ENGL A231F English Literature in the Modern World - Assignment 1

Due date: 19 February 2020 (11:00 a.m.)

Submission method: Upload your MS Word file to OLE

This assignment aims to assess your understanding of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall
Apart. It serves to replace the oral presentation. Allow sufficient time to upload your
work, late submission will not be accepted.

Guidelines:
(1) The submission must be your own work.
(2) Paragraph form is required for all the answers.
(3) You should only be referring to the text itself and the materials provided by the
course as you complete the questions. Do remember to quote and acknowledge
them.
(4) You must not seek help from other reference books or online resources.
(5) Your teacher and the programme team may ask for a question-and-answer session
with you after you have submitted your work.

Question 1

In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo commits suicide. According to Obierika (see chapter
25), the imperialists drive Okonkwo to death.

(a) Do you agree with Obierika’s comment? Briefly explain your answer in relation to
the cause of Okonkwo’s death. Write 150-180 words.
(b) What’s the significance of Okonkwo’s suicidal act in relation to the theme of the
novel? Write 150-180 words.

Question 2

In Things Fall Apart, why does the District Commissioner entitle his “African”
narrative as The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger? What does
this book title tell us about the relation between African indigenous peoples and
European colonizers? Write 200-230 words.

- END OF THE ASSIGNMENT -

1
a) I did not agree with this claim. People will suicide mainly because they lose
the last hope of survive. The last hope of the Okonkwo: kept the tradition and
culture of the valley and fraught against the invader. Since, Okonkwo relieved
from the court, he went to a meeting and suggested how to revenge at the first
time (P.156). Although imperialist may invade their culture and valley,
imperialist could not stop the mind of people to fraught against and keep their
own belief. The only one could stop the mind: the clansmen. However,
Okonkwo friends and neighbor let the opponents escape after he killed a
messenger (P.159). At that time, he felt totally be betrayed. In the past, he
thought that only the women clans would fall apart but the fatherland would
not (P. 126). However, the last resort of Okonkwo, the masculinity and
revered people in the past fall apart and accept the invader. Therefore,
Okonkwo lost his last hope and suicide.

b) The theme of the novel was about the relationship between colonization and
the tradition of the colonial. Okonkwo represents the culture of the colonial.
Since, Okonkwo is the most revered leader of nine valleys. He represented the
spirit, value of all clansman because he is masculine and the greatest man
(P.5). The clansman and Obierika can interpret as the citizen of the colonial
because they followed him as like as people follow the culture and value they
believe. However, the clansman betrayed Okonkwo because the European
colonizers provided education, job opportunity to the clans (P.141). This
represent the African or colonized citizen forfeit their own culture because of
materially benefits. Finally, their own culture would be totally eradicated as
the suicide of Okonkwo. It represented the permeant eradication of the spirit,
value of the clansmen. Finally, the clansmen even hated the die body of
Okonkwo (P.162). It showed the colonized people would not willing to go
back to the materially poor as before. The suicidal act showed the materially
benefit from colonization leaded to the decline of colonial culture and value.