Read chapters 1-3 in Things Fall Apart.
Respond to two of the below prompts in 4-6 sentences each. Your responses can be to the main prompt or to classmates. Feel free to create your own topic if you don’t like any of mine.
Read chapters 1-3 in Things Fall Apart.
Respond to two of the below prompts in 4-6 sentences each. Your responses can be to the main prompt or to classmates. Feel free to create your own topic if you don’t like any of mine.
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Compare/contrast Okonkwo and Unoka, or discuss their relationship.
Okonkwo and Unoka are polar opposites. Okonkwo, Unoka’s father, spent most of his life in debt. He borrowed money and never paid people back, and therefor was not well-liked or respected. He also died very deep in debt. Unoka however, was a very successful young man. He had won many titles, and was a wrestler. He was respected by people, and had won wrestling matches in the nine villages. They are a perfect example of the apple falling far from the tree.
Okonkwo is a man who keeps his word and cares about the people who matter the most. While Unoka cannot pay people back to save his life. Unoka gets money from people to only waste it on getting wine and throwing a party. Okonkwo has a family he has to take care of and provide for and does a lot for the village. A similarity between the two is that they both grow crops.
Okonkwo and Unoka are very different people. Unoka is Oknokwo’s father. He constantly borrows money from others, but does not pay them back. Oknokwo is much more successful than his father. He does a lot of good things for his village. He also supports and takes care of his family.
Okonkwo is very hard working individual when his father, Unoka, is much more careless and doesn’t really invest in what others think of him. Onoka borrows money for useless things with the intent of never paying it back while Ukonkwo could support and provide for his family which all of the tribe should be able to do. They are also different because Okonkwo was much more violent then his father, he would bring home heads and such.
Okonkwo and Unoka contrast each other greatly. They are complete opposites. The son, Okonkwo is the one who provides for people. His father, Unoka is the one who constantly needs help from others. When Unoka gets the help and money he needs, he does nothing to repay them. The only relationship Unoka and Okonkwo share is that they are related.
Unoka and Okonkwo are complete opposites. Unoka is a young man and Oknokwo’s son. He is very successful wrestler and has won titles in wrestling. He is respected by everyone whereas Okonkwa is not. He has always been in debt and has borrowed a lot of money. He never pays anyone back and is not very liked among the village.
The novel opens up with the description of Okonkwo’s greatness, and then followed by the description of Unoka’s failure. This contradictory structured informs the reader about the power Okonkwo possesses upon Unoka. Unoka was an irresponsible man. He never took care of his own family. The very beginning of his description says that whenever he has money, he would spend it to satisfy his own redundant needs. He is not at all a father figure for Okonkwo and his sisters. Not being a protector, he did not even want to give out any sweat to feed his family, and he has a huge collection of debts. During his life, he never took a title and, therefore, never gained status or respect from the villagers. When he died he inherited absolutely nothing to Okonkwo. This way, Okonkwo has deleted Unoka from being a father.
Okonkwo is pretty much the man, and Unoka isn’t at all. The two characters are drastically different. Okonkwo is a strong brave man, who worked hard to get where he is in life, and was known as a hero around his village for being a great wrestler. Unoka possess nothing, and whenever he gets his hands on money, he blows it on parties. Because of his lifestyle, Unoka is in debt, and has been in debt his whole life. He has never worked for anything in his life, and owes several people money. Unoka never took a title in life, leading the people of the village to have no respect for him. Okonkwo disowned his own father due to the lack of respect he had for him.
Unoka was a very irresponsible man of little character. He was drowned in debts for pretty much his entire life because all he did was drink, feast, and celebrate. However, his life was nothing to celebrate about. He became the laughing stock of the village for being so far in debt and nobody wanted to give him money anymore. He was too lazy to work, which is why he was so covered in debts, but this is also why he never paid debts off. His son Okonkwo on the other hand, is completely different. He is a man of character and clearly works hard. He does not want to be in the image of his father, so he makes a point of working hard to not have any debts. He is a wrestler so he is physically strong, too. He shows an impatience to lazy men, which explains why he didn’t like his father that much. Okonkwo and his father Unoka were completely different men, especially in the way that other people reacted to them.
Okonkwo and Unoka are completely different from each other. While Unoka is a careless partier, Okonkwo is a hardworking warrior and provider. Unoka also borrowed massively and accumulated a lot of debt, leaving his wife and children with nothing. However, Okonkwo is a farmer who provides for his family and protects the village in war. This polar difference between father and son is due to the extreme conditions Okonkwo faced as a child, during which time he learned that his father is the exact opposite of a role model. Therefore, the mistakes of his father shape Okonkwo to be everything his father is not.
Do you like Okonkwo so far? Discuss some positive and/or negative aspects of his character. What about him do you admire? What might you criticize him for?
I mostly like Okonkwo so far. I like him because he knows what he wants, he gets what he wants and he is, for the most part, reliable and a strong man. He also supports/provides for his large family and steps up to war when he is called for war. He also works hard so he doesn’t end up like his dad. But a downfall of Okonkwo is his short temper with everyone.
I like that Okonkwu was the first ever to throw the cat. I like that Okonkwu is hardworking and strives to be the best he can be. Although Okonkwu is a relentless warrior, his warrior attitude and mindset may be coming from the wrong place. I think it is a bad hung that he dispises his father so much that that is what causes him to work so hard. Its a positive thing that is coming from negative energy. Also, Oknokwus impatience with others is a bad character trait to have.
I like Okonkwo so far in the book. He provides for his family and makes sure they are okay and when the village needs him for war he steps up right away. I admire that he does not want to be like his own dad. Okonkwo cares about his family and likes to earn his own money without having any debt. He gets very irritable when the weather is bad which causes him to be in bad moods because if the weather isn’t right then he can’t have good crops.
So far, I like Oknokwo. I like him because he seems like a good genuine person. He does a lot for his village and works hard. He also makes sure to support and take care of his family. He does not want turn out the way his father is because his father is in debt. It seems like Oknokwo is almost ashamed of his father and does not want to follow in his footsteps.
I like Okonkwo. He is strong, powerful, and a role model for all the villages. He is a fighter and a father. He has three wives and many children and can support them, unlike his father who was always in debt. I think the fact that no one looks at him like is father is in his favor. However, I think his temper will surely be a weakness for him.
I like Okonkwo, he is successful but at the same time his anger and violence is a dangerous side of him. Okonkwo is very powerful which is a good thing when pertaining to the positive aspects of being a father figure and such, but when he becomes angry he could seriously do some damage.
I definitely agree that his anger could turn out to be dangerous. He brings back 5 heads after the war of people that he has killed, which is barbaric to me. The heads are a good example because it shows that he is successful, brave, and a good warrior; but also that he is angry and barbaric.
So far, I like Okonkwo. A very positive aspect is that he puts family first. He makes sure they are good before worrying about anything else. I admire that he strives to be the best he can. He does not want to be like his father, which makes him try even harder. I would only criticize Oknonkwo for his temper because he can be mad so easily.
So far I like Okonkwo. He shows a lot of character even in these first three chapters. He is a hard worker, and shows that he is not selfish. He works for people in his village, and especially people in his family. I really like how even though his father Unoka died in debt and he disliked that very much, he made it a point to be the best he could be and to not owe debts like his father.
I like Okonkwo because is very decisive and knows exactly what he wants at all times. Usually he gets what he wants. He supports his family in every way possible. He is a hard worker and a tough, powerful man.
I like Okonkwo so far because he is a very responsible and works very hard to accomplish all his responsibilities. He has 3 wives and a child, and he farms to make sure they have something to eat. He also provides each of them with their own hut. Aside from providing, he also protects the village. He steps up to represent his tribe in the face of the Mbaino tribe, who killed one of their women. This kind of bravery and responsibility composes a true man, such as Okonkwo, which is the reason why I like him so far.
Reflect on some aspect of Ibo culture (Okonkwo’s culture).
Their culture seems very different from our culture. Their culture seems uncivilized and unorganized. It seems like there are no rules. There are many examples that show this. One example is that when they want to get revenge on the surrounding territories, they kidnap the young children of the civilizations. Taking innocent children is totally immoral. There are civilized ways to go about peacemaking with other civilizations; taking the children of the territory is about as uncivilized as it gets. Another example is when they are in war, to show that they won the war, they bring back a head of the enemy they have killed themselves. They bring back several heads if needed, Okonkwo has brought five. This seems completely barbaric to me.
Quote a proverb used in Chapters 1-3. Explain its meaning and its relevance to the situation in which it is said.
“When the moon is shining the cripple becomes hungry for a walk” (10).
This proverb is saying how when the moon is out and shining, everyone wants to go for a walk. Previously, Achebe said how people only go out when the moon is shining and how much fun everyone has when the moon is out; except the crippled. The proverb, to me, was a mix between “you can’t always get what you want” and “you don’t know what you got till it’s gone”.
“When the moon is shining the cripple man becomes hungry for a walk” (10). The proverb means that when someone sees something they want, they become hungry for it. To me, this proverb relates to saying like “never take life for granted” or “make the best out of every opportunity”. The cripple man once had a chance to play when the moon was shining and didn’t make the best of it and now he wishes he did.
Okonkwo and Unoka are not very similar. Okonkwo, Unoka’s father, spent most of his life in debt and drinking. He borrowed money and never paid people back. As a result, people had no care for him and disrespected him. He is also in a ridiculous amount of debt that he will never pay off because all he spends it on is alcohol and parties. Unoka is the better side of the family. He has won many titles and is seen very high to the tripe.They are a the same because they both used to work in the field and in the crops.
While reading, I have found that Okonkwo wants his family to be successful. He puts his family above everyone else and this shows his dedication to making his family’s happiness. He worries about his family before doing his own work. I think the he works hard to provide for his family and keep them happy. He doesn’t want to be like his father and him not wanting to be like his father makes him want to work even harder. One thing that is bad that can be said about Okonkwo is that he is easily angered,