Characters
Q: This character is Okonkwo's father, known for loving music and palm wine more than hard work.
A: Who is Unoka?
Q: This is the event that makes Okonkwo famous throughout the nine villages at the start of the novel.
A: What is the wrestling match against Amalinze the Cat?
Q: Okonkwo's every decision is driven by this emotion — specifically, not wanting to turn out like his father.
A: What is fear?
Q: This is the Igbo word for a person's personal god or spirit — the force that shapes their destiny.
A: What is chi?
Q: This boy is given to Umuofia as a peace offering and lives with Okonkwo's family for three years.
A: Who is Ikemefuna?
Q: This group delivers the decree that Ikemefuna must be killed.
A: What is the Oracle (of the Hills and Caves / Agbala)?
Q: Ikemefuna's death is the clearest example of this theme — Okonkwo acts against his own heart because of it.
A: What is pride?
Q: This term describes a child who is believed to die and be reborn repeatedly, tormenting its mother.
A: What is ogbanje?
Q: This woman is so devoted to her daughter that she follows the priestess through the dark forest in the middle of the night.
A: Who is Ekwefi?
Okonkwo strikes the killing blow during Ikemefuna's death mainly because of this fear.
A: What is the fear of looking weak (or being seen as less of a man)?
Q: Achebe portrays Igbo customs, rituals, and storytelling with respect and depth in order to challenge this idea about Africa.
A: What is the idea that African society was primitive or uncivilized?
Q: These are the masked figures who represent the ancestral spirits of the clan and act as judges.
A: What are the egwugwu?
This character serves as a contrast to Okonkwo — he is thoughtful, calm, and willing to question the clan's decisions.
A: Who is Obierika?
Q: This is the event where Okonkwo accidentally kills someone, which leads directly to his exile.
A: What is Ogbuefi Ezeudu's funeral?
Q: Both Nwoye and Ezinma quietly struggle with this throughout Part One — feeling like they don't quite fit where they're supposed to.
A: What is belonging (or identity)?
Q: This is the sacred object buried in the ground that ties an ogbanje child to the spirit world.
A: What is the iyi-uwa?
Q: This elder warns Okonkwo not to take part in Ikemefuna's killing, but Okonkwo ignores him.
A: Who is Ogbuefi Ezeudu?
Q: Okonkwo is exiled for seven years to this place, which is his mother's home village.
A: What is Mbanta?
Q: Even before colonizers arrive, Achebe sets up tension between individual feeling and collective expectation — this is the larger theme that tension points toward.
A: What is change (or the conflict between tradition and change)?
The __________ is the ceremonial gathering where the groom's family presents gifts and payment to the bride's family — seen in Chapter 12 when the whole village comes together to celebrate Obierika's daughter's marriage.
Answer: uri ceremony (or bride price)