Part+Three+Chapter+Questions


 * 1. Why does Achebe choose to bring in the European colonial presence only in the last third of the novel? **


 * 2. How has Umuofia changed over the seven years while Okonkwo has been in exile? **

**3. Contrast the white man’s law and system of justice with that of traditional Umuofia society**. What function do the //kotma//, or court messengers, serve in the new society?

**4. Consider Obierika as a transitional figure between the old and the new Igbo societies.** When Okonkwo says that they should fight the white men and "‘drive them from the land.’, why does Obierika respond sadly, "‘It is already too late’" (176) ? How has the white man been "‘very clever,’" (176) according to Obierika?


 * 5. Compare the missionaries Mr. Brown and Mr. Smith. **

**6. What sources of misunderstanding seem to make the conflicts between the Europeans and the Africans inevitable?** What do we learn from Akunna and Mr. Brown’s discussion of religion (179-181)? How does Enoch set off "the great conflict between church and clan" (186), the consequences of which lead to Okonkwo’s death?

7. When the //egwugwu// destroy Mr. Smith’s church, "for the moment the spirit of the clan was pacified" (191). **Consider the ironic implications of this statement later when we learn the title of the book that the District Commissioner intends to write: __The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger__ (209).**

**8. Analyze the situations that lead to the novel’s conclusion**. How does the District Commissioner trick the six leaders of Umuofia into jail? What is Okonkwo’s reaction? Why does Okonkwo kill the messenger? Why does Okonkwo afterwards commit suicide, "an offence against the Earth" (207)? Why is Okonkwo isolated in the end?


 * 9. How does the District Commissioner decision that "The story of this man who had killed a messenger and hanged himself would make interesting reading," if not for a whole chapter, at least for "a reasonable paragraph" (209) contrast with Achebe’s decision to make Okonkwo’s story the subject of a whole novel? **