In Part I of Things Fall Apart, Achebe describes the Igbo society and their traditions before the arrival of the first missionaries. Discuss one practice or tradition which you admire. What social or moral values does it embody?
Find examples that show the Igbo culture is changing even before the arrival of the British. Discuss one practice that some members of the clan question and explain on what grounds they questions that practice.
Consider Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story.” Things Fall Apart is the most widely taught African novel in the U.S. Does it disrupt the “single story” Americans hear about the continent of Africa, or has it become a new “single story” because it is often the only African novel that a U.S. citizen may read in their lifetime? Use examples to support your assertion? Consider how it disrupted your expectations and/or what other stories are missing from the perspective in the novel.
