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Lesson 3

We will examine setting and characterization in Chapters 2–3 of Things Fall Apart.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I recognize and interpret important relationships among key characters within a text?

  • Can I evaluate the effects of setting and characterization in the novel?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, Penguin Random House, 1994

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Discuss – Write

We will review the words we wrote down for homework in our Vocabulary Journal and cement our understanding of their meanings.

Join a small group and compare the words you wrote down in your Vocabulary Journals. Select one word from each group and respond to the vocabulary exercises provided by your teacher.

Activity 2: Read – Write

We will respond to a quote from chapter 2 of the novel to focus our understanding.

In your Learning Log, respond to the following quote in a quick-write:

It was fear of himself, lest he [Okonkwo] should be found to resemble his father. (p. 13)

Respond to the following questions from the Section 1 Question Set in your Learning Log:

  1. What do we learn about Okonkwo from this quote?

  2. What do we learn about his relationship with his father?

  3. What does "fear of himself" mean in this quote? What evidence from the text supports this interpretation?

  4. Based on this quote, what predictions can you make about the text?

When you have completed the quick-write, share your answers with your group. Pick one idea from your discussion to share with the class. Add to or modify your notes as you deepen your understanding of Okonkwo.

Activity 3: Read

We will examine proverbs in igbo society by using the Attending to Details Tool.

Step 1

Write the following definition of proverb in your vocabulary journal: a short and traditional saying, expressing a truth or piece of advice.

Step 2

Write the following question on the Attending to Details Tool:

  1. How are proverbs used in Things Fall Apart?

Write each of the following proverbs from the text on Detail sections of your tool:

  • "A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing." (p. 20)

  • "An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb." (p. 21)

  • "The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did." (p. 21)

Think about all the proverbs. Discuss their meaning with your group. Then, consider how proverbs are used in Things Fall Apart. What value do the details add to the story? Respond to each of the quotes and develop a conclusion with your group.

When you are finished, share your analysis and conclusions with other students in the class. After you have shared, return to your notes to add thoughts or modify your ideas based on your discussion with your peers.

Activity 4: Read

We will examine the differences between Okonkwo and unoka using a venn diagram.

Step 1

Write the definition of foil in your Vocabulary Journal: A foil is a character whose characteristics are in contrast with another character, typically the protagonist. Often, the foil is used to highlight or amplify character traits in the protagonist.

Step 2

Individually, draw a Venn diagram in your Learning Log (two large overlapping circles). Above the left-hand circle, write Okonkwo, and above the right-hand circle, write Unoka.

Write down the characteristics of each character, and write any characteristics the characters share in the portion where the circles overlap. Find quotations from the text about each character and add them to the appropriate location in your Venn diagram.

When you have finished, study the diagram and write a summary statement of your observations that describes Unoka’s effect on Okonkwo’s character.

Discuss the following question as a group:

  1. How is Unoka a foil to Oknokwo?

Activity 5: Read

For homework, we will read chapters 4–5 of Things Fall Apart.

For homework, read Chapters 4-5 in Things Fall Apart. Respond to the following questions from the Section 1 Question Set in your Learning Log:

Chapter 4:

  1. “But he was struck, as most people were, by Okonkwo’s brusqueness in dealing with less successful men” (p. 26). Define brusqueness. Why do you think Okonkwo behaves like this?

  2. What does the Western proverb “We make our own luck” mean? How is it similar to the way chi is discussed in the novel?

  3. Describe the relationship Ikemefuna has with Okonkwo and Nwoye. What evidence from the text supports your interpretation?

  4. What inferences can you make about Okonkwo’s character based on his actions during the Week of Peace and his punishment afterward?

Chapter 5:

  1. This chapter begins with two additional stories of Okonkwo losing his temper. What happens? What do you think the author’s purpose in providing these stories? What might these stories foreshadow?

Write new or interesting words you encounter in Chapters 4-5 in your Vocabulary Journal.