Umuofia Village Activity Reflection

We participated in a role play activity- each student talked on the forum as a character for Things Fall Apart, a novel by Chinua Achebe. 

What did you learn about your character and other characters from participating in the role-play?

My character was Unoka, the father of Okonkwo, who was categorized as a female identity in the novel, before his horrible death in the Evil Forest. He was seen as peaceful, carefree and not being able to do much, as least that’s what the other characters thought of him. They disrespected him, and didn’t believe he could do a lot for the village. This was seen as the ultimate dishonor, not contributing in any way and being completely selfish. I noticed that other characters treated Unoka like he was a woman, and disrespected him in many ways.

Why did certain characters act the way they did during our experience in the Village of Umuofia?

Most characters had a specific role, whether it was in the novel itself or as a member of the village. For example, some of the colonizing characters, like Mr. Brown, tended to be nicer to others and would like people to get along. In contrast, Okonkwo, who caused fear in his opponents would constantly degrade others, and use insults. This might be because his role in the village is to be fierce, as well as his role in the novel. Okonkwo is highly respected among the village people, and due to this his identity has been formed to be strong, tough, and fearless of others.

How was your experience similar to and different from the novel?

Well, my experience was entirely different from the novel. This is because I could see the human interactions that would come to life by the people role-playing each character. Every role was overreacted, and this brought to light some interesting perspectives. For example, Okonkwo became even more of a warrior, and his violent nature took a few turns during the discussions. As well, other people playing my character, Unoka, made him seem like easy-going, not caring about anything type of person. He would often ignore most questions, and he was depicted as somebody who wanted to play the flute most of the time, instead of doing anything productive.

How has your experience in the Village of Umuofia “virtual reality” changed or enhanced your understanding of the novel and the historical events on which it is based?

What mostly eluded my understanding of the novel were the historical events that happened during that time. I had trouble spotting the events that happened during the time period that the novel appeared in, historically speaking. This activity made other students role play certain characters, that due to their interactions and conversations with each other, I could understand better where and when the language takes place. Also, I realized that the language used in the novel was a key factor, especially because of the translation to English conflicts. Overall, I think this activity was fun and entertaining, and it really helped me understand more about the historical context of the story.