PPT

1. Things fall apart
Chinua aChebe

2. ●
The Second Coming"
William Butler Yeats
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

3. Chinua Achebe
Chinua Achebe presents
native African culture in his
stunning work, Things Fall
Apart. This is probably the
most read work of African
Literature ever written, and
it provides a deep level of
cultural detail

4. • Chinua Achebe is one of the most well-
known contemporary writers from Africa.
• Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart,
deals with the clash of cultures and the
violent transitions in life and values
brought about by the onset of British
colonialism in Nigeria at the end of the
nineteenth century.

5.  born in Nigeria in 1930. He was raised in the
large village of Ogidi, one of the first centers
of Anglican missionary work in Eastern
Nigeria.
He is a graduate of University College,
Ibadan. From 1972 to 1976, and again in
1987 to 1988, Mr.
Achebe was a Professor of English at the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and
also for one year at the University of
Connecticut, Storrs.

6. Author’s Purpose
“Let me first make one general point that is
fundamental and essential to the appreciation of
African issues by Americans. Africans are people in
the same way that Americans, Europeans, Asians, and
others are people. Africans are not some strange
beings with unpronounceable names and
impenetrable minds. Although the action of Things
Fall Apart takes place in a setting with which most
Americans are unfamiliar, the characters are normal
people and their events are real human events.”
Chinua Achebe

7. Background
Published in 1958, just before Nigerian
independence, the novel recounts the life of the
village hero Okonkwo and describes the arrival
of white missionaries in Nigeria and its impact
on traditional Igbo society during the late
1800s

9. Okonkwo’s Family Tree

10. PLOT STRUCTURE ANALYSIS
The novel Things Fall Apart is
divided into three parts, the first
is the longest, and the third, the
shortest.

11. FIRST PART
The first part deals with the vindication of tribal life in
Africa and the rise in power and authority of Okonkwo.
Okonkwo, the protagonist is introduced, along with the
intricacies and rituals of the Igbo culture that serve as
his backdrop. The author highlights his strengths as well
as his obsession with success. Okonkwo does not show
any love in dealing with his three wives and children.
This part reveals that Okonkwo’s actions are often
irrational and imprudent, which will be the cause of his
eventual fall.
The reader learns about the traditions, superstitions
and religious faiths of the villagers. The reader also
learns about the life of the tribals, their agricultural
pattern, the importance of the Oracle of the Hills and
caves, the Egwugwu and their ceremonial
arrangements.

12. SECOND PART
The second part begins with Okonkwo’s exile to his
mother’s land for seven years. This part also marks the
entry of the white man into the lives of the African
people. Though inwardly disappointed, Okonkwo begins a
new life with his family on his uncle’s bounty, dreaming
and planning for the day when he would return to his own
land. In these seven years, he hears of the destruction of
the village of Abame by the white men because the
natives there had killed a white man. This part also
introduces the missionaries into the lives of the people
with particular reference to their interest of converting
people into their religion. Finally, there is the farewell
feast that Okonkwo arranges for the whole village before
he returns to his own village after his seven years of
exile.

13. THIRD PART
The third part deals with Okonkwo’s return to his village and his
disappointment at the lack of interest in his arrival. Many things
have changed during these seven years. The village has virtually
‘fallen apart’ with the entry of the white men who have brought
about a lot of changes in the village. They have brought in a new
government and many villagers have converted to the new
religion, including Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son. Trade has also been
established. The last two chapters deal with the terrible treatment
meted out to the leaders of the tribe by the District Commissioner.
His actions impel Okonkwo to behead one of their messengers
and after finding that his action has no support from the tribe,
Okonkwo is compelled to take his own life. Even at this last stage
of his life, his fellow clan members do not bury him since he has
desecrated the land of the Goddess Ani, by taking his own life.

14. CONTINUED…
The novel ends on a note of irony as the point of view
shifts to the District Commissioner’s who sees the
situation only in terms of his own ambitions and
ruthless need to subjugate the native populace. The
tragedy of Okonkwo will just be a paragraph in the
book of the District Commissioner, called ‘The
Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower
Niger’. The author at the end of the novel criticizes the
British for their lack of sensitivity and at the same time
laments the demise of Okonkwo.

15. Chapter 1
 9 connected villages, including Okonkwo’s village, Iguedo
 Okonkwo is a wealthy and respected warrior of the
Umuofia clan
 Okonkwo won honor in his youth; he beat “Amalinze the
Cat” in a wrestling match
 Unoka was his father, a “weak” man who always borrowed
money and couldn’t pay his debts
 Unoka’s laziness meant his wife and children often went
hungry
 Unoka was a skilled flute player and eloquent (skilled,
excellent) speaker

16. Chapter 2
 Town crier rings the ogene (gong) to let clansmen know they
should gather in the market in the morning
 Orator (good speaker) Ogbuefi Ezeugo announces the murder ofa
woman in the market of neighboring village (Mbaino)
 Anger, indignation. As the fiercest warrior, Okonkwo chosen to
deliver message to Mbaino; they must hand over a virgin and a
young man or go to war
 Umuofia has reputation for fierce warriors, powerful magic
 Okonkwo has taken five human heads in past battles. He drinks
palm-wine from his first head on important occasions.
 Mbaino agrees to Umuofia’s terms
 The boy, Ikemefuna, goes to Okonkwo for safekeeping
 Okonkwo instructs his first wife to care for Ikemefuna

17. Chapter 3
 Unoka never had successful harvest, numerous debts unpaid,
couldn’t afford titles. Lazy, Ill-fated, died of a shameful illness,
“swelling which was an abomination to the earth goddess.”
 Unoka left in the Evil Forest to die (so as not to offend earth by
being buried)
 Okonkwo builds fortune alone; starts as a sharecropper –
becomes a warrior, farmer, and family provider
 His start: Nwakibie gives him 800 seed yams to start a farm
(when Okonkwo only asked for 400
 Unoka’s friend gives him another 400, but horrible droughts and
rains destroy majority of harvest
 Harvest left profound mark on Okonkwo; considers this proof of
his fortitude/inner mettle (strength)
 Okonkwo feels only disgust for father’s reliance on words(need
to speak); he uses either action or silence

18. Chapter 4
 At first, Ikemefuna is homesick and scared, but soon becomes
part of the family (tells stories; an older brother to Nwoye, calls
Okwonkwo “father”)
 Okonkwo grows fond of Ikemefuna, but does not show affection
(believes it is sign of weakness)
 During the Week of Peace, Okonkwo beats his youngest wife,
Ojiugo, after she leaves her hut to have her hair braided
without first cooking dinner
 Because of nso-ani (transgression/breaking tradition), priest
demands sacrifice of nanny goat and hen, plus a fine
 Okonkwo repents (says he is sorry), follows the priest’s orders.
Ogbuefi Ezeudu: “The punishment for breaking the Peace of Ani
has become mild in Umuofia.”
 After Week of Peace, villagers begin to clear land, prepare for
planting farms.
 Nwoye and Ikemefuna help Okonkwo prepare the seed yams,
but he finds fault with their work (even though he knows that
they are too young to understand farming)

19. Chapter 5
 Just before harvest, village holds “Feast of the New Yam” to
thank the earth goddess, Ani
 Okonkwo considers feasts times of idleness
 Women scrub and decorate huts, throw away unused
yams, and decoratively paint their skin and their
children’s with cam wood
 After beating second wife, Ekwefi, he wants to go hunting.
Ekwefi mutters remark about “guns that never shot,” and
Okonkwo shoots at her (but misses)
 Okonkwo won Ekwefi’s love (she ran away from her husband to
be with him) by defeating the Cat, so she especially enjoys the
annual wrestling contest the day after the feast
 In turn, Okonkwo’s daughters bring a bowl of food to Okonkwo’s
hut

20. Chapter 6
 With excited spectators, the wrestling
match takes place on the village ilo (a field)
 Maduka (son of Okonkwo’s friend Obierika)
wins one match within seconds.
 Ekwefi speaks with Chielo, who takes the role
of the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the
Hills and Caves
 At the match, they speak as friends; Chielo
inquires about Ezinma, whom she calls
“my daughter”
 They conclude that Ezinma seems to have
“come to stay” (she has reached the age of
ten and is unlikely to die).

21. Chapter 7
 Ikemefuna has been with the family for three years, having “kindled a new
fire” in Nwoye (becomes more masculine, which pleases Okonkwo)
 Okonkwo frequently invites the two boys to listen to warrior stories in his obi
(Nwoye misses his mother’s stories, but says he dislikes women’s concerns to
please his father)
 Locusts descend upon Umuofia (happens once in a generation; come every year
for 7 years before disappearing for another lifetime)
 Villagers happy – they collect and eat them
 Ogbuefi Ezeudu visits to inform Okonkwo of the Oracle’s decree. He tells Okonkwo
not to take part Ikemefuna’s death, as the boy calls him “father”
 Okonkwo lies to Ikemefuna, telling him that he will be returning to his home
village; Nwoye bursts into tears
 The men of Umuofia walk for hours with Ikemefuna, who thinks about seeing
his mother.
 When attacked, Ikemefuna cries to Okonkwo for help. Okonkwo doesn’t wish to
look weak, so he kills him with machete
 Nwoye understands Ikemefuna is dead and is very upset

22. Chapter 8
 Okonkwo in depression, feels weak, cannot sleep or eat; berates
(thinks poorly of) himself for acting like a “shivering old woman.”
 Ezinma tells him he must eat; brings him his evening meal
(Okonkwo repeatedly wishes that she were a boy)
 He visits Obierika and congratulates Maduka for wrestling;
complains his sons are not manly enough, while Ezinma has “the
right spirit”
 He argues with Obierika about taking part in Ikemefuna’s death
 Okonkwo begins to feel revived; news of the death of oldest man in
a neighboring village and wife’s death shortly after. Okonkwo
questions the man’s reputed (reputation of) strength once he
learns how the man seemed attached to his wife
 Obierika requests that Okonkwo stay for daughter’s fiancé to
determine bride- price. Afterward, they all talk about differing
customs in villages (tapping palm trees for palm-wine, white-
skinned people)
 Foreshadowing: someone speaks of Amadi, a leper. He passes
through village frequently; those who know Amadi laugh (polite
term for leprosy is “the white skin”)

23. Chapter 9
 Ekwefi awakes Okonkwo very early in the morning (believes Ezinma - the “center
of her world” - is dying).
 Ekwefi is very lenient with Ezinma (Ezinma calls her by her first name;
relationship approaches equality) because Ekwefi had 9 miscarriages
 Okonkwo knows it is just fever; collects medicine
 Ekwefi’s previous births had symbolic names - “Onwumbiko/Death, I implore you”
and “Ozoemena/May it not happen again”
 Medicine man warned an ogbanje (“wicked” child who continually re-enters its
mother’s womb only to die again and again)
 So he mutilated the dead body of Ekwefi’s third child to discourage ogbanje’s return
 Ezinma suffered many illnesses after birth, but recovered
 When Ezinma was 9, a medicine man found her iyi-uwa (small, buried pebble
 - ogbanje’s physical link to the spirit world)
 Ezinma every illness still brings terror and anxiety to Ekwefi

24. Chapter 10
 Village holds a ceremonial gathering (a court)
 Clan’s ancestral spirits – egwugwu - emerge (come out) from a
secret house (no woman allowed inside)
 Egwugwu - masked men, including Okonkwo
 Women and children are afraid even though they understand
men are playing the role of the spirits
 First dispute - Uzowulu says his wife’s 3 brothers beat him and
took her and the children, refused to return bride-price.
Mgbafo’s brothers say the husband beats their sister mercilessly
(caused her to miscarry once). Brothers threaten Uzowulu - will
cut his genitals off if he ever beats her again
 Egwugwu decide Uzowulu must beg for Mgbafo to return
 One village elder complains that such a trifling
(unimportant, insignificant) matter should not be
brought to egwugwu

25. Chapter 11
 Ekwefi’s story: greedy, cunning tortoise and the birds invited
to a feast in the sky (Tortoise persuades them to take new
names for the feast according to custom; his name will be “All
of you”)
 Chielo, in her role as priestess, informs Ekwefi that Agbala
wishes to see Ezinma Frightened, Okonkwo and Ekwefi try
to persuade Chielo to wait until morning Chielo angrily
takes Ezinma on her back and forbids anyone to follow
 Ekwefi overcomes fear of divine punishment – follows Chielo,
making rounds of the 9 villages
 Ekwefi determined to save Ezinma at cave if needed—
even against a god Okonkwo startles her when he
arrives at the cave with a machete
 They sit together; she recalls running away from her first
husband

26. Chapter 12
 At dawn, Chielo exits cave shrine with Ezinma on
her back She silently takes Ezinma to Ekwefi’s
hut and puts her to bed
 Okonkwo had been worried about Ezinma, but did not show it
– he had made four trips to and from the cave. By the last trip,
he was “gravely worried”
 Okonkwo’s family begins to prepare for Obierika’s daughter’s
uri (wedding ceremony)
 Villagers contribute food; Obierika buys huge goat to present to
future in-laws Brief interruption – women must retrieve escaped
cow; cow’s owner pays a fine Fiancé's family arrive – generously
giving fifty pots of wine
 The feast is a success

27. Chapter 13
 Ogbuefi Ezeudu’s death is announced using ekwe (musical
instrument), making Okonkwo shudder
 Their last visit had been the warning not to take part in
Ikemefuna’s death Ezeudu had been great warrior (3 of 4
titles); his funeral is large and elaborate There are beating
drums and firing of guns
 Okonkwo accidentally kills Ezeudu’s 16-yr-old son
 Killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess;
Okonkwo must take his family into exile for 7 years
 They go to Okonkwo’s mother’s village, Mbanta
 According to tradition, the men burn Okonkwo’s buildings and
kill his animals to cleanse the village
 Obierika asks why a man should suffer greatly for an
accidental killing; also mourns the deaths of his twins,
whom his wife was forced to throw away (wonders what
crime they committed)

28. CHAPTER 14
 Uchendu (uncle of Okonkwo) and kinsmen give a warm
reception - building a compound and lending yam seeds.
 Farming season arrives. Okonkwo works hard, but with less
enthusiasm. He has toiled all his life, but now his dream “to
become one of the lords of the clan” is not possible.
 Uchendu perceives Okonkwo’s disappointment; he waits to
speak until after his son’s wedding.
 Next day, Uchendu gathers entire family. Speaks about most
common names - Nneka, meaning “Mother is Supreme.”
 “A man belongs to his fatherland and stays there when life is
good, but he seeks refuge in his motherland when life is bitter
and harsh.”
 Uchendu advises Okonkwo to receive the comfort of the
motherland gratefully.
 Uchendu lost all but one of his six wives and buried twenty-
two children. Even so, he says, “I did not hang myself, and I
am still alive.”

29. CHAPTER 15
 Two years pass since Okonkwo and his family first
move to Mbanta
 Obierika comes to visit Okonkwo with two other men
and brings 3 bags full of money which he got by selling
Okonkwo’s Yams/seeds.
 Obierika meets Uchendu.
 The three talk about the village Abame, and how the
white men came in and shot almost all of the villagers
at the market.

30. Chapter 16
It’s been 3 years since Okonkwo’s exile
Obierika returns to Mbanta from visiting
Okonkwo
There are 6 missionaries Nwoye
encounters and they speak to the
village
persuade acceptance of 1 god
Okonkwo thinks missionaries are
unorthodox but Nwoye is intrigued by
their ideas

31. Chapter 17
Missionaries request a piece of land to build a church
Village leaders and elders offer them a plot in the
evil forest (thinking they won’t accept it)
Missionaries accept offer but elders think the
forest’s sinister spirits and forces will kill the
missionaries within days (nothing ends up
happening)
Okonkwo’s cousin informs Okonkwo that Nwoye is
among the Christians
Okonkwo chokes Nwoye when he returns demanding
to know where he had been
Nwoye leaves and travels to a school in Umuofia
to learn how to read and write

32. CHAPTER 18
 Church wins many converts from the efulefu (titleless, worthless
men). Then osu (outcasts) come to church and other converts do
not want them there.
 Mr. Kiaga firmly argues that they will not die if they cut their
hair or break any of the other taboos.
 His steadfast conviction persuades most of the other converts
not to reject their new faith.
 Osu soon become most zealous members of the
church. One boasts that he killed the sacred royal
python.
 Okonkwo urges Mbanta to drive the Christians out with
violence, but rulers & elders decide to ostracize them instead.
Okonkwo: this is a “womanly” clan.
 Later, elders learn - man who boasted of killing the snake has died
of an illness. Villagers’ trust in gods is reaffirmed. They cease to
ostracize the converts.

33. Chapter 19
 This was Okonkwo’s last harvest in
Mbanta
 He sent Obierika money to build
him 2
huts in his old compound
 They had a harvest thanking
Okonkwo’s mother’s kinsmen

34. Chapter 20
 From the beginning of his exile, Okonkwo has planned how
to rebuild his compound.
 He wants it to be larger, to take two more wives and get titles
for his sons. He thinks less of Nwoye’s disgraceful departure,
but still regrets that Ezinma is a girl.
 Okonkwo gets his daughters to postpone marrying so that he
may attract interest when he returns to Umuofia.
 However, Umuofia is very different. The church has
grown. The white men subject the villagers to their
judicial system and rules of government.
 Okonkwo cannot believe that his clan has not driven out the
harsh, arrogant, white men and their church.

35.  Obierika explains that it is too late; the
church has weakened the ties of
kinship.
 Okonkwo observes that the white man
is shrewd; he came in peace, appeared
to have benevolent interests so the
Africans would permit him to stay.

36. Chapter 21
 Umuofia is divided over the white men’s influence in the
community. The benefit: trading posts. Money is flowing into
the village.
 Mr. Brown, the white missionary, restrains Christians from
harassing the clan. Akunna, one of the clan’s leaders,
explains that the clan also has just one god, Chukwu, who
created the world and the other gods.
 Cultural Exchange: Mr. Brown - there are no other gods; a
carving is not a god, but a piece of wood. Akunna – agrees it is a
piece of wood, but wood created by Chukwu. Neither will
convert, but gain a greater understanding of the other’s faith.
 Mr. Brown builds a hospital, a school. Threat: if children
don’t go to school, strangers who can read and write will
rule over them.
 Mr. Brown tells Okonkwo that Nwoye is in a training college
for teachers. Soon after, his health declines. He leaves
Umuofia.

37.  Daughters attract many suitors, but
clan has little interest in his return.
Ozo initiation ceremony occurs only
once every 3 years.
Onkwo is baffled and upset by
changes in his once warlike people.

38. Chapter 22
 Reverend James Smith replaces Mr. Brown. Strict, intolerant,
demands obedience to the letter of the Bible. Disapproves of Mr.
Brown’s former policies.
 Zealous converts are relieved to be free of restraints. Enoch
unmasks an egwugwu during the annual ceremony to honor the
earth deity (equivalent to killing an ancestral spirit). The next day,
the egwugwu burn Enoch’s compound to the ground.
 They gather in front of the church to confront Reverend Smith. They
tell the Christians that they wish to destroy the church to cleanse
their village of Enoch’s horrible sin.
 Smith stands his ground, forbidding them to touch the church. His
interpreter alters statements for fear they are too harsh, will
provoke great anger. (Says that Smith demands that they leave).

39. Chapter 23
 Okonkwo is almost happy because of taking action, even
though the clan did not agree to kill the Christians or
drive them away.
 Villagers are on guard, arm themselves for next two days.
 District Commissioner returns from his tour, requests a
meeting with the leaders of Umuofia. They go, taking only
machetes (guns would be “unseemly”).
 Commissioner is condescending, says they should
discuss the church’s burning “as friends.” As soon as
machetes are on the floor, soldiers handcuff them and
throw them in jail.
 They suffer insults and physical abuse. Bail is set at 200
bags of cowries. Court messengers ask for 250 to
prevent leaders from hanging – to make a profit.

40.  An emergency village meeting. Ezinma
returns home from 28-day visit to
future in-lawsThey decide to collect the
cowries necessary to pay the fine.

41. Chapter 24
 Umuofia leaders return to the village upset. Entire village
overcome with tense and unnatural silence.
 Ezinma takes Okonkwo some food. She and Obierika notice
whip marks on his back.
 Village crier announces another meeting. Following morning,
clan is filled with sense of foreboding. Okonkwo has slept very
little out of excitement and anticipation. Meeting is packed with
people from 9 villages.
 Okonkwo believes that the nature of man has changed. He has
decided on a course of action, no matter what others think.
Takes out war dress. Assesses raffia skirt, feather headgear,
shield.
 Remembers former glories.
 First speaker: laments the damage that white man and his
church have done to the clan, the desecration of the gods /
ancestral spirits.

42.  5 court messengers approach,
ordering the meeting to end.
Okonkwo kills the leader
with his machete. Villagers
allow messengers to escape,
end the meeting.

43. Chapter 25
 District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo’s compound. A small group of men sit outside,
who tell him that Okonkwo is not at home. Commissioner asks again, and Obierika repeats
his initial answer.
 Commissioner gets angry, threatens to imprison them. Obierika agrees to lead him to
Okonkwo in return for assistance. Not understanding this agreement, Commissioner
follows Obierika and a group of clansmen to a small bush behind Okonkwo’s compound.
There, Okonkwo’s body dangles from a tree.
 Understanding that Umuofia would not go to war and disappointed with his clan, he has
hanged himself.
 Obierika explains that suicide is a grave sin. Commissioner asks why they cannot take
down the body, and they explain that it is now evil. Only strangers may touch it; only
strangers may bury it.
 Angrily, Obierika blames him for Okonkwo’s death, praises his friend’s greatness.
Commissioner leaves, but orders his messengers to do the work.

44. THE END