Things Fall Apart Chapter 4 Questions and Answers

Chinua Achebe

Chapter 4 Questions and Answers

Study Questions
1. An old man refers to Okonkwo saying, “Looking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast.” (p. 19) What does he mean?

2. How does Okonkwo demonstrate his fondness for Ikemefuna?

3. Why does Nwoye’s mother claim that Ojiugo has asked her to feed her children?

4. Why is Okonkwo’s first wife always called “Nwoye’s mother”?

5. What does the kola nut symbolize, and why does Ezeani refuse to accept it from Okonkwo during the Week of Peace?

6. Why do Okonkwo’s enemies called him the little bird nza?

7. In the past, a man who broke the sacred peace was dragged around the village until he died. Why was the custom stopped?

8. In some clans, if a man dies during the Week of Peace, he is cast into the Evil Forest. He is not buried. What is the result of this action?

9. Compare and contrast the planting season with the month of harvest.

10. What does Nwoye mean when he decides that Nnadi lives in the land of Ikemefuna’s favorite story?

1. The old man thinks it is incredible that Okonkwo, who has risen so suddenly from desperate poverty and misfortune and is now one of the lords of the clan, should forget his own humble origins and treat less successful men with disrespect.

2. When Okonkwo goes to feasts or meetings, he allows Ikemefuna to carry...

(The entire section is 431 words.)