A Lesson Before Dying: Chapters 1-10

Identify main characters.

• Jefferson
• wrongfully convicted for a murder of  Alcee Grope/robery
• sentence to death
• called a hog
• unfair jury
• Brother and Bear
• Both died in the beginning 
• they were the ones who committed the robbery and murder
• Miss Emma
• Jefferson's godmom
• wants him to die knowing he's a man
• kind women
• Former worker for the white man
• Grant 
• Narrator 
• Teacher
• Nephew of Tante Lou
• Involved with a married women
• mean/conflicted
• Tante Lou
• Aunt of Grant
• Friend of Miss Emma
• Strong minded person
• Henri Pichot
• White man
• Brother of the sheriff
• Must be important
• Is willing to use his power to "help"
• Vivian Baptiste
• Someone Grant is involved with
• Married has children
• Also a teacher
• "Fine Brown"
• she is described to have soft light brown skin, high cheek bones, and greenish brown eyes
• Loved kids and took her job seriously

Identify symbols or traditions--rituals.

• Entering through the back door
• Death by electrocution
• Hog
• Westcott Ruler
• Whipping 

Identify words or phrases that have a special meaning.

• Hog
• Never entering through the back door

Discuss how the characters respond to their communities and/or change in their

environment. What is the main character's flaw?

• How the character respond to their communities is they deal with adversity the best way they know how. For instance grant isn't good with dealing with things he takes them out on the kids. The flaw of Grant is he doesn't know how to handle outside things for instance its too much for him. He's forgetting where he came from.

Identify the setting - country, tribe, city, state, time period.

•  Bayonne, Louisiana, before the civil rights, and after slavery.

Bring a question

Why does Miss. Emma want her son so bad to die knowing he's a man? Why does she think he doesn't know this?

Things Fall Apart: Chapters 20, 23, 24,25

Main characters:

• Nwoye
• Converted into a christian
• Was disowned by his father
• attended the white mans school
• Okonkwo
• lost his place in the clan
• was blinded by the new rules in his villiage
• Got his head shaved and beaten
• hated the white man
• cut the head off of the messenger
• hung himself
• Ezinma
• became one of the most beautiful girls in Mbanta
• called the crystal of beauty
• turned in to an healthy buoyant (bubbly) women
• she had moments of depression 
• times were she only wanted her father
• had a strong influence on her half-sister

Symbols or traditions--rituals:

• Not being able to touch or bury those who hang themselves

Words or phrases that have a special meaning:

• 'war of blame'

Discuss how the characters respond to their communities and/or change in their environment. What is the main character's flaw?

• Okonkwo, didn't respond to his new community very well. He was unhappy with the new rules and with the way things were ran.
• His flaws included, big headiness, and lack of courage being that he killed himself. He was an weak individual and it showed at the end of the novel. 

Setting:

• the setting stayed the same it's just that his village was colonized 

Bring a question.

• After reading the whole novel, does okonkwo seem to have more characters of his father than he wants to lead on?

Things Fall Apart Chapters 7-13

Main Characters:

• Ikemefuna
• Was full of life
• Became deeply involved in his new family
• Was like an older brother to Nwoye
• Died in chapter 7 (was killed)
• Died thinking of Okonkwo as a father
• Okonkwo
• Took part in the killing of Ikemefuna
• He became weak after the killing of Ikemefuna
• Was unable to eat and stayed in bed
• Isn't really close to Nwoye, wishes Ezinma was born a boy
• was a man of action didn't do too much thinking
• he took drugs
• seems to have a tiny soft spot for ezinma
• had to flee from his clan
• he commit a female crime meaning it was inadvertent
• Nwoye
• the oldest of his brothers
• Seemed to resemble his grandfather
• Began to dislike his father
• He had feelings, something snap within him when Ikemefuna died similar to when he heard twins in the evil forest
• Ezinma
• Ekwefi's only child
• Okonkwo wishes she was born a boy
• A child with fluctuating health
• seen as an ogbanje(a child who keeps dying, only to be returned to its mother and reborn)
• Was a smart girl
• Ekwefi
• Very protective over Ezinma
• Lost 9 out of 10 children
• Left her husband to be with Okonkwo
• Was bitter until she had Ezinma
• Obierika
• okonkwo's friend
• Marrying off is daughter
• Feels Nwoye is similar to Okonkwo's father
• Feels that what Okonkwo did was wrong

Symbols/Traditions/Rituals:

• locusts-only comes once a genertion for seven years
• twins-seen as evil
• Trading for brides(Arranged marriages)
• Court hearing for men who beat their women
• Women- symbolize something but idk what
• Isa-ifi- a ceremony that shows that the wife hasn't been unfaithful (still virgins i guess)

Words or Phrases with special meaning:

• "If I fall down for you and you fall down for me, it is play"(73) Talking about how marriage should be
• "Watching your mouth"(71) Similar to modeling
• Iyi-vwa- a special stone that links the wicked child to the spirt world
• 
  

How the characters respond to their community and/or change in their environment. What are the main characters flaws?

• Okonwo's flaw is that he is too worried about his self image

Identify the setting:

• A little village called Mbanta, located beyond Mbaino

Question: Is Nwoye starting to develop the same relationship towards his father, that his father had towards his grandfather?

Things Fall Apart Chapters 1-6

Main Characters:

• Okonkwo
  • disliked his father
  • has anger problems
  • strong physically
  • Lacks mental strength
  • fear of himself, being like his father
  • has 3 wives
  • became a man early than most people
  • he was an abuser
  • never showed emotion openly
• Ikemefuna
  • was taken from his family
  • became apart of Okonkwo's family
• Nwoye
  • son of Okonkwo
  • two year younger than Ikemefuna
• Ojiugo
• Ekwefi
• Wife of Okonkwo
• Ezinma
• Daughter of Ekwefi
• Obageli
• Nkechi

Symbols/Traditions/Rituals:

• Week of Peace, a week that id dedicated to peace. During this week they don't work or fight.  (Tradition)
• The Feast of the New Yam, it's similar to our new year(Tradition)
• Yams are a mans crop, it represents power and wealth.(Symbol)
• Kola Nut, is something important, but don't really know how yet(hard to explain) "Take away your kola nut. I shall not eat in the house of a man who has no respect for our gods and ancestors" (Chapter 4) (Symbol)
• Darkness "Darkness held a vague terror for these people, even the bravest among them"(Chapter 2) (Symbol)

Words or Phrases with special meaning:

• Chi, something that everyone has either good or bad
• Ezigbo- the good one
• Ifejoku- the god of yams
• Ani-owner of all the land

How the characters respond to their community and/or change in their environment. What are the main characters flaws?

• Ikemefuna, responded to his change in his environment pretty good, at first however he was down and depressed about getting removed from his family but as time goes on he adapts.
• Okonkwo responds to his community in a way that has caused him great problems within himself while showing great things on the outside for instance his land and reputation.
  • Some flaws that Okonkwo shows are:
    • he is very one sided
    • he lacks humbleness
    • he also has anger problems
    • he doesn't like to show his other side, the nice side of him

Identify the setting:

• Nigeria
  • Mbano
  • Umufia

Question:

Does the main character seem similar to his father in anyway although he tries hard not to be?