1. Things Fall Apart An introduction

2. Chinua Achebe (pronounced Chin-ew-ah A-chay-bay)  born in Eastern Nigeria, West Africa, in 1930.  father, Isaiah Achebe, converted willingly to Christianity as young man and became church teacher in Ibo village of Ogidi  raised by his uncle, Udo, who retained Ibo religious beliefs, but tolerated the new Christian religion

3.  Childhood education was in Christian or colonial style schools  Conflicts appear in novel  Wrote Things Fall Apart to show that Africans had a political system and means of communication

4.  Educated at University of Ibadan, Nigeria  Worked in Nigeria for many years  Traveled to U.S. universities to lecture before returning to Nigeria to teach  Starting in the 1970s, Achebe joined universities in Nigeria, Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island.  He died on March 21, 2013 at age 82.

5. Nigeria

6. Setting  Nigeria, 1890  Village is Iguedo, part of the larger Umuofia (made up of 9 villages).  Clash of cultures:  Tribal culture of Igbo (also Ibo)  Tribal with British

7. Indigenous African (Ibo) values:  Storytelling  Polytheistic; nature-based spirituality with lots of ceremonies  Polygamist families  Hunter/Gatherer society  Emphasis on music and dance

8. Proverbs  a short, traditional saying that expresses some obvious truth or familiar experience; adage; maxim  Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he eats for a lifetime