Critical+Lens+Questions


 * Critical Lens Questions **

__Moral/Philosophical__ __Historical/Biographical__ __Formalist__
 * 1) Do you think that Onkonkwo’s reaction to the murder of Ikemefuna should re-shape his belief in the proclamations of the Oracle? Do you think people today still follow out desires from an “Oracle” regardless of their morality and rightness?
 * 2) Does our society today see laziness as more immoral than callousness? Onkonkwo is callous, aggressive, fearless, and above all “masculine”. However his actions may seem to many to be immoral. Onkonkwo sees his father, the sloth, as the ultimate symbol for the wrong way to live. Today, which way of life is more immoral?
 * 3) In Okonkwo's mind, what is the difference between having morals and upholding tradition? Is there one? What do you think?
 * 4) Choose either the behavior of the tribe or the behavior of the missionaries. Which is more moral? How do you choose?
 * 5) What are the major similarities and differences between the two converging belief systems? Are they real moral/philosophical differences or is the conflict in how each group wishes to protect or enforce their own systems?
 * 6) Is there a single character in the text whose actions are inherently and fully morally trustworthy? What does your answer say about the humanist outlook of the novel?
 * 7) What is the significance of the missionaries living in theEvilForest?
 * 8) Okonkwo thinks it is feminine and weak to simply ignore what bothers you. Do you think it is weak
 * 9) . How do the morals of the Umuofian people play out in their daily lives? Okonkwo is a religious man; is he also a moral one? Does the Umuofian religion equal moral people? Does religion in general make people moral?
 * 10) How does their morality get redefined with the coming of the Christian missionaries? How does it stay the same? What are some specific traits that both groups of people agree on? Is morality universal then?
 * 11) How does a black and white view of the world hinder the people who adopt its way? How does it simplify life, and how does it complicate it? In the end, is there a way to decide who was right and who was wrong by the end? How is this determined? or wise to ignore those whose customs are different than our own?
 * 12) Do you feel sympathy for Okonkwo despite his violent acts? Would you describe him as retaining his morality?
 * 13) Would you describe the novel as revealing what is moral or virtuous about mankind?
 * 14) If you were in Okonkwo's position, would you have allowed the young boy to be killed? Having the fear of being perceived as weak, he struck the final blow that killed the boy.
 * 15) Was it okay for the missionaries to condemn the practices and rituals of the tribes in favor of theirs?
 * 1) How does this book distinguish both sides of the colonialism inAfricaat this time?
 * 2) Looking back on African history, does the author authentically portray the African history correctly?
 * 3) How do the struggles taking place in this novel reflect the struggles that we've had in our own country?
 * 4) How does the author portray the history ofAfricawith use of characters and events in his text?
 * 5) Achebe converted to Christianity, but wrote a novel that seems to portray Europeans in a negative light. Why?
 * 6) What struggles in post-WWII society are also evident in this novel?
 * 7) What insights can we as the reader acquire about Chinua Achebe's life by reading //Things Fall Apart//?
 * 8) What specific historical events where happening when Achebe was writing //Things Fall Apart//?
 * 9) In what way is this novel a product, reflection, or commentary on British colonization?
 * 10) What effect does Achebe's Nigerian ancestor have upon the book?
 * 11) Where, if anywhere, do you see resentment of white colonizers? Do you think there is resentment?
 * 12) How does the way the book is written reflect the culture that the author comes from and is writing about?
 * 13) The coming of the missionaries toAfricais often told from the white settlers' perspective, but never from the perspective of the Africans they came to convert. How does this novel affect the perception of these Christian missionaries?
 * 14) Keep in mind that //Things Fall Apart// was published in 1958 and was one of the first novels about the continent ofAfrica written by a non-European writer. What sort of impact do you think Achebe's story had on the national audience since it was actually written from a Nigerian perspective? What were some things that surprised you about the Igbo people? Think about the complexity of their societal, economic, political, and judicial system.
 * 15) Did you ever studyNigeria's cultural and political history before reading the story? Were you familiar with the Nigerian struggle for independence from British control prior to 1961? How does this background knowledge affect or influence your reading of the story?
 * 1) How does the idea of the importance of tradition of the Igbo people contrast with the jobs of the missionaries?
 * 2) How does this idea drive the plot and affect the people of the village? (referencing question 1).
 * 3) Why does the author use a third point of view throughout the story, how does this make the story narration different for the reader?
 * 4) What makes the text difficult or even easy to read, why? Does the use of African words challenge the reader or make the book more difficult to decipher?
 * 5) What symbols in the book Things Fall Apart help covey a message? What is the message?
 * 6) Who is narrating or telling what is happening in the book? How is the narrator or character revealed to the reader? How do we know and understand this figure?
 * 7) Most of the story focuses on narration centered upon Okonkwo. In the last chapter, Okonkwo is not the central focus. How does this switch in narration towards the end of the novel serve to heighten the climax?
 * 8) Why does Achebe use a third person point of view? Does this lend a mythical or legendary element to the narration?
 * 9) How does the structure of the story affect the plot?
 * 10) Achebe uses many words in the language of Okonkwo's tribe in the novel. How does this affect the reader's interpretation of the text?
 * 11) How does the structure of the story affect the plot?
 * 12) Achebe uses many words in the language of Okonkwo's tribe in the novel. How does this affect the reader's interpretation of the text?
 * 13) Language plays a key role in //Things Fall Apart//. Why do you think Achebe utilizes a third person limited omniscient narrator? Why doesn't he instead tell the story from Okonkwo's point of view? Think about objectivity and subjectivity in regard to studying different cultures, and think about the characteristics of oral storytelling.
 * 14) Achebe uses numerous symbols in the story to strengthen the different themes. Think about Okonkwo's gun as a symbol of the negative affects of colonialization. Explain how this is the case.
 * 15) How does the change in narration change the feel of the story?
 * 16) . When the author uses unfamiliar words in the novel how does this usage help the experience or not help the experience of the reader? Does it make it more authentic or does it feel forced?
 * 17) What moments in the book give a sense of ethos, pathos, and logos? Give examples?
 * 18) How do the African proverbs help create meaning?
 * 19) This novel has been called a modern Greek tragedy. Do you see evidence of this? Where?
 * 20) How does the author's decision to write in English affect the novel?

__Rhetorical__
 * 1) How does Achebe pain the Umuofia tribe and how does the language he uses to tell the story contribute to how we feel about Africans?
 * 2) Based on the way Achebe writes the missionaries, how are we supposed to feel about them?
 * 3) What is Achebe saying about Africans? Does he show any biases?
 * 4) If so, what kind of strategies did he use to achieve his purpose?
 * 5) Which character do you connect with the most?
 * 6) Chinua Achebe is a black man, writing about black men, many of whom are very flawed. What do you think he is saying about African men? Could a white man, or a man of any other ethnic group, have written the same story? Could a woman have written this story?
 * 7) Achebe was raised in a village with a large Anglican missionary presence. How do you think the story reflects his experiences with the missionaries? Do you think Achebe identifies more with characters like Nwoye or with the clansmen who were in strong opposition like Okonkwo?
 * 8) What kind of relationship do you think Achebe had with his parents? What does //Things Fall Apart// say about parent-child relationships?
 * 9) Who do you think is telling the story → a person fro, the tribe, or one of the invaders? What leads you to this conclusion?
 * 10) How do you think having a narrator from either party changes or affects the perspective on the story?
 * 11) Who do you think this story is made to appeal to?
 * 12) The rhetorical lenses looks at the author's viewpoints and the messages he or she is conveying, either directly or subtly, through the text. i found it fascinating that the author was raised to take part of both the western and Nigerian cultures and i wonder if he struggled with identity issues or reconciling his different worlds.
 * 13) after reading his book, i wondered, was Achebe trying to mainly convey a sense of grief and loss from the death of a culture so to speak, or was he mostly showing the benefits coming from the change? or equally showing the positive and negative side of each?
 * 14) As someone who was (for the most part) separate from the kind of life Okonkwo experienced throughout the book, what do you think motivated Achebe to write this story?
 * 15) At the beginning, Achebe had a relatively difficult time finding someone to publish //Things Fall Apart//, because many said that "African literature did not sell." Why do you think Achebe was so persistent in finding someone to publish his novel? Do you believe it was for his own gain (he was proud of his work) or do you believe that he felt his story was something that needed to be out in the public? Why?
 * 16) What is the author trying to persuade?
 * 17) What do you think is the author's reason is for Oknokwo's hanging himself at the end of the story?
 * 18) Coming from the point of view of an African, what image of Africans do you think Achebe is trying to portray in this book?
 * 19) What image of the white man is portrayed in this book?
 * 20) How might the portrayals of the Africans and white people be different if the author were of a different ethnicity?

__Freudian__ __Archetypal__ __Feminist__ __Marxist__
 * 1) Okonkwo was obsessed with being the opposite of his father and upholding all the tribal components of honor. After finding out how shameful suicide was to his tribe, why did he choose to hang himself instead of going into permanent exile?
 * 2) Why does Okonkwo react with such anger and hatred to every situation? And why does he feel the need to prove he isn't like his father so many years after his father is gone?
 * 3) What does Onkonkwo's constant reference to gender and status say about perception of gender and status in his own mind and the Igbo culture?
 * 4) How does Onkonkwo's desire to be "manly" or "masculine" cost him?
 * 5) How do you think gender roles have changed/stayed the same from the culture in Things Fall Apart compared to our own culture?
 * 6) Is Okonkwo's depression after the death of Ikemefuna related to his feelings about his own childhood and his unresolved emotions with his father? Does Okonkwo's fatherly role in Ikemefuna's life represent a second chance of his own relationship with his father?
 * 7) In striving to be the opposite of everything his father was and represented, what was Okonkwo really running away from/afraid of?
 * 8) Was Okonkwo "killing" the boy inside him who hates his father when he killed Ikemefuna? In his mind, was Okonkwo "saving" Ikemefuna by preventing him from having a poor relationship with his father?
 * 9) What does TFA say concerning repressed feelings and/or desires being the cause of conflict?
 * 10) In analyzing the familial relationships in TFA, is there any oedipal connection/gender envy in the relationship between the protagonist and his daughter? For example, she tended to do things which were considered "masculine," and he wished she were a man because she did manly things much better than feminine things.
 * 11) Do you think that Oknokwo's harsh behavior is a defense mechanism? If so, what is he defending himself against?
 * 12) Are Oknokwo's actins governed my his ego, super ego, ID or a combination of these?
 * 13) Are there any symbols/repeated words in the work that might have hidden, psychological meanings?
 * 14) Did Okonkwo's father's behavior lead in any way to Okonkwo's treatment of females?
 * 15) How does the repression of femaleness/weakness manifest itself in Okonkwo's behavior?
 * 16) What factors cause Okonkwo to view the sexual dynamic between himself and his wives as conquests rather than relationships/possessions rather than people?
 * 17) In this novel, things are labeled as either feminine or masculine. Okonkwo’s beliefs are that men should embody the ”masculine traits.” Keeping in mind his views on his father, how has this shaped Okonkwo’s worldview? How does he perceive his own children, particularly Nwoye and Enzinma?
 * 18) Recall Freud’s beliefs on the ego (mainly rational), the superego (mainly moral), and the id (primitive instinctual). Based on the premise that human behavior is largely driven by the sub-conscious, can this be at fault for our protagonist’s untimely end? Make a case for or against this statement: Okonkwo’s ego was unable to suppress the demands of his sub-conscious, thus, leading him to act on impulse rather than rational thought.
 * 19) Do you believe that Chinua Achebe wrote this novel in self-defense of his culture, knowing that some of the actions represented by the people of Umuofia could be viewed as barbaric and rash to unknowledgeable reader?
 * 20) Do you believe Okonkwo’s suicide could possible represent some of Achebe’s deepest unknown feelings about how he would personally handle the Christian influence that led to the suppression of his culture? Why do you think he chose to conclude Okonkwo’s life with suicide?
 * 1) Given Okonkwo's arguably "immoral" actions, can we possibly consider him as a sort of hero? Does his suicide give him the archetype of "the tragic hero?" or is it mere cowardice?
 * 2) What is the archetypal significance of his journey to his mother's land, as "the quest"?
 * 3) Given Okonkwo’s deep dedication to his tribe, traditions, and desire for men to be courageous and masculine – why do you think he ended is life the way he did? It would seem the cowardly, effeminate, and against all he believed in why would he choose that for himself? Could it have been one last attempt to seek revenge on the Christians since they had to be the ones to dispose of his body?
 * 4) Do you think Okonkwo will be seen as a hero by his family and tribe or as a coward for how he ended his life? Will he be judged for his life or how he ended it? How will his sons deal with their father’s shadow…..rise above and prosper or come under it and burden their tribe?
 * 5) Did Okonkwe's suicide make him a tragic hero or simply weak?
 * 6) How do gender roles play a part in our "tribes"?
 * 7) How do the myths culturally in the tribe, affect their decisions?
 * 8) Do you see Okanwo as a hero?
 * 9) Which character do you see yourself as?
 * 10) What other literary character could you compare the characters of //Things Fall Apart// with?
 * 11) If you were a character in this novel, who would you be?
 * 12) How do you know that Okonkwo is a powerful man? What evidence is there of abundance in his household?
 * 1) On page 37, Achebe writes that “Ani [the goddess of the earth and source of all fertility, ultimate judge of morality and conduct] played a greater role in the lives of the villagers than any other deity”. Why, then, do you think the town, especially Onkonkwo beholds women to be of such a low rank? Why are women treated so poorly and without respect when the most important goddess is, in fact, female?
 * 2) The people of the villages of Umofia are not Christian. Therefore, they do not have the tale of Adam and Eve to give them the impression that females are inferior to men. Why, then, do they operate on such a Patriarchic system? Is Patriarchy and misogyny innate in human beings? Where does it s Does being a woman in this society actually mean the women are of a lower class? Take the opposite approach. Why are women NECESSARY in this tribal society? What are their benefits?
 * 3) Why does Okonkwo wish his daughter were a boy? What qualities of men is his daughter lacking? What quality of men does she posses over others? Why isn't being a woman okay?
 * 4) In what ways do the men in the story rely upon women, despite the subjugation of the latter?
 * 5) Okonkwo regrets that his strongest child is female. Why is this? Do you think her femininity has played a key role in her strength?
 * 6) Okonkwo thinks of weak men as feminine, with his admiration for Enzima why do you think Okonkwo still views women as weak?
 * 7) Enzima who supposedly had the ability to be born several times over chose to stay as a female. What is the significance of this?
 * 8) How does Okonkwo view those traits of a person that lend themselves to femininity and gentleness? How does he himself show those very traits, and how does he hide them? Does this habit of dealing with those traits the way he does help or hurt him?
 * 9) Is the way Okonkwo views feminine characteristics a mentality his tribe shares, or is it his alone? How does the way he views these traits strengthen his position with the tribe? How does it simultaneously serve to alienate him from them?
 * 10) Why does Okonkwo view his daughter in such a positive light, all the while reviling his son? How does this dovetail with his view of women and men, and how is it contradictory? What traits does his daughter have that make him wish she were a son? Are these traits truly in keeping with Okonkwo's view of what is truly masculine, why or why not?
 * 11) How does their ability to bear children affect the standing and worth of female characters?
 * 12) Would you describe the female characters as strong? Can they be strong in the eyes of the male characters.
 * 1) How is class defined in Okonkwo's tribe? What privileges do members of the ruling class have?
 * 2) How does Okonkwo go from being an oppressor to being one of the oppressed?
 * 3) It seems there are two class struggles presented in "Things Fall Apart", Igbo vs. Themselves & The white missionaries vs. the Igbo -- Which struggle defines Okonkwo, and which do you feel results ultimately in the death of Okonkwo?
 * 4) Unused strength: There is a strong notion of strength in Things Fall Apart; Growing up Oknonkwo is set on proving his strength to his people, who value absolute strength, yet in the end Ikonkwo remains to be the only one who resists "the white man" (arguably the true test for Igbo strength) --- What does this say about this idea of strength in the individual and the institution?
 * 5) Group the characters based on the levels of power they had within the story and give teh category a name. Briefly explain why you grouped these characters and the name you gave the category.
 * 6) Why is Enoch such an important character for the different classes in //Things Fall Apart//?
 * 7) How else could the people of Umuofia and surrounding tribes have been enlightened and educated in their treatment of others (murdering each other, throwing away babies) and brought to justice for these atrocities if the colonialist would not have come to their villages and opened their eyes to such things?
 * 8) The tribes supposedly did everything for the good of the whole, sticking closely with tradition and punishing those who did not; do you think the way they treated each other – murder, abuse, the roles of men & women) was indicative of this? Did the colonialist have a better grasp on this than the people of Umuofia and other tribes did?
 * 9) How do American men deal with manhood, dominance, control and power?
 * 10) How did Okonkwe's behavior reflect/reject the ways of his tribe?
 * 11) Is the Igbo society different from a Western society in its representation of capitalism?
 * 12) How is Unoka's status in society different from the men here inAmerica?

__Reader Response__
 * 1) What are your reactions to the character of Okonkwo?
 * 2) What were some of the themes/struggles that you read about in the story that you could identify with or relate to in any way?
 * 3) What is the author's stance?
 * 4) Who do you think the narrator is?
 * 5) How did your previous schema and your reactions to the story influence your interpretation?
 * 6) What character do you identify with the most? Why?
 * 7) How does the story's views on African cultures differ from your own? Are they the same?
 * 8) Is your relationship with your father similar to any of the relationships that Okonkwo had with his children?
 * 9) Do you agree with the way marriages were in Okonkwo's village? How did the relationships between men and women compare to marriages or relationships that you're in or familiar with?
 * 10) Why do you think this text was written?
 * 11) Can you relate to some of the events in the story to events you have experienced? Why or why not?
 * 12) Which of Okonkwo's many struggles throughout the book do you most relate to and why?
 * 13) 2. Okonkwo becomes very close with Ikemefuna, but then participates in his murder to prove himself to his village and his culture. Is there anything in your life that you believe in so strongly that you feel as though you could relate with Okonkwo in his motives?
 * 14) Which of Okonkwo's many struggles throughout the book do you most relate to and why?
 * 15) Okonkwo becomes very close with Ikemefuna, but then participates in his murder to prove himself to his village and his culture. Is there anything in your life that you believe in so strongly that you feel as though you could relate with Okonkwo in his motives?
 * 16) Which character can you relate to as a reader?
 * 17) What life experiences can you explain that are similar to events from the story?
 * 18) Do the Umuofia people do anything in this book that is strange or wrong to you? What are some things that are considered normal or necessary in your culture that people of another culture may find strange or wrong?
 * 19) What character in the story do you most identify with and why? What similar traits and experiences do you share?
 * 20) Okonkwo does many cure things because he so fears looking weak. Is there anything that you fear or desire enough to drive to to do awful things? Do you sympathize with Okonkwo? Why or why not?
 * 21) Do you think that the author tried to portray Okonkwo as a victim or a bully in the end? What do you think about Okonkwo? What led you to this decision?

__New Historical__
 * 1) When this book was first published, how do you think people's reading experience differed form ours today?
 * 2) How can we compare our own culture to the culture in //TFA//?
 * 3) What values from the book have translated to our own culture?
 * 4) How would modern readers react to many of the rituals and events in thevillageofUmuofiathat seem heinous or barbaric today? Does their potential repulsion of these acts take away from the modern reader's experience and understanding of the book?
 * 5) What, if any, are the parallels between the Christian missionaries of the 1800s-1900s and the missionaries of today? Would the same methods for conversion be well-received today?
 * 6) What, beyond religion, was the rationale for European colonization?
 * 7) What are the similarities/differences between what happened in Things Fall Apart and other European colonization efforts? For example,BritaininIndia,FranceinHaiti, etc.
 * 8) Several generations are represented in //Things Fall Apart//. How does society in Umuofia change for these generations? Do these changes remind you of any other works of literature or history?
 * 9) Are issued and conflicts like those is //Things Fall Apart// present in society today? How?
 * 10) Several generations are represented in //Things Fall Apart//. How does society in Umuofia change for these generations? Do these changes remind you of any other works of literature or history?
 * 11) Are issued and conflicts like those is //Things Fall Apart// present in society today? How?
 * 12) What does //Things Fall Apart// suggest about the culture in which it was written?
 * 13) How do you think reception of //Things Fall Apart// has changed since it was first published?
 * 14) //Things Fall Apart// was release in 1959, on the cusp of the rise of the counter-culture. How might children of this time have viewed the book differently from their parents?
 * 15) Consider the sudden influx of Christian missionaries from an Ibo villager's point of view. What would //TFA// mean to them?
 * 16) Published in 1958, do you think audiences then would have reacted similarly or differently to //Things Fall Apart// compared to a modern reader’s interpretations? (Keep in mind the civil rights movement, the literature of the time, which portrayed Africans as savages, and racism in the 50’s and 60’s compared to racism today)
 * 17) In viewing //Things Fall Apart// through a post-colonial lens, what are some of the religious, social, or cultural implications that the tribes of the lowerNiger face as a result of the Westerner’s imposition?
 * 18) Focus on one of the following: imperialism, oppression, racism, or exploitation. What role does either one of these play in this novel?
 * 19) How do you think reading //Things Fall Apart// in 2012 differs from when people were reading this book when it was first published in the 1950’s? How does our culture and generation today compare to the culture and generation that this book was written for in the 1950’s?
 * 20) Even though on the surface there may not seem to be any similarities, can you think of any surface or deeper similarities between Okonkwo’s culture and our culture today in 2012?