Chapter Twelve
1. What is the neighborhood celebrating?
2. How is this celebration different from others like wrestling matches and the Feast of the New Yam?
3. How many trips to the shrine did Okonkwo make the night before? Why do you think he didn't just wait at the shrine for Ekwefi and Chielo to arrive?
4. Both the war magic of Umuofia and the market magic of Umuike are personified as old women. Why do you suppose this is?
5. What is “the one that uses its tail to drive the flies away”?
6. Who counseled the women not to abandon their cookpots? Is it surprising that she is there? Why or why not?
7. Who collected the fine from the neighbor whose animal was loose? What does this say about law and justice among the villagers?
8. What did the men mean when they viewed the goat and said that that was the way things should be done?
9. Evaluate the toast Obierika's brother gave over the breaking of the kola. What does this tell you about the Ibo expectations for marriage and family?
10. Compare and contrast the traditions of marriage presented in this novel with a marriage tradition you are familiar with.
Chapter Thirteen
1. How was the early morning message delivered to the clan?
2. Who was the man who died? Why did a cold shiver run down Okonkwo's spine at the mention of the man's name?
3. How does the funeral demonstrate the greatness of the man who has died?
4. What does the author mean when he writes "A man's life from birth to death was
a series of transition rites which brought him nearer and nearer to his ancestors"?
5. How was Ezeudu’s son killed during the funeral?
6. What was Okokwo’s punishment? Do you believe it was just? Why or why not?
7. Why was Okonkwo’s crime considered a female crime? Why is this ironic, given his character?
8. Why do you think Okonkwo did not fight his punishment? Would you have
accepted the punishment if you had been in his place? Why or why not?
9. How did the villagers cleanse the land Okonkwo polluted?
10. In the end of the chapter, Obierika mourns Okonkwo's calamity and questions why a man should "suffer so grievously for an offense he committed inadvertently." What answer does he come to? Do you agree or disagree with his conclusions? Why or why not?
Chapter Fourteen
1. When was the last time Okonkwo remembers visiting Mbanta?
2. How is Okonkwo greeted by his mother's kinsmen? Why do you think they do not judge him negatively for his crime?
3. What are "the nuts of the water of heaven"?
4. What is chi? Why does Okonkwo now believe "a man could not rise above the destiny of his chi?
5. What is the isa-ifi ceremony?
6. Why is the most common name given to children "Nneka"?
7. What was Uchendu's purpose in giving his speech to Okonkwo?
8. What evidence does Uchendu give to prove that Okonkwo is not the "greatest sufferer in the world"? Do you agree or disagree with Uchendu on this point? Explain your answer.
9. Of all the things Uchendu said to him, what do you think is most likely to convince Okonkwo to leave his despair behind and begin anew?
10. Okonkwo has worked his whole life to become "one of the lords of the clan." He has "said yes," so according to the wisdom of the clan, his chi should also say "yes." Yet he has, apparently, failed. Do you believe Okonkwo's exile is the result of his personal chi, the result of Okonkwo's choices, or something else? Explain your answer and provide support.