THINGS FALL APART

1. By Chinua Achebe THINGS FALL APART

2. Was born in Nigeria in 1930 Left Nigeria in 1966 during a national upheaval that led to the Biafran War Is credited with defining modern African literature Has been honored with Nigeria’s highest award for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award Has received more than twenty honorary doctorate degrees from universities in England, Scotland, the U.S., Canada, and Nigeria Currently lives in New York, where he and his wife teach at Bard College; he has four children About the Author, Chinua Achebe

3. The novel was published in 1958 It is set in the Victorian Era (1837-1901), roughly the 1890s Westerners at the time viewed people in lower classes and blacks as primitive people who were irrational, childlike, superstitious (rather than religious), and unclean As Britain expanded its empire, it justified its imperialism by claiming to “civilize” native peoples by providing them stable government and justice Rudyard Kipling coined the phrase, “White Man’s Burden,” which maintained that the British were innately superior and therefore morally responsible for ruling others, not so much for their own glory as for the others’ “happiness” Historical Context of Things Fall Apart

4. A fictitious village, Umuofia would be located in the Igbo area of Nigeria on the west coast of Africa Where is umuofia?

5. ELDER MEETING

6. IGBO HOUSE

7. Igbo sculpture

8. Characters use elevated diction to represent the dignity of Igbo speech Achebe was not forced to learn English; he chose to, as a means of fighting colonial influences from within Igbo words, proverbs, parables, and stories are included to create an authentic African feel Ironically, Igbo is not among the more than 30 languages into which Things Fall Apart has been translated The only standard Igbo language, “Union Igbo,” was imposed on Africans by colonizers in an effort to translate the Bible into a language recognized by all the Igbo tribes Achebe’s Language: Why English?

9. Discuss the novel keeping in mind its historical context • Remember: • No raising hands • No hogging the conversation • Talk to each other, not just your teacher • Give shyer people a chance to participate • Watch others for signs that they’re trying to jump in • Feel free to ask follow-up questions SOCRATIC SEMINAR!

10. To revise works of so-called “African literature,” such as Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson(in which a slave adores his colonist master to the point of gladly being shot to death by him) To oppose the stereotypical view of Africa as a primitive land devoid of a rich history or cultural heritage To create a multifaceted and sympathetic perspective of a traditional African village culture To encourage Africans to value their heritage Chiefly: To re-story the colonization of Africa from an insider’s perspective and to appropriate the language of the oppressors for the benefit of Africans To speak to the experience not only of Nigerians but also other cultures that have experienced dispossession and oppression Achebe’s Purpose: After the Discussion

11. Victorian Web. < http://www.victorianweb.org/ > Web. 6 Sept. 2011. www.wsu.edu (Washington State University) Web.cocc.edu (Central Oregon Community College) Ipl2.org (Internet Public Library) Literaryworlds.umich.edu (University of Michigan)--images Sources Consulted