| Okonkwo | protagonist |
| Ikemefuna | Okonkwo’s son he had to kill |
| Nwoye | Okonkwo’s son who became a christian |
| Ezinma | Okonkwo’s daughter he thought should be a boy |
| Mr. Brown | the nice missionarie guy |
| Folktales | a symbol of femininity |
| Yams | the size of a man’s fields and harvest say much about his work ethic |
| The Egwugwu | a symbol of the culture and independence of the Umuofia |
| Gender | The gender theme in the book centers around the idea of balance between masculine and feminine forces – body and mind/soul, emotionality and rationality, mother and father |
| Family | Father- the provider for the family, defender of its honor and teacher of his sons. Mother- main duty is to add to the family line by bearing healthy children and also to please her husband. Children- are the inheritors of the future and are raised to continue the values of the older generation |
| Respect & Reputation | men gain reputation through bravery in battle, skill at wrestling, and hard work as seen through the size of their yam harvest |
| Religion | The Igbo emphasis on numerous gods associated with nature and also on ancestors. While the Christian’s believe there is only one God |
| Traditions & Customs | Respect and knowledge of one’s role in society is very important in determining such customs |
| Simile | PG. 23- The earth burned like hot coals & roasted all the yams that had been sown 56- It covered half the sky and a solid mass was now broken by tiny eyes of light like shining star dust 147- The words of the hymn were like drops of frozen rain melting on the palate of the panting earth |
| Metaphor | PG. 24- He knew that he was a fierce fighter, but that year had been enough to break the heart of a lion.84- Suddenly Okagbue sprang to the surface with the agility of a leopard.122- But some of the egwugwu were quite harmless. One of them was so old and infirm that he learned heavily on a stick. |
| Personification | PG. 89- Evil forest then thrust the pointed end of his rattling staff into the earth93- Evil forest began to speak and all the while he spoke everyone was silent |
| Quotes/proverbs | “Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten.” |
| Quotes/proverbs | “Obierika was a man who thought about things…Why should man suffer so grievously for an offense he had committed inadvertently? He remembered his wife’s twin children, whom he had thrown away. What crime had they committed?” |
| Quotes/proverbs | “Age was respected among his people, but achievement was revered.” |
| Quotes/proverbs | “Perhaps down in his heart __________ was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness.” |
| Quotes/proverbs | “A proud heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is more difficult and more bitter when a man fails alone.” |
| Quotes/proverbs | “The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.” |
| Quotes/proverbs | “We do not ask for wealth because he that has health and children will also have wealth. We do not pray to have money but to have more kinsmen. We are better than animals because we have kinsmen. An animal rubs it’s itching flank against a tree, a man asks his kinsman to scratch him.” |
Things Fall Apart Characters, Symbols, Themes, Figurative languages, quotes/proverbs
February 13, 2020