This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin.
Things Fall Apart (for an introduction, see here: https://www.learner.org/series/invitation- to-world-literature/things-fall-apart/) may be the most famous
book by an African novelist, in this case, Chinua Achebe of Nigeria. It is a highly approachable tale about how an African leader, Okonkwo of the Igbo tribe, is
forced to come to grips with not only his own tribal traditions, but also the oncoming stresses of European colonialism. I am assigning this book as it
provides a distinct and unique African voice for the descriiption of one culture’s pre-colonial and colonial history. Okonkwo’s story, albeit fictional, is
particularly valuable because it provides us with an empathetic insight into what it might have been like to live in Africa at a key historical moment in the 19th
century.
Instructions: For your first reading journal entry for Things Fall Apart, I would like you to provide your own personal insights and opinions related to what
interested or surprised you, what you found different to our society today, what you did not understand, or any other ideas and reflections you have about the
novel so far.
Having discussed the main events and characters of the first six chapters in class, this assignment should focus on Chapters 7-11.
I would like you to comment on the following key aspects of the book in chapters 7-11 see here for more explanation of literary terms
( https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_terms/index.html) – any points that are interesting to you are fine, and you
can use these headings to organize your answer:
.Setting
.Characters
.Themes
.Your favorite section so far and why
.What can we learn from African culture that sheds on our own society?
If you cite a passage or lines from the novel to back up your answer, please cite the page number.
Use of images that enhance your ideas is encouraged, but will NOT be part of the grade.