THINGS FALL APART

by Achebe, Chinua

• ISBN13: 9780679417149
• ISBN10: 0679417141
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1992-12-01
• Publisher: Alfred a Knopf Inc

Summary

THINGS FALL APART tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a "strong man" of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the individual and society. The second story, which is as modern as the first is ancient, and which elevates the book to a tragic plane, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world through the arrival of aggressive, proselytizing European missionaries. These twin dramas are perfectly harmonized, and they are modulated by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul. THINGS FALL APART is the most illuminating and permanent monument we have to the modern African experience as seen from within.

Author Biography

Nigerian Chinua Achebe is often called the father of modern African literature. His classic novel Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, was one of the first books to portray Africa from an African point of view, contradicting European stereotypes about the so-called "dark continent." Achebe has written more than sixteen books, including novels, short stories, poems, and essays. His works tell in unsentimental, moving detail how Western influences have affected traditional Nigerian ways of life

Table of Contents

The Life and Works of Chinua Achebe	p. v
Time Line of Chinua Achebe's Life	p. viii
The Historical and Cultural Context of Things Fall Apart	p. xi
Technique and Theme in Things Fall Apart	p. xvi
Characters in Things Fall Apart	p. xviii
Places in Things Fall Apart	p. xxi
Echoes	p. xxii
Map of Africa	p. xxiv
Map of Nigeria	p. xxv
Images of Igbo Life	p. xxvi
	p. 2
	p. 7
	p. 12
	p. 19
	p. 26
Respond to the Selection, Chapters 1-5	p. 33
	p. 36
	p. 40
	p. 48
Respond to the Selection, Chapters 6-8	p. 56
	p. 59
	p. 68
	p. 74
	p. 85
	p. 92
Respond to the Selection, Chapters 9-13	p. 97
	p. 100
	p. 105
	p. 110
	p. 114
	p. 118
	p. 123
Respond to the Selection, Chapters 14-19	p. 127
	p. 132
	p. 137
	p. 141
	p. 147
	p. 151
	p. 156
Respond to the Selection, Chapters 20-25	p. 159
Glossary of Igbo Words and Phrases	p. 162
Plot Analysis of Things Fall Apart	p. 166
Related Readings
"Going Home Was a Sad Awakening," Marjorie Coeyman, The Christian Science Monitor (news article)	p. 170
"An African Voice," interview with Chinua Achebe by Katie Bacon, Atlantic Unbound (interview)	p. 174
"The Second Coming," William Butler Yeats (poem)	p. 182
"Lament of the Sacred Python," Chinua Achebe (poem)	p. 184
from Kehinde, Buchi Emecheta (novel excerpt)	p. 187
"Heaven Is Not Closed," Bessie Head (short story)	p. 200
"Should My Tribal Past Shape Delia's Future?," Dympna Ugwu-Oju, Newsweek (personal essay)	p. 209
Creative Writing Activities	p. 213
Critical Writing Activities	p. 214
Projects	p. 216
Glossary of Words for Everyday Use	p. 218
Handbook of Literary Terms	p. 229
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.