ENGL A231F

English Literature in the Modern

World
Lecture 2:
Chinua Achebe’s
Things Fall Apart

Name:
 Today's Lecture
• In today’s lecture, we’ll work on:

• A brief introduction of Africa: History and Culture

• Analysis of Things Fall Apart
• The concept of the Tragic Hero

Originated from
Greek drama
 About the Author
• Chinua Achebe
• 1930-2013
Flag of Nigeria
when Achebe
was born

• Nigerian ( 尼日利亞 ) novelist

• Known as “the Father of African novel in English”
• He taught African Studies in the United States
• Due to colonization, Achebe received British-style
education
 The Author’s Must-read: Things
Fall Apart
• The book was published in 1958
• The title has been translated as
<< 生命中不可承受之重 >> in
Chinese

• The book is regarded as a milestone

in African literature
• It introduces African culture to the
western world in an objective State your
manner observation regarding
the cover of its first
edition!
 A Quote from the Author
Until the _____________ produce their own
historian, the story of the hunt will glorify only
the ____________.

• What do the following things represent?

historian

Story of
the Hunt
 About Africa
• Have you ever visited Africa? What’s your impression
about Africa?
 The Image of Africa: Slave Trade
• “it was the Atlantic slave trade, which
between the 16th and the 19th centuries
involved the forced migration of some 12
million Africans to the Americas, that forged
an explicit link in European minds between
racial inferiority, enslavement, and Africa.”

• Adapted from John Parker and Richard Rathbone’s African

History: A Very Short Introduction
Slave Trade
 Slave Trade: A Brief History
• In 1440s, the ____________________ first began to kidnap
and to purchase Africans
• _____________________ abolished the slave trade in 1807

• In 1867, the last recorded slaving voyage to

___________________ , some 12 million men, women, and
children were turned into commodities and exported from
the continent
• Adapted from John Parker and Richard Rathbone’s African History: A
Very Short Introduction
 Slave Trade:
“Glorification” of the
Hunter
… men in Europe were accustomed to
seeing Africans only as men in chains,
captives without power, and they
transferred their impressions to Africa and
the states from which these slaves had
come. The belief in African inferiority was
already in full bloom

Adapted from Basil Davidson’s The African Slave Trade

 Slave Trade: “Glorification” of the
Hunter
• “Whatever evils the slave trade
may be attended with … it is
mercy … to poor wretches, who …
would otherwise suffer from the
butcher’s knife.”

• Adapted from Hammond, Dorothy and Alta

Jablow’s The Africa that Never Was
 Slave Trade: Philosophical
Significance
• “Slavery also brings us back to where we
began: to the invention of Africa. The
idea of Africa, it will be remembered,
emerged in part from the experience of
the transatlantic slave trade.”

• Adapted from Parker and Rathbone’s African

History: A Very Short Introduction
 Scramble for Africa
• Europeans’ ambition for Africa did
not end with the prohibition of
slavery
• They then set up Missionary
Societies in Africa
• What’s the purpose?
_________________________
_________________________
“When the white man
came we had the land
and they had the Bible.
They taught us to pray
with our eyes closed
and when we opened
them, they had land
and we had the Bible.”
 Scramble for Africa
• The Europeans viewed Africa as the
source of treasure: rich in gold,
diamonds, minerals and other natural
resources
• They started to exploit them through
colonization

• In 1861, N _ _ _ _ _ _ was colonized by

Britain
The home country
of Mr. Achebe
Where is Nigeria?
 Different Places in Africa
Places Colonizers
A French and Spanish
B British
C British
D Dutch and British
E French
 Different Places in Africa
(Answers)
Places Colonizers
A Morocco French and Spanish
B Egypt British
C Nigeria British
D South Africa Dutch and British
E Madagascar French
 Education in Nigeria
• Let’s take a look at primary education in Lagos
through the following clip:
The largest city in
Nigeria (but not
the capital - Abuja)

• www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbevv04nPs4

• Complete the blanks

 Education in Nigeria
• Main problems of primary education in Lagos,
Nigeria:
(1) __________ teacher-student ratio
(2) Lack of ____________ teachers
(3) _________________ infrastructure
(4) Under-investment of the education system
Let’s take a look at how
traditional Nigerian culture
is depicted in the novel!
 Things Fall Apart: Epigraph
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.”

~ W.B. Yeats ( 葉慈 ), ‘The Second Coming’

This poem
has been Visit this website for the entire
taught in poem:
ENGL A132F www.potw.org/archive/
 “The Second Coming”
(Lines 1-2)
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

• A falcon fails to follow the command of the falconer (its

Ans:
master)
Implied meaning: Falcon: ____________

• This is a chaotic situation Falconer:

___________
• What do the falcon and the falconer represent? (Hint:
Consider the title of the poem)
 “The Second Coming” (Lines 3-4)
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
There is no
government,
order or control

• What does the centre represent in relation to WWI?

__________________________________________
Implied meaning:
This is a state of lawlessness
 Things Fall Apart: Epigraph
• Achebe uses Yeats’ poem to:
(1) Highlight the t _ _ _ _ of his novel
(2) Inform readers on the novel’s c _ _ _ _ _ _:
Achebe depicts his novel Things Fall Apart (1958) as “… the
cosmological fear of anarchy that burdened the characters”
(Home and Exile)

• Do you think Achebe’s choice of using a “western” epigraph

implies the incapability of the lion to depict its own story
without the hunter?
Ans: ________________
 Epigraph ( 題詞 )
• /’epɪɡrɑːf /

• It is a short passage written at the beginning of a

piece of literary work
• It serves as a preface to give some hints to its
readers regarding the content of the work
• It should not be confused with epitaph ( 墓誌銘 )

/’epɪtɑːf /
It is a short text inscribed on the
tombstone that honors a deceased
person
 Three parts of the novel
• Part 1: Chapters 1-13
Okonkwo’s childhood and his success in
Umuofia

• Part 2: Chapters 14-19

His exile in Mbanta
• Part 3: Chapters 20-25
How he and his tribe fall apart
Part I
Things Fall Apart: Chapter 1
• What type of narrator is this?
 A. 1st person narrator
 B. 2nd person narrator
 C. 3rd person narrator

• Okonkwo, the protagonist of the story, is depicted as a

great wrestler with strong physical strength
• This brings him great fame
 Interpretation:
This community values ____________________
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 1
Unoka is Okonkwo’s father

What’s Unoka’s attitude towards life?

• Textual evidence: ____________________________

___________________________________________
• Interpretation: ______________________________

___________________________________________
 Consequence: His family lives in hunger and poverty
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 2
• Due to childhood disgrace, Okonkwo disagrees with
his father (the father’s action brings suffering to the
family):

• His father is a coward and could not bear the sight of

blood (ch. 1)
• Conversely, Okonkwo is a man of action and a brave
warrior (ch. 2)
 Family experience inflicts ideology upon individuals
• Careful expression of this idea
required
• Avoid over-generalization
 Discussion Question
• Based on Ch. 1 and 2, discuss with your friends on the
culture of Umuofia. For instance, how would you describe
the culture (barbaric? primitive? tranquil? modern? just?)
• Cite evidence from the text to support your view!
My observation:

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

________________________

Watch the online video for

Prof. Parkin’s observations!
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 4
• What is the significance of the Week of Peace?

• The Week of Peace is the tradition of many

agricultural societies
• It reminds farmers on the hard work throughout the
year and thus, should take some rest before sowing
new __________
• In Umuofia, the week reminds people to live in peace
with their fellows so as to honor the goddess of earth
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 7
• Masculine value and identity in Umuofia culture

• Masculinity plays a crucial role in defining a man

Financial Power Social Status

• Wealth and titles also constitute to the idea of

“man”
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 7
• Umuofia is a gendered society
Evidence (1):
• Crops are divided into males and females (Ch.4)
• What does yam represent?
______________________________
• What about maize, melon and bean?
______________________________
• Why is there such a distinction?
___________________________________________
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 7
• Umuofia is a gendered society
Evidence (2):
• Crimes are divided into males and females (Ch.13)
• Female crimes are those committed inadvertently
• Male crimes as those committed intentionally

For further analysis, read:

Hamilton, Rebekah. “Fragmenting Culture, Fragmenting Lives:
Chinua Achebe’s Things fall Apart (1959)” in Women in
Literature: Reading through the Lens of Gender. Eds. Jerilyn
Fisher and Ellen S. Silber. London: Greenwood, 2003. 283-285.
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 7
• Umuofia shows greater concern towards
ritualistic decision and local worship over
humanity

Evidence:
• The Oracle decides to kill Ikemefuna
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 7
• Okonkwo places the demonstration of
masculinity above communal interest
Evidence:
• He ignores the warning regarding the
murder of Ikemefuna
• He doesn’t want to be seen as weak
 Worship of v _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / cult of
m__________
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 7
• Okonkwo’s ideology is not approved by
the community (though masculinity is
highly valued)
Evidence:
• “… when a man is at peace with his gods
and his ancestors, his harvest will be good
or bad according to the strength of his
arm.” (Ch.3)
 Things Fall Apart
So far the novels features how Okonkwo rises up as
a respected man in his tribe with wealth and strong
physical strength

We’re about to see how things fall apart:

•I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ downfall of Okonkwo

•C _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ downfall in Umuofia
 Things Fall Apart: Chapter 13
• An accident changes Okonkwo’s prospects
• At the funeral of Ezeudu, the oldest man of
Umuofia, Okonkwo’s gun explodes and kills a boy
He commits a □ female / □ male crime
He received the punishment of a seven-year exile
Things start to fall apart for Okonkwo
 Exercise: Part I
1. Okonkwo's father's reputation was that of someone who was
 A. Humorous
 B. Hardworking
 C. Lazy
2. What is a crop grown exclusively by men?
 A. Maize
 B. Yam
 C. Melon
3. What does Okonkwo do with Obierika's advice?
 A. Follows every word
 B. Weighs its pros and cons
 C. Pretty much ignores it
 Umuofia: Tribe or Nation?
• Image of Africa
 Umuofia: Tribe or Nation?
• Much misunderstanding of the question of identity in
Africa is the consequence of centuries-old
perceptions of Africans by others
• European travellers, missionaries and colonial
administrators tended to collapse multiple identities
into the single concept of ‘tribe’
• This was an outsiders’ model of who Africans were
and how they lived
• It carried various loaded meanings (e.g. bias) for
those who used it

• Adapted from John Parker and Richard Rathbone’s African History:

A Very Short Introduction
 Okonkwo: The Tragic Hero
• Things Fall Apart is always regarded as a
modern tragedy
• Okonkwo is often said to be the tragic hero

• What is a tragic hero?

• What are the criteria of a tragic hero?
Has been
taught in
ENGL A132F
 Characteristics of the Tragic
Aristotle’s Hero in Aristotelian Tradition
Based on
analysis
on Greek Drama

1. Position
• The hero is royal or noble with great power, usually a
king
• He is a good, respected man who acts out of good
intentions
• Thus, he has much to lose

• Does Okonkwo fit this criterion?

________________________________________
 Characteristics of the Tragic Hero
in Aristotelian Tradition
2. Tragic Flaw
• The hero makes a tragic error which causes his
reversal/downfall.
• The error usually comes from a character flaw,
such as pride or jealousy

• Does Okonkwo fit this criterion?

_____________________________________
 Characteristics of the Tragic Hero
in Aristotelian Tradition
3. Reversal
• The tragic error causes the hero to suffer a downfall from his
happy, envied position to suffering and misery
4. Recognition
• The hero realizes that his own flaw or error has caused his
reversal
• This recognition always occurs too late for the hero to prevent
or escape his reversal

• We’ll see if Okonkwo fits these criteria in Parts II and III of the
novel
 Nigerians in British Drama
• Let’s relax a bit and take a look at how Nigerians are
presented in a British television Drama Little Miss
Jocelyn through the following clip:

• www.youtube.com/watch?v=onrkcyLZKjA&feature=related

Monogamy Polygamy

Polygyny polyandry
• Answer the questions!
 Nigerians in British Drama
• Why does Mrs. Omwokopopo change her
name?
_____________________________________
• The man in blue says, “Madame butterfly has
captured another ___________.”
• The wife then replies “Don’t be __________.”
• The marriage counselor has given them an
exercise on giving each other ____________.
 Suggested Readings
• Davidson, Basil. The African Slave Trade. Boston: Little Brown,
1980. Print.
• Hamilton, Rebekah. “Fragmenting Culture, Fragmenting Lives:
Chinua Achebe’s Things fall Apart (1959)” in Women in
Literature: Reading through the Lens of Gender. Eds. Jerilyn
Fisher and Ellen S. Silber. London: Greenwood, 2003. Print.
• Hammond, Dorothy and Alta Jablow. The Africa that Never Was.
Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 1992. Print.
• Parker, John and Richard Rathbone. African History: A Very Short
Introduction. Oxford: OUP, 2007. Print.
 Task and Next Lecture
• Watch the online video of Week 2

• Come Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (Read

Parts II and III)