QUIZ (TFA)

1. What is the name of Okonkwo’s motherland?—Mbanta

2. What holy animal does Okonkwo’s clan suspect the Christians have killed and eaten?—
Python
3. What is the name of the first missionary who comes to Umuofia?—Mr. Brown
4. How many villages does Umuofia comprise?—Nine
5. Whom did Okonkwo beat in his legendary wrestling match?—Amalinze the Cat
6. In what country does Things Fall Apart take place?—Nigeria
7. What do the inhabitants of Mbanta believe is responsible for the white man’s miraculous
survival after having built his church in the Evil Forest?—his eyeglasses
8. What is an ogbanje?—changeling child
9. What does Okonkwo constantly wish Ezinma had been?—a son
10. What does a palm tapper tap?—a tree, for wine
11. For what reason is Okonkwo exiled?- he accidentally kills a fellow clan member
12. What are the outcasts required to do before they may join the church?—shave their heads
13. What is the name of Okonkwo’s second wife?-- Ekwefi
14. Where are the Christian women forbidden to go when the clan hears of the killing of a royal
python?—to the stream
15. What does Okonkwo do even though he is advised not to?—help kill Ikemefuna
16. What crop is king for the Igbo?—yam
17. When the Igbo refer to the “iron-horse,” what do they mean?—a bicycle
18. What is the polite name for leprosy among the Igbo?—the white skin
19. When do the clan members share the kola nut?—whe gathering for social occasions
20. In the allegory of Tortoise, what do the birds give to Tortoise—feathers
21. What does Enoch do to provoke the rage of the clan?—he unmasks an egwugwu
22. How does Okonkwo die?—he hangs himself
23. Why are the villagers happy when the locusts arrive?- tastes good
24. What does Okonkwo fear most?—becoming like his father
25. The title Things Fall Apart is taken from a poem by—William Butle eats

THEMES, MOTIFS, SYMBOLS

1. What does the use of Igbo words, folktales, proverbs, and songs do to the story?-- It shows
the richness and complexity of Igbo culture and language.
2. What does Okonkwo believe are the proper outer displays of manliness?-- Aggression,
violence, anger, ambition
3. Why do Igbo outcasts join the Church?-- The Church provides a refuge from the strict Igbo
social system that rejects them.
4. What is chi?-- A individual’s personal god that determines his/her fortune
5. What do the locusts symbolize?-- The white settlers who will come and exploit the villagers

CHAPTER 1-3 TEST

1. Who is the Cat?-- A great wrestler whom Okonkwo beat as a young man
2. Why did people laugh at Okonkwo’s father, Unoka?-- Because he was poor, a “loafer,” and
borrowed money without paying it back
3. What does Okonkwo think about his son, Nwoye?-- That he may be lazy and lacking ambition
4. Why is Ikemefuna sent from another village to live with Okonkwo?-- Okonkwo’s family takes
him in as a house servant.
5. What did Okonkwo borrow to start his first farm?—yam seeds

CHAPTER 4-6 TEST

1. How does Okonkwo break the peace during the Week of Peace?-- He beats one of his wives.
2. How does Okonkwo feel about his transgression?-- He feels sorry but pretends he doesn’t.
3. Why does Ekwefi like to watch wrestling?-- Because she fell in love with Okwonko when he
beat the Cat at wrestling
4. With whom does Ikemefuna become particularly close?—Nwoye
5. What does it mean that it seems Ezinma “has come to stay”?-- She is unlikely to die in
childhood.

CHAPTER 14-16
1. How does Okonkwo feel about starting a new farm?-- He works hard but he cannot get
excited by starting from nothing again.
2. What does Uchendu advise Okonkwo to do?-- Appreciate the generosity and shelter of his
motherland
3. What is the news from the village Abame?-- The town has been decimated by white men
after villagers killed one of them.
4. What happened to Okonwkow’s son Nwoye?-- He joined the Christian missionaries and is
now back in Mbanta.
5. What did Okonkwo think of the missionaries and their story about their God?-- That they
must be crazy

CHAPTER 20-21
1. Why has Ezinma not married yet?-- Okonkwo made her wait until their return from exile.
2. What have the white men brought in addition to the church, school, and hospital?-- A
government and judicial system that overrides clan decisions
3. Who is Chukwu? The clan’s one god
4. What happens to Mr. Brown?-- He falls ill and has to leave his church
5. How does the clan meet Okonkwo’s return?-- Somewhat indifferently

CHAPTER 22-23
1. Who replaces Mr. Brown as the head of the church?-- Reverend James Smith
2 What inflammatory thing does Enoch do?-- He unmasks an egwugwu, which kills an ancestral
spirit.
3. What do the villagers do in retaliation for Enoch’s act?-- Burn down Enoch’s compound and
the church
4. What does the District Commissioner do to the village leaders, including Okonkwo?-- Has
them thrown in jail for days
5. How do the villagers free the men?-- They collectively pay a large fine

CHAPTER 24-25
1. What does Okonwko wear to the town meeting?-- His war dress
2. What does Okonkwo do at the town meeting?—kill 2 court messengers
3. What happens to Okonkwo after he leaves the meeting?—he hangs himself
4. Why won’t the clansmen touch Okonkwo’s body and insist the white men do it?-- They
consider suicide a grave sin and that his body is now evil
5. What does the commissioner think after he hears Okonkwo’s story?-- He thinks it might make
for an interesting paragraph or two in his book.

1. What happens 28 days after the church is built?-- Because nothing bad happens to the
missionaries, some villagers convert.
5. Why does Okonkwo hold a feast?-- To thank his mother’s kinsmen before returning from exile

Why does Things Fall Apart end with the District Commissioner musing about the book that he
is writing on Africa?
The novel’s ending is Achebe’s most potent satirical stab at the tradition of Western
ethnography. At the end of Okonkwo’s story, Achebe alludes to the lack of depth and sensitivity
with which the Europeans will inevitably treat Okonkwo’s life. Achebe shows that a book such
as The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger, which the commissioner plans to
write, reveals much more about the writers—the colonialists—than about the subjects
supposedly being studied. The title of the book is also ironic, as it reflects the utter lack of
communication between the Europeans and the Africans. Although the Commissioner thinks he
has achieved the “[p]acification” of these tribes, he has only contributed to their unrest and
increasing lack of peace.

What is the nature of Okonkwo’s relationship with Ezinma?

Although Okonkwo is generally misogynistic, his favorite child is his daughter Ezinma. Of all
Okonkwo’s children, Ezinma best understands how to handle her father’s anger. One example of
her sensitivity to his needs is her comforting of him after he has killed Ikemefuna. Ezinma can
tell that Okonkwo is depressed but, not wanting to upset him, she doesn’t address his sorrow
directly. Instead, she brings him food and urges him to eat. His frequent remarks that he wishes
Ezinma were his son because she has the “right spirit” suggest that he desires an affectionate
attachment with his sons, so long as it is not openly shown or acknowledged. He values Ezinma
not because she exhibits desirable masculine traits but because of their tacit bond of sympathy
and understanding.

What does the repetition of the number seven suggest about the novel?
In several places (Mr. Brown’s conversations with Akunna, for example), the novel explicitly
focuses on the theological and moral similarities between Christianity and Igbo religion. The
repetition of the number seven—symbolically important to both religions—is another way of
highlighting the similarities between the two cultures. The text seems to draw a parallel
between the apparent randomness of the symbolic number often chosen by the Igbo and the
determinism of Christianity’s reliance on the number seven in the Bible and in the myth of
creation. Indeed, the text explicitly refers to resting on the seventh day; this return to the
number seven marks a similarity between the two cultures’ belief systems.