Role of Women in Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart portrays Africa, particularly the Ibo society, right before the arrival of the white man. Things Fall Apart analyzes the destruction of African culture by the appearance of the white man in terms of the destruction of the bonds between individuals and their society. Achebe, who teaches us a great deal about Ibo society and translates Ibo myth and proverbs, also explains the role of women in pre-colonial Africa.
In Things Fall Apart, the reader follows the trials and tribulations of Okonkwo, a tragic hero whose tragic flaw includes the fact that "his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness." (16) For Okonkwo, his father Unoka embodied the epitome of failure and weakness. Okonkwo was taunted as a child by other children when they called Unoka agbala. Agbala could either mean a man who had taken no title or "woman." Okonkwo hated anything weak or frail, and his descriptions of his tribe and the members of his family show that in Ibo society anything strong was likened to man and anything weak to woman. Because Nwoye, his son by his first wife, reminds Okonkwo of his father Unoka he describes him as woman-like. After hearing of Nwoye's conversion to the Christianity, Okonkwo ponders how he, "a flaming fire could have begotten a son like Nwoye, degenerate and effeminate" (143)? On the other hand, his daughter Ezinma "should have been a boy." (61) He favored her the most out of all of his children, yet "if Ezinma had been a boy [he] would have been happier." (63) After killing Ikemefuna, Okonkwo, who cannot understand why he is so distraught, asks himself, "When did you become a shivering old woman?" (62) When his tribe looks as if they are not going to fight against the intruding missionaries, Okonkwo remembers the "days when men were men." (184)
In keeping with the Ibo view of female nature, the tribe allowed wife beating . The novel describes two instances when Okonkwo beats his second wife, once when she did not come home to make his meal. He beat her severely and was punished but only because he beat her during the Week of Peace. He beat her again when she referred to him as one of those "guns that never shot." When a severe case of wife beating comes before the egwugwu, hefound in favor of the wife.
Perry, B., (2009). Examining child maltreatment through a neurodevelopmental lens: Clinical applications of the neurosequential model of therapeutics. Journal of loss and trauma, 14: 240-55. doi:10.1080/15325020903004350
Things Fall Apart was a fantastic book. It was educational as well as entertaining. The author, Chinua Achebe did a great job of describing the complex society and culture of the Ibo tribe. Being that Achebe’s roots originate from the Ibo, he shares accurate history and traditions that help shape the book and its perspective on how the European invasions greatly affected pre-colonial Africa.
He was in great conflict with the ideas of the white men and the missionaries. Okonkwo saw that their beliefs had not only changed the daily life of the Ibo, but it also changed the people themselves: “He mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women” (Achebe 183). The author uses strong diction to compare the men before and after colonization. This quote also portrays Okonkwo’s opinion towards the cultural collision. He values strength and masculinity immensely because of his fear of appearing weak like his father Unoka. When he describes that the men of Umuofia changed to be soft like women, this shows how much he dishonors the Western ideas and how it has taken over the village. He made an attempt to get rid of the Western influence by urging the tribe to fight like men, but they refuse to. He was determined and still attempted to furthermore encourage the people of Umuofia to revolt against the new culture. He realizes that his attempts to return the village back to the way it was before were futile. He knew that Christianity was tearing his people apart, but knew he was incapable of making change to help his people. Okonkwo then starts to feel hopeless and abandoned by his clan, which causes him to commit suicide by hanging himself: “Obierika… turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: ‘That man was one of the greatest men
Orlomoski, Caitlyn. "From Monsters to Victims: Vampires and Their Cultural Evolution from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century." N.p., 7 May 2011. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. .
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Wyatt, Neal. "Biography of Kate Chopin." Biography of Kate Chopin. N.p., 1995. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .
The majority of addiction rehabilitation centers are based off of a twelve-step program. A twelve-step program is a set of twelve guiding principals to help people recover from addiction. “The first 12-step program began with alcoholic anonymous in the 1930s…” (12step.org). Alcoholic Anonymous is a self–help group led by men and women who have the desire to stop drinking. The twelve steps used in A.A. (Alcoholics Anonymous) can be found in The Big Book, which is the governing book used in all A.A. meetings, and has been revised for drug addicts.
With these interpretations of God’s words, society as a whole has held women back. This is caused by the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge and because Eve gave Adam the fruit, women have been held in responsibility for all of man’s mistakes. It also forced God to punish mankind with an ending life. This confirms why women have been discriminated on by men throughout time in religious scripture.
The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and the New. Cambridge: Printed by John Field ..., 1668. Print.
A main character in the novel, Okonkwo has several wives. He orders them around like dogs. They are never to question what they are instructed to do; they are expected to be obedient. We see this early in the story, when Okonkwo brings Ikemefuna into his home. Okonkwo tells his senior wife that Ikemefuna belongs to the tribe and that she is expected to look after him. She in turn asks him if he will be staying with them for a long period of time. This sends Okonkwo into a fury. He snaps at her in a very degrading manner, "Do what you are told woman. When did you become one of the ndichie (meaning elders) of Umuofia?"(pg.12) Clearly she receives no respect. Later in the story we see this woman try to comfort Ikemefuna. She "mothers" him as if he is one of her own children. She tries to put him at ease and can almost instinctively feel how much he misses his own mother.
The depreciation of women and their overall inferior position in society can be attributed to the androcentric interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, especially the story of Adam and Eve. Throughout history, the story of Adam and Eve has been used by men to point out the inherent evil in women by pinning the eventual expulsion of Adam and Eve from Heaven on the neck of Eve. Eve has long been blamed for the expulsion from Heaven and in effect, women, even up until today, are portrayed as the “gateway to sin.”
"Pre-K Academy - HUSD Family Resource Center." Pre-K Academy - HUSD Family Resource Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
“As a matter of fact the tree was very much alive. Okonkwo’s second wife had merely cut a few leaves off it to wrap some food, and she said so. Without further argument, Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her daughter weeping”, women were expected to be there for their husband to get beaten when things were not going well for them, even though it was not the woman's fault.He was so mad at the fact that a woman stood up to him and he did not respect her enough to let her explain so he just beat her. In Igbo culture men get more than one wife, for them having many wives means more power or have control. Women could also be considered as slaves,that is why men feel to have more power when they have a many wives. In chapter two Okonkwo treats his wife like a worker telling her that she has to do whatever he commands with her not asking any questions.”Is he staying long with us?” “Do what you are told, women” Okonkwo thundered and stammered” women were taught to be silent and obedient. Sometimes they were not called by their given names but as to what their men want to call
Daly, Michael . "The Story of an Unsung 9/11 Hero." The Daily Beast [New York City] 11 Sept. 2013: 1-3. The Daily Beast. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Okonkwo sees his father’s gentleness as a feminine trait. He works hard to be as masculine as possible so that he will be the opposite of his father and overcome the shame his father brought to his family. Okonkwo deals with this struggle throughout the entire book, hiding the intense fear of weakness behind a masculine façade (Nnoromele 149). In order to appear masculine, he is often violent. In his desire to be judged by his own worth and not by the worth of his effeminate father, Okonkwo participates in the killing of a boy he sees as a son, even though his friends and other respected tribe members advise him against it. (Hoegberg 71). Even after the killing of Ikamefuna, Okonkwo hides his feelings of sadness because the emotions are feminine to him. He goes so far as to ask himself, “when did you become a shivering old woman” (Achebe 65), while he is inwardly grieving. The dramatic irony of the secret fears that Okonkwo has will open the reader’s eyes to how important gender identity is to him. This theme is also presented among Okonkwo’s children. He sees his oldest son, Nwoye, as feminine because he does not like to work as hard as his father (Stratton 29). When Nwoye eventually joins the Christian church, Okonkwo sees him as even more feminine. On the other hand, Okonkwo’s