HISTORY 152 - 2009 / SMITH
ESSAY # 1 DUE April 6
25 points
THINGS FALL APART, Chinua Achebe
Please choose one
of the following questions and write a thoughtful and informed response. I am
interested in your reflections and opinions based on the material
covered in the reading, and in particular in the novel Things Fall Apart.
Support your
observations with specific reference to events or passages in the book. (If you
provide specific quotes, provide the citation of the novel, author, and page
number). Please submit a 3 - 4 page essay which is typed, proofread and
grammatically clean. You can submit your essay either through email attachment,
fax, or regular mail.
NOTE: I
am concerned with the rise of plagiarism in student work. There are many
written sources on the topics I ask you to write about - including this
novel. If you cut and paste the work and words of others, instead of
writing your own thoughts and analysis, you will get a 0 for this
assignment. I will be aware of any appearance of plagiarism and will
follow up with you if it appears you did not do your own writing. I have
no tolerance for cheating.
Also, this assignment is *not* asking for literary analysis, it is an essay asking you to use the insights from this novel and apply those insights to the historical experiences and realities this story reflects. That task requires you to do independent thought and writing.
1. Why do
you think if was possible for the new European culture to so dramatically
impact the traditional Ibo (Ebo) culture? In other words, in what ways did the
traditional Ibo culture prove to be vulnerable to the challenges and
changes the British brought in?
2. Explain
as fully as possible how the new religious ideas introduced by the Europeans
impacted this society, and indicate at least three examples of how changes
in religious beliefs led to changes in OTHER aspects of the Ibo society.
3. Provide
a balanced assessment of both the benefits and the losses to Ibo
culture that resulted from the influences brought in by the British. You should
identify and describe specific examples of both to support your general
statements.