Things Fall Apart Reading Questions- Frisbie
Part of a wedding in Mbanta is the final ceremony of confession, when the groom's family asks one question. What is the question?
"How many men have lain with you since my brother first expressed his desire to marry you?"
Explain the role of the silk-cotton tree.
"Spirits of good children lived in that tree waiting to be born. On ordinary days young women who desired children came to sit under its shade.
What does Okonkwo give as a gift to the bride and groom?
2 roosters
What do Okonkwo's cousins give him?
300 seed yams.
How many pots of palm wine do relatives bring to the wedding?
50
Why do the men need help with Okonkwo's body?
A clansman cannot touch the body of a man who has committed suicide.
Who is Amalinze the Cat?
A famous wrestler
On great occasions such as the funeral of a village celebrity, Okonkwo drinks his palm wine from what?
A human skull
Explain what a chi is.
A personal god. It is tied to a person's fortunes in that it must say "yes" to success in order for a man to realize success.
What does Obiageli break?
A water jug
Give at least two specific details about the trial
A woman and her brothers stand against the woman's husband, who beat her until she miscarried. He must take wine to his in-laws and beg for his wife to
Why does Chielo come to get Ezinma?
Agbala wants to speak with her.
What are the kotma (court messengers) called?
Ashy buttocks"
Give two specific details about the suitor's visit to Okonkwo.
Broomsticks are used to decide the bride price, which ended up being 20 bags of cowries; they drank palm wine.
Ekwefi speaks to Chielo at the wrestling match. What is Chielo's role in the village?
Chielo is the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. She prophesies when the spirit of the god is upon her.
Why does Okonkwo have to flee to Mbanta? Be specific.
During the funeral, Okonkwo's gun explodes, and a piece of iron pierces the boy's heart and kills him. It was a female crime because it was an accident.
What food tempts children to steal?
Eggs
Which character is called "Salt?"
Ezinma because she dislikes water.
How does Okonkwo win Ekwefi's heart when they are young?
He wins her heart by beating the Cat in a wrestling match.
Ogbuefi Ezeudu visits Okonkwo. What is his advice? What happens to twins?
He advises Okonkwo not to participate in Ikemefuna's death. The twins are placed in the forest to die.
What does Okonkwo ask Ezinma not to do?
He asks her to put off marrying until they have returned to Umuofia
What is a man of titles forbidden from doing?
He cannot tap his own palm trees.
Why does Okoye come to visit Unoka?
He comes to collect the cowries he loaned Unoka.
How and where does Okonkwo die?
He commits suicide by hanging himself from a tree behind his compound.
What does Enoch, the zealous convert, do that is so bad?
He kills and eats the sacred python
What does the medicine man do to the dead child?
He mutilates the dead child so that the ogbanje will not want to return.
Mr. Brown realizes that a "frontal attack" of evangelism will not work. What does he decide to do?
He opens a school and a small hospital.
Why does Okonkwo shoot at Ekwefi?
He shoots at Ekwefi for taking leaves of a banana tree in order to cook with them. She pushes him over the edge with an under-the-breath comment about guns that don't shoot.
The translator for the white missionary In Mbanta uses what word for "myself?"
He uses the phrase "my buttocks"
How is Okonkwo recognizable as the second egwugwu?
His "springy walk"
Describe the iyi-uwa that an ogbanje buries.
It is a pebble wrapped in cloth buried deep in the ground.
How is Mr. Smith different from Mr. Brown? Be specific
Mr. Smith is dogmatic and stubborn, while Mr. Brown approaches the people by building a school and a small hospital. Mr. Brown realized that a "frontal attack" won't work, but Mr. Smith openly condemns Mr. Brown's
Why is the family of Nneka, the pregnant woman, not too upset when she converts?
Nneka always gives birth to twins.
Give one fact about Okonkwo's meeting with Nwakibie.
Nwakibie waits for his first wife to arrive so that she could drink the palm wine.
On what character does Ikemefuna have a positive effect?
Nwoye
Which character is most struck by the teachings of the missionaries?
Nwoye
How does Okonkwo break the Week of Peace? Be specific.
Okonkwo beats his third wife Ojiugo for going to get her hair braided instead of fixing his afternoon meal. When he asks his second wife Ekwefi where Ojiugo's children are, she explains that they are with her (Ekwefi). Okonkwo asks if Ojiugo arranged fro Ekwefi to feed the children, and Ekwefi lies for her. This further fuels Okonkwo's anger, and he beats Ojiugo heavily when she returns even though it is the sacred week.
What does Okonkwo do in response? Be specific
Okonkwo beheads him.
Which wife raises Ikemefuna?
Okonkwo's first wife/Nwoye's mother.
What do the egwugwu come to tell Mr. Smith?
That they do not want to hurt him (out of respect for his predecessor), but they must destroy the
What message does the head messenger bring to the village?
The meeting must stop
What controversial group of people is allowed into the church?
The outcasts, or osu, are allowed
How many bags of cowries does it take to appease the District Commissioner?
The District Commissioner demands 200 bags, but the court messengers ask the villagers for 250 and pocket the difference.
What land is given to the missionaries in Mbanta?
The land in the Evil Forest.
How are the men from Umuofia treated when they go to the District Commissioner?
The men are handcuffed, detained, and teased. Their heads are shaved, and they are not given food or water. Their heads are knocked together, and they are not allowed outside to relieve
What does Okoli kill?
The scared python
Where are the people of Abame when they are shot?
They are at a big market at which the whole clan gathers.
What do the people of Abame do with the white man's iron horse?
They tie it to their sacred silk-cotton tree.
What is the purpose of the feast?
To gather Okonkwo's kinsmen or thank them for their hospitality
Give at least two details about the tortoise and birds folk tale.
Tortoise called himself "All of you" and was able to eat first and most because of that. Tortoise could not return because the birds took their feathers back, so he sent a message to put down soft items to break his small from the sky. Parrot, the messenger, told Tortoise's wife the opposite of the intended message, and Tortoise's shell broke when he landed, thus explaining why his shell is not smooth.
Describe Unoka's death.
Unoka dies of the swelling sickness and is taken to the forest to die. He takes his flute with him.
