The Power of Subjugation in “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe

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Okonkwo in “Things Fall Apart” utilises direct imperatives to instruct those subordinate to him. This is seen throughout the text, such as when Okonkwo orders one of his wives to ‘get me a pot’ and ‘to leave the child alone’. The language used by Okonkwo serves as a tool of subjugation, with the coarse use of direct imperatives and harsh remarks serves to overpower them to the point of them becoming his slaves. Hugh as a societal and familial patriarch is presented in light of a failing patriarch, such as the way in which he represents a static, inward-looking, self-satisfied way of life, whose response to modern outside influences is to ignore them. For example, he is in denial about the colonisation that’s taking place, to the degree that he is refusing it is even happening. In contrast to Hugh, Prospero controls the characters in the play and remains in firm control of the island, he is a learned scholar who has powerful magical abilities and uses his knowledge to keep control of the island and is feared and revered. Okonkwo as a familial patriarch would have been seen as a successful patriarch, due to his domination of those subordinate to him, such as his wives and children, ordering his daughter to ‘sit like a woman’ and nearly killing his wife, ‘is it true that Okonkwo nearly killed you with his gun?’ Thus, his constant efforts to maintain his status also serve to reinforce his power and status. Colonisers are considered the upmost authority and any authority below is answerable to the coloniser. Likewise, Prospero is the coloniser, serving as the main figure head, compared to Hugh and Okonkwo who as societal patriarchs, only encompass certain levels of authority. Thus, being answerable to a higher authority is a clea... ... middle of paper ... ...oth audiences and overall, it is clear that patriarchy is a dominant theme in both texts, and it beautifies the flow of each text in a uniquely definitive approach. The play, written in 1611, showed all the qualities that a Jacobean court audience would have admired. Prospero, much like King James I, is a learned man, in possession of natural authority and an understanding of magic. He was considered by E. Dowden in Shakespeare: His Mind and Art (1875), to be a ‘harmonious and fully developed will.’ And yet a modern audience struggles to consolidate their understanding of Prospero with the archetypal Shakespearean hero. In fact, E. Baughan wrote in a Daily News Review (Jan 8, 1926), he calls Prospero both an ‘insufferable bore’ and a ‘cruel egotist.’ It’s that latter description of the protagonist and hero Prospero that a modern audience is likely to relate to.

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