Things Fall Apart Exam Review

1. Things Fall Apart Exam Review

2. You Should: • Take notes to use on the exam • There are 40 multiple choice questions.-Do these on scantron. • There are 20 character matching questions.-Do this on your own paper. • There are 11 quotes to identify. • There are two short essays – 2 to 3 paragraphs • There is one long essay – 5 to 7 paragraphs • Exam is worth 143 points. • Exams are worth 85% of your grade.

3. Chi • Personal god- one makes a contract with this entity before birth as to what one wants to achieve or not in life. • Believed to be responsible for both good and bad luck. • Likened to a guardian angel that guides a human on earth, steering humans away from bad choices and towards good ones.

4. obanje • A child believed to be an evil spirit that taunts its mother by being born and dying shortly after over and over again. • Ezinma believe to be one. • A myth that explains why children die young.

5. Iyi-uwa • A stone used by the obanji to link themselves to the spirit world. • A child could be saved if a medicine man could locate the stone. • Chielo takes Ezinma to try to locate her stone and enlists a medicine man to help.

6. egugwu • Men of the igbo tribe that represent ancestor’s spirits. • Priests of the Oracle of Agbala. • Concealed by masks and costumes, not considered to be human when disguised and are not to be touched by humans. • Address humans as “body” to emphasize the difference between the human and spirit. • Are called on to make judgments in disputes that occur within the clan.

7. Okonkwo • Tragic hero – begins in the story as a person of high status who falls from status as a result of bad choices. • Revered in Umofia for being wealthy, prosperous, strong, good at wrestling, a brave warrior, has two titles of honor, three wives. • Tragic fault – his inability to express emotion, anger, uses his fists instead of his words, inability to adapt. • Regards emotion as weakness. • Ashamed of his father Unoka - represents weakness to him. • Ashamed of his son Nwoye – regards him as feminine and weak for converting to the Christian religion. • Wishes Ezinma were a boy. • Dies in a shameful way. • Tall, huge, bushy eyebrows, wide nose and a severe look.

8. Motif • Any elements that recurs in one or more works of literature or art. • Chi is a reoccurring element in this story. • Okonkwo’s chi is mentioned when he is banished and again when Nwoye converts to Christianity. • Okonkow thinks chi is responsible for his bad fortune and that his chi is his destiny.

9. Themes • Things Fall Apart – literally, with the coming of the white man, the Igbo society unravels and falls apart. • Tolerance of other cultures. • Those who cannot adapt, cannot survive.

10. Irony • The difference between appearance and reality. • Okonkwo’s death and the title of the District Commissioner’s Book: ”The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger” • One of Umofia’s greatest men dies like a dog and cannot even be touched or buried by his tribe because his suicide makes him an abomination. • The Western European idea that the Igbo were savages that needed to be pacified when in fact they had a peaceful, working society in place. • Europeans did not bring peace, but violence and confusion.

11. Tragedy • A drama or story that tells of the fall of a person from high status. • Serious • Celebrates the courage and dignity of a tragic hero in the face of inevitable doom. • Okonkwo embodies these traits as does the novel.

12. Mr. Smith vs. Mr. Brown • Mr. Brown: • tolerates Igbo beliefs and traditions • Restrains overzealous converts • Opens schools and hospitals to help win converts. • Criticizes the Igbo for worshiping false gods. Mr. Smith: • intolerant of Igbo beliefs and traditions. • Encourages overzealous converts to behave badly. • Believes in conversion by force not choice • Horrified when a woman allows her husband to mutilate her child

13. Men vs. Women in Igbo Society • Male dominated • Men hold authority in family and clan • Men cultivate the king crop – yams • Women cultivate smaller, less important crops. • Men judge important cases • Women judge minor disputes • Women serve husbands and take care of children • Men are allowed to beat their wives and children • Men are allowed to have more than one wife

14. Okonkwo vs. Unoka • Unoka: • Lazy, poor, cowardly, afraid of war • Holds no titles • In debt • Loves music and celebrations • Unsuccessful Okonkwo: hard worker wealthy holds two titles of honor fierce and brave warrior successful

15. Proverbs, Myths, Folk tales = oral tradition • Used to explain unexplained phenomenon • Used to teach children cultural values • Tortoise and the Snake-Lizard = how the tortoise got the cracks in his shell. • Obanje= why children die young. • “Whenever you see a toad jumping in broad daylight, you know that something is after its life.”=when clan members come out to meet early in the morning, its obvious their lives are in danger. • “Enke the bird was asked why he was always on the wing and he replied, ‘men have learned to shoot without missing their mark and I have learned to fly with perching on a twig.”=Clan members must be willing to kill their own brothers, something they have never done before. • "Obodo N'ezu Ezu Azu Nwa“=Igbo Proverb: "It takes a whole village to raise a child."

16. Quotes – who said these, to whom and why? • “I know you will not despair. You have a manly and proud heart.” • Unoka to Okonkwo “When did you become a shivering old woman?” *Okonkwo to self “What you have done will not please the earth.” *Oberika to Okonkwo “Where did you bury your iyi-uwa?” *Medicine man to Enzinma “Body of Uzowulu, do you know me?” *Evil Forest (Eguwgwu) to Uzowulu

17. Quotes part 2 • “ We all know that the man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding.” • Uchendu to Okonkwo “Unless you shave off the mark of the heathen belief I will not admit you into the church.” • Mr. Kiaga to the outcasts/Osu “Kotma of the ash buttock,/He is fit to be a slave.” • Song about the Igbo police “You have all seen the great abomination of your brother.” • Okonkwo to his children “I have asked you to come because of what happened during my absence.” • District Commissioner to the elders of Umofia

18. Characters- Know them and how to identify them • Okonkwo Nwoye Ekwefi Unoka • Agbala Ezinma Chielo Ikemefuna • Ezeudu Ojiugo Uchendu Enoch • Dist Commissioner Mr. Kiaga Mr. Smith • Mr. Brown Isaac Aneto • Oberika Akunna

19. Setting • Village/Clan of Umofia • Nigeria • Mbanta – Okonkwo’s mother’s village/clan • Mbiano- neighboring clan/village • Igbo/Ibo - Tribe

20. Facts to Remember • Ikemefuna came to Umofia as an exchange for the woman his father killed. • Ikemefuna is killed because an oracle decreed he must die. • Okonkwo breaks the week of peace when he beats his wife. • Chielo takes Ezinma to see Agbala. • Oberika’s daughter’s wedding is interrupted when a cow gets loose. • Oberika’s daughter’s husband’s family brings pots of palm wine for her bride price. • During Ezeudu’s funeral Okonkwo accidently kills his son. • As a punishment, Okonkwo is banished from Umofia for 7 years. • People of Abame were massacred for killing a white missionary.

21. Facts to RememberContinued • An iron horse is a bicycle. • Efulefu = worthless people. • People of Umofia decide that the missionaries were protected by their glasses which prevented them from being killed in the Evil Forest. • People of Mbanta believe that the Christians killed the sacred python. • Christian converts are compared to a hunter’s dog that has gone mad and turned on its master.

22. Facts to RememberEnd • Okonkwo kills a court messenger with his machete at the clan meeting. • Palm oil is a source of money for the people of Umofia • Enoch unmasks the Egwugwu. • Clan members calm the Mother Spirit by burning down the church.

23. Know This Information • You will only have 90 minutes to complete this exam. • Make sure you review this information and know it; you won’t have time to learn it during the exam. • Bring something to do if you finish early, talking during or after the exam or relying on your neighbor for answers will result in a 0 on the exam.