TFA test study :) Flashcards
“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter”
Chinua Achebe
What does harmattan mean
dusty wind
what is an egwugwu
village elder dressed as an ancestral spirit
what is an ekwe
a wooden drum
what is an udu
a pottery drum
what is an ogene
gong
What is foo foo (aka fou fou) made of?
pounded yams
What is a kola nut?
Type of seed of a plant; is very significant in ibo culture and represents things like hospitality, good will
what is an example of the kola being used from the book?
when unoka and okoye split a kola nut upon meeting (even tho unoka owed okoye a lot of money)
What are cowrie shells?
shells that are used as currency in the culture
what is an agbala?
a woman, or a man without a title
what is an obi
a hut
what is a ndichie
an elder
what is a chi
a personal god, whose merit is determined by the individual’s good fortune or lack thereof
This quote describes:
“Perhaps down in his heart _______ was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, malevolent, *red in tooth and claw. ________’s fear was greater than these. It was not external but lay deep within himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father”
okonkwo
Who said this?
“A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.
unoka
Who said this?
“This meeting is for men”
okonkwo
who said this?
“The evil you have done can ruin the whole clan. The earth goddess whom you have insulted may refuse to give her increase, and we shall all perish.”
Ezeani, priest of the earth goddess
who said this?
“I will not have a son who cannot hold up his head in the gathering of the clan. I would sooner strangle him with my own hands.”
okonkwo
Who is Ani?
earth goddess and the source of all fertility (played a great deal in the life of the ppl; honored with the feast of the New Yam
Describe chielo
-good friend of Ekwefi; shares her shed in the market
-calls Ezinma “my daughter”
-concerned about Okonkwo almost shooting Ekwefi
-priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves
Who said this?
Umuofia has decided to kill [Ikemefuna].
The Oracle of the Hills and Caves has
pronounced it….But I want you to have
nothing to do with it. He calls you father”.
Ogbuefi Ezeudu
Who said this?
“How can a man who has killed five men in battle fall to pieces because he has added a boy to their number? Okonkwo, you have become a woman indeed”
okonkwo (to himself)
Who said this?
“…if the Oracle said that my son should be killed I would neither dispute it nor be the one to do it.”
obierika
Who said this?
“The Earth cannot punish me for obeying her messenger.”
okonkwo
Who said this?
“If I were you I would have stayed at home. What you have done will not please the Earth. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families.”
Obierika
“But someone had to do it. If we were all afraid of blood, it would not be done.”
Okonkwo
Who said this?
“…the Oracle did not ask me to carry out its decision.”
Obierika
Who said this?
“…the law of the land must be obeyed” (69).
Okonkwo
Who said this?
“I don’t know how we got that law….In many other clans a man of title is not forbidden to climb the palm tree” (69).
Obierika
Who said this?
“It is like the story of white men who, they say, are white like this piece of chalk….And these white men, they say, have no toes” (74).
Obierika
Describe an obanje
- wicked child who dies and re-enters the mother’s womb to be born again
-cannot be mourned (according to the medicine man)
-is mutilated and buried in the Evil Forest to discourage it from returning
-hides an iyi-uwa (often a pebble) that bonds it to the world of obanje and must be destroyed to break the cycle of rebirth
Describe the egwugwu
- spirits of the ancestors representing the nine villages
-led by Evil Forest
-Okonkwo is the second egwugwu
-both sides of a dispute argue their case to the egwugwu
-witnesses may be called
-settle the dispute but their “duty is not to blame this man or praise that”
Who said this?
“They want a piece of land to build their shrine….Let us give them a portion of the Evil Forest. They boast about victory over death. Let us give them a real battlefield in which to show their victory”
Uchendu
Who said these?
“…why is it that one of the commonest names we give our children is Nneka, or Mother is Supreme?” (133).
“You think you are the greatest sufferer in the world?” (135).
Uchendu
Who said this?
“How do you think we can fight when our own brothers have turned against us? The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his 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” (176)
Obierika
Who said this?
“Let us talk about it like friends and find a way of ensuring that it does not happen again” (193).
District Commissioner
“An Umuofian man does not refuse a call….He may refuse to do what he is asked; he does not refuse to be asked (193)
Okonkwo
What is the name of okonkwo’s mother land?
Mbanta
What holy animal does Okonkwo’s clan suspect the Christians have killed and eaten?
a python
Who is the 1st missionary to come to umofia?
Mr. Brown
How many villages does Umuofia comprise?
9
Whom did Okonkwo beat in his legendary wrestling match?
Amalinze the cat
In what country does Things Fall Apart take place?
Nigeria
What do the inhabitants of Mbanta believe is responsible for the white man’s miraculous survival after having built his church in the Evil Forest?
his eyeglasses
Who does okonkwo wish was born a son?
ezinma
Who did okonkwo actually (kind of) fall in love with?
Ekwefi
Why is Okonkwo exiled?
he accidentally kills another member of the clan
Who is Okonkwo’s second wife?
Ekwefi
Where are the Christian women forbidden to go when the clan hears of the killing of a royal python?
to the stream
What does okonkwo do even though hes adviced not to do it
he helps kill Ikemefuna
What crop is king for the Igbo?
Yam
In the allegory of Tortoise, what do the birds give to Tortoise?
feathers
What does Enoch do to provoke the rage of the clan?
he unmasks the egwugwu
How does Okonkwo die?
he kills himself
Why are the villagers happy when the locusts arrive?
because they taste good
What does okonkwo fear most
showing emotion and becoming like his father
