THINGSFALLAPARTDISCUSSIONPROMPTS

1. PASSAGE ANALYSIS: Select a passage from a chapter and comment on it. Why is it
important? Explain what the passage you selected means and how it is significant to
the work as a whole - why is this passage important? (Keep in mind that quotations
rarely tell you why they are important; you must analyze and interpret to get at the
deeper meaning.) Focus on smaller quotes from the passage to explore more deeply.

2. DIG DEEPER: Read between the lines. Sometimes it's what characters don't say that
matters. Cite a passage and explain what appears to be going on at the surface level,
then explain what's really going on when you examine it more deeply. Be sure to
show how you know it.

3. NARRATIVE PERSPECTIVE: Define the point of view from which the story is told
and the role the narrator plays in the story. What benefits does Achebe reap by
adopting this approach? Explore the art of Achebes choice.

4. CHARACTER COMPARISON: Do a close reading of the descriptions of Okonkwo and

Unoka. Support your ideas with textual details and quotes: How do these two
characters differ? What kind of language is used to describe each of them? What
proverbs are associated with each? Could Unoko be considered a foil to Okonkwo,
and how? What does this contrast foreshadow?

5. IRONY: Cite and explain an ironic passage. Also identify whether the irony used is
dramatic, situational, or verbal. How does irony function in the work?

6. MOTIFS: Trace a recurring motif through the story. Discuss at least three times in
the story this motif appears and the possible theme this motif might suggest.

7. LITERARY CONNECTIONS: Compare and /or contrast one of the major characters
to a character in another book that you have read (in class or more
generally--especially consider Macbeth, Greek mythology, the Bible).

8. CULTURAL CONNECTIONS: Compare and /or contrast one of the major characters
to a character a historical or popular figure or someone from film or television.
Alternately, you could compare/contrast a situation or event in the book to
something from popular culture or history. Describe both the person or event from
the novel AND the person or event you are making the connection to in detail in
your journal response.

9. PROTAGONIST: The protagonist is the main character in a literary work. The

protagonist does not have to be a positive or good character, but is usually the
most dynamic, meaning that he or she goes through the most significant change
throughout the work. Based on this definition, how might Okonkwo be considered
the protagonist of this novel? What happens when our protagonist is kind of
antagonistic? Is Okonkwo a sympathetic character? Can the reader (us) relate to
him? Does he remind you of anyone you know?
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10. ANTAGONIST: The antagonist of a literary work is a person or force that opposes
the protagonist. The antagonist is often the cause of the conflict that the protagonist
is faced with. However, sometimes the protagonists conflict is internal (two forces
within himself or herself). Does our protagonist have a human antagonist or another
kind of conflict that opposes them? Identify at least one antagonist or conflict in
Things Fall Apart and explain your reasoning.

11. GENDER/FEMINIST CRITICAL LENS: Examine the novel through the lens of
gender/feminist critical theory by posing any of the following questions as you
analyze the text:
a. How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
b. What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters
assuming male/female roles)?
c. How are male and female roles defined? What constitutes masculinity and
femininity? How do characters embody these traits?
d. Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this
change others reactions to them?
e. What elements of the text can be perceived as being masculine (active,
powerful) and feminine (passive, marginalized) and how do the characters
support these traditional roles?
f. What sort of support (if any) is given to elements or characters who question
the masculine/feminine binary? What happens to those
elements/characters?
g. What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically,
socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?
h. What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of
resisting patriarchy? What does the work say about women's creativity?

12. OKONKWO AND GENDER ROLES: Okonkwos view does not represent the norm
of Igbo thought in this text about gender roles; there are many illustrations of how
his distorted interpretation of gendered roles is what leads to trouble in his life.
a. For instance, consider how he is motivated by his deepest fear: becoming like
his father, who he feels is feminine and weak. How does this fear cause
problems for him?
b. Okonkwos self-understanding is deeply bound up with his need to affirm
and protect what he thinks of as his manliness. What are the main features
of Okonkwos view of masculinity, and how does his view relate to that of
other important characters in the novel? Do you see problems with Os view?
c. What is Okonkwos view of women, and how is this view expressed? How
does his view compare to the way the rest of his society views women?

13. REWRITE: Select a passage containing a character action that you do not agree with,
such as Okonkwos treatment of Ikemefuna. Rewrite this passage to show how you
think the character should have acted instead. Include a caption explaining your
issue with the original passage and why you changed it as you did.
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14. PROVERBS: There are many proverbs related during the course of the narrative.
Recalling specific ones, what function do you perceive these proverbs as fulfilling in
the life of the Igbo? What do you think Achebe's purpose is in including them here?
Identify and analyze the meaning and function of one proverb in particular.

15. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: (to be completed midway through the novel or later)
Analyze the development of a dynamic character: how is it she/he grows, learns,
etc.? What is revealed in this chapter that shows growth or change? To show how
the character has changed, identify at least one character trait or belief that the
character has at the end of the novel that is different (or opposite) of the traits he or
she had at the beginning of the novel. If the character has not changed, what type of
person does the protagonist symbolize? Support your answer with specific
reference to the text.

16. CLIMAX: (to be completed midway through the novel or later) The climax of a
literary work is the point at which the conflict reaches its highest point in intensity.
It is often at this point when the protagonist changes the most significantly. Identify
the climax in Things Fall Apart.

17. FATE VERSUS FREE WILL: There is a running motif throughout the novel of fate
versus personal control over destiny. It is said of Okonkwo at one point that Clearly
his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man could not rise beyond
the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not truethat if a man said yea
his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own
affirmation (76). Consider the roles of fate and individual responsibility in the
novel. Which do you think Okonkwo believes is true? What do you think Achebe
believes is true? What do you believe? (Consider comparing to Macbeth).

18. JUSTICE: Igbo culture believes there is a fundamental justice in the universe and
nothing so terrible can happen to a person for which he is not somehow
responsible (Chi in Igbo Cosmology 163). Explore the justice of Okonkwos
actions and his responsibility for them. What view of justice emerges in the novel
(see chapter 10)? How does this conception of justice compare to justice in modern
American society? To your own views?

19. RELIGION: How does Achebe show the great gap between the two sets of beliefs
(Igbo and Christian)? Compare and contrast these religions based on what you learn
in the novel. How does he suggest why Christianity appeals to some members of the
tribe (including Nwoye)? (See chapter 16).

20. TRADITIONS: Certain aspects of the clan's religious practice, such as the mutilation
of a dead child to prevent its spirit from returning, bigamy, etc., might impress us as
being brutal or troubling.
a. Is it possible/advisable for us to cast judgment on these practices as
outsiders to the community and context in which they are practiced? What
do you think Achebes opinion of these practices is?
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b. Casting an honest eye on our own religious or social practices, which ones
might appear barbaric or bizarre to an outsider? Select one controversial
modern tradition to discuss in comparison to the novel.

21. ENDING PART I: What is the general feeling you get at the end of the novel? Have
things fallen completely apart? Is there hope for Umuofia? Why does Achebe let the
District Commissioner have the last word in his novel? What does this tell us?

22. ENDING PART 2: How do you interpret Okonkwos suicide? Why did he do it?
Reflect on the irony of his being buried like a dog. What do you make of this sad
ending? Do you feel sad or relieved that Okonkwo has died? Who/what is to blame
for Okonkwos death? Is Okonkwo a tragic hero? Does Okonkwo die a hero or a
victim? Do you think Okonkwo dies in vain? Why or why not?

23. THEME: (to be completed AFTER reading the entire book) Analyze the beliefs or
character traits of the protagonist based on his or her position at the end of the
novel. If things turned out well for the protagonist, what character traits or beliefs
resulted in the positive outcome? If things turned out badly for the protagonist,
what traits or beliefs resulted in the negative outcome? What did the protagonist
learn that can be applied to the readers life? This lesson is the theme of the
novel. Based on what the protagonist of Things Fall Apart learns, identify one major
theme of the novel. Please note that you may or may not agree with the authors
message.

24. RESEARCH: Research the history of the Igbo people after the time period of the
novel (mid-British colonization). What is Nigeria like today, and how is Igbo life
today similar or different from in Okonkwos time? How might current challenges be
linked to the colonization and changes to Igbo culture described by Achebe in the
novel? Was the prediction of the title a prophecy or not?

25. COLONIALISM: Achebe wrote his novel in 1958, just before Nigerias independence.
Why do you think he set the novel in the 1890s? What does this allow him to say
about colonialism that he might not have said had his text been set in the present?
Do you think this book is a positive or negative assessment of the colonial
encounter? Defend your answer with quotes from the text.

26. PERSONAL RESPONSE: (to be completed AFTER reading the entire book) Write a
personal response to the novel. Respond specifically, considering the following
prompts: If you find this text so engaging you can hardly put the book down, why is
that? Describe a connection you can make between your own experience or outlook
and that presented in the novel. If you feel no emotional connection to this work,
what makes it hard to connect to? Do you find the fictional world created an
improbable and farfetched one? Does the author offend you with his/her views?
What do you admire about this book, or what do you deplore about it? Why do you
think Ms. K is teaching this novel, and do you think students should read it? If not,
THINGSFALLAPARTDISCUSSIONPROMPTS
what work of literature from an author from another culture would you replace it
with, and why?