Things Fall Apart – Chapters 11-25 In Part Two of the novel, Achebe continues to present certain elements of symbolism. Symbols Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. Locusts Achebe depicts the locusts that descend upon the village to have the reader connect this event to the arrival of the white settlers, who will feast on and exploit the resources of the Igbo. The fact that the Igbo eat these locusts highlights how innocent they take them to be.  The language that Achebe uses to describe the locusts indicates their symbolic status. The repetition of words like "settled" and "everywhere" emphasizes the presence of these insects and hints at the way in which the arrival of the white settlers takes the Igbo off guard. For example, the locusts are so heavy they break the tree branches, which symbolizes the fracturing of Igbo traditions and culture under the onslaught of colonialism and white settlement. Perhaps the most explicit clue that the locusts symbolize the colonists is Obierika's comment in Chapter Fifteen: "the Oracle . . . said that other white men were on their way. They were locusts. . . ." Fire Okonkwo is associated with burning, fire, and flame throughout the novel, symbolizing his intense and dangerous anger which is the only emotion that he allows himself to display in public. Yet the problem with fire, as Okonkwo acknowledges in Chapters Seventeen and Twenty-Four, is that it destroys everything it consumes... Okonkwo is both physically destructive as he kills Ikemefuna and Ogbuefi Ezeudu's son and emotionally destructive as he suppresses his fondness for Ikemefuna and Ezinma in favor of a colder, more masculine identity. Just as fire feeds on itself until all that is left is a pile of ash, Okonkwo eventually succumbs to his intense rage, allowing it to rule his actions until it destroys him. Keep these symbols in mind as you read through the rest of the novel. Week 5 Reading Questions – Due Sunday November 23 at 8 :00pm 1. How does the story of the destruction of Abame summarize the experience of colonization? 2. By the time Obierika pays his next visit to Okonkwo two years later, the missionaries have already invaded Umuofia, built their church and begun their task of converting the people to their religion.  Why is the presence of the Missionaries a great sorrow to the leaders of the clan? Who is listening to the missionaries?  3. Why does the new religion appeal to Nwoye? 4. How do the missionaries attract new converts? 5. What does Oberika mean when he says "Our clan can no longer act like one?" 6. What does Mr. Brown mean when he says "a frontal attack on the village would not succeed?" What is his solution? 7. At the end Okonkwo kills the messenger and brings disaster on his head. But he could be viewed as a defiant hero defending his people's way of life. What do you think of his act? 8. What is your reaction to the final paragraph of the book? .

1. Things Fall Apart – Chapters 11-25
In Part Two of the novel, Achebe continues to present certain
elements of symbolism.
Symbols
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to
represent abstract ideas or concepts.
Locusts
Achebe depicts the locusts that descend upon the village to have
the reader connect this event to the arrival of the white settlers,
who will feast on and exploit the resources of the Igbo. The fact
that the Igbo eat these locusts highlights how innocent they take
them to be.
The language that Achebe uses to describe the locusts indicates
their symbolic status. The repetition of words like "settled" and
"everywhere" emphasizes the presence of these insects and hints
at the way in which the arrival of the white settlers takes the
Igbo off guard. For example, the locusts are so heavy they break
the tree branches, which symbolizes the fracturing of Igbo
traditions and culture under the onslaught of colonialism and
white settlement. Perhaps the most explicit clue that the locusts
symbolize the colonists is Obierika's comment in Chapter
Fifteen: "the Oracle . . . said that other white men were on their
way. They were locusts. . . ."
Fire
Okonkwo is associated with burning, fire, and flame throughout
the novel, symbolizing his intense and dangerous anger which is
the only emotion that he allows himself to display in public. Yet
the problem with fire, as Okonkwo acknowledges in Chapters
Seventeen and Twenty-Four, is that it destroys everything it
consumes...

2. Okonkwo is both physically destructive as he kills Ikemefuna
and Ogbuefi Ezeudu's son and emotionally destructive as he
suppresses his fondness for Ikemefuna and Ezinma in favor of a
colder, more masculine identity. Just as fire feeds on itself until
all that is left is a pile of ash, Okonkwo eventually succumbs to
his intense rage, allowing it to rule his actions until it destroys
him.
Keep these symbols in mind as you read through the rest of the
novel.
Week 5
Reading
Questions – Due Sunday November 23 at 8
:00pm
1. How does the story of the destruction of Abame summarize
the experience of colonization?
2. By the time Obierika pays his next visit to Okonkwo two
years later, the missionaries have already invaded Umuofia,
built their church and begun their task of converting the people
to their religion.
Why is the presence of the Missionaries a great sorrow to the
leaders of the clan? Who is listening to the missionaries?
3. Why does the new religion appeal to Nwoye?
4. How do the missionaries attract new converts?
5. What does Oberika mean when he says "Our clan can no
longer act like one?"
6. What does Mr. Brown mean when he says "a frontal attack on

3. the village would not succeed?"
What is his solution?
7. At the end Okonkwo kills the messenger and brings disaster
on his head. But he could be viewed as a defiant hero defending
his people's way of life. What do you think of his act?
8. What is your reaction to the final paragraph of the book?
Analyze it...
9. Final Question
: After you finish the novel, reflect on the character of
Okonkwo and the events that occur in his life. Read the
description of Western tragedy and the tragic hero below, based
on Aristotle's definition:
Tragedy
may be defined as dramatic narrative in which serious and
important actions turn out disastrously for the protagonist or
tragic hero
. The classical Western tragic hero is the main character of
great importance to his state or culture and is conventionally of
noble birth and high social station, the ruler or an important
leader in his society. The moral health of the state is identified
with, and dependent on, that of its ruler, and so the tragic hero's
story is also that of his state. Such heroes are
mixed
characters, neither thoroughly good or thoroughly evil, yet
"better" or "greater" than the rest of us are in the sense that they
are of higher than ordinary moral worth and social significance.
The
plot
of tragedy traces the
tragic fall

4. of the hero, when a disastrous change of fortune, or
reversal
, catapults him (classical tragic heroes are often male) from the
heights of happiness to the depths of misery. This fall usually
comes as a consequence of a
tragic flaw
in the hero's character and/or an error of judgment, although
the fall may also be a product of the hero's pre-ordained destiny
or fate. The gods may have prophesized this fall, and the hero's
tragic flaw, sometimes in the form of a ruling passion
(classically,
hubris
or overweening pride and self-confidence), may cause the hero
to disregard divine law and/or try in vain to escape his fate. The
tragic hero may experience a supreme moment of
recognition
of the truth of his situation and/or of his identity. The tragic
hero is supposed to move us to pity, because, since he is not an
evil man, his misfortune is greater than he deserves; but his
story may also move us to fear or terror, because we recognize
similar possibilities of flaw in our fallible natures or of errors
of judgment in our own lesser lives. In the
Poetics
, ancient Greek theorist Aristotle also asserts that these feelings
of pity and fear are purged or purified through
katharsis
: tragic representations of suffering and defeat leave an
audience feeling, not depressed, but relieved and even elevated.
In your opinion does the plot of
Things Fall Apart
and the character of its protagonist Okonkwo adhere to the
conventions of
Western tragedy
and the
tragic hero