Chinua+Achebe's+Things+Fall+Apart

= Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe =

Prereading Discussion Questions:
Respond to one of the following questions with a discussion post. After posting your 5-7 sentence response, read your classmates' posts and respond to at least one with follow-up questions, additional connections/examples, or respectful refutations. This book is set in Nigeria, during the time when that country had just become a British colony. If you lived during that time, would you have fought the foreigners or looked for another way to deal with the situation? Explain. The main character in this book places great importance on being manly. What strengths is this character likely to have? What weaknesses do you expect to see in him? Why do people resist change? What amount of change are you most comfortable with? How important are traditions and keeping your family together? In this book, outsiders consider the native Ibo people to be "primitive." What stereotypes might they have about the Ibo and their people?
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Research Presentation Topics:
=== Your presentations should include examples from the novel and/or the novel's time period (late 1800s) and also what is seen in today, in Nigeria and/or around the globe. ===
 * Research Topic || Student First Name || Paste your link here. || Student Example ||
 * Mythology (Folk lore/creation myth)- || Kaela ||  || [] ||
 * Marriage Customs (polygamy, arranged marriages/marriage #|negotiations)- || Taylore ||  || @https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tO-CxJXeM8 ||
 * Evil spirits (ogbanje)- || Haley V || https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1551696ce2fe9fdb?projector=1 || http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCbJxJDqAc0 ||
 * Imperialism- ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Sharecropping ||  ||   || http://www.meograph.com/leroywilkins ||
 * Tribal social structure- ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Intertribal warfare- || McKenna ||  || [[file:Intertribal Warfare KS.pptx]] ||
 * Tribal art/music- || Hailey B || [|https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15516918616bbb76?projector=1] || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVJwh5JEf2s&feature=youtu.be ||
 * Gender roles- || Jamie ||  || https://youtu.be/jZH41DtYh9Q ||
 * Food/agriculture/diet- || Abby || [| https://drive.google.com/a/palisadessd.org/file/d/0B-x2zkw7iNpEZWVMQ2l5SXNjbWs/view?ts=57518a81] || [] ||
 * Religion/polytheism- ||  ||   || @http://youtu.be/DuTtJ6t5u28 ||
 * Sacrifices- ||  ||   || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hXyAFNUH74 ||
 * Tribal illnesses and treatments- ||  ||   || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bR8sMkYeX4k ||
 * Crime and punishment/Judicial system/ trials- ||  ||   || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkmUEmcT9mc&feature=youtu.be ||
 * Celebrations/traditions (other than those covered above)- || Alexis || [] || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cpr_W36bzg ||
 * Architecture- || Tom || [] ||  ||
 * Chi || Jess || [] || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUHTePP0rzU ||
 * Child Rearing ||  ||   || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgb3TqQ6IsI ||
 * Geography ||  ||   || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBDxsmNa-w4 ||
 * Imperialism || Hannah ||  ||   ||
 * Pre-Imperialism ||  ||   || @https://youtu.be/oH9yU6NPz9g ||
 * Kola Nut/Welcoming ceremony ||  ||   || https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPjiATsa3eA ||

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Wrap Up Discussion
In order to help us better understand Chinua Achebe's intentions for #|writing, look at the three quotes below and #|complete the work assigned for your particular group.

Group 1
Achebe once said, "[African writers] are committed to reclaiming the rich heritage of Africa, every inch of it, and redrawing the contours of African history which the hands of others has been drawn, and is drawn, with great malice and lurid falsehood...The perspectives will be many, refelcting the complexity of the problem but out of the welter will emerge a sound, clear vision of the way forward."

After reading the quote above, respond to the discussion board with two posts. The first response is an interpretation/analysis of the quote. The second post will require one person from the group to provide examples from the book in the form of quotes with page numbers that help define the "rich heritage of Africa". Look to religion, tradition, customs, way of life, etc...

Group 2
Achebe has also said, "It is a story...that saves our progeny from blundering like blind beggars into the spikes of the cactus fence. The story is our escort; without it, we are blind. Does the blind man own the escort? Neither do we the story; rather it is the story that owns and directs us."

After reading the quote above, respond to the discussion board with two posts. The first response is an interpretation/analysis of the quote. The second post will require one person from the group to respond with examples from the book in the form of quotes with page numbers that help to create the "story" Achebe tells. Look to character development (motivation, relationships, traits, #|behaviors, etc.), plot, and author's craft (foreshadowing, syntax, proverbs, etc.).

Group 3
About diversity, Achebe once said, "The world is big. Some people are unable to comprehend that simple fact. They want the world on their own terms, its people just like them and their freinds, its places like the manicured little patch on which they live. But this is a foolish and and a blind wish. Diversity is not the abnormality but the very reality of our planet. The human world manifests itself in the magnificence of its endless varieties. Civility is a sensible attribute in this kind of world we have; narrowness of heart and mind is not."

After reading the quote above, respond to the discussion board with a post about the interpretation/analysis of the quote. To help visualize the diversity of the world Achebe speaks of, create a mini-tour of Nigeria, the setting of the novel and Achebe's birthplace using #|Google Earth. Thumbtack Achebe's birthplace, the location of the Ibo tribe, etc...

Group 4 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?