"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. The main character of "Things Fall Apart", the proud and tempestuous Okonkwo, is defined early in the novel by his relationship with his father, Unoka. Which of these best describes this relationship? Unoka disapproves of Okonkwo's lack of advancement in the village and is pressuring him to emulate the family's traditional success Okonkwo and Unoka are very close, hunting together and exercising great power in village politics Unoka died when Okonkwo was an infant, and Okonkwo is haunted by his memory Okonkwo is embarrassed by the lazy Unoka, who is widely considered a failure

2. Throughout the book, an unusual currency is used for most transactions. What is this unlikely coin of the realm? Cowries Polished agates British shillings Palm seeds

3. The main political unit in "Things Fall Apart" is the alliance of "nine villages", including Okonkwo's village of Umuofia. Following the murder of one of Umuofia's women (identified in the text only as "Udo's wife"), Okonkwo negotiates a peace with Umuofia's enemies, wherein they will send Udo a virgin as compensation and give up one of their young boys as well. The boy, Ikemefuna, becomes a part of Okonkwo's household, even calling Okonkwo "father". What ends up happening to Ikemefuna? The Oracle decrees that he must die, and Okonkwo kills him He turns traitor against Okonkwo and Umuofia, leading to the collapse of the alliance He eventually becomes king of the nine villages, leading them in revolt against the British He dies of malaria

4. In Chapter 8, Okonkwo is having a discussion with several of his village's men. One of them, Obierika, remarks that in two other villages (Abame and Aninta) titled men climb trees and pound food for their wives, tasks seen as women's work in Umuofia. Okonkwo replies that in some tribes the children belong to the wife and her family, a proposition a third man, Machi, dismisses as ludicrous. Obierika concludes this discussion with a tall tale he has heard, that there are ___________. white men, "white like this piece of chalk", who have no toes huge metal canoes that carry dozens of men and tons of food great steel birds which soar without flapping their wings giant villages sculpted of red stone in a land across the sea

5. Chapter 13 sees Okonkwo banished from Umuofia for killing someone. What were the circumstances of this homicide? Okonkwo kills a British colonial official, and he is banished lest the British take revenge Firing off a gun at the funeral of village elder Ezeudu to celebrate his great life, Okonkwo accidentally kills Ezeudu's son Enraged by how slowly she does her household chores, Okonkwo kills his wife Okonkwo leads a raid against another of the nine villages, incurring the wrath of even his own kinsmen

6. The first British evangelist in the area, Mr. Brown, callously disregards local customs, learning nothing of Umuofia's traditional spirituality while imposing his own. Fittingly, his church collapses, a victim of the spirits in Umuofia's taboo area, the "evil forest". True False

7. Mr. Brown is succeeded by Mr. Smith, who, in contrast to Brown, is much more open and understanding, making much greater allowance for native customs. True False

8. A recurrent motif of "Things Fall Apart" is the assumption of divine roles by the worthy men of the village. These men wear masks representing figures like the evil forest and the tree spirit, and take the collective title "egwugwu". At the annual feast of the Earth deity, a Christian convert named Enoch shows his disregard for the egwugwu by ripping off one of their masks. How do they egwugwu retaliate for this offense? They kill Enoch and Mr. Smith They do not - they trust that their god, Chukwu, will deliver justice They take all the sacred fixtures from the church and ritually desecrate them They burn down Enoch's compound and the church

9. After various legal struggles with the British administration, including the capture of several of Umuofia's leaders (including Okonkwo) and the leveling of heavy fines, a meeting is called in the marketplace to organize opposition to these depredations. Five British court messengers arrive to break up this assembly. What action does Okonkwo take? He leads a revolt, capturing the court messengers and ransoming them He negotiates as peace where the British will leave the area in exchange for an annual tribute He disbands the meeting and converts to Christianity He kills one of the court messengers, but his people allow the others to escape

10. The novel concludes with the British District Commissioner contemplating Okonkwo's life, remarking to himself that it would make for a fascinating paragraph in his upcoming book: "The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger". True False