Gender Roles In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck

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Recommended: Gender norms in society

In society it is conspicuous that men are more favored than women. Women are expected to stay home and take care of the kids, however men are anticipated to go to work because they are known to be superior and muscular. From the moment you were born gender is forced upon you if you are a girl you get a pink room and if you are a boy you get a blue room. Gender role is not something that is embedded in your DNA however it something that's instructed towards the child as he/ she grows up. Gender inequality can be traced way back in history when women were not allowed to vote and couldn't get jobs. The gender roles change as time progresses however one thing remains the same men always seem to be the most superior in a relationship. In Adichie’s …show more content…

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel is based on a series of stories and their struggles. The title of the novel suggests that “The Thing Around Your Neck” is the difficulties you have encountered in life however as you grow up and start learning from your mistakes the thing around your neck starts to loosen up. Throughout the whole novel the idea of gender equality is mentioned many times, however in the story Tomorrow is Too Far it is the most …show more content…

Its transparent that the women favors Nonso more Dozie. This is evident because the grandma made it clear that “only[her] brother Nonso” will climb the trees. Depicting, the girl has standards which she is expected to follow that were set by the gender stereotypes. All women are expected to dress, and act a certain way otherwise they will be looked down upon by society. Despite the fact that Dozie was a “better climber” she avoids breaking the gender stereotypes and instead picks up the fruits which fell from the tree. Nonso being on the tree symbolizes his status in life and how he was above the grandma and girl because they were in the bottom waiting for him to shake the tree. This demonstrates how women are dependent on men to do everything.
They abide by what the man says and have no say in what happens. Due to the grandmas actions and attitude it is clear who her favorite child is. This results into the the narrator feeling jealous and loneliness due to the lack of attention and

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