Name ______

Things Fall Apart Chapter 4 and 5 Activity

Chapter 4:

1.  Describe Ikemefuna. How does Okonkwo feel about him?

2.  What is chi? What does this proverb mean, "When a man says yes his chi says yes also"? How does the village decide if someone has good chi?

3.  What is the crime that causes Okonkwo's to be reprimanded? Why are his actions considered wrong by the priest? What does it tell you about the values of the culture?

4.  How does Okonkwo feel about his actions? What does the village believe about Okonkwo’s actions?

5.  What does the yam represent in the Ibo culture?

6.  Describe the relationship between Ikemefuna and Nwoye.

Chapter 5:

1.  What is Okonkwo’s attitude toward feasts?

2.  Who is almost shot by Okonkwo? Why is he so angry?

3.  Describe how Ekwefi became Okonkwo’s second wife.

4.  How do the Ibo people answer to calls from outside? Why?

5.  Why does Obiageli cry? How would you characterize her grief?

A Man’s Fate

Objective: Assessing character’s personality

Activity

This chapter of Things Fall Apart continues to reveal more insight into Okonkwo’s character‚ hisvpersonal beliefs‚ and his values. The author reiterates the importance of a man’s chi, or personal god as he explains that Okonkwo “deserved his success,…That was not luck.” (Pg. 27) Imagine you are an astrologer; write a 1 paragraph (4 sentence)horoscope for Okonkwo based on his primary character traits revealed in this chapter.

List of Traits

News Writing

Objective: Identifying dramatic moments and relating them in the manner of a newspaper article

Activity

Write a front-page newspaper article detailing the events leading to Okonkwo beating his wife, Ojiugo. Include the specifics of the beating itself and the aftermath or the conclusion of the episode. Write the story in the factual, detached, unbiased style commonly used by newspaper reporters.

• The headline should be eye-catching and should sum up the content of the article.

• concisely give the basic facts – who, what, where, why, when, and how—so that a reader who has time to read only the first paragraph can understand what happened.