Things Fall Apart: Essay Plans

Question 1

Okonkwo

Answer 1

• His hard work and establishment as a great man in the clan - representative of Igbo values (of success, through yams and wives) and his strengths
• His harsh aggression and traditional masculinity, and his imposement of these values on his wives and children
• His fear of failure, weakness, being like his father, as well as his traditional rigidity and lack of thought when he acts leading to his downfall through beating his wife during weak of peace, the death of Ikemefuna, exile and killing the messenger due to his inability to adapt to the European incursion

Okonkwo as a tragic hero with strengths and vices

Question 2

Nwoye (Relationship between Nwoye and Okonkwo)

Answer 2

• Masculinity - his defiance of and resentment for Okonkwo’s masculine values (like aggressiveness, violence) and acceptance of maternal values despite his burst of masculinity under the influence of Ikemefuna
• Change - challenging and questioning of Igbo tradition imposed onto him by Okonkwo (sacrifice of Ikemefuna, killing twins etc. his fear of Okonkwo’s beatings) and accepting change as a result
• Things falling apart - Okonkwo’s rigidity meant he saw Nwoye as feminine for converting to Christianity. His feminity and move away from tradition disrupted Okonkwo’s traditional values and this was one of the many things which fell apart in Okonkwo’s world and led to his downfall

Note Nwoye’s similiarities to Unoka

Question 3

Ikemefuna

Answer 3

• Fear and opression - At first he was timid and reserved, and missed his own family. He was intimidated by Okonkwo often which is representative of how Okonkwo rules over his children and wives with fear and authority
• Traditional values - highlights Okonkwo’s values as when Ikemefuna exhibits masculine traits and makes Nwoye more masculine, Okonkwo starts to like him
• Things falling apart - His death, caused by Okonkwo’s fear of failure and rigidity, being representative of Okonkwo’s fatal flaws and being the first step in his downfall, as it caused things to fall apart such as Nwoye to change and Okonkwo to start questioning his values, and Okonkwo failed to adapt and accept these changes, leading to his death

Remember to also explain what happens in the novel to show knowledge and understanding - do not assume the examiner knows the book

Question 4

Unoka (Relationship between Unoka and Okonkwo)

Answer 4

• Complete opposite to Okonkwo - lazy and improvident, liking music, lack of respect within clan vs masculine and aggressive, respected
• Fear - Okonkwo’s fear of being like Unoka drove him to be a large part of what he is. He also feared his children would become like Unoka and compared Nwoye to him when they did. This caused him to be emotionless, very masculine and oppressive.
• Things falling apart - The fear of becoming like his father is what drove him to be ‘a man of action not of words’ and do things such as kill Ikemefuna, leading to his downfall. It also made him rigid as he did not want to appear weak by submitting to the British, therefore was rigid and unaccepting of their values, again, leading to his downfall

Question 5

Ekwefi

Answer 5

• Tradition and gender roles - Representative of Igbo values in women and mothers - Wanting to have children above all else, going through suffering to have children, is beaten by Okonkwo
• Mother of Ezinma - Very special relationship, Ekwefi cares for her very much, Ezinma challenges Okonkwo’s tradition as she exhibits masculine traits and makes him exhibit feminine traits (such as having a bond of sympathy)
• Change - defying tradition by challenging Okonkwo and therefore gender roles - shows typically masculine values
• Things falling apart - Challenging of gender roles and tradition, Ekwefi being defiant and Ezinma being a girl yet exhibiting masculine traits. Okonkwo beating Ekwefi is representative of his fear of failure and rigidity. One of the other things which fell apart is the strict expectations surrounding women, such as how the Christians view traditions of Obanjes as ‘evil’. Tradition ‘falling apart’ in Okonkwo’s eyes is one of the things which precipitated his downfall as his rigidity prevented him from adapting to the change

Question 6

Ezinma (Relationship between Ezinma and her parents)

Answer 6

• Tradition and motherhood - Centre of her mothers world, represented the value in Igbo society for women having children as Ekwefi devoted herself to her after much suffering. So much so that she views her as an equal, further amplifying her maturity
• Okonkwo likes and values her - Okonkwo values her as she exhibits masculine traits, so is fond of her and wishes that she was a boy. This is because Nwoye is feminine to Okonkwo, so he wanted a masculine boy. Their strong bond even sees Okonkwo exhibiting feminine values such as having a ‘strong bond of sympathy’ with Okonkwo
• Challenging tradition and things falling apart - She represented a shift in values as she embodied qualities typically valued in male children, as she is intelligent and capable Okonkwo seeing this in a girl rather than his son, Nwoye, contributed to, in his eyes, Igbo tradition ‘falling apart’ especially as Nwoye’s conversion had been caused by the Christians who Umofia was so reluctant to fight, and due to his rigidity, he was unable to adapt, leading to his downfall

Question 7

Obierika (Relationship between Okonkwo and Obierika)

Answer 7

• Friendship - His relationship to Okonkwo is one of deep kinship, the kind of kinship and trust present in Igbo society yet which collapsed upon the arrival of the colonisers
• Obierika is a foil to Okonkwo due to their conflicting values - Okonkwo is very rigid and will act and do the wrong thing (like killing Ikemefuna) due to his fear of failure and weakness while Obierika questions things and is more reasonable
• Affected differently by the Christian missionaries as a result of them being the foils of eachother (things falling apart) - Obierika is questioning and malleable, and can see the positives in the missionaries as well as the negatives in tradition, whereas Okonkwo’s rigidity leads to things falling apart

Question 8

Mr Brown and Reverend Smith

Answer 8

• Mr Brown represented the well rounded colonial presence which much of the clan respected (not Okonkwo) and Achebe wished to also present as an option - Mr Brown is understanding, curious and is able to see the two religions co-existing. He was dedicated to Christianity but did not believe in a frontal attack
• Mr Smith represented the harsh colonial presence which was based upon the ideology of bringing light into darkness - He is unwilling to compromise, he believes the two religions can not co-exist, he was intolerant and ignorant, preached violence
• Things falling apart - Okonkwo rejects both reverends ideologies as they disrupt his rigid and traditional values and identity, but Mr Smith’s actions which precipitated Enoch to remove the mask of the Egwugwu led to the chain of events which defined Okonkwo’s downfall

They are the foil of eachother

Question 9

Relationship between Okonkwo and his wives (Ekwefi)

Answer 9

• Fear - Relationship built on fear and oppression, beatings, shows Okonkwo’s values
• Gender roles - Through this relationship, we learn that in Igbo society women do domestic tasks, while men do the harder tasks and hold more prestige (Okonkwo’s involvement in Egwugwu, him being the farmer, his wives looking after children), similarities to Victorian England (Cult of domesticitiy), Achebe trying to highlight similarities (similarities challenge HoD), polyagmous, shows different ways of living are acceptable too
• Ekwefi - Only named wife, defying tradition and challenging Okonkwo - shows typically masculine values, mother of Ezinma who also shows masculine traits, challenges Okonkwo’s traditional perspective
• Things falling apart - Ekwefi and Ezinma challenge Okonkwo’s traditional perspective, one of the many things in Okonkwo’s world which ‘falls apart’ and he is unable to adapt to, Okonkwo’s fear of weakness and of failure led him to feel obligated to beat his wives, contributing to his downfall as he beat his wife during the week of peace, traditional values surrounding women fall apart with the arrival of the Christians

Question 10

Relationship between Nwoye and Ikemefuna

Answer 10

• Friendship - Their inseperability shows deep bonds of kinship, the ones which it was believed would challenge the missionaries and their change. Made Ikemefuna less afraid at first
• Masculinity - Ikemefuna made Nwoye more masculine, and Okonkwo’s values are highlighted as he now respects his son more, despite knowing his son’s development was a result of Ikemefuna, he was previously concerned about Nwoye’s femininity
• Things falling apart - Ikemefuna’s death affected Nwoye, not only because they were friends but also because he did not understand why he had to die, which led to him distancing himself from Okonkwo and converting to Christianity, exhibiting feminine traits, which was one of the things which fell apart in Okonkwo’s world, and since his rigidity rendered him unable to adapt, this led to his downfall

Question 11

Masculinity

Answer 11

• Okonkwo’s portrayal of masculinity - extreme fear of failure and weakness, hard working and willing to sacrifice much to achieve what he wants, emotionless, unreasonable, since he had established himself as a great man, it is clear this was valued
• Men being feminine - Nwoye’s defiance of and resentment for Okonkwo’s masculine values and acceptance of maternal values, and his change as a result of this, Unoka’s femininity and Okonkwo’s resentment of this
• Things falling apart - Changes to the masculinity of the clan as well as his son Nwoye challenge Okonkwo’s traditional perspective and cause things to fall apart in Okonkwo’s world. His fear of failure and weakness which he ties in with his masculinity means he feels obligated to act a certain way and therefore his rigidity renders him unable to adapt, leading to his downfall

Question 12

Gender roles (role of women)

Answer 12

• Women hold little authority and status, do basic tasks (unnamed women), men do harder tasks, hold status and authority - dynamic shown through Okonkwo’s relationship with his wives as their relationship is one of fear and he feels obligated to beat them
• Women and mothers wanting to have children above all else, going through suffering to have children, caring for her child, Ezinma being center of her mothers world
• Things falling apart - Changes in gender roles within Okonkwo’s traditional perspective (Ezinma, Ekwefi and Nwoye) are one of the many things which fall apart in Okonkwo’s world. Also, his fear of failure and weakness mean he feels obligated to act a certain way (like beat his wife due to her act of defiance even during the week of peace) and therefore his rigidity renders him unable to adapt, leading to his downfall

Question 13

Justice

Answer 13

• Authority of religion and spirituality used to reinforce justice - Eguwugwus, Chielo, crimes against Earth Goddess, when punishing, no hatred for the criminal just messenger of the Earth Godess, similarities and differences to Victorian Britain
• Justice of the British - Collective punishment ordinance, capturing of the high ranking tribesman, differences between reverends
• System of justice coupled with Okonkwo’s values leading to his downfall - death of Ikemefuna, beating during the week of peace, justice of the British (as he wanted to aggressively deal with them for what they had done, but few stood with him) and how they treated him when they captured him

Question 14

Tradition

Answer 14

• Okonkwo’s traditional values and his enforcement of these on his wives and children - representative of Igbo tradition regarding the role of women and children
• Nwoye’s rejection of tradition and his resultant change (death of Ikemefuna, twins, father beating him)
• Breaking of tradition leads to things falling apart - British bringing new religion and disrupting everything (Not dying in the evil forest, Enoch killing the egwugwu and python), as well as having different beliefs represented by the locusts and the pythons, Nwoye being feminine and becoming Christian, Ekwefi being defiant, Ezinma exhibiting masculine traits, Okonkwo’s inability to adapt leads to his world falling apart and therefore his downfall

Question 15

Change

Answer 15

• Change brought upon by British - New religion, justice system, new language so loss of proverbs, new currency so loss of yams, different ideas symbolised by locusts and python, change in Umofian values in Okonkwo’s eyes
• Nwoye challenging and questioning tradition (sacrifice of Ikemefuna, killing twins etc.) and accepting change into Christianity as a result
• Okonkwo and Obierika approaching change differently - Obierika is much more flexible and questioning, while Okonkwo fails to adapt to change. This difference is what leads to Okonkwo’s downfall as when tradition falls apart his rigidity means he cannot accept this change and things fall apart

Question 16

Violence

Answer 16

• Violence to display strength - Okonkwo killed Ikemefuna and oppressed his wives and children due to his fear of failure and weakness
• Violence due to the clash of cultures - Massacre of Abame, burning church down, capturing high ranking men. The British want to impose control (scramble for Africa), while the clan wants to drive them out
• Violence due to Okonkwo’s failure to adapt to change - Killing of the messenger, burning of the church, precipitating his downfall as things fell apart in his world

Question 17

Fate (vs free will)

Answer 17

• Fate and destiny determining outcomes - Chielo the oracle holding authority, predicting the future and making decisions, Chi, Okonkwo mentioning ‘Unoka’s fate’, much of a person’s destiny being determined by fate
• The work of free will in bringing about success - Okonkwo’s success being down to his hard work, Agbala telling Unoka he should work harder, Igbo society valuing men such as Okonkwo who have worked hard
• Conflict of free will and fate in Okonkwo - Okonkwo working hard and achieving success and denying fate, and then accepting fate during his exile after his accidental killing of the boy. Leads to his downfall as he accepts fate from the oracle and kills Ikemefuna, then later on kills himself as he realises the clan is fated to stay weak and accept the missionaries. He also thinks he is fated to do what he does

Question 18

Religion and spirituality (beliefs)

Answer 18

• Fate and destiny determining outcomes - Chielo the oracle holding authority, predicting the future and making decisions, Chi, Okonkwo mentioning after his exile that a man could not live past his chi and authority held by religion - Chielo, egwugwu, people being messengers for the earth goddess after crimes had been committed
• Nwoye’s rejection of Igbo spiritual beliefs and conversion into Christianity
• Things falling apart due to clash of religions - Religions were very different, Europeans, especially Mr Smith, forced the religion on people, many converted for different reasons (women who could not have children, outcasts etc.) These beliefs falling apart in Okonkwo’s world as he was rigid and unable to adapt, leading to his downfall

Question 19

Power and authority

Answer 19

• Power authority of Okonkwo in the clan and over his family, many titles and wives, opposite of his father, a result of his fear of failure and weakness
• Religious authority within the clan - Chielo and Agbala’s authority in making decisions, Okonkwo showing submission to Chielo, the authority of the Egwugwu and how they burnt down the church
• Authority of the white men and missionaries - Through violence - slaughter of Abame, judicial court. Through faith - Church surviving on cursed ground, people converting as they associate with the religion more, Mr Brown gaining authority due to his interest and curiosity, Mr Smith gaining authority due to fear
• Things falling apart due to a lack of demonstrated authority from the clan towards the missionaries - Okonkwo’s rigid values prevented him from accepting the presence of the missionaries, therefore making him want to deal with them through force (so he killed the messenger, also because he was afraid of appearing weak), but since many in his clan would not stand with him, this led to his downfall as he took his own life

Demonstrative of Igbo values about authority

Question 20

Things falling apart

Answer 20

• Igbo tribe falling apart due to Christianity - ‘He has put a knife…etc.’, clash of religion, loss of beliefs and rituals, loss of authority of clansmembers
• Okonkwo’s values and position in the village falling apart - He describes himself as weak after killing Ikemefuna, his position in the village falls apart after he beats his wife during the week of peace and shoots somebody during a funeral - all things as a result of his fear of failure and weakness
• Okonkwo’s world falling apart after his clan accept the arrival of the Europeans, Nwoye converts to Christianity, his rigidity renders him unable to adapt, resulting in his killing a messenger and after he receives no support from his clan, he kills himself

Question 21

Fear

Answer 21

• Okonkwo’s children fear him due to his beating and his pervasive masculinity - Ikemefuna being scared and uncertain at first, Nwoye fearing his fathers anger, causing him to convert to Christianity
• Okonkwo’s fear of becoming like his father, fear of appearing weak, fear of failure
• Okonkwo’s fear of appearing weaks leads to him being violent - killing Ikemefuna, hurting wife during week of peace, killing messenger, he always fears change in the traditions within the tribe, and when it does, things fall apart in his world as his rigidity renders him unable to adapt and this results in his downfall

Question 22

Wisdom/Elders

Answer 22

• Values preached by elders rejected by Okonkwo - Uchendu saying ‘Never kill a man who says nothing’ contrasts Okonkwo’s view on answering to everything with violence, Uchendu also saying finding refuge in your motherland is juxtaposed by Okonkwo’s masucline desires to go back to Umofia where he can continue to exert his masculinity
• Okonkwo goes against elder advice - Killing Ikemefuna despite Ezeudo’s advice, Okonkwo hanging himself despite Unchendus achive
• Things falling apart and Okonkwo’s downfall - Okonkwo did not heed Ezeudo’s advice, leading to him killing Ikemefuna which led to Nwoye’s change, and, according to Obierika, the Earth Goddess cursing him which led to him being exiled. Also, he did not follow Uchendu’s advice about not killing a man who does not talk and not hanging himself, so this, coupled with his ridigity and fear of failure and weakness, led to his downfall

Question 23

Reputation

Answer 23

• Reputation is vital to Okonkwo, he has a great reputation, trying to initiate his son into ozo society, patriarchal and agrarian society (showed off reputation with wives and yams)
• Okonkwo’s loss of reputation in beating his wives during the week of peace, killing Ikemefuna, being exiled
• Reputation of Okonkwo is a result of his fear of attaining his father’s poor reputation, however it also leads to his downfall - fear of appearing weak and failing leads to death of Ikemefuna, which potentially leads to him killing the boy at the funeral, leaving his reputation in tatters. When the Christian missionaries arrive and achieve a positive reputation and his clan does not fight back, Okonkwo cannot accept this and kills himself

Question 24

Honour

Answer 24

• Okonkwo considers upholding honour to be very important, and this drives him to be successful and do things such as win wrestling matches which ‘bring honour to his village’, he also fears the dishonour of his father
• Okwonkos fear of dishonouring himself and the clan by disobeying the oracle leads to him killing Ikemefuna, also as he feared being seen as weak. This led to Nwoye converting to Christianity and was an important step in his downfall as it potentially led to him killing the boy in the funeral which led to him being dishonoured through his exile
• Okonkwo seeing others dishonouring the village through losing their titles and converting to Christianity, such as Nwoye, or through people dishonouring traditions such as Enoch demasking the Egwugwu leads to things falling apart in his world and his rigidity renders him unable to adapt, resulting in his downfall through him dishonouring himself in the greatest way possible - suicide

Question 25

Friendship

Answer 25

• Obierika’s relationship to Okonkwo is one of deep kinship, despite their contrasting traits, Okonkwo finds comfort through talking with Obierika after the death of Ikemefuna and he remains loyal to him during Okonkwo’s exile
• Nwoye’s close friendship with Ikemefuna, they spend time together, when he is told Ikemefuna is leaving, he cries, he has a presentiment after he had been killed. This caused him to convert to Christianity
• Catalyst for downfall - Christians (Mr Brown) befriending clan and exerting soft power over them leads to Okonkwo seeing his clan as weak for not fighting back, contributes to his downfall. Obierika being more flexible and adapting to change of the clan and Okonkwo seeing that he will not fight the missionaries contributes to his downfall too. Additionally, Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity largely due to his deep friendship with Ikemefuna contributes to his downfall

Question 26

Mothers/motherhood

Answer 26

• The expectation and desire for women to have children in Igbo society as a means to demonstrate their status, and the suffering they will go through to achieve this - Ekwefi’s suffering, Ezinma being the centre of her world, suffering through obanjes or women predisposed to have twins
• Motherhood as a force for good - Demonstrated in Uchendu’s speech, as well as Nwoye seeking comfort in his mother and preferring his mother’s stories due to his fear of Okonkwo and his masculinity which catalysed his conversion to Christianity and was one of the things which fell apart for Okonkwo
• Mothers undergo much suffering as demonstrated through Okonkwo’s brutal treatment of them, caused by his agressive and violent persona as a result of his fear of weakness and failure, as well as his traditional values

Question 27

Setting

Answer 27

• Umofia changes - no sounds of moonplay after colonisation, rituals and festivals stop, when Okonkwo returns from Mbanta the masculinity he felt is possesed apparently disappeared
• Mbanta and its significance as the mother land and a place of refuge - he wishes to leave straight away and return to Umofia showing his rigid hypermasculinity
• Evil forest - Seen as somewhere for outcasts where the evil spirits are where twins are discarded etc. to keep the spirits there. When the missionaries come, their rejection of traditional Igbo beliefs in shown by how they do not die in the evil forest, as well as how the missonaries challenged Igbo beliefs

Question 28

Disappointment

Answer 28

• Okonkwo’s disappointment with Mbanta and Umofia’s recuctance to resist the European incursion
• Okonkwo’s disappointment with Nwoye’s conversion into the Christian faith
• How disappointment precipitated Okonkwo’s downfall