Vignette 7.1. Examining Diverse Perspectives in World Literature
Integrated ELA/Literacy, ELD, and World History in Grade Ten (cont.)Excerpt from Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
On the death of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo’s adopted son
“Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived
in perpetual fear of his fiery temper and so did his little children. Perhaps down in his heart
Okonkwo was not a cruel man, but his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure
and of weakness.. .” (13)
“As a man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked
away, he heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand, he heard Ikemefuna cry, ‘My
father! They’ve killed me!’ as he ran towards them. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his
machete and cut him down.” (61)Each small group discusses a different expert’s perspective. Some of the expert opinions
(drawn from the Annenberg Learner Invitation to World Literature unit on Things Fall Apart)
follow.Juxtapositions: Okonkwo on the death of his adopted son
Osonye Tess Onwueme (Playwright
and Professor of Cultural Diversity and
English, University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire):
“Okonkwo was always trying to prove to
himself, or to the world outside him, and
to his society, that he was not going to be
a failure like his father. It’s like he has an
agenda to embody that masculine value that
the Igbo man was respected for, to show
those principles of manhood.”David Damrosch (Professor of
Comparative Literature, Harvard
University):
“Achebe’s complex portrayal of Okonkwo
is built up through juxtaposed scenes. The
shocking episode of the killing of Ikemefuna
is balanced, two chapters later, by the scene
in which Okonkwo saves the life of his favorite
daughter Ezinma, only surviving child of his
wife Ekwefi.”Chuck Mike (Theater Director and
Associate Professor of Theater,
University of Richmond):
“If you consistently believe that you have to
‘be a man,’ you don’t handle your home affairs
well. Rather than reason with his wives over
matters where conflict evolves, Okonkwo
beats them.”Kwame Anthony Appiah (Professor of
Philosophy, Princeton University):
“Ikemefuna is interesting because he is
the character through whom we learn that
Okonkwo has the capacity for gentleness and
love and that it’s because of his obsession
with not being seen to have that capacity that
he does things that are manly but bad.”Ms. Alemi strategically groups students into groups of four or five students so that they
can engage in a deep conversation about their expert opinion before they share their groups’
findings with others who read another opinion. Among her considerations for grouping students
are personal dynamics, academic and socio-emotional strengths and areas for growth, and
English language proficiency (for ELs). She uses the expert group jigsaw strategy again to
structure the collaborative conversations. Students refer to a discussion grid that contains
spaces for them to record notes about the degree to which they agree with the expert’s
statement, the location of evidence in the text to support the statement, and explanations of
the evidence. The procedure she uses is as follows.Grades 9 and 10 Chapter 7 | 753