Reed Canavan

Ms. Gardner
English 10H/Period 4
20 October 2015
Annotated Bibliography
Garner, Dwight. Bearing Witness, With Words. The New York Times. Nytimes.com. March 22
2013.
This article about Chinua Achebe states that his novel, Things Fall Apart is widely
taught to American high school and college students, which is unsurprising considering the
themes and even basic conflict of this book. It talks about why Achebe wrote the book and how
the themes in it were from his experiences. Achebe was a role model in the way he used the ideas
of the book to convey a message.
The article is quite clear in telling us about Achebes nature, but did not really go in depth
as to why he wrote this novel. The article was not very useful as it was not insightful on the
themes and aspects of Things Fall Apart, as it was more about the author himself.
"Literary Analysis of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart." Speedy4elevens Weblog. N.p., 06
Mar. 2008. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.
This article is an analysis of Things Fall Apart and specifically looks at the irony
of the novel and the metaphors within it. The irony which is analyzed is tragic irony; it is
used throughout the novel, and this article provides insight, examples and understanding
for the irony embedded within the book. Another aspect of the novel that this article looks

at is the metaphors, which should surely help the reader comprehend and evaluate the
book in a different manner.
For understanding the ironic nature of the novel and metaphors in it, this article
provides a substantial amount of analytical perceptiveness to this literary work. The article
helped to develop a better understanding of the story it was analyzing, and though it lacked
slightly in clarity, and neatness, had good ideas. It was, overall, quite a useful article.
Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Sample Literary Devices Essay - "Things Fall Apart"" StudyNotes.org.
Study Notes, LLC., 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Nov. 2015.
This essay explores the various themes of Things Fall Apart including the clash of
cultures, masculinity vs femininity, and inevitable change. It also explores the idea of Okonkwos
fatal flaw; hyper-masculinity, and how this is incorporated into the story. Mentioning the
outstanding literary devices, the essay is quite complimentary of the novel and the themes within
it.
This is a well written essay, with clear points, and is very discerning on how Achebe uses
literary devices throughout his book. When reading this essay, it is made very apparent on how
much of a good book this is, by the compliments, and hints of the excellent literary work. By
opening up ideas that are not immediately apparent to someone just reading the book, the essay
provides the means to obtain a greater understanding.
Kimberlyn. "Chinua Achebe | Biography of Educator and Publisher." <i>Chinua Achebe |
Biography of Educator and Publisher</i>. N.p., 16 Nov. 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

The biography of Chinua Achebe is clear in telling the reader about his life and
literary works, and basic facts about his life. It is told that he had three children, and was
partially disabled after a car accident. He was very successful in his academic
achievements, and helped to bring modern African writing into global view.
This article is quite useful in providing information about Achebe, but did not have
any material about his personality; it was purely factual. Because of its non-analytical
nature, there was no insight delivered about him, and would force the reader to make
assumptions as to why Achebe wrote his book so fantastically. To its credit, the biography
was very clear and organized.
"Things Fall Apart Essay - Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe - ENotes.com."
<i>Enotes.com</i>. Enotes.com, n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2015.
The essay does contain some plot information but the main point of it is about the theme
of cultural clash which Achebe explores in his novel. It tells the reader about the cultural clash
between the villagers and the colonists and what it means. The nature of this essay is critical, but
incorporates the important theme of cultural clash into it.
This essay was quite insightful towards Achebes theme of cultural clash. It was a clear and well
written essay, and had good points about the themes of the book. For a reader of Things Fall
Apart this essay would come quite in handy, and prove very useful in broadening their
understanding.
"Things Fall Apart Masculinity English Literature Essay." <i>UKEssays</i>. N.p., n.d. Web. 09
Nov. 2015.

The essay tells the reader about the masculinity within Achebes novel, and dives into the
meaning of it. It speaks about the apparent weakness and strength of man and woman. This essay
had good points about the masculinity of Okonkwo.
A well written essay, including clarity of what it was talking about, the theme of masculinity was
thoroughly explored. It was quite perceptive on this theme and made clever references and
included wise examples. Any reader of Things Fall Apart would find this essay very helpful.