Things+Fall+Apart


 * __Things Fall Apart __**** by Chinua Achebe **

The story is set in the 1890s and portrays the clash between Nigeria’s white colonial government and the traditional culture of the indigenous Igbo people.
 * __Synopsis: __**

The story focuses on a wealthy and respected Igbo warrior named Okonkwo who belongs to a Nigerian tribe, that is part of a consortium of nine connected villages. Okonko has three wives and eight children. Only two are main characters - a son named Nwoye and a daughter named Ezinma.

Okonkwo is haunted by the memory of his father, who died leaving many village debts unsettled. In response, Okonkwo has worked hard to become a clansman, warrior, farmer, and family provider.

Okonkwo, strives to make his way in a **world that seems to value manliness**. In so doing, he rejects everything for which he believes his father stood. Okonkwo consciously adopts the opposite ideals of his father and becomes productive, wealthy, thrifty, brave, violent, and adamantly opposed to music and anything else that he perceives to be “soft,” such as conversation and emotion. Okonkwo is gruff, at times, and usually unable to express his feelings. Okonkwo is a tragic hero: his tragic flaw is how he equates manliness with rashness, anger, and violence and this eventually brings about his own destruction.

He is a very violent man. He often beats his wives. He also murders his adopted son because of a prophecy he is told.

Eventually Okonkwo and his family are banished from his village due to an accident and there he learns of the ‘destruction’ of a nearby town by the ‘white man’. When the missonaries arrive to try and convert the tribe, Okonkwo stands up to them believing he will be supported by the others. He murders one of the missionaries but the others run away.

Eventually Okonkwo kills himself because he realizes that he cannot fit into the new world. When the District Commissioner arrives at Okonkwo’s compound, he finds that Okonkwo has hanged himself. The commissioner, who is writing a book about Africa, believes that the story of Okonkwo’s rebellion and death will make for an interesting paragraph or two. He has already chosen the book’s title: //The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger.//   - A grade 10 or 11 English class. (It is violent but not overly graphic) - It would also be good in a history class because it deals with issues of identity and culture aswell as colonialization. - Possibly also a ESL class.
 * 1) What grade level would I teach this novel in? **

- This novel would be great for **addressing** **stereotypes** of other various cultures or ethnic groups. The novel challenges traditional European portraits of native Africans. Achebe portrays the complex, advanced social institutions and artistic traditions of Igbo culture prior to its contact with Europeans. Yet he is just as careful not to stereotype the Europeans; he offers varying depictions of the white man, - In the novel the missonaries are represented by three main characters - softhanded Mr. Brown, the aggressive Reverend Smith, and the ruthlessly calculating District Commissioner.  - This novel would also be good because it explores the ways in which **language is a sign of cultural difference.** Achebe emphasizes that Africa is not the silent or incomprehensible country that books such as //Heart of Darkness// made it out to be. Rather, by peppering the novel with Igbo words, Achebe shows that the Igbo language is too complex for direct translation into English and that there are many different languages in Africa. In one part of the novel, the villagers of Umuofia, make fun of Mr. Brown’s translator because his language is slightly different from their own. The novel also makes it clear that Igbo culture cannot be understood within the framework of European colonialist values. *(good for ESL)*
 * 2) What are the main ideas/issues/teaching points which you would emphasize when teaching the text? **(I considered the main themes)


 * -** **The Struggle Between Change and Tradition** -The villagers in general are caught between resisting and embracing change and they face the dilemma of trying to determine how best to adapt to the reality of change. Many of the villagers are excited about the new opportunities and techniques that the missionaries bring. This European influence, however, threatens to extinguish the need for the mastery of traditional methods of farming, harvesting, building, and cooking. These traditional methods, once crucial for survival, are now, to varying degrees, dispensable. Throughout the novel, Achebe shows how dependent such traditions are upon storytelling and language and thus how quickly the abandonment of the Igbo language for English could lead to the eradication of these traditions.

 Varying Interpretations of Masculinity **– The novel shows how a young boy’s ideas on masculinity can be mal-informed or negatively influenced by external forces. ** 3) **What are the issues/ challenges you might encounter in teaching the text?** - Some of the violence could be an issue (I see the portrayal as a concern for young people as it may fit certain stereotypes they already have about African tribes being violent – they may not get the challenge to the stereotype that Achebe puts forth). - the role of women – their treatment in the novel - Some of the Igbo language (notes help)

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; mso-bidi-font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS'; mso-fareast-font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS';">4) **Describe one possible assignment / activity which you could use when teaching the text.** ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; mso-bidi-font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS'; mso-fareast-font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS';">-<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Book Antiqua'; mso-bidi-font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS'; mso-fareast-font-family: '@Arial Unicode MS';">One assignment would be to have the students do a Venn chart where they try to compare the Igbo culture with Western culture. It may help them to see some of the similarities in terms of social structure. - Another assignment would have the students imagine they were a member of the Igbo tribe and they would write a letter expressing their concern over the missionaries’ presence and influence.