Achebe's Poisoned Well

Seminar Informal Curriculum Event

Things Fall Apart dramatizes contacts and conflicts between the Igbo and early British colonizers. Achebe’s novel raises deep questions about dealing with differences, both within and between cultures, and the viability of violence. The central character Okonkwo does things that may lead readers to reject his values and strategies. Why would the novelist “poison the well” of his own protagonist? This and related questions will guide the discussion. 

With Claude-Rhéal Malary

Related Seminar text: Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Sem 250)