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Socratic Seminar Questions

The document contains a series of Socratic seminar questions focused on Chinua Achebe's novel 'Things Fall Apart,' exploring themes such as masculinity, fear, change, gender roles, fate versus personal control, cultural clashes, and the implications of the title. It encourages detailed responses with citations for a deeper understanding of the text and its critiques of colonialism and cultural identity. The questions prompt critical thinking about the portrayal of Ibo culture and the impact of external forces on traditional values.

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mollyrain25
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5 views

Socratic Seminar Questions

The document contains a series of Socratic seminar questions focused on Chinua Achebe's novel 'Things Fall Apart,' exploring themes such as masculinity, fear, change, gender roles, fate versus personal control, cultural clashes, and the implications of the title. It encourages detailed responses with citations for a deeper understanding of the text and its critiques of colonialism and cultural identity. The questions prompt critical thinking about the portrayal of Ibo culture and the impact of external forces on traditional values.

Uploaded by

mollyrain25
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Socratic Seminar Questions: Things Fall Apart

Instructions: Write answers to these questions with enough detail so that you can use them competently during the
discussion. You must include citations! I expect that you will use direct quotations or paraphrases during the
seminar, and that you will have the page number as well.

1. How is masculinity defined throughout the novel? How does this definition shape the development of
characters and the ultimate outcome of the novel? What might Achebe be asserting about the Ibo (and many
other cultures’) definition of masculinity? Does the traditional definition of masculinity need to change?
Why?
2. Explore the power of fear in the novel? How are the characters driven and shaped by fear? Does fear play a
part in the outcome of the novel? Why is fear a key component of the Ibo system of belief (or is it)? Why is
fear such a large part of Okonkwo’s character? How does it affect him? Is there any element of fear in our
lives that we also see in Ibo culture?
3. Is change destructive? Explore how change reshapes the Ibo culture and community. Is this a good or a bad
thing? Why? How does Nwoye figure into the change? How does his character conflict with Okonkwo, and
why might Achebe be offering this contrast? Should change come only from within, or is it only possible
from an individual or group arriving from the outside? What might Achebe be saying about the colonizing
force that arrives in Umuofia?
4. Think about the contrasts or even similarities between the definitions of masculinity and femininity in the
novel. How are women portrayed in the novel? Is there any irony in Okonkwo and the men’s views in
relation to what is really happening in the village and in their homes? How are women portrayed as strong
and how does this affect Okonkwo’s beliefs? How are the “feminine” men portrayed and what are are the
results of their actions? What might Achebe be trying to say?
5. There is an issue here of fate versus personal control over destiny. For example, Okonkwo's father is
sometimes held responsible for his own actions, while at other times he is referred to as ill-fated and a victim
of evil-fortune. Which do you think Okonkwo believes is true? What do you think Achebe believes is true?
What do you believe?
6. Our own news media pre-programs us to view the kind of culture clash represented here as being purely racial
in basis. Does Achebe's work impress as being primarily concerned with black versus white tensions? If not,
what else is going on here?
7. The title of the novel is derived from the William Butler Yeats poem entitled "The Second Coming,"
concerned with the second coming of Christ. The completed line reads: "Things fall apart; the centre cannot
hold." What layers of meaning are discernible when this completed line is applied to the story?

8. Joseph Conrad's 1902 novel Heart of Darkness is one of the most famous stories about Africa in Western
literature. In it, a European man, Mr. Kurtz, who is a colonial agent sent to "subdue" a jungle region, is
reduced to insanity after being exposed to an African society that is untouched by European contact, perhaps
because he realizes that that his own society, an imperial European society conquering the world, is not the
only real one. He can't handle this realization, and goes mad. Marlow, the story's narrator, is sent up the Congo
River to find him, working hard not to have the same experience. Here is part of what Achebe has said about
Heart of Darkness:

"...It is the desire...the need—in Western psychology to set Africa up as a foil for Europe ...Heart of Darkness
projects the image of Africa as 'the other world,' the antithesis of Europe and therefore of civilization, a place
where man's...intelligence and refinement are finally mocked by triumphant bestiality. ...The real question is
the dehumanization of Africa and Africans. ...And the question is whether a novel which celebrates this
dehumanization, which depersonalizes a portion of the human race, can be called a great work of art. My
answer is: No, it cannot."

Do you agree with Achebe? Can a work like Conrad's be considered great, or does its portrayal of Africa and
Africans keep it from truly speaking to all readers?

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