English TFA Final McCLoskey Due 3:15 PM

Due 3:15 PM

5/12 - Things Fall Apart Final

100 points

Mr.  McCloskey 8:48 AM

In at least 1 paragraph, but no longer than a page, write an argument for which theme you thought was BEST taught through "Things Fall Apart". Here are some options:

1. Masculinity/Manliness.
2. Tradition
3. Gender Roles
4. Family
5. Spirituality

Many of these themes go hand-in-hand, so you're not limited to just one, however you should try to have one as your main focus. Here are some guiding questions to get you started:

1. What are some scenes in which we see characters confront this theme?
Patriarchy. Okonkwo did not like his father later his son

Nwoye is Okonkwo's eldest son who Okonkwo considers irredeemably effeminate and very much like his father, Unoka. As a child, Nwoye is the frequent object of his father's criticism and remains emotionally unfulfilled.

2. What about their actions made it an effective way to teach a lesson?
Okonkwo's gun accidentally goes off and kills Ezeudu's sixteen-year-old son. Killing a clansman is a crime against the earth goddess, so Okonkwo must atone by taking his family into exile for seven years.

Okonkwo dies by suicide hanging, As the narrator explains, the Igbo consider suicide a “feminine” rather than a “masculine” crime. Okonkwo's suicide is an unspeakable act that strips him of all honor and denies him the right to an honorable burial. Okonkwo dies an outcast, banished from the very society he fought to protect.

One lesson is to  BE CAREFUL. We have gun problems in the United States TODAY !
Another lesson is to pay attention to mental illness and depression, male and female. 

Often religions pay more attention to punishment than to fixing the underlying problem.

3. Why is the theme of your focus the one you choose?
My brothers important to me, elder hard working, younger playful.
Grandfather important. Passed away how long ago?
Women important in the family work hard to cook, clean, take care of medical and school issues.

Were the lessons taught better or do you just enjoy talking about that certain idea?
Lessons taught better because you can learn about someone else and how they are the same and
different from us. Different family, different time, different country.

Saw a part of history different from Columbus. 

4. Is anything the author could have done to help teach a lesson that theme more clearly?
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/books/chinua-achebe-examined-colonialism-and-masculinity.html
Author: If you don't like a story, write your own.
FEMININITY : It might be interesting and helpful  to see more women points of view.

Choose one, and write away! If you can answer those 4 questions in paragraph form, you'll be all set.