Notice, on p. 7, the description of conversation, between "plain sentences" and proverbs: "Among the Ibo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten." In light of the ritualistic eating of the kola nut, what effect does the metaphor of eating have on your assessment of Ibo conversation? How does the description of conversation fit with Unoka's reaction? Conversation is meant to take a long time: see p. 67: "It would be impolite to rush him"; or p. 73: "As the men drank, they talked about everything except the thing for which they had gathered." Notice the many proverbs: "Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break" (19), "you can tell a ripe corn by its look" (p. 22), "When mother-cow is chewing grass its young ones watch its mouth" (p. 71). Time is measured in conversation. Notice the world of sound in the novel: conversation, town criers, music, town meetings. The orality of the culture is present in its meaningful sounds. Notice the matter-of-fact way Achebe describes Okonkwo's drinking from a human head (p. 10).
Characterize Okonkwo. What things does Achebe tell us about the character, and what does he leave out? We're told that Okonkwo had learned "to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved" (p. 13; see also p. 18). Is Okonkwo's character purely reactionary? What about Okonkwo's denial of the power of fate (beginning of chapter four): "when a man says yes his chi says yes too" (p. 27)? It's in considering these issues that we see the relationship between Oedipus Rex and Things Fall Apart: what determines a man's life, character or fate? And like the Oedipus trilogy, Oedipus's offspring as just as much a part of the story (see the questions below about Nwoye).
Notice the introduction of Ikemefuna at the end of chapter one. How suspenseful is this inclusion? Why would Achebe tell us of Ikemefuna's sacrifice? Alternately, look at the end of chapter three, with the man who hangs himself, and Unoka's observation: this is classic foreshadowing, another narrative norm.
Not only do we as readers evaluate the customs and laws of Umuofia, so do the Umuofians: see pp. 31-32, 69-70. What effect does this critique have on the reader? What is certain in Umuofia, and what is up for negotiation? Consider the egwugwu trial of chapter ten (pp. 87 ff): does the matter of this trial fit the overall plot? It's Okonkwo who says, "The world is large" (p. 74), and we hear of his pondering the rules of his clan: "But although he thought for a long time he found no answer. He was merely led into greater complexities" (p.125). Thinking about the proverbs, the stories (like why the snake-lizard killed his mother, pp. 83-4), and the critique, what would you say is the way knowledge works in this novel? While the original characterization of Nwoye is from Okonkwo's perspective, in chapter seven (pp. 52 ff) we get Nwoye's perspective. Notice too that Ikemefuna lives with Nwoye from the ages of 12 through 15, very impressionable years. Why does Okonkwo ignore Ezeudu's warning (pp. 57 and 61; also examine Okonkwo's conversation with Obierika, pp. 66 ff)? What is the feeling Nwoye has described on pp. 61-2?
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