Things Fall Apart Notebook

Page 1

Things Fall Apart 12/12/17

Igbo Culture/ Umuofian society

Values

Centered on Rituals

Wrestling

Individual sports

Oko earns his own success

merit

physical strength

Masculinity/ patriarchy

Reflect + teach values

Individuals --> community

Drum beat= heartbeat

community comes together as a whole

Feast of the new yams

New Year/ New beginning

Rituals at times of change

Function of rituals

Build rituals around times of change to accept + cope w/ uncertainty

Holidays

New years

cleansing

storytelling

Locusts

Predictable

change is unfamiliar

Week of peace

Portrayal of Igbo culture

Attitudes towards difference

Relationship to difference

Negotiation of bride price in Abamo + Aninta

Intolerance to differences= wrong

Absurd/ ridiculous

inferior

dangerous

Ethnocentrism

common humanity in our discomfort w/ difference

Page 2

Things Fall Apart 12/13/17

Tragic Hero

Okonkwo's struggle w/ fear

Why does he participate in the killing of Ikemfuna?

Ties to the fear of being like his father

Not want to show signs of affection

Love vs Anger

Compelled to go and participate and strike the final blow

Told not to go by elders

He cannot stand apart/ outcast

afraid to be Unoka who is an outsider

Page 61:

"Dazed"

Diction

in a trance

not thinking clearly

Not in control of self

Under a spell

"Okonkwo looked away"

Contrasts O's history-love conflict

suggests he was torn

doing this but doesn't want to

How does this action impact Okonkwo

Sorrow, guilt, grief

Suffers even when he is being opposite of Unoka

How are Okonkwo and Obierika foils?

Killing of Ikemefuna

66-67

Do you have to do everything the group does in order to be accepted?

Individuality vs. inclusion + conformity

Can I stand apart and be apart + be part of the group?

Okonkwo's crime and punishment

Why could this event be considered tragic?

Loss of wealth

Unique crime

Obierika's reflection

Foreshadowing

Page 3

Things Fall Apart 12/14/17

Okonkwo's punishment

How does Obierika wrestle with this course of action

New problems+ old solutions

Obierika

Questions the tradition

challenges the ways of his world

Personal connection gives you willing to see tradition critically

start to see imperfections of this world

friend--> self

alone separate from society objective

Arrival of the missionaries

How is the story of Abame a cautionary tale about cultures come together? Why does it end in destruction?

Language/communication

Action w/ understanding

Assumption and judgment

justice ritual

communication

Outsiders+Acceptance

Who are the 1st people abandon converts Igbo culture to Christianity?

Nwoye

Osu

Nneka

Page 4

Things Fall Apart 12/15/17

Downfall of Society

How do the missionaries fracture+divide the Igbo world?

Nwoye, Nneka, Osu, Efu lefu

P.147

"Captivated"

Diction and repetition

negative connotation

trapped captured

so enthralled by it- lose yourself

pleasure and joy

"marrow"

hyperbole

impacted deeply and to the core

Bones

"he felt a relief within..."

Literal: Hymn, soul

Figurative: soul= dry palate of panting earth; hymn: frozen rain

Vehicle: earth, Rain

Tenor: rebirth of soul

lifeless--> fertile

relet, comfort, soothing

Outcasts, marginalized, disagree with value system

Logical and fair for decision

willing converts

Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown (foils)

model for tolerance

Mr. Brown

conversation

dialogue

each talk and listens about religion

no conversion- competing idea w/o conflict

Mr. Smith

Monologue strict, rigid, doesn't listen

tension--> violence

Enoch +the church

Authority + Justice

District commissioner's Book

P. 208-209