MGC English Things Fall Apart Assignment Sheet A & B Blocks 17 December 2012 BACKGROUND: And now for something completely different.or is it? We now transition directly from the Shakespearean comedy The Merchant of Venice to the 20 th century Nigerian novel Things Fall Apart. Despite what you may think, however, the two works, separated by almost four centuries of history, have lots in common they are both about the way that groups identify themselves through alienation of the Other and the way that those in power establish moral supremacy. What is Things Fall Apart? Things Fall Apart (1958) is a novel about the social, cultural, and political change that occurred in West Africa as a result of the onset of Imperialism. Chinua Achebe s (pronounced CHIN-oo-ah a-chay-bay) masterpiece tells the story of an Ibo 1 tribesman named Okonkwo, whose strength, determination and stubbornness allow him to reach great heights in his clan, yet also bring about his downfall when British colonizers arrive to institute a new social order. On the surface, we can read this novel as an account of Okonkwo s life told from an objective, thirdperson perspective. But, if we dig a bit deeper, we can see that this novel is about so much more than just Okonkwo. The novel richly describes the rhythms and tones of life in tribal Africa; it objectively explains religion, rituals, culture and social roles in a pace reminiscent of a pre-modern, pre-imperialist society. As a result, much of the novel feels like a dream, in which brief snippets of time are relayed with seemingly no relation to a broader narrative. This style can be confusing, frustrating and at times, yes, tedious, but in no way do these qualities detract from the significance or beauty of this novel. There is a plot, which becomes clearer and more definite by the beginning of Part Two, but it feels secondary to the observational detail. How does studying Things Fall Apart relate to our studies in Modern Global Communities? Perhaps the most obvious answer to this question is that Things Fall Apart is our first non-western piece of literature. By non-western, we mean that it does not come from a European cultural source. By studying a non-western novel like Things Fall Apart, we can observe and understand the lifestyle and history of a region unlike the one most of us are used to. And in terms of our linked English-History curriculum, Things Fall Apart will help us better understand the consequences of that phenomenon called Imperialism. Whereas, in History class, you have already found out what Imperialism is and why it happened, in English class, we will explore the psychological and social consequences of it on indigenous populations like the Ibo. Another feature of our study will be to link Things Fall Apart to the work that we have already read in English class; even though this novel is about a Nigerian tribal society, Achebe s work connects in many real ways to Western literature like The Merchant of 1 The Ibo were just one of a number of tribal societies in the West African region we now know of as Nigeria.
Venice and Antigone. Achebe set out to create a tragedy in the manner of Sophocles, so we will need to refresh our understanding of the Tragic Hero as we continue. This link will help us connect Okonkwo to characters like Creon and Antigone. As important as the above links are, however, we still need to understand the differences between our Western cultural assumptions and those of the Ibo. I refer here to the important term cultural relativism, which we will discuss in depth as the novel continues. This novel will force us to confront very difficult issues about where our system of beliefs comes from and why that system is inherently limited. Much that you will read in Things Fall Apart may shock you you may find yourself disgusted at some of the cultural practices of the Ibo. This effect is intentional; in essence, Achebe is asking us to confront some uncomfortable (some would say immoral ) truths about tribal society. But ultimately, we can make use of this discomfort by asking ourselves, What is moral? Why is it so? And how do I know that it is so? By forcing us to ask these questions, Achebe presents the difference between belief and Truth. And this difference, of course, brings us back to Plato s Allegory of the Cave. OBJECTIVES: Besides the fact that Things Fall Apart is a beautiful, complex, and disturbing novel, we are reading it for the following purposes. Content Objectives: a) To think critically about how and why European powers were able to imperialize African countries like the one in which the novel takes place. b) To understand the difference between relative belief and absolute truth, and to link the dichotomy to our own lives. c) To connect the themes of The Merchant of Venice to another work of literature. Skills Objectives: a) To strengthen our skills in creating and proving high stakes arguments. b) To improve our skills in understanding symbols, imagery and figurative language. c) To improve our skills in the art of effective note-taking. d) To better understand how authors develop characters and themes. e) To debate Mr. Turley about the relative merits of this novel. (He thinks this book is inappropriate and culturally unsound.) KEY VOCABULARY: a) Imperialism: See your History notes. b) The Other: See notes for The Merchant of Venice c) Nigeria: A country in Northwest Africa, colonized by Britain in the early 20 th century. d) Ibo: One of the major tribes in pre-imperialist Nigeria. Their language is still one of Nigeria s official languages (the others being English, Yoruba and Hausa).
MGC THEMES and KEY QUESTIONS: Since we will be working hard to connect this novel to our reading of The Merchant of Venice, many of these questions are quite similar to the ones on that assignment sheet. a) Power: How do powerful groups of people maintain their power? What happens to powerful groups when that power has been taken away? b) Identity: How do dominant groups define their identities in opposition to that of Others? What does it feel like to be an Other? c) Interconnectedness: According to Achebe, why did Imperialism work (for the imperialists, at least)? How does Achebe dramatize the cultural exchange that accompanied imperialist conquest? Can we all just get along? Why or why not? LINKED QUESTIONS: i. How does Achebe s novel help to dramatize the experience of marginalization and assimilation? ii. What was the impact of early 20 th century imperialism on the African continent today? Are African nations like Nigeria still affected by their past? How? iii. How can we compare the experience of the Ibo with that of other imperialized groups, from India to China to South America? HONORS ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE: Honors students will read the book much faster than the other students in order to play more of a leadership role in the progress of discussions. On two different occasions (see below), Honors students will be held responsible for leading class. DUE Wednesday, 19 December: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 1-5 (pp. 3-45). Begin taking notes in your Things Fall Apart journal. DUE Thursday, 20 December: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 6-9 (pp. 46-86). DUE Friday, 21 December: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 10-13 (pp. 87-125). HAPPY VACATION! DUE Wednesday, 2 January: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 14-19 (pp. 129-167). DUE Thursday, 3 January: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 20-25 (pp. 171-209). Finish taking notes. In addition, PREPARE for Lesson #1. Your job will be to work closely with the other Honors students in your class and devise a lesson that will help to
wrap up Part One of the novel for the rest of the students in class (they will have just finished Part One for today). You will receive an assignment sheet that will give more specifics, but you will have to decide on the structure of the class (groups v. single class; activity v. discussion; etc.) and what key ideas to focus on. DUE Friday, 4 January: PREPARE for In-Class Writing Exercise on the end of Things Fall Apart. DUE Monday, 7 January: PREPARE for Vocab Quiz #6. DUE Wednesday, 9 January: WRITE rough draft of Lesson #2, which you will deliver tomorrow, Thursday. This lesson will address the conclusion of the novel, and you will receive a separate assignment sheet for it. Over the weekend, you should work closely with the other Honors students to figure out what is the most important idea to emphasize during the lesson, and how you want to structure the class. Start a Google Doc if you want! DUE Thursday, 10 January: PREPARE to lead Lesson #2. DUE Friday, 11 January: WRITE central argument and paragraph arguments, and FIND at least ten quotations for your Things Fall Apart essay. DUE Monday, 14 January: WRITE two rough body paragraphs of Things Fall Apart essay. DUE Wednesday, 16 January: WRITE Final Draft of TFA essay. DUE Thursday, 17 January: NOTHING DUE prepare for the Gauntlet! DUE Friday, 18 January: PREPARE for THE GAUNTLET! (which is a 55 minute vocabulary test that includes all 120 words from vocab units 1-6) CURRICULUM I and II ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE: All C1 students must take notes in your reading journals, finding key Quotations and Questions. You also may want to keep a detailed record of character and place names, since they are all in Ibo and may be confusing on the first read. For all C2 students, notes are optional and will count for extra credit. DUE Wednesday, 19 December: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 1-3 (pp. 3-25). Begin taking notes in your Things Fall Apart journal (C1). DUE Thursday, 20 December: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 4-6 (pp. 26-51).
DUE Friday, 21 December: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 7-8 (pp. 52-74). Continue taking notes (C1). HAPPY VACATION! DUE Wednesday, 2 January: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 9-10 (pp. 75-94). DUE Thursday, 3 January: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 11-13 (pp. 95-125). DUE Friday, 4 January: PREPARE for In-Class Writing Exercise on Part One of Things Fall Apart. C1 students may only use their notes, but C2 students may use their books. DUE Monday, 7 January: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 14-17 (pp. 129-153). In addition, PREPARE for Vocab Quiz #6. DUE Wednesday, 9 January: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 18-21 (pp. 154-183). DUE Thursday, 10 January: READ in Things Fall Apart, ch. 22-25 (pp. 184-209). Finish taking notes (C1). DUE Friday, 11 January: WRITE central argument and paragraph arguments, and FIND at least ten quotations for your Things Fall Apart essay. DUE Monday, 14 January: WRITE two rough body paragraphs of Things Fall Apart essay. DUE Wednesday, 16 January: WRITE Final Draft of TFA essay. DUE Thursday, 17 January: NOTHING DUE study for the Gauntlet! DUE Friday, 18 January: PREPARE for THE GAUNTLET! (which is a 55 minute vocabulary test that includes all 120 words from vocab units 1-6)