Chapter 1
How is the coming of locusts/ or the advance of a disease like leprosy similar to the coming of white men to the Igbo culture?
The coming of the white men was similar to leprosy because the white men started to destroy the Igbo culture with a small section of the tribe similarly to the way leprosy takes over the body. The small sections of the tribe such as the outcasts and the women who wanted to keep their twins started to join the white man’s church and stopped believing in the Igbo religion. More Igbo people joined the white church and stopped following Igbo customs, which gave the white men more power. Due to this increased power, white men built their own prison and government, which took the power of judgement away from the egwugwu. The coming of the white men slowly took over the Igbo society the way leprosy takes over the body and destroys it.
Why is the District Commissioner’s book title out of touch and ironic?
The District Commissioner’s book title is The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. This title is ironic because the Igbo tribe had a fully developed culture and they made the tribe more violent by destroying their culture. Their society was settled and had its own justice system to maintain peace. When the white men arrived, the Igbo men were cruelly imprisoned, and they would have been hanged if they did not pay their 250 bags of cowries fine.
Who is the title of the book important?
The title, Things Fall Apart, signifies that the established Igbo culture will weaken and eventually be destroyed.
Who warns Okonkwo not to be part of Ikemefuna’s death and why?
Ezeudu warns Okonkwo not to be part of Ikemefuna’s death because Ikemefuna called Okonkwo “father”.
How specifically is foreshadowing used in the novel?
Chinua Achebe uses foreshadowing several times throughout Things Fall Apart. The title foreshadows the deterioration of the Igbo culture. Ikemefuna’s death is foreshadowed when he is afraid when he arrives in Okonkwo’s household. The arrival of the white men was foreshadowed by the locusts because the first locust swarm was small like the white culture. Nwoye’s conversion was foreshadowed by his love of his mother’s stories and his disagreement with Okonkwo and the Ibo cultural practices. Okonkwo’s suicide was foreshadowed when Obierka came to Okonkwo when he was in exile to deliver his profits of his yam harvest. Okonkwo does not know how to thank him and says that killing his son would not be enough, so Obierka jokingly says to kill himself.
How is Okonkwo’s death ironic?
Okonkwo’s death is ironic because a proud man who is scared of weakness and failure hangs himself. It is also ironic that the people have abandoned all of their customs except the custom where people who know a person who has committed suicide cannot touch the body.
Why is the first half of the novel about day to day Igbo life?
The first half of the novel is about daily Igbo life to show the depth of the culture which will later be destroyed by the white men.
Explain the judicial system in the tribe.
Whenever there is a dispute in the tribe, the nine egwugwu*, one from each village, gather. They listen to the story of how the dispute started and they agree on the consequences of the dispute. The Igbo people believe that they are ancestors, so they obey the egwugwu’s judgements.
*The egwugwu are men who dress up like they are past ancestors and judge disputes among villages. They are tribe leaders and they think that they are spirits of the dead.
