One of the central themes that Achebe developed in his book “Things Fall Apart” is the contrast between feminine and masculine in the African tribes, more specifically Umofia. In the Ibo culture the gender difference plays an important role in Umofian people’s daily life, and has become one of the centric themes of Achebe’s book. This masculinity vs femininity theme has developed through novels protagonist, Okonkwo, by explaining his different reactions toward folktales, sports, and farming. In the novel “Things Fall Apart” Achebe introduced two type of stories to his audience which one symbolizes women and the other men. The stories that has been told in the book about war, blood, violence, and killing refers to mankind stories while the folktales, and stories that have centric theme of kindness, emotions, and sensibility are the female type stories. Okonkwo, main character of the novel, put his gentleness and kindness aside long time ago when he decided to not ended up as a failure like his father. From his point of view every stories has based on sensible, kindness, and nonviolent themes are foolish and …show more content…
Achebe introduced two type of farming to his audience, which one is for women and the others is for men. Even for farming the men are superior to women as they have been allowed to plant the major crop, yams. Yams are the main source of food for African people and according to their culture “Yam stood for manliness, and he who could feed his family on yams from one harvest to another was a very great man indeed.”(Achebe, 33). In the Umofia women were also allowed to farm but they had to plant “women crops like coco yams, beans and cassava” (Achebe, 23). “Yam, the king of crops was a man crop” (Achebe, 23). The lack of power for women to farm the king of corps, yams, once more shows the gender difference along African culture and the superiority of masculine over
Set in Africa in the 1890s, Chinua Achebe's ‘Things Fall Apart’ is about the tragedy of Okonkwo during the time Christian missionaries arrived and polluted the culture and traditions of many African tribes. Okonkwo is a self-made man who values culture, tradition, and, above all else, masculinity. Okonkwo’s attachment to the Igbo culture and tradition, and his own extreme emphasis on manliness, is the cause of his fall from grace and eventual death.
In the book “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe certain themes are present in the the
“A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. . . . And that is why we say that mother is supreme” (p.134). In Achebe’s 1959 “Things Fall Apart”, female figures appear to have minor domesticated roles; however with these words Achebe calls attention to female strength within the tribe. Feminine power is recognized within the tribe, and fear of this power provides the foundation for the male obsession with displays of masculinity. Achebe highlights significant female goddesses, displays a solid feminine role in education, fully develops strong-minded female characters, and demonstrates masculine catastrophes, therefore establishes female as the stronger gender in the tribe.
In Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart, the Ibo culture revolves around structured gender roles, from the crops that the men and women grow, to the characterization of crimes,which creates tension between the sexes and will ultimately lead to detrimental consequences. Things Fall Apart represents the hardships and struggles between females and males. For example, Ekwefi, the wife of Okonkwo, she is often beat for the things she has genuinely forgotten about . Also, we have Enzima, Okonkwo's favorite daughter, but since she is a female, she must be treated like a women. Although females are considered the weaker gender, they possess many qualities that make them worthy, such as bearing children. Achebe explained the importance of both genders and how they contribute to the society.
In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the theme of perceived masculinity is prominent and portrayed as a critical characteristic which has the potential to shape clans, families, and the safety of others. Because of the emphasis placed on masculinity, women are widely disregarded and downplayed, as they are seen as property. In African culture men are revered due to their warrior-like natures that can uphold the functionality of a clan, but frowned upon when deemed as weak; the result of this fear of weakness led to the dominance of men over women.
Okonkwo’s fear leads him to treat members of his family harshly, in particular his son, Nwoye. Okonkwo often wonders how he, a man of great strength and work ethic, could have had a son who was “degenerate and effeminate” (133). Okonkwo thought that, "No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man" (45).
An extreme contrast of his father, Okonkwo strives to appear as masculine as possible. Even though his traits were already considered very masculine, Okonkwo persistently tries to ensure he is not seen as his definition of weak, more so in the presence of his family then others, in an attempt for his sons to act masculine as well. However, not all agree with his interpretation of manliness, such as his son Nwoye and his friend Obierika, as both did not agree with Okonkwo’s actions when he killed the boy Ikemefuna, who viewed Okonkwo as a father, to not appear weak in front of others. Nevertheless, Okonkwo’s true masculinity is still shown throughout the book, such as when he far...
her heavily.” (p. 29). Despite the beatings, Achebe shows that the Ibo women have valuable parts in the
“Be a man” is common quote heard involving males in American society, especially when they are young. It is used to prompt one to be independent and tough and it seems that not only the Igbo tribe is concerned with a man’s masculinity. It is widely known throughout the world that the man of the house provides and protects the family. In Chinua Achebe’s book, Things Fall Apart, being a masculine and strong male is important and even accentuated to where it is the only thing a male focuses on. In this book, Achebe portrays a man, Okonkwo, who is obviously obsessed with masculinity and power while claiming the new religion, brought by the colonists, to not be manly enough. This happens while his tribe falls apart since they do not share Okonkwo’s
In Things Fall Apart, Achebe uses Okonkwo’s actions and his reactions to tragedy to exhibit his obsession with masculinity, and unveils that in any society, socialized stereotypes of genders results in a
Okonkwo associates many of his tribal influences with masculinity. Right away in the book, Achebe affiliates strength with manliness. “As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalizine the Cat” (3). He is honored because he had enough strength and agility to overthrow the cat. Okonkwo feels to be successful and manly, one also must show no emotion. He thinks emotion is for the weak and for woman, and he does not want to be either of those. “Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show affection was a sign of weakness,-the only thing worth demonstrating was strength” (28). Okonkwo treats Ikemefuna with this idea. He becomes very fond of the child, but never outwardly shows his affection. If he showed his affection he was afraid he would be looked down upon in his tribe. Although his father enjoyed little things like music and dancing, Okonkwo had no desire to share his father’s enjoyment. He desired power and wealth. He wants to construct and maintain a big house for his many wives and even more children. “Okonkwo was clearly cut out for great things. He was still young but he had won fame as the greatest wrestler in the nine villages. He was a wealthy farmer and had two barns full of ...
Before the arrival of the Europeans, Achebe did a excellent job portraying how the life of Igbo was before they were forced to oppose their own culture. To support this theme, Achebe included detailed descriptions of social rituals within each family, the justice system, religious practices and consequences, preparation and indulgence of food, the marriage process and the distributing of power within the men. Achebe shows how every man has an opportunity to prove himself worthy to achieve a title on the highest level, based merely on his own efforts. One may argue that the novel was written with the main focus on the study of Okonkwo’s character and how he deteriorates, but without the theme that define the Igbo culture itself, we would never know the universe qualities of the society that shaped Okonkwo’s life. The lives of the Igbo people was no different to the actual lives of the Ibos people back in the early days of Africa. Just like in Things Fall Apart, in actual African tribes there was never a ruler. “Very interesting thing about these villages is that there is no single ruler or king that controls the population. Decisions are made by including almost everyone in the village” (AfricaGuide). Using the theme, Achebe educated readers on by mirroring real African life in her
In Umofia, manliness is associated with strength and womanliness with weakness (Okhamafe 127). There is no such thing as a strong woman, and all men should disdain weakness. In Umofia, “all men are males, but not all males are men” (Okhamafe 126). Only the strong men who hold titles deserve to be called “men”. The Igbo word “agbala” is an alternate work for “woman” and for a man who had no title. Women in Igbo society are expected to act a certain way. Okonkwo scolds his daughter, Ezinma, when she does not “sit like a woman” (Achebe 44). He will not let Ezinma bring his chair to the wrestling match because it is a “boy’s job” (Achebe 44). Eve...
]k Adegbite O. came to a similar conclusion about Okonkwo’s views on masculinity and femininity when he makes the remark in his essay that, “Okonkwo is of the opinion that traditional men have lost their place in society and cannot be termed ‘worthy’ anymore as Western culture has softened their resolve; men have been turned to weaklings by colonisation and the white man’s religion” (Tobalase, “Masculinity and Cultural Conflict in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart”).
The way women were viewed has changed, from being close to slaved by their spouses, to working and demanding alongside them. According to the Ibo culture in Things Fall Apart, women didn’t and couldn’t have the high status they hold today, there were obedient, wouldn’t speak for themselves and followed every order their husband command. Therefore were just taken for granted in the village. “In those days a good woman was basically seen as a wife and mother who spoke when she was spoken to, brought up the children and maintained the “home front.”” (1). Today's modern society in Nigeria had changed for many women, not a huge change, but big enough that the women had more freedom and rights. “Women still have fewer legal rights than men.” (4). Women aren’t as liberated as you think, but they no longer have to answer to anybody but themselves. The values and needs of women has been incorporated into the society and will continue to upgrade throughout a large number of