| Unoka doesn’t work like a man. Specifically his “machete and hoe are weak” (Achebe 17). He does not put effort into his farm and harvest. | According to Chika, the priestess of Agbala, why does Unoka always have a miserable harvest? |
| Unoka was taken to the Evil Forest and left to die because he was sick with the swelling of the stomach and limbs. This illness is considered an abomination to the Earth so he was not allowed to be die in the house and could not be buried in the Earth. He was left to die outside, lying in the woods. | Where, how and why did Unoka die? |
| Nwakibie was a weathly man in Okonkwo’s village who has the highest title. He agrees to give Okonkwo 800 yams so that he could start his own farm. | Who is Nwakibie? What does he agree to do for Okonkwo? |
| Sharecropping is when landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops. | What is sharecropping? |
| 1. He had to support his mother, father, and two sisters on such a small percentage of the crops (only 1/3). 2. It was difficult because there was barely any rain that year, the sun was blazing hot which ruined any plants that had sprouted within the short time period. | What troubles did Oknkwo face in his first year of sharecropping? |
| Okonkwo realizes that because he “survived that year” he “can survive anything” which is further supported by the proverb shared by Unoka “A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick it’s pride.” | During that first, bad year of farming, Okonkwo looks back on it as a learning experience because he realizes what? |
| It is worse when you fail alone because that means you have to accept full responsibility for your actions and there’s no one else to blame. It foreshadows that Okonkwo’s downfall will be one of his own doing and it will be completely his fault. | What do you think Unoka means when he says, “it is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone”? What does this foreshadow? |
Things Fall Apart Chapter 3 Study Questions
February 13, 2020