Characters & Relationships
This protagonist is known for his fear of weakness and hatred of failure.
Who is Okonkwo?
This crop symbolizes wealth, masculinity, and success in Igbo society.
What is the yam?
This internal conflict drives Okonkwo’s actions throughout Part I.
What is his fear of becoming like his father (weakness/failure)?
Achebe frequently uses these short traditional sayings to convey cultural wisdom.
What are proverbs?
This theme is shown through Okonkwo’s obsession with strength.
What is masculinity?
This character is given to Okonkwo as part of a settlement and becomes like a son.
Who is Ikemefuna?
Ani (the Earth goddess) is honored during this sacred time.
The Week of Peace
This external conflict begins when Umuofia demands compensation from another village.
What is the conflict with Mbaino?
The repetition of stories and folktales serves this purpose in the novel.
What is reinforcing cultural values and teaching lessons?
This theme is developed through storytelling and rituals.
What is tradition and culture?
This son struggles with his father’s expectations and is drawn to storytelling.
Who is Nwoye?
This ritual involves masked spirits who represent ancestral authority in the clan.
What are the egwugwu?
Okonkwo breaks this sacred rule during the Week of Peace.
What is beating his wife?
Ikemefuna serves as this type of character in relation to Nwoye OR Obierika in relation to Okonkwo
What is a foil?
Nwoye’s reaction to Ikemefuna’s death develops this theme.
What is internal conflict/identity?
This friend of Okonkwo often provides a more thoughtful and reflective perspective on Igbo traditions.
Who is Obierika?
This is the festival in which Okonkwo shoots at Ekwefi.,
What is the Feast of the New Yam
This decision reveals the tension between personal emotion and societal expectations, especially with Nwoye.
What is Okonkwo participating in Ikemefuna’s killing?
The locusts symbolize this larger upcoming change.
What is the arrival of colonizers/outsiders?
The clash between emotion and societal expectations reflects this theme.
What is the tension between individual and community?
This wife of Okonkwo once leaves after being beaten but returns later.
Who is Ekwefi?
It is after this ceremony seemingly fails that Ekwefi starts to question religion.
What is Ezinima digging up her iyi-uwa.
This moment reveals Okonkwo’s emotional restraint, as he suppresses his fear and follows a powerful spiritual authority into the night.
What is Okonkwo following Chielo as she carries Ezinma to the Oracle?
Achebe’s tone toward Igbo culture can best be described as this.
What is respectful and complex (balanced portrayal)?
Part I suggests this about strength and rigidity.
What is that excessive rigidity leads to downfall?