Things Fall Apart notes.

Chapter 9
• In this chapter we learn that Enzima is an ogbanje child, meaning a wicked child.
• We learn that Ekwefi had suffered much in her life, having nine of her children dying at a
tender age.
• Proposed remedies of the ogbanje / wicked child.
• Ekwefi was supposed to go and sleep in Okonkwo’s hut.
• If an ogbanje child dies people were not suppose to mourn.
• The medicine man had to find and treat the iyi-uwa.
• The dead body of the child was suppose to be mutilated, and be dragged into the evil forest,
in a bid to discourage it from coming back.
• When the mother go pregnant she was suppose to leave and go stay with her own people.
• The panic in Enzima’s parents that accompanied her attack of fever is understandable in the
sense that she is their only child and it shows that she occupies a very special place in her
parents’ heart.
• Okonkwo has now shaken the deep depression he had experienced after his role in the ritual
murder of Ikemefuna.

Chapter 10
• In their chapter we are introduced to the way of establishing justice in Umuofia.
• The trials have spiritual and religious significance.
• Okonkwo is one of the Egwugwus and this is a testimony of the high esteem his fellow villages
accorded him
• We also see that the women in this society had no say in the village whatsoever, even with
situations that affected them personally.
What we learn about the egwugwus
• There were 9 of the meaning there were 9 masked ancestral spirits of the clan.
• They were led by Evil forest.
• Each egwugwu represented a village of the clan.
• They lived in a house which faced the evil forest which was decorated with many colored
patterns and drawings done by specially chosen women.
• They would be called to judge situations that ordinary villages could find no solutions to.

Chapter 11
• The setting is Okonkwo’s compound.
• The atmosphere is clam and peaceful as we are shown the heart warming images of family
through the mother - children relationships.
• The night was said to be extremely dark, adding to the mystery which runs throughout the
chapter.
• The folktale told is didactic in that it is meant to teach the children that it is bad to be greedy.
• Also that friends should trust and not betray.
• We are shown the love that Ekwefi has for her daughter when she disobeys the priestess’s
warning and followed them.
• Okonkwo is shown in this chapter trying very hard to mask the affectionate side of his nature
seeming to ridicule his wife’s tailing of Chielo and Enzima, and yet he ends up doing the same.
• The warmth shown in this chapter gives a sharp contrast to the horrifying scenes in the novel
such as the ritual murder and throwing away of twins in clay pots.
• This goes to show that Umofia indeed is a society of extremes that we find in Okonkwo’s
Character.
Chapter 12
• This chapter has a tone of celebration, compared to that of chapter 11 which is full of suspense
and anxiety when Enzima is taken by Chielo.
• The wedding feast is a social event which promotes family unity, uniting friends and relatives of
the 2 families.
• On this occasion Okonkwo is recognized as an important man, as Obierika’s oldest brother
says he is a prosperous man and a great warrior.
• It is also significant that during such gatherings men exchange mainly stories whilst women
busy themselves with the cooking.
Chapter 13
• This chapter represents the closing of part 1 and it introduces us to another cultural ceremony
which is the funeral of a warrior.
• Ezeudu’s death being the oldest man’s death in this section of Umofia signals the beginning of
the end of the values of the values of this people’s tradition.
• It is very significant that part one ends with the death of a well respected traditional pillar.
• The injustice underlying the exiling of Okonkwo for an act that he did not commit willingly is
voiced strongly by the friend Obierika” why should a man suffer so grievously for a offense he
had committed inadvertently.
• In this chapter we learn that Obierika is a victim of the laws of throwing away twins.
• It’s ironic that Okonkwo ‘s fun explodes accidentally, killing the son of a man who had talked
against taking part in the ritual murder of Ikemefuna.
• Characterization of Obierika.
• He is a man who thinks about things (analyzer) he thinks it unfair that his friend should be
punished severely for a crime he committed by accident.
• He begins to question the customs of the Ibo society, and it’s like Obierika is the voice of
Achebe.
• The fact that Okonkwo’s yams are to be stored in Obierika’s barn shows that Obierika is a very
trustworthy friend.
Conclusion
• It is the longest part in the novel and it is the depiction of African traditional life in Ibo land
before the coming of the whiteman
• Achebe in this part recreates life in Umofia
• , a traditional clan as he imagined it to be at that time. He pictures it to be a closed world.

Chapter 12
• This chapter has a tone of celebration, compared to that of chapter 11 which is full of suspense
and anxiety when Enzima is taken by Chielo.
• The wedding feast is a social event which promotes family unity, uniting friends and relatives of
the 2 families.
• On this occasion Okonkwo is recognized as an important man, as Obierika’s oldest brother
says he is a prosperous man and a great warrior.
• It is also significant that during such gatherings men exchange mainly stories whilst women
busy themselves with the cooking.
Chapter 13
• This chapter represents the closing of part 1 and it introduces us to another cultural ceremony
which is the funeral of a warrior.
• Ezeudu’s death being the oldest man’s death in this section of Umofia signals the beginning of
the end of the values of the values of this people’s tradition.
• It is very significant that part one ends with the death of a well respected traditional pillar.
• The injustice underlying the exiling of Okonkwo for an act that he did not commit willingly is
voiced strongly by the friend Obierika” why should a man suffer so grievously for a offense he
had committed inadvertently.
• In this chapter we learn that Obierika is a victim of the laws of throwing away twins.
• It’s ironic that Okonkwo ‘s fun explodes accidentally, killing the son of a man who had talked
against taking part in the ritual murder of Ikemefuna.
• Characterization of Obierika.
• He is a man who thinks about things (analyzer) he thinks it unfair that his friend should be
punished severely for a crime he committed by accident.
• He begins to question the customs of the Ibo society, and it’s like Obierika is the voice of
Achebe.
• The fact that Okonkwo’s yams are to be stored in Obierika’s barn shows that Obierika is a very
trustworthy friend.
Conclusion
• It is the longest part in the novel and it is the depiction of African traditional life in Ibo land
before the coming of the whiteman
• Achebe in this part recreates life in Umofia
• , a tradiclan as he imagined it to be at that time. He pictures it to be a closed world.
PART TWO
• Part two begins with Okonkwo’s arrival in Mbatha to live with his mother’s kinsmen for 7 years.
• It ends at the point where Okonkwo is preparing to return home to Umofia.
• The part tells the story of Okonkwo’s life in exile at a time his homeland is undergoing
tremendous change because of the coming of the white man.
• Although Okonkwo is physically removed from Umofia, he never for a moment forgets or
relaxes his desire to return to his fatherland.
• The narrative of this part of the story takes us back to Umofia so often to the extent that we
hardly see Okonkwo’s full life in Mbanta at all.
Chapter 14
• We learn that when Okonkwo was younger, he did not have the same attitude towards crying
and showing feelings as Uchendu still remembers him openly crying at his mother’s burial.

 We learn that Uchendu was very kind and understanding as he asked no questions but
awaited Okonkwo to settle down before telling the story of his female crime.
 We are told after the heavy rains that all were happy , refreshed and thankful which
could be to contrast with the events to come and the progression of things falling apart
 We are shown how Okonkwo seems to have lost his drive and that he is an outcast
from his clan, this enforces the fact that Okonkwo’s alienation is now complete.
 It is this alienation that will partly account for Okonkwo’s tragedy at the end.
 The two ugly faces of some evil customs in the ibo customs are shown again in this
chapter.
 Is it just to uproot a man in this manner for an act he committed accidentally.
 The twins issue again is also practiced in Mbatha.