Okonkwo's World
The name of Okonkwo’s village, known for its powerful warriors and magic.
Umuofia
Okonkwo’s eldest son who eventually converts to Christianity.
Nwoye
The masked ancestral spirits who serve as judges for the clan.
the egwugwu
The first white missionary in Umuofia, known for being policy-oriented and respectful.
Mr. Brown
"Living fire begets cold, impotent ______."
The title of Okonkwo’s lazy, flute-playing father whom he spent his life trying to disown.
Unoka
Okonkwo’s favorite daughter, whom he frequently wishes "should have been a boy."
Ezinma
The Oracle of the Hills and the Caves, whose word is law in Umuofia.
Agbala
The zealous and uncompromising missionary who replaces Mr. Brown.
These insects descend upon Umuofia, foreshadowing the arrival of the colonizers.
Locusts
Okonkwo’s greatest fear, which drives his obsession with masculinity and success.
the fear of weakness and failure
The ill-fated lad from Mbaino who lives with Okonkwo for three years and calls him "father."
Ikemefuna
The Week of ________, during which no one is allowed to say a harsh word to their neighbor.
Week of Peace
The convert who commits the ultimate sin by unmasking an egwugwu.
Enoch
This character famously says, "That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself."
Obierika
The number of titles Okonkwo has earned in the clan before his fall.
two titles
The mother of Ezinma and Okonkwo’s second wife, who once ran away from her first husband to be with him.
Ekwefi
The "worthless" land where the villagers allow the missionaries to build their church.
Evil Forest
The name of the neighboring village that was completely wiped out by "White foreigners" after its people killed the first white man to arrive on a bicycle.
Abame
The proverb "If a child washes his hands he could eat with ____" explains Okonkwo’s rise to power.
kings
The specific crop that symbolizes manliness and wealth in Igbo culture.
Yam
The village where Okonkwo and his family are exiled for seven years.
Mbanta, his motherland
The term for a "cursed" child who dies and returns to its mother's womb to be reborn.
ogbanje
The specific event during Ezeudu’s funeral that leads to Okonkwo's exile.
During the final funeral rites for Ogbuefi Ezeudu, Okonkwo’s gun explodes accidentally during a gun salute, with a piece of iron piercing and killing Ezeudu's sixteen-year-old son
The poem by W.B. Yeats from which Achebe took the novel's title.
"The Second Coming"