man's court have on the clans in Umuofia? Are the clans afraid of the white man, or are they fearful of the power (i.e. guns and other weapons) that the colonizers brought with them to impose their rules on the natives? (i.e. Imposing the British court system/governing rules and taking Africans as slaves, see page 964.) Can the clan's traditional customs/rules coexist with the white man's court system?
3. Why does Enoch unmask an egwugwu in public? What is Enoch's motive behind his action? Why does Okonkwo commit suicide at the end? Why do you think Okonkwo made that decision? Is Okonkwo’s tragic ending caused by colonial influence or due to his obsession with being masculine? What caused the disintegration of the clan? Does the clan fall apart due to internal problems or an outside force? What do you make of the District Commissioner's view of his work that "he had toiled to bring civilization to different parts of Africa" and his contemplation of the book entitled, The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger? Did British colonizers come to Nigeria to civilize the "primitive" African tribes?