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Study Questions and Answers Chapter 4
Study Questions and Answers Chapter 4
Study Questions
1. An old man refers to Okonkwo saying, “Looking at a king’s mouth,
one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast.” (p. 19) What
does he mean?
3. Why does Nwoye’s mother claim that Ojiugo has asked her to feed
her children?
5. What does the kola nut symbolize, and why does Ezeani refuse to
accept it from Okonkwo during the Week of Peace?
7. In the past, a man who broke the sacred peace was dragged
around the village until he died. Why was the custom stopped?
10. What does Nwoye mean when he decides that Nnadi lives in the
land of Ikemefuna’s favorite story?
Chapter 4 Questions and Answers
Answers
1. The old man thinks it is incredible that Okonkwo, who has risen so
suddenly from desperate poverty and misfortune and is now one of
the lords of the clan, should forget his own humble origins and treat
less successful men with disrespect.
6. Okonkwo’s enemies called him the little bird nza because nza
forgot who he was after a heavy meal and challenged his chi.
Likewise, Okonkwo challenged the gods by violating the Peace of Ani.
8. The dead who are thrown into the Evil Forest without burial become
evil spirits who roam the earth and threaten the living.
9. The planting season and the month of harvest are periods of exact
and hard work. The planting season is a serious time; the harvest is a
light-hearted time.