Answer each question thoroughly, using complete sentences.
Ch. 1
1. Why does Unoka laugh at the request of his friend Okoye?
2. Why is Okonkwo ashamed of his father?
3. How is Okonkwo different from his father?
Ch. 2
1. How do the people of Umuofia decide what to do after the murder of Ogbuefi Udo’s wife?
2. How does Ikemefuna feel about being in Umuofia?
3. How and why does Okonkwo treat his family harshly?
Ch. 3
1. Why does the Oracles priestess shout angrily at Unoka?
2. Why is Nwakibie willing to trust Okonkwo?
3. Why do Unoka’s words of comfort irritate Okonkwo?
4. What qualities help Okonkwo overcome the obstacles he meets as a young man?
Ch. 4
1. Why is it important for Okonkwo to make amends to the earth goddess?
2. How does Ikemefuna become like a member of Okonkwo’s family?
3. How would you describe Ikemefuna
Ch. 5
1. What is the importance of the New Yam festival?
2. What memories and feelings does the wrestling match bring Okonkwo and Ekwefi?
3. Why do Okonkwo’s wives put up with his violent temper?
Ch. 6
1. What parts do drumming and dancing play in the wrestling contest?
2. How do the people of Umuofia feel about the annual wrestling contest and the champion wrestlers?
3. What are the 2 sides of Ekwefi’s friend Chielo?
Ch. 7
1. Why does Okonwko want Nwoye to become tougher?
2. Why does Ezuedu tell Okonkwo not to participate in the killing of Ikemefuna, and why does Okonkwo disobey?
3. How are Okonkwo and Nwoye different from each other?
Ch. 8
1. What warning does Obierika give Okonkwo?
2. How do Okonkwo and Obierika differ in their attitudes toward the laws and traditions of Umuofia?
3. What are Okonkwo’s feelings about killing Ikemefuna, and how does he deal with them?
Ch. 9
1. Why is Ekwefi’s third child not given a proper burial?
2. How do Okonkwo and Ekwefi show their love for Ezinma?
3. What moral would you give to the story of the snake-lizard?
Ch. 10
1. What parts do art and music play in the egwegwu ceremony?
2. Why do the egwegwu rule that Uzowulu must apologize?
3. What helpful functions do the egwegwu perform for the people of Umuofia?
Ch. 11
1. Why does Okonkwo bring his machete to the cave?
2. Why don’t Ekwefi and Okonkwo follow Chielo and Ezinma into the cave?
3. How does Chielo’s personality change in her role as priestess?
Ch. 12
1. Why does Okonkwo go to the cave of the oracle four times on the night that Chielo takes Ezinma?
2. How do the people at the feast honor Okonkwo?
3. How would you describe the bride’s role in the celebration at Obierika’s compound?
Ch. 13
1. Why does Okonkwo shiver when he remembers the last time Ezuedu visited him?
2. Why does Obierika take part in the razing of Okonkwo’s compound?
3. How does Obierika question the traditions of Umuofia?
Ch. 14
1. How does Okonkwo’s attitude toward life change after he is banished from Umuofia?
2. How does Uchendu behave like a father toward Okonkwo?
3. How does Okonkwo deal with his setback?
Ch.15
1. Why do the people of Abame kill the man who rides the iron horse?
2. What does Uchendu mean when he says, “ There is no story that is not true”?
3. What does Obierika’s visit mean to Okonkwo and his family?
Ch. 16
1. Why is Nwoye willing to give up his old religion and accept the new one?
2. Which Igbo ideas and traditions are changed or challenged by the arrival of the missionaries in Mbanta and Umuofia?
Ch. 17
1. Why do the elders of Mbanta give the missionaries land in the Evil Forest? What happens to the missionaries? How is they viewed by the people of Mbanta now?
2. What would happen if all Okonkwwo’s sons converted to the new religion?
3. How are events in this chapter a turning point for both Okonkwo and Nwoye?
Ch. 18
1. Why do the elders of Mbanta avoid fighting the Christians?
2. Why does Okonkwo advise the people of Mbanta to attack the Christians?
3. How do the people of Mbanta view the Christians?
Ch. 19
1. Why does Okonkwo not consider returning to Umuofia until after the rainy season?
2. Why is it dangerous for the Ibo to let their kinship bonds be weakened?
3. How is Okonkwo more traditional than some other people of his generation?
Ch. 20
1. How does Okonkwo plan to make up for his loss of status in Umuofia?
2. Why does Obierika think that driving the white people out of Umuofia would be useless?
3. How has Umuofia changed while Okonkwo has been gone?
Ch. 21
1. Why is Okonkwo’s return barely noticed?
2. How are Ibo beliefs about Chukwu similar to the missionaries’ beliefs about the Judeo-Christian God?
3. What benefits and what problems do Mr. Brown and the colonists bring to Umuofia?
Ch. 22
1. Why do the people of Umuofia react as they do to the unmasking of one of the egwuwgu?
2. Why do the egwugwu decide not to harm Mr. Smith or Enoch?
3. How does Mr. Smith’s attitude affect the coexistence of the old ways and the new in Umuofia?
Ch. 23
1. How is the colonial government already corrupt?
2. How do the people of Umuofia react to the news that Okonkwo and his friends have already been jailed?
3. How do the actions of the District Commissioner go against Ibo rules and traditions?
Ch.24
1. Why does Okonkwo hate Egonwanne?
2. How does Okonkwo know that Umuofia will not go to war against the colonists?
3. What are Okonkwo’s feelings about the meeting?
Ch. 25
1. How do Obierika and the District Commissioner differ in their views of what has happened to Okonkwo?
2. Why does Okonkwo hang himself?
3. How is Okonkwo’s death similar to his father’s?
Vocabulary: Things Fall Apart
1. improvident adj. Lacking foresight; not thrifty
2. plaintive adj. Sad, mournful
3. capricious adj. Subject to sudden, unreasonable changes
4. incipient adj. In an early stage
5. abomination n. something arousing strong disgust
6. valediction n. saying good-bye
7. disquieting adj. Causing worry
8. reveled v. took great pleasure
9. tentative adj. Hesitant, experimental
10. disembodied adj. Separated from the body
11. feign v. pretend
12. harbingers n. forerunners
13. coiffure n. hairstyle
14. malevolence n. ill will; spite
15. specious adj. Seeming good, but not really
16. esoteric adj. Understood by only a select few
17. pandemonium n. wild disorder
18. voluble adj. Talkative
19. discern v. seeing clearly; recognize
20. orator n. person who can speak well in public
21. tumult n. noise, uproar; disorder
22. inadvertent adj. Not done purposely
23. mirthless adj. Without joy
24. ominous adj. Threatening
25. dialect n. speech form characteristic of a certain region
26. evangelism n. missionary work
27. enthralled adj. Fascinated, chrmed
28. callow adj. Young and inexperienced
29. miscreant n. an immoral person
30. despicable adj. Arousing contempt
31. effeminate adj. Having female qualities
32. heathen n. person who does not believe in the Judeo-Christian God; person without religion or culture
33. derision n. ridicule
34. adherents n. faithful followers
35. atonement n. making amends
36. ostracize v. to shut out from society
37. tuber n. a thickening on an underground stem, such as a potato
38. wherewithal n. necessary money or supplies
39. irreparable adj. Impossible to repair
40. resilient adj. Readily recovering
41. zeal n. enthusiasm
42. expedient adj. Useful; based on self-interest
43. idolatrous adj. Worshipping false gods
44. deity n. god
45. imminent adj. About to happen
46. palaver n. conference
47. suppressed adj. Held back, held in
48. pacification n. bringing peace