Elizabeth Klein

TFA Chapter 3 SPES

At the chapters end, Unoka tells Okonkwo You have a manly and proud heart. A proud
heart can survive a general failure because such a failure does not prick its pride. It is
more difficult and bitter when a man fails alone.

Why should Okonkwo listen to Unoka? Why doesnt he?

Okonkwo should listen to Unoka because Unoka would knows from personal experience
what it is like to fail. On page 5, Unoka is described as being a failure and a loafer. It is also
said on page 4 that Unoka is lazy and improvident. These characteristics are just applied to
Unoka, so he would understand what it means to fail alone rather than to experience a general
failure. Okonkwo wouldve been wise to listen to Unoka, because he gave good advice about
how Okonkwo should perceive failure. However, Okonkwo does not listen to his father because
he strives to be everything his father is not. On page 13, it is said that Okonkwo lives in
constant fear that he should be found to resemble his father. This means that when Okonkwo
ignored his fathers words on page 25, he did so because he feared that by taking it, he would
become similar to Unoka.

TFA Chapter 4 SPES

Infer why Okonkwo justifies calling the untitled man a woman. What inference might we
make about the fact that every other village elder sides with Osugo, the untitled man
Okonkwo calls a woman?

Okonkwo justifies calling Osuga a woman because he connects the insult with his
father. On page 13, it is revealed that Okonkwos playmate once called Unoka agbala, which
means both a woman and a man without titles. Okonkwo is deeply affected by this, and from
there on, he associates both titless men and women with his father. Therefore he feels that
calling Osuga a woman is justified because by doing so, Okonkwo is opposing everything
Unoka represents.
It can be inferred through the village elders siding with Osugo when Okonkwo calls him
a woman that they did so because they empathize with the titleless man. On page 8, it says
that although Okonkwo was still young, he was already one of the greatest men of his age.
Okonkwo achieved more than most people his age wouldve, probably even the elders. When
Okonkwo called Osugo a woman, the elders see it as a successful man picking on someone
less fortunate than himself. This feeling is expressed on page 26 when one of the elders said,
Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be
humble. The elders probably see a bit of themselves in Osugo and pity him, for they
understand that not many people will ever come close to achieving all that Okonkwo has.

TFA Chapter Five SPES

Elizabeth Klein

Explain why Okonkwo beats his wife. How do we know he is not as hard as he appears?
Okonkwo beats his wife for two reasons. The first reason is that it further distinguishes
the division between him and his father. On page 13, it is said that Okonkwo is motivated to
hate everything that his father Unoka had loved, which includes gentleness. When Okonkwo
beats his wife, he separates himself from his fathers gentleness. The second reason is that
beating his wife is Okonkwos outlet for his fear. Okonkwo lives in constant fear of displaying
his fathers traits, and this very much angers him. On page 4, it is said that Okonkwo would
pounce on people quite often. Okonkwos constant fear is frustrating to him, and he takes this
frustration out on his wife.
The reader knows that Okonkwo is not as hard as he appears because of what the
narrator constantly states about him throughout the book. On page 28, the narrator says about
Ikemefuna that Okonkwo himself became very fond of the boy. On page 33, after Okonkwo
yells at Ikemefuna and Nwoye for not preparing yam seeds properly, the narrator says that
inwardly Okonkwo knew that the boys were still too young to understand...seed-yams. Then
on page 44, the narrator says that Okonkwo was especially fond of Ezinma. These
statements prove that deep down, Okonkwo has the capacity to be compassionate. The only
reason he wears a hard semblance is so that he doesnt resemble his father. However, the
narrators comments throughout the story imply that Okonkwo is just tough on the outside.

TFA Chapter Seven SPES

Chapter seven juxtaposes two very different moods. What are the two moods? Why does
Achebe put them in the same chapter?

The two moods of chapter seven are togetherness and then somberness. The first
mood occurs in the beginning of the chapter when Okonkwo, Nwoye, and Ikemefuna begin to
bond. On page 53, Okonkwo encouraged the boys to sit with him in his obi. Okonkwo tells
the boys stories, and Nwoye begins to redeem himself in his fathers eyes because of
Ikemefuna. But then Okonkwo receives word that the Oracle has pronounced Ikemefunas
death, and the mood rapidly changes to somberness. Okonkwo does not want to see
Ikemefuna die, as his actions suggest on page 57. He even goes so far as to move to the back
of the group before Ikemefuna is to be killed. However, in the end Okonkwo is the one to kill the
boy. The somber tone is reinstated by Nwoyes feeling of a snapping inside him.
These two moods were put in the same chapter to represent the deep care that both
Okonkwo and Nwoye had for Ikemefuna and the connection between the father and his son.
Achebe uses the feeling of togetherness in the beginning of the chapter to convey the idea that
Ikemefuna is beginning to assimilate into Okonkwos family. Ikemefuna is seen by Okonkwo
and Nwoye as family. The stark change in tone after Okonkwo realizes that Ikemefuna is to die
represents Okonkwo and Nwoyes feelings of grief and deep sadness. After Ikemefuna dies,
both Okonkwo and his son feel the same terrible grief for their loss. Achebe uses their feelings
to show that the two are not as different as Okonkwo thinks, as they both have the capacity to
care a lot about the ones they love.
Elizabeth Klein

TFA Chapter Eight SPES

Reread Okonkwo and Obierikas argument in Chapter Eight. Why does Okonkwos
defense warrant skepticism?

In chapter eight, Okonkwo goes over to Obierikas house to forget about his grief over
killing Ikemefuna. When he arrives, he and Obierika get into an argument about why Okonkwo
went with the party that killed the boy and Obierika did not. Obierika argued that he did not
want to, and Okonkwo accused the man of questioning the Oracles decisions. The problem
with Okonkwos argument is that he says on page 67 that if [everyone in the group was] all
afraid of blood, it would not be done. This defense is problematic because it suggests that
Okonkwo was obliged to kill Okonkwo because somebody had to do it. However, on page 57,
the man in charge of organizing Ikemefunas death says that he does not want Okonkwo to
bear a hand in [Ikemefunas] death. Okonkwo argues to Obierika that somebody had to kill
Ikemefuna, but that someone did not have to be him, nor should it have been. At that point,
Okonkwos argument seems to turn into a way for Okonkwo to justify his actions and deflect his
guilt.