key context points in Things fall apart

Question 1

week of peace

Answer 1

The week of peace was one of the means of unification for the clan and appeasement for the gods in control over their crops.
Okonkwo breaks the sacred Week of Peace when he noticed that one of his wives, Ojiugo, leaves her hut without making dinner, frustrating him to the point of beating her up. He is forced to repent by a priest by sacrificing a nanny goat and a hen and paying a fine of one length of cloth and 100 crowries

Question 2

historical context

Answer 2

Things Fall Apart is set in 1890, during the early days of colonialism in Nigeria. Achebe depicts Igbo society in transition, from its first contact with the British colonialists to the growing dominance of British rule over the indigenous people. Literary works about this period often painted stereotypical portraits of native Africans as primitives—even works that were critical of the European colonizers, such as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad depicted Africans as savages who were both oppressed by and excited the savagery of white Christian Europeans (see “Joseph Conrad: ‘A Bloody Racist’” below). Achebe’s novel is a response to these colonialist works of literature—Things Fall Apart is a postcolonial novel that strives to revise previous stereotypes by portraying both cultures with a neutral eye, focusing on the complexity of Igbo traditions.

Question 3

oracle

Answer 3

regarded as an insight into the future of Igbo culture

Question 4

religion

Answer 4

In the book things fall apart written by Chinua Achebe the Igbo Religion brings people together physically to an event or ceremony. Many religions come together to worship different gods which give people a common interest. Religion brings people together mentally by providing a sense of belonging.

Question 5

chi

Answer 5

The chi in chapter 5 of Things Fall Apart is Okonkwo’s personal spirit. In traditional Igbo culture, it is the chi that determines one’s personal destiny. Judging by his unacceptable behavior in this chapter, it would seem that Okonkwo’s chi is leading him on a self-destructive path.

Question 6

title

Answer 6

comes from Yates poem, about the destruction that hte war is causing

Question 7

father ans sons

Answer 7

father and sons now have a sacred bond
church is causing them to change this
“a man can now leave his fathers and brothers.”

Question 8

ozo society

Answer 8

one of the highest if not the highest groups in umuofia

“initiating his sons in ozo society.”

Question 9

ani

Answer 9

ani is the earth goddess the female deity, she is the goddess of morality, fertitlity and death, she also has power over the land.

Question 10

agbala

Answer 10

influeences all aspects of umuofian life, influences all aspects of umuofian life she is based on the real oracle at akwa, who controlled igbo life for centuries

Question 11

twins

Answer 12

Unmasking an egwugwu was one of the greatest crimes a man can do