What will I learn about: how the origins of this literary masterpiece provide a vital, firsthand perspective on the rich culture and traditions of the Igbo people?

Discover how the origins of this literary masterpiece provide a vital, firsthand perspective on the rich culture and traditions of the Igbo people.

What will I learn about: how traditional Igbo society judged individuals by their own merit and achievements, allowing hard-working warriors to escape the shadow of familial failures?

Understand how traditional Igbo society judged individuals by their own merit and achievements, allowing hard-working warriors to escape the shadow of familial failures.

What will I learn about: Learn how the deep-seated fear of appearing weak can lead to devastating personal choices, powerfully illustrated when Okonkwo participates in the murder of his adopted son?

Learn how the deep-seated fear of appearing weak can lead to devastating personal choices, powerfully illustrated when Okonkwo participates in the murder of his adopted son.

What will I learn about: Explore the strict traditional laws and spiritual customs of the Umuofia clan, where breaking the sacred Week of Peace or committing an accidental crime demands severe sacrifices and swift exile?

Explore the strict traditional laws and spiritual customs of the Umuofia clan, where breaking the sacred Week of Peace or committing an accidental crime demands severe sacrifices and swift exile.

What will I learn about: how the looming threat of colonialism begins to encroach on traditional African life, foreshadowed by chilling rumors of white men destroying a neighboring village?

Find out how the looming threat of colonialism begins to encroach on traditional African life, foreshadowed by chilling rumors of white men destroying a neighboring village.

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Things Fall Apart

A Classic on the Reality of Change and Colonialism in Nigeria

Chinua Achebe

★ 3.7 / 5(33 ratings)

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Categories:

Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality History

If You're Curious About These Questions...

You should listen to this audiobook

💡What happens to a legendary warrior when the very traditions that defined his greatness begin to fracture from within?
💡Have you ever wondered how a community’s entire way of life can be dismantled by the arrival of a single new religion and set of laws?
💡Are you curious about the complex social codes and spiritual rituals that shaped the Igbo people before the forces of colonialism took hold?

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Key Takeaways from Things Fall Apart

✓Discover how the origins of this literary masterpiece provide a vital, firsthand perspective on the rich culture and traditions of the Igbo people.
✓Understand how traditional Igbo society judged individuals by their own merit and achievements, allowing hard-working warriors to escape the shadow of familial failures.
✓Learn how the deep-seated fear of appearing weak can lead to devastating personal choices, powerfully illustrated when Okonkwo participates in the murder of his adopted son.
✓Explore the strict traditional laws and spiritual customs of the Umuofia clan, where breaking the sacred Week of Peace or committing an accidental crime demands severe sacrifices and swift exile.
✓Find out how the looming threat of colonialism begins to encroach on traditional African life, foreshadowed by chilling rumors of white men destroying a neighboring village.

Learning Tools

Reinforce what you learned from Things Fall Apart

Mind Map

Things Fall Apart

Background & Themes+

Okonkwo's Character+

The Downfall Begins+

Colonial Encroachment+

Cultural Disintegration+

Tragic Conclusion+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10

Where does the title of the book, 'Things Fall Apart', come from?

A. An ancient Igbo proverb about the changing of seasons
B. A line within the poem 'The Second Coming' by W. B. Yeats
C. A speech given by the District Commissioner
D. A traditional song sung during the Week of Peace

Question 2 of 10

What is the primary motivation behind Okonkwo's strict demeanor and fear of appearing weak?

A. He wants to intimidate the neighboring village of Mbaino
B. He is haunted by the memory of his father, who was a spendthrift and lacked respect
C. He is trying to fulfill a prophecy given by the earth goddess
D. He wants to prove his worth to the white missionaries

Question 3 of 10

Why does Okonkwo strike the final blow that kills Ikemefuna?

A. Ikemefuna attempted to escape and run back to his home village
B. The Oracle specifically commanded Okonkwo to carry out the execution
C. Okonkwo did not want to appear weak in front of the other men
D. Ikemefuna had committed a crime against the earth goddess

Question 4 of 10

What event results in Okonkwo and his family being exiled from Umuofia for seven years?

A. He heavily beats his wife during the sacred Week of Peace
B. He accidentally shoots and kills a 16-year-old clansman during a funeral
C. He openly defies the District Commissioner in the marketplace
D. He refuses to surrender his eldest son to the missionaries

Question 5 of 10

When the missionaries ask for land to build a church in Mbanta, what are they given?

A. A fertile plot of land near the village center
B. An abandoned compound that once belonged to an exiled elder
C. A piece of the Evil Forest where diseased bodies are buried
D. A plot of land near the river, far from the village shrines

Question 6 of 10

Why does Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, convert to the new religion?

A. He is captivated by the religion and uses it to get far away from his father's harshness
B. He wants to learn how to trade with the white men and gain wealth
C. He is promised a position as a court messenger by the District Commissioner
D. He wants to spy on the missionaries and report back to the clan elders

Question 7 of 10

What highly offensive act does the zealous convert Enoch commit that leads to the destruction of the church?

A. He burns down the shrine of the earth goddess
B. He murders a sacred python in the village square
C. He unmasks an egwugwu, which is considered killing an ancestral spirit
D. He physically attacks Reverend James Smith during a sermon

Question 8 of 10

How does Okonkwo realize that his clan will not go to war against the white men?

A. Obierika convinces him that the white men's weapons are too powerful
B. The clan members allow the remaining court messengers to escape after Okonkwo kills their leader
C. The elders vote to pay the 250 bags of cowries instead of fighting
D. The District Commissioner arrives with an army that vastly outnumbers the clan

Question 9 of 10

Why are Okonkwo's friends unable to take down his body and bury him themselves?

A. They are afraid the District Commissioner will arrest them for interfering
B. Okonkwo died of a disease that the clan believes is highly contagious
C. Taking one's own life is an affront to the earth, and only strangers may touch the body
D. Clan law dictates that a banished man can never be buried in his homeland

Question 10 of 10

How does the District Commissioner plan to treat Okonkwo's story in the book he is writing?

A. He plans to dedicate the entire book to Okonkwo's tragic life
B. He plans to write a detailed chapter analyzing Okonkwo's cultural significance
C. He plans to omit Okonkwo entirely to avoid making the natives look heroic
D. He plans to reduce Okonkwo's life and death to perhaps a single paragraph

Things Fall Apart — Full Chapter Overview

1Recommendation
2Part One
3Part Two
4Part Three
5Epilogue

Things Fall Apart Summary & Overview

Things Fall Apart (1958) was the first in the African Writers Series of 350 books published between 1962 and 2003 which provided an international audience for many African writers. It tells the story of a respected leader of an Igbo community and the problems faced by the community as white men arrive and bring with them their laws and religion.

Who Should Listen to Things Fall Apart?

Lovers of great story-telling
Anthropology students interested in understanding the cultural and religious practices of the Igbo people of Nigeria
History buffs interested in African history and the impact of colonialism

About the Author: Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic. His first novel, Things Fall Apart has sold over ten million copies and has been translated into 45 languages.