| Cowrie | shell used as money |
| Egwuwu | a masquerader who impersonates one of the ancestral spirits of the village |
| Ogbanje | a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn. it is almost impossible to bring up an ogbanje child without it dying, unless its iyi-uwa is first found and destroyed |
| Iyi-uwa * | a special kind of stone forming the link between an ogbanje and the spirit world. only if the iyi-uwa were discovered and destroyed would the child not die |
| Agbala | woman; also used of a man who has taken no title; oracle |
| Obi | the large living quarters of the head of the family |
| Bride-price | price for the bride |
| Chi | personal god |
| Ekwe | a musical instrument; a type of drum made from wood |
| Harmattan | a hot, dry wind |
| Iba | fever |
| Okonkwo | He is a hard worker who is respected and provides material, he fears femininity, blocks emotions, and has murdered. Much of his life is dictated by fear, as he fears he will become lazy and cowardly like his father. He is very wealthy and is known as a wrestler and warrior, but feels complete ownership over his family. |
| Ekwefi | Okonkwo’s second wife who is the most spirited and stands up to him. She stands up to Okonkwo and is devoted to Ezinma, but she is abused and ran away from her home and her husband after Okonkwo wrestling match. She has a deep bond with her daughter Ezinma after her 1/10 birth rate. |
| Ikemefuna | He is a young boy from a neighboring clan who is given up to Umuofia as a sacrifice for killing a woman. He is loved by Okonkwo’s family and is Nwoye’s role model. He is murdered by Okonkwo after the elders want him killed. |
| Ezinma | She has a close relationship with her mother and her father’s favorite, who wishes she had been a boy which shows his love and her value. She is privileged and confident but is destined to a typical Umuofia woman’s life, even though she is an ogbanje birth. |
| Nwoye | Nwoye is Okonkwo’s eldest who is much like his grandfather Unoka. He is sympathetic and sensitive but naive. After his mother and adopted brother’s death, he loses respect for his father slowly and without his mother, he reverts to his former gentle nature. |
| Obierika | Okonkwo’s best friend and well respected. He is moral, reasonable, compassionate, and wise but he is not always influential. He tries to bring reason and compassion to Okonkwo but fails. |
| Chieo | She is the priestess of Agbala and does not follow the rules of the perception of women |
| Masculinity | Being able to take care of family, defend the community, control, having excess crop, toughness (physical), violence of bloodshed |
| The treatment and regard of women | Women can’t do specific jobs, they are beaten for seemingly insignificant transgression. The wives have a place among themselves and in the household and their crowning glory is their ability to have children. The wife is the property of the husband as are the kids. |
| Patriarchy | The ideal man provides for his family materially and has a prowess on the battlefield. The father is not only the provider for the family but the defender of its honor and teacher of his sons. Personal reputation is publicly denoted by the ankle bracelets men wear, which signify the number of “titles” they have earned. Reputation earns men positions of power and influence in the community as well as numerous wives. |
| Fear | Many of the characters suffer from fear of some sort. Okonkwo fears becoming like his lazy, shameful father, Ekwefi fears losing her daughter, and Nwoye fears his father’s wrath. Overall, fear in this novel leads characters to behave in negative ways that can bring the wrath of the gods, guilt, and the community disapproval upon them. |
| Religion and tradition | The Igbo gods are mostly manifestations of nature and its elements, family plays such a central role in Igbo life that the spirits of their ancestors are consulted for almost every decision and even serve as judges in legal trials |
| Nature | The survival of the Umuofia depends on the earth and its predictable cycle of seasons. Thus we see frequent worship of the earth and her bounty, especially at the new year and during harvest season. |
| Youth vs. age | Children are the inheritors of the future and are raised to continue the values of the older generation. |
Things Fall Apart Ch 1-11
February 13, 2020