TFA 2.4 FRIDAY

TFA 2.4 FRIDAY

DO NOW: Review your 3-2-1 Reading Journal to prepare for seminar.

Objectives:

• identify problems with Igbo society that Achebe believes may have contributed to its colonialist destruction.

Agenda:

1. do now
2. Socratic Seminar 9-10 – break into groups; appoint a Facilitator to keep the discussion going (12 min)
3. Sharing main topics of interest/ observations
1. Discuss this quote by Achebe: “The coming of the missionaries is very complex, and I cannot simply assign blame to this man or that man. The society itself was already heading toward destruction…[but] Europe has a lot of blame...There were internal problems that made it possible for the Europeans to come in.  Somebody showed them the way.  A conflict between two brothers enables a stranger to reap their harvest.”

4. Class discussion:

-What problems with Igbo society can you point to that may  be partially responsible for its destruction during colonialism?

-How are spiritual beliefs a necessary component of the structure/organization of Igbo society?

-How is Igbo society complex in ways that Conrad and other western writers did not understand?

-How does Okonkwo both exemplify the strengths of his society, and also seriously conflict with its values?

-Achebe: “No man can be greater or wiser than his community, no matter how important he is.”

5. Summarize: How might the belief in the egwugwu spirits harm the Igbo upon the arrival of the colonists/ missionaries?

HW: Read ch 11-13 + 3-2-1 Discussion Journal; read/heavily annotate Franklin’s essay “After  Empire: Chinua Achebe and the great African novel”