Things Fall Apart

1
Things Fall Apart

• By Chinua Achebe

2
Chinua Achebe is one of the most well-known
contemporary African writers.
Born 1930
3

• Many of his novels and short stories are based
  in Nigeria, Africa.
• Many of his characters are members of the Igbo
  (Ibo) tribe.

4
Map of Africa
5
Nigeria
6
(No Transcript)
7

• .
• Things Fall Apart (written in 1958) deals with
  the clash of cultures and the violent transitions
  in life and values brought about by British
  colonialism in Nigeria in late 1800s.

8
colonialism

• A system by which a country (like Great Britain)
  maintains foreign colonies (like Nigeria) in
  order to exploit them economically.
• The domineering country usually feels superior to
  the natives in all ways and often forces its
  customs and religion upon them.

9

• The novel recounts the life of the village hero
  Okonkwo and describes the arrival of white
  missionaries in Nigeria and their impact on
  traditional Igbo society during the late 1800s.

10

• Things Fall Apart includes Western linguistic
  forms and literary traditions with Igbo words and
  phrases, proverbs, fables, tales, and other
  elements of African oral and communal
  storytelling traditions.

11
Plot Summary

• The main character, Okonkwo, is a great man who
  has achieved much in his life.
• He is a champion wrestler, a wealthy farmer, a
  husband to three wives, a title-holder among his
  people.
• His success is driven by the fear of becoming
  like his father (poor and cowardly)

12

• The societys order is disrupted, however, with
  the appearance of the white man in Africa and
  with the introduction of his religion
  (Christianity).

13

• "The conflict of the novel, shown in Okonkwo,
  derives from the series of crushing blows which
  are leveled at traditional values by an alien and
  more powerful culture causing, in the end, the
  traditional society to fall apart," (G.D.
  Killam).

14

• Okonkwo is unable to adapt to the changes that
  accompany colonialism.
• In the end, in frustration, he kills an African
  employed by the British, and then commits
  suicide, a sin against the tradition to which he
  had long clung.

15
Key Terms

• Brideprice Obi
• Kola Manslaughter
• Cowrie shells Palm oil
• Polygamy Chi
• Yams Foo foo
• Evil Forest Umuofia
• Ibo Oracle
• Ilo Alligator pepper
• Harmattan Priestess

16
Ibo or Igbo

• The name of a tribe of people in Nigeria

17
(No Transcript)
18
Alligator pepper

• It is a common ingredient in West African cuisine
  where it imparts both 'heat', 'pungency' and a
  spicy aroma to classic West African 'soups'
  (stews).
• Ground and blended with kola nut in a ritual to
  welcome visitors

19
(No Transcript)
20
White chalk

• Symbol of peace. Also used to signify personal
  honors and status.

21
(No Transcript)
22
Bride Price

• Common in many African cultures the
  bridegrooms family pays in cash or goods for the
  privilege of marring a young woman. (dowry
  opposite womans family pays for man to marry
  her).

23
(No Transcript)
24
Obi

• Large living quarters for the head of the
  family.

25
Umuofia

• A village of the Ibo

26
Kola

• A bean, a stimulant like tea or coffee.
  Served on most social occasions.

27
Manslaughter

• unlawful killing without the intent to kill
  (accidental).

28
Cowrie shells

• A sea shell, used as a form of money. The
  villages distance from the sea makes them rare
  enough to use as money.

29
Palm oil

• Rich yellow oil pressed from fruit of palm trees.
  Used for fuel cooking.

30

• Palm oil comes from palm nuts which are harvested
  by climbing high up in palm trees.   Palm wine is
  also tapped in the same area on the tree.  Palm
  wine tappers make holes in the tree at the base
  of the male flower.   Using funnels made of palm
  leaves the tappers collect the palm wine as it
  drips from the tree into gourds that they hang
  from the palm fronds.

31
(No Transcript)
32
Polygamy

• The practice or condition of having more than one
  spouse, esp. wife, at one time.

33
Chi

• A persons personal spirit (usually in the form
  of a wooden idol) Like a guardian angel

34
Yam

• sweet potato-- In some African cultures it was
  used as currency

35
Storage of yams
36
foo foo

• a dough-like West African dish of boiled and
  ground plantain, yam, or cassava, made into balls
  to go with soups or stews.

37
cassava
38
Evil Forest

• Superstitious natives believe that evil spirits
  lurk in the mysterious forest

39
harmattan

• Dust-laden winds originating in the desert.
  Usually last 3-5 days. Dusty haze usually blocks
  out the sun, reduces temperatures and visibility.

40
(No Transcript)
41
oracle

• A person believed to be in communication with a
  deity (god or gods)

42
The oracle of the cave
43
ilo

• The village green, where assemblies for sports,
  discussions, etc., take place

44
ekwe

• Ekwe - Two-pitch Ibo log drum. Available in two
  types of hardwood (yellow or red). Played with
  either a plain straight wood stick or a
  rubber-tipped short beater similar to a large
  balafon or Alo (long gong-bell) mallet. These log
  drums are found in the eastern part of Nigeria.
  Larger Ekwes are usually played with two sticks,
  while smaller ones are usually played with only
  one stick.

45
(No Transcript)
46
udu

• A musical instrument a type of drum made from
  pottery

47
Egwugwu

• A masquerader who impersonates one of the
  ancestral spirits of the village