Things Fall Apart: Study Guide Questions and Answers Chapters 11-19 – Flashcards
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Where did Okonkwo take his family to live?
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He took them to live with his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta.
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How did Okonkwo feel about his circumstances?
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He thought his personal god or chi was not meant for great things. He was feeling despair.
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Why did Uchendu talk to Okonkwo about the Mother Supreme?
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He wanted Okonkwo to realize that his despair was not that great, and that he owed it to his family to comfort and support them. He told Okonkwo not to refuse comfort in his mother's homeland, or he would displease the dead.
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4. Who came to visit Okonkwo during the second year of exile, and why?
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Obierika came to bring Okonkwo news of the village and money from the yam crop he was tending until Okonkwo returned home.
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Briefly retell the story of the destruction of Abame.
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A white man riding an iron horse had come to the village. The elders killed the manand tied his iron horse to their sacred tree. A few months later, three white men come, saw the iron horse and left again. A few weeks later, on market day, the white men surrounded the market and killed all of the people there.
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What was Obierika's reaction to the story?
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He said he was afraid because he had heard other stories about white men with powerful guns who took men away as slaves.
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What event did Obierika describe on his next visit, two years later?
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The missionaries had come to Umuofia. They had built a church, won convers, and were sending evangelists to surrounding villages
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Who had Obierika found among the missionaries?
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He found Okonkwo's son, Nwoye.
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What was the iron horse?
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It was a bicycle
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Where did the missionaries in Mbanta build their church, why were they given that particular piece of land, and what happened to them?
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The villagers gave the missionaries land in the Evil Forest, because they didn't really want them, and they thought the missionaries would decline the offer. When the missionaries were alive and well when the villagers expected them to be dead, they won more converts.
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What was it about Nwoye's actions that disturbed Okonkwo so much?
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He was concerned that Nwoye and his other male children would abandon their ancestors. He pictured himself and his fathers waiting in vain for worship and sacrifice.
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What group wanted to be admitted to the Christian church, and what happened?
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the osu or outcasts wanted to be admitted. Mr. Kiaga agreed on the condition that they shave their long tangled hair. They did so and survived and became strong proponents of the faith.
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Describe the incident with the sacred python.
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the sacred python was the most revered animal in the area. It was thought to be the emanation of the god of water. No one had ever even thought of killing it. One of the former outcasts now a Christian had allegedly killed the sacred python, although it was never proved. The elders decided to ostracize the Christians. Soon after this decision, the alleged killer died, and the clan agreed not to bother the other Christians.
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What did Okonkwo do before he left Mbanta when his exile was ended?
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He held a great feast to thank his mother's kinsmen for their hospitality.
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What was the one elder's message to those at the feast?
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He told them he feared for their generation because they didn't understand how strong the bonds of kinship should be. He was concered because they had let this strange religion start to break apart their clans.
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What did Chielo want with Ezinma?
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Chielo wanted to take Ezinma to see Agbala.
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What did Ekwefi do?
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She followed Chielo and Ezinma to the cave of Agbala.
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What did Okonkwo do when Chielo took Ezinma?
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He followed her too with his machete.
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What was the purpose of the uri ceremony?
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The family of the suitor was bringing palm-wine to Obierika and his extensive group of kinsmen.
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What was the significance in the amount of wine the family brought?
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They were thought to be behaving like men if they brought a generous amount
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What happened at the end of the ceremony?
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The bride-to-be went to live with her suitor's family for seven market weeks.
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Describe Ezeudu's funeral.
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He was the clan elder so there was a big ceremony with lots of shouting, drumbeating, and gun shots.
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How did the author describe a man's life?
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A man's life was a series of transition rites which brought him closer to and his ancestors.
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What happened during the frenzy?
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Okonkwo accidentally shot a boy.
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What was the result of Okonkwo action?
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He and his family were forced to leave the clan for seven years. The men from Exeudu's quarter demolished Okonkwo's houses and barn, and killed his animals.
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What was the reason for the clan's actions against Okonkwo?
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They were cleansing the land which Okonkwo had polluted although it was not revenge.
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What did Obierika think about after this calamity, and what was his conclusion?
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He wondered why a man should suffer because of an inadvertent mistake. He also wondered why he had to throw away his wife's twins when they were born. He concluded that the clan had to punish offenses so that the Earth would not lose her wrath on all the land, instead of just on the offender.
