What is the historical setting of Things Fall Apart?
Published in 1958 but set in the late 19th century during the early stages of British colonisation of Nigeria.
How were Igbo villages governed before colonisation?
Male elders and Oracles managed villages and disputes were settled by a council of elders from nine villages.
What were key features of Igbo society before colonisation?
Igbo society was patriarchal; men could have multiple wives; spiritual beliefs shaped morality; sinners were exiled; and personal chi guided destiny.
What role did religion and spirituality play in Igbo culture?
Spiritual belief systems were central to moral life and medicine men performed sacred rituals to promote health and harmony.
How was status and wealth measured in pre-colonial Igbo society?
Status and wealth were determined by yam production
How were animals valued in Igbo culture?
Animals were respected and revered in fables and proverbs
What was Peace Week and what does it show about Igbo society?
Peace Week was a celebration promoting tolerance and harmony
How does Achebe present Igbo culture in the novel?
He provides an indigenous perspective celebrating traditions while also highlighting hypocrisies and discriminatory practices.
What changes occurred after British colonisation?
District Commissioners governed villages using British law and often employed indigenous converts to enforce colonial authority.
How did British law conflict with Igbo traditions?
British legal systems replaced traditional Igbo justice
What was British indirect rule?
A system where British authorities governed through local intermediaries and sanctioned violent retaliation against resistance.
What was the significance of the massacre of Abame?
It demonstrated British violent retaliation against resistance and showed the consequences of opposing colonial power.
How did British colonial borders affect Africa?
The British divided Africa into around fifty states
How did missionaries influence Igbo society?
Christian missionaries converted many Igbo people
Why did some Igbo people convert to Christianity?
Christianity’s emphasis on equality appealed to individuals who felt restricted or oppressed by rigid Igbo traditions.
How does Achebe portray villagers’ reactions to colonisation?
Villagers express fear and suspicion of the “strange” white men
How is the clash of belief systems shown in the novel?
Clansmen who attempt to enforce Igbo justice are arrested and tortured by the District Commissioner
What event marks the escalation of violence at the novel’s climax?
Okonkwo kills the District Commissioner’s messenger and later takes his own life.
How does Achebe present Western influence through Nwoye?
Okonkwo’s son converts to Christianity to escape his father’s oppressive masculinity and to embrace a more egalitarian belief system.
What is significant about Achebe’s background?
Born in 1930 in an Igbo town to Christian parents
How does Achebe’s dual heritage influence the novel?
It allows him to present both Igbo and British perspectives on colonialism with balance and insight.
Why was Things Fall Apart significant after Nigerian independence?
It was taught in African schools to revive
How does Achebe highlight the power of Western narratives?
The novel ends by referencing the District Commissioner’s book
Where does the title Things Fall Apart come from?
It comes from W.B. Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming” and symbolises chaos and the breakdown of established order.
