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Recommended: Significance of women in things that fall apart

Often in society there are actions that are categorized as feminine or masculine. those ideas formulate into a mind, defining themselves and guiding their lives. In some situations they even begin to be all the person bases their actions on. Eventually creating an inner struggle/conflict of weather the actions the do are manly or womanly. an example of a character who struggles with this is Okonkwo in the book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. This book follows his life and inner struggles. The book teaches the red ear that trying hard to control things inout life could led to the destruction to one’s-self. it questions the idea of can a society only be feminine and masculine. In addition to this it shows the great lengths that an individual would go through to simply gain acceptance as a man. Because of this the author is trying to convey the struggle of femininity and masculinity. Okonkwo’s struggle of masculinity and femininity led to his disastrous fate .

Okonkwo’s struggle with masculinity and femininity less him to his demise because he becomes aggressive to his family. There is a quote in which it describes his Okonkwo actions towards his family, “Perhaps down in his heart Okonkwo was not a cruel man. But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness” (Achebe, 10). This quote resembles Okonkwo’s true self. In reality his whole life was dominated of fear of being womanly. In his opinion he believes that being manly was the only option. He allowed the idea to consume him and the lingering fear of failure make him into a different person. Consequently this becomes Okonkwo to brome irrational with his actions. For instance in one scene Ekwefi the second lied to calm his anger towards his youngest ...

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...mitting a womanly act.

“In a flash Okonkwo drew his machete...Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man. He knew Umuofia would not go to war. He knew because they had let the other messenger escape” (Achebe, 176). All of the fear led Okonkwo make drastic decisions. His rage and everything engulfed him and in the end led him where he wanted to run away from. All of his life he strived for greatness and failed to realize that he developed into the person he despised to become. This is the final determining act before his death.

“ ‘It is against our custom,’ said one of the men. ‘It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offence against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen. His body is evil, and only strangers may touch it. That is why we ask your people to bring him down, because you are strangers’ ” (Achebe, 178)

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