World Literature: Mr. Lancto

1
Things Fall Apart

• World Literature Mr. Lancto

2
Themes Issues within TFA

• Masculinity
• Agbala means woman and is used to describe a
  man with no titles
• Yams ? Man crop (Yams give life to Ibo without
  yams men Ibo do not survive)
• Wrestling and physical dominance are highly
  regarded
• But what truly makes up a man? (Okonkwos version
  or Obierka Nwoye?)
• Father/Son Relationships
• Unokas laziness drives Okonkwo to hate him and
  dedicates his life to becoming a man
• Nwoye grows to resent Okonkwos Ibo way of life
  
• Christianity and the relationship within The Holy
  Trinity Father, son, and the holy spirit

3
Themes Issues within TFA

• Okonkwo as the Sophoclean Tragic Hero
• Areté Striving to be a man of title in Ibo tribe
  be better than his Father
• Hubris Calling lesser men as women in meetings,
  beating wife during week of peace
• Até Killing Ikemefuna Going against the will of
  the gods in order to look strong
• Nemesis ??? You will find out at the end ?
• He ends up no better than his father at the end!
• Old World Vs. New World Ibo tradition ripped
  apart by European influence
• Religion (Christianity vs. Traditional Ibo)
• Missionaries attracted outsiders, the curious,
  and the tortured
• Christianity challenged the beliefs and actions
  of Ibo Twins, Evil Forest, etc.
• Government
• White court system went against the Ibo judicial
  process, causing conflict

4
THEMES ISSUES WITHIN TFA

• Fear
• Okonkwos fear of being like his father drives
  him and dictates his actions/thoughts
• Nwoyes fear of his father forces him to rebel
  and leave Igbo way of life
• Missionaries fear of the Igbo forces them to
  neglect ignore a different way of life
• Martyrdom vs. Extremism
• Is Okonkwo a symbol hero for the Igbo or is
  his way of life an extreme version of Igbo
  culture and/or his own interpreted version of
  Igbo life?
• Accountability/Responsibilty
• Okonkwo blames chi, father, and weakness of tribe
  for shortcomings
• British blame Igbo for not embracing their
  presence
• Role of Women in Igbo Culture
• Mother is SupremeBUT women are not regarded in
  everyday society

5
Chapters 5-7

• Okonkwo rebels against tradition to preserve his
  Manliness
• Beats Ewefi in order to satisfy his boredom of
  the New Yam Festival
• Kills Ikemefuna despite Ogbuefi Ezeudu telling
  him not to bear a hand in his death
• Sin to kill a kinsman family member in Ibo
  culture
• Nwoye and his struggle to find acceptance
• Tries to please his father by talking badly about
  women
• That showed that in time he would be able to
  control his women-folk (45)
• Enjoys his mothers stories instead of Okonkwos
  about blood and war
• Questions Ikemefunas death and practice of
  killing Twins
• Mourns with his mother and cries in front of his
  father Okonkwo beats him

6
Chapters 8

• Okonkwos inner struggle with Ikemefunas death
• He questions his manliness for feeling remorse
• Obierika does not take place in Ikemefunas
  death, yet his manhood is not questioned
• Obierika tells Okonkwo, It is the kind of action
  for which the goddess wipes out whole families.
  (67)
• Does this explain events in Chap. 13?
• Obierika questions Ibo society
• Twins
• Ozo title
• Okonkwos banishment

7
Chapter 9 10

• Ewefis story
• Ogbanje wicked child spirit that when they died
  entered mothers womb to be born again
• Iyi-uwa an object from Igbo mythology that binds
  the spirit of Ogbanje (many objects can serve)
• What does this explain about Ibo religion?
• Using objects to hold significance?
• Egwugwu
• Settled conflicts between people in the tribe
• it is not bravery when a man fights with a
  women. (93)
• What does this explain or not explain about
  Okonkwo?

8
Points of interest throughout 8-13

• Ceremonies
• Wedding
• Bride-price settled by men with a bundle of
  sticks
• Ch.12 explains the entire process
• Funeral
• Chapter 13
• Conflict (court case)
• Egwugwu settled with compromise (their word is
  law)
• Storytelling
• Tortoise and the sky
• Represents the trickery/influence of the European
  colonization within the Ibo

9
Points of interest throughout 14-19

• Mother is Supreme
• Uchendu is trying to show Okonkwo that it is okay
  to show emotion
• Just as children seek comfort from their Mother,
  Okonkwo is seeking it in Mbanta
• Uchendu openly admits feeling pain for loss of
  wives and children
• Okonkwo is rejecting emotions Ibo tradition by
  disrespecting his mothers kinsman
• Story of Mother Kite
• Never kill a man who says nothing. (116)
• Okonkwo suggests they should have armed and
  fought
• Uchendu reflects the Ibo ideal of trying to solve
  a conflict peacefully before violence

10
Points of interest throughout 14-19

• Acceptance and Rejection of Christianity
• Nwoye, pregnant women, and Osu outcast clansmen
  find purpose, comfort, meaning
• Okonkwo rejects because it would place blame and
  diminish his reputation
• Killing Ikemefuna would be pointless
• Nwoye and his relationship falling apart would be
  for nothing
• His entire life would be useless
• Christianity destroys Ibo culture traditions
• No negative consequences from evil forest, osu
  cutting hair, or caring for twins
• Dissolves traditional kinship and replaces it
  with a spiritual kinship through God
• Encourages the rejection of family Blessed is he
  who forsakes his fatherfor my sake. (127)

11
Chapters 20-25

• We were amused at his the white man
  foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has
  won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act
  like one. He has put a knife on the things that
  held us together and we have fallen apart. (145)
• These things that held them together were
  culture, tradition, and religion
• Missionaries caused them to question and reject
  these important aspects ? Downfall
• Mr. Smith and D.C. represents the ignorance of
  the western world when it comes to Africa
• Saw things as Black and White black was
  evil
• Could write only a chapter on OkonkwoAchebe
  writes an entire book
• Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower
  Niger
• Who is to blame for Okonkwos death?
• His own selfishness thought he would be great
  when he returned, having to be manly
• Missionaries? Caused conflict amongst Ibo clan
  which in turn weakened them