1. World Literature: Mr. Lancto
Things Fall Apart
World Literature: Mr. Lancto

2. Themes & Issues within TFA
Masculinity
Agbala = means “woman” and is used to describe a man with no titles
Yams  Man crop (Yams give life to Ibo without yams [men] Ibo do not survive)
Wrestling and physical dominance are highly regarded
But what truly makes up a man? (Okonkwo’s version or Obierka & Nwoye?)
Father/Son Relationships
Unoka’s laziness drives Okonkwo to hate him and dedicates his life to becoming a “man”
Nwoye grows to resent Okonkwo’s [Ibo] way of life
Christianity and the relationship within The Holy Trinity [Father, son, and the holy spirit]

3. Themes & Issues within TFA
Okonkwo as the Sophoclean Tragic Hero
Areté: Striving to be a man of title in Ibo tribe & be better than his Father
Hubris: Calling lesser men as women in meetings, beating wife during week of peace
Até: Killing Ikemefuna [Going against the will of the gods in order to look strong]
Nemesis: ??? {You will find out at the end }
He ends up no better than his father at the end!
Old World Vs. New World: Ibo tradition ripped apart by European influence
Religion (Christianity vs. Traditional Ibo)
Missionaries attracted outsiders, the curious, and the tortured
Christianity challenged the beliefs and actions of Ibo [Twins, Evil Forest, etc.]
Government
White court system went against the Ibo judicial process, causing conflict

4. THEMES & ISSUES WITHIN TFA
Fear
Okonkwo’s fear of being like his father drives him and dictates his actions/thoughts
Nwoye’s fear of his father forces him to rebel and leave Igbo way of life
Missionaries fear of the Igbo forces them to neglect & ignore a different way of life
Martyrdom vs. Extremism
Is Okonkwo a symbol & hero for the Igbo or is his way of life an extreme version of Igbo culture and/or his own interpreted version of Igbo life?
Accountability/Responsibilty
Okonkwo blames chi, father, and weakness of tribe for shortcomings
British blame Igbo for not embracing their presence
Role of Women in Igbo Culture
Mother is Supreme…BUT women are not regarded in everyday society

5. Chapters 5-7
Okonkwo rebels against tradition to preserve his “Manliness”
Beats Ewefi in order to satisfy his boredom of the New Yam Festival
Kills Ikemefuna despite Ogbuefi Ezeudu telling him not to “bear a hand in his death”
Sin to kill a kinsman [family member] in Ibo culture
Nwoye and his struggle to find acceptance
Tries to please his father by talking badly about women
“That showed that in time he would be able to control his women-folk” (45)
Enjoys his mother’s stories instead of Okonkwo’s about blood and war
Questions Ikemefuna’s death and practice of killing Twins
Mourns with his mother and cries in front of his father [Okonkwo beats him]

6. Chapters 8 Okonkwo’s inner struggle with Ikemefuna’s death
He questions his manliness for feeling remorse
Obierika does not take place in Ikemefuna’s death, yet his manhood is not questioned
Obierika tells Okonkwo, “It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families.” (67)
Does this explain events in Chap. 13?
Obierika questions Ibo society
Twins
Ozo title
Okonkwo’s banishment

7. Chapter 9 & 10 Ewefi’s story
Ogbanje = wicked child spirit that when they died entered mothers womb to be born again
Iyi-uwa an object from Igbo mythology that binds the spirit of Ogbanje (many objects can serve)
What does this explain about Ibo religion?
Using objects to hold significance?
Egwugwu
Settled conflicts between people in the tribe
“it is not bravery when a man fights with a women.” (93)
What does this explain or not explain about Okonkwo?

8. Points of interest throughout 8-13
Ceremonies
Wedding
Bride-price settled by men with a bundle of sticks
Ch.12 explains the entire process
Funeral
Chapter 13
Conflict (court case)
Egwugwu settled with compromise (their word is law)
Storytelling
Tortoise and the sky
Represents the trickery/influence of the European colonization within the Ibo

9. Points of interest throughout 14-19
Mother is Supreme
Uchendu is trying to show Okonkwo that it is okay to show emotion
Just as children seek comfort from their Mother, Okonkwo is seeking it in Mbanta
Uchendu openly admits feeling pain for loss of wives and children
Okonkwo is rejecting emotions & Ibo tradition by disrespecting his mother’s kinsman
Story of Mother Kite
“Never kill a man who says nothing.” (116)
Okonkwo suggests they should have armed and fought
Uchendu reflects the Ibo ideal of trying to solve a conflict peacefully before violence

10. Points of interest throughout 14-19
Acceptance and Rejection of Christianity
Nwoye, pregnant women, and Osu [outcast clansmen] find purpose, comfort, & meaning
Okonkwo rejects because it would place blame and diminish his reputation
Killing Ikemefuna would be pointless
Nwoye and his relationship falling apart would be for nothing
His entire life would be useless
Christianity destroys Ibo culture & traditions
No negative consequences from evil forest, osu cutting hair, or caring for twins
Dissolves traditional kinship and replaces it with a “spiritual” kinship through God
Encourages the rejection of family “Blessed is he who forsakes his father…for my sake.” (127)

11. Chapters 20-25
“We were amused at his [the white man] foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” (145)
These “things” that held them together were culture, tradition, and religion
Missionaries caused them to question and reject these important aspects  Downfall
Mr. Smith and D.C. represents the ignorance of the western world when it comes to Africa
Saw things as “Black” and “White”… “black was evil”
Could write only a chapter on Okonkwo…Achebe writes an entire book
Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger
Who is to blame for Okonkwo’s death?
His own selfishness [thought he would be great when he returned, having to be manly]
Missionaries? [Caused conflict amongst Ibo clan which in turn weakened them]