Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart was the first novel published by Nigerian author, poet, and critic Chinua Achebe and in terms of being read and studied, this novel is unmatched among African novels. The novel follows the life of Okonkwo—first, his family and the customs of the Igbo people, and second, life after the arrival of European colonists and Christian missionaries.
Major thematic elements: masculinity & pride, fate, cultural and generational differences,
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IB Literature and IB Language and Literature Connections
Place of publication: Nigeria
Language: English
Era: 20th century
Genre: Fiction
Author: Male
Readers, writers and texts | Time and space | Intertextuality: Connecting texts
Identity | Culture | Creativity | Communication
Perspective | Transformation | Representation
Full text, basic summaries, and overviews
Things Fall Apart | Audiobooks
Option 1, narrated by Peter Francis James, via Fancyread on YouTube. Chapters are timestamped in the pinned comment.
Option 2, unknown narrator, via مشتاق احمد on YouTube. No timestamps, but a very good narrator.
Option 3, read by Ashley Wilson, via Ashley Wilson on YouTube. Separate videos for each chapter/pair of chapters. Text is on screen with audio.
Also excellent: this reading from the end of chapter 20, performed on BBC Newsnight, accessed via YouTube.
Things Fall Apart Study Guide | Course Hero
This study guide includes an infographic, plot and chapter summaries, character descriptions, symbols, themes, discussion questions and more. Also available as a complete video series on YouTube.
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If One Finger Brought Oil - Things Fall Apart Part 1: Crash Course Literature 208 | YouTube | 10:18
”In which John Green teaches you about Chinua Achebe’s 1958 novel, Things Fall Apart. You’ll learn about Igboland, a region in modern-day Nigeria, prior to the arrival of the British Empire. Achebe tells the story of Okonkwo, an Igbo villager who has worked his way up from life as a sharecropper and become a respected leader in his community. Okonkwo has a tragic fall and is exiled. And then the trouble starts.”
Watch here
Things Fall Apart, Part 2: Crash Course Literature 209 | YouTube | 9:29
”In which John Green concludes teaching you about Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. You’ll learn about the historical contexts of Things Fall Apart, including 19th-century colonization and 20th-century decolonization. We’re even going to learn a little bit about Achebe’s childhood between two cultures, cover Okonkwo’s sad, sad end, and even learn a little about The Babysitters Club.”
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Things Fall Apart | Wikipedia
Wikipedia’s article includes plot, characters, background, literary significance and reception, adaptations, and more.
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About the author
Chinua Achebe | Biography
Britannica.com’s biography is a little longer and interactive, with hyperlinks to related topics.
PoetryFoundation’s biography is a little shorter, with links to Achebe’s poems “Answer,” “Flying,” and “NON-commitment.”
An African Voice | The Atlantic | Katie Bacon | August 2000
Bacon provides an introduction and the interview she conducted with Achebe about his novel and colonization. Note: part of this interview is locked behind a paywall.
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Remembering Nigerian author Chinua Achebe | YouTube | BBC News Africa | 4:14
This video clip was produced after the death of Achebe in 2013. The Guardian and The New York Times also produced obituaries for Achebe.
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Remembering Chinua Achebe And The Importance Of Struggle | NPR | Fresh Air Interviews | 8:00
This interview from 1988 was ran in 2013 after the death of Achebe. The link below will take you to the audio and a full transcript of the interview.
Listen and read here
Chinua Achebe | Wikipedia
For a detailed biography, Wikipedia is a great resource. This biography covers Achebe’s life—broken into 13 segments—his writing style, themes, influence and legacy and more.
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Articles, essays, and videos about Things Fall Apart
Igbo | Britannica.com
This Britannica entry on the Igbo people includes information about their community structures, livelihoods, the geographic areas they lived in, and their political and religious traditions pre-colonization.
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A History of the Igbo People | YouTube | HomeTeam History | 7:19
We weren’t able to track down the people behind this YouTube channel, so it’s hard to factcheck or confirm reliability of the source, but the information seems solid and could provide some nice background as your students start studying Things Fall Apart.
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Achebe Discusses Africa 50 Years After ‘Things Fall Apart’ | PBS.org | PBS News Hour | 8:48
Also available on YouTube, this PBS NewsHour segment is an interview between Jeffrey Brown and Achebe. Full transcript available on page.
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Transcending Roles of Women and Privileged Motherhood in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart | Maria Lowe
In this essay, Lowe looks at “the complications behind women’s roles in the novel, chiefly analyzing Ekwefi’s role as a wife and mother, to reevaluate accusations of Achebe’s sexism and push against prominent notions that view the women in the novel as agentless.”
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The Crisis of Cultural Memory in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart | African Studies Quarterly | F. Abiola Irele | Fall 2000
This is a very academic essay, perhaps too challenging in its entirety for high school students. Sections of the essay could be pulled though and worked with in small, meaningful chunks. We recommend page 4, beginning at “The very tenor and warmth…” through “intensity of social experience that underlies an achieve state of equilibrium” on page 5, for example.
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Why do Things Fall Apart? A Psychological Analysis of Okonkwo’s Personality and his Ultimate Demise in Chinua Achebe’s Novel Things Fall Apart | Justin Cowlin | January 2011 | Student Paper | This paper has a table of contents on page 2, so you can see what works best for you.
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Nothing but a Tortoise | Sarah Doyle | April 2017 | Student Paper
In this essay, Doyle examines the animals as symbols in Things Fall Apart.
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Missionaries in Africa Doing More Harm Than Good? | NPR | Faith Matters | 6:00
This segment looks at how the well-meaning efforts of Christian missionaries can sometimes do more harm than good. Transcript is included; This article might be useful as you look at global issues within the text.
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Lesson plans and other teaching resources
Things Fall Apart Literary Analysis - Summer Essay | Mr. Treherne | AP Language and Composition
This is a PDF of a PowerPoint for an essay assignment for Things Fall Apart. The PP includes examples of all of the written components of the assignment.
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Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart Study Guide | The Website of Prof. Paul Brians
This study guide starts with the Yeats poem “The Second Coming,” has a general introduction, and then has notes for each chapter of the novel.
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Things Fall Apart Study Guide: Reading & Study Questions | Centeral Oregon Community College | Cora Agatucci, Professor of English
This study guide provides questions (discussion, essay, etc.) for each chapter of the novel.
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Things Fall Apart Teacher’s Guide | Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House has questions broken into the following categories: structure, technique, and plot; character and conflict; setting and society; themes and motifs; and questions for discussion and assignment.
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From Acolyte to Apocalypse: Defiance vs. Conformity in Things Fall Apart | DePauw University | Zoë Kales | May 2022
This essay is delivered in the form of a PowerPoint which includes discussion of the significance of names, British colonization of Nigeria, and the extent to which Okonkwo is a hero.
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Things Fall Apart Analysis Guidelines | Marc Turetzky | Spring 2009
This essay assignment asks students to briefly summarize and critically evaluate the novel. The assignment includes ten questions to get students started on the analysis.
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Things Fall Apart Relationship to Other Literary-Historical-Philosophical Movements covered in 258 | UIdaho.edu
This page makes connections between Things Fall Apart and six other movements: The Enlightenment, Romanticism, (Anti) Impressionism, Modernism, and Empathy vs. The Other.
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Characters, Places and Concepts in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart | Jan.ucc.nau.edu
List is alphabetized long. Links at the bottom of the page will take you to Unit 11 or Unit 12 resources for Things Fall Apart, but the navigation is a little hard to follow.
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Shopping List
Texts and other resources you may find helpful.
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Things Fall Apart
Paperback on Amazon.com
No Longer at Ease (Achebe, 1960)
Paperback on Amazon.com
Arrow of God (Achebe, 1964)
Paperback on Amazon.com
Chinua Achebe: Collected Poems (2004)
Paperback on Amazon.com
There Was a Country: A Memoir (Achebe, 2012) Paperback on Amazon.com
The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays (Achebe, 2009)
Paperback on Amazon.com
The Trouble with Nigeria (Achebe, 1983)
Paperback on Amazon.com
Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays (Achebe, 1988)
Paperback on Amazon.com