Chinua Achebe Practice Questions

Correct answer: Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart was Achebe's debut novel and is credited with providing a complex, internal view of African society before and during colonial contact. It challenged the prevailing European narrative that Africa had no history or culture of its own.

Correct answer: His inability to adapt to the changing social order and his fear of appearing weak

Okonkwo's character is defined by a desperate need to distance himself from his father's perceived weakness and effeminacy. This rigid adherence to a hyper-masculine ideal makes him unable to navigate the nuances of colonial intrusion, leading to his isolation and eventual suicide.

Correct answer: No Longer at Ease

No Longer at Ease follows Obi Okonkwo, who returns from his studies in England to a civil service job in Lagos. The novel depicts the cultural conflict and moral ambiguity faced by the new Nigerian elite caught between two worlds.

Correct answer: Arrow of God

Arrow of God centers on Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of Ulu, who struggles to maintain his religious authority against the encroachment of British colonial administration. Achebe considered this his most structurally complex and ambitious work.

Correct answer: Joseph Conrad

In his 1975 lecture and subsequent essay, Achebe attacked Joseph Conrad’s 'Heart of Darkness' for being fundamentally racist. He argued that the novella reduced Africa to a mere backdrop for the spiritual disintegration of Europeans, denying Africans their humanity.

Correct answer: W.B. Yeats

The title is taken from W.B. Yeats's poem 'The Second Coming', specifically the line 'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.' Achebe used this to highlight the collapse of the traditional social order under the weight of external forces.

Correct answer: A Man of the People

A Man of the People is a scathing critique of post-independence African politics. It was so prophetic in its depiction of a military coup that Achebe was briefly suspected of having prior knowledge of the actual coup that followed its publication.

Correct answer: The role of the intellectual and the failure of leadership in a fictional African state

Set in the fictional state of Kangan, the novel examines the relationship between three childhood friends—one a dictator, one a journalist, and one a commissioner. It explores how absolute power corrupts and the necessity of witnessing and storytelling.

Correct answer: Personal guardian spirits that determine an individual's fate

A 'chi' is a personal spirit or double that a person is born with. Achebe highlights the tension between the proverb 'When a man says yes, his chi says yes also' (agency) and the inescapable aspects of fate throughout his work.

Correct answer: W.B. Yeats

The title is taken from W.B. Yeats's poem 'The Second Coming', specifically the line 'Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.' Achebe used this allusion to frame the collapse of traditional Igbo social order under the weight of colonial forces.

Correct answer: The accidental killing of a clansman during a funeral

Okonkwo's gun explodes and kills a young boy during Ogbuefi Ezeudu's funeral. Because this is a 'female' (accidental) crime, he is exiled for seven years, during which time the missionaries firmly establish themselves in his village.

Correct answer: Nwoye

Nwoye, Okonkwo's eldest son, is sensitive and troubled by tribal customs such as the abandonment of twins. He finds solace in Christianity, which creates a permanent rift between him and his father — making him a clear foil to Okonkwo's rigid traditionalism.

Correct answer: The Trouble with Nigeria

In 'The Trouble with Nigeria,' Achebe argues that the primary obstacle to the nation's progress is a failure of leadership. He asserts that the Nigerian character is not inherently flawed, but rather poorly directed by its political class.

Correct answer: He wants to punish the village for failing to support him against the British

Ezeulu's refusal to eat the sacred yams during his British imprisonment delays the New Yam Festival and the harvest. This act, combining religious principle with personal spite, eventually drives the starving villagers toward the Christian church — the final defeat of his religious authority.

Correct answer: He believed English could be 'fashioned' to carry the weight of African experience

Unlike Ngugi wa Thiong'o, who rejected English, Achebe believed that the English language could be modified and infused with African rhythms and idioms to create a new, hybrid form of expression that reached a global audience.

Correct answer: Biafra

Achebe served as an ambassador for Biafra, traveling abroad to seek support for the Igbo cause. The trauma of the war and the subsequent famine deeply influenced his later work and his long hiatus from novel writing.

Correct answer: Ikemefuna

Ikemefuna, a boy sent to Umuofia as a peace offering, becomes a surrogate son to Okonkwo and a brother to Nwoye. When the Oracle decrees he must die, Okonkwo participates in the execution to avoid appearing weak — an act that marks the beginning of his moral and familial decline.

Correct answer: A personal vendetta against Chief Nanga for seducing his girlfriend

While Odili publicly claims to be motivated by reform, his entry into politics is sparked by Chief Nanga's seduction of Elsie, his girlfriend. Achebe uses this to show how personal ego and political idealism are inextricably entangled in the postcolonial state.

Correct answer: A modern African woman who bridges intellectual achievement with moral and spiritual vision

Beatrice is one of Achebe's most fully realized female characters. Rooted in the traditional myth of Idemili yet embedded in modern intellectual life, she becomes the moral and spiritual anchor of the surviving community by the novel's end.

Correct answer: There Was a Country

Published in 2012, 'There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra' combined memoir, poetry, and historical analysis. It sparked significant debate in Nigeria for its frank assessment of the civil war's causes, consequences, and the international community's failures.