| What did Okonkwo do whenever he thought of his father’s weakness and failure? | He thought of his own strength and success. |
| What did Okonkwo tell himself about his part in Ikemefuna’s death? | He said he was becoming a woman. A man who had killed five men in battle should not fall to pieces over the death of a boy. |
| What did Obierika tell Okonkwo about his part in Ikemefuna’s death? | Obierika said it was the kind of action that would not please the Earth; that the goddess would wipe out an entire family for such an action. |
| Describe the meeting to Obierika’s daughter’s bride price. | The suitor, Ibe, his father, Ukegbu, and uncle met with Obierika, his brothers, his son, and Okonkwo. They ate kola nuts and drank palm wine. Then Obierika gave Ukegbu a bundle of thirty short broomsticks. Ukegbu and his clan took the sticks outside. When they returned they gave a bundle of fifteen sticks to Obierika. He added ten more sticks and gave the bundle back. The two groups finally agreed at a bride-price of twenty bags of cowries. |
| The men began discussing rumors about white men. Who did the men think the white men were? | The polite word for leprosy was “the white skin.” The men in the hut thought the white men were lepers. |
| Describe the relationship between Ekwefi and Ezinma. | It was more like the companionship of equals, rather than that of mother and daughter. |
| Describe Ekwefi’s difficulties in getting pregnant. | She had borne ten children, but nine of them had died in infancy. She began giving them names like “Death, I implore you” and “May it not happen again.” |
| What did the medicine man tell Okonkwo after the death of Ekwefi’s second child? | He said there was an ogbanje, a wicked child who, when it died, re-entered its mother’s womb to be born again. He said Ekwefi should go and stay with her people when she became pregnant again. |
| Describe the burial of Ekwefi’s third child, and the reason for it. | The medicine man ordered that there be no mourning or funeral. He mutilated the dead child and buried it in the Evil forest. He said this would make the ogbanje think about coming again. |
| Explain the significance of Ezinma’s iyi-uwa. | This was a special kind of stone that formed the link between an ogbanje and the spirit world. If it were discovered, then the child would not die. When Okagbue found Ezinma’s iyi-uwa, the people knew Ezinma’s troubles were over. |
| How did Okonkwo cure Ezinma’s iba illness? | He brewed a potion made of leaves and herbs then put her over the steam. |
| What was the purpose of the ceremony described in Chapter 10? | A woman’s birth family was having a dispute with her husband because he was mistreating her. The only decision the man would accept in the case was that of the symbolic meeting of the clan spirits. |
Things Fall Apart: Study Guide Questions and Answers Chapters 8-10
February 13, 2020