Discerning the role of women in Things Fall Apart by author Chinua Achebe requires an attentive and open-minded reading of the novel. At first, the women in the plot may seem to be oppressed and hold little power- and this characterization rings true to some extent. Women are viewed as second-class citizens, property, laborers, and producers of children. Often times, a woman has no identity of her own; the status and position of her husband defines her. However, this characterization of Igbo women reveals itself to be limiting once the reader is able to detect the diverse roles of women throughout the novel. Despite the fact that women suffer many great losses in the story, in certain circumstances they are able to hold tremendous power. …show more content…
In this society, women hold somewhat of a subservient role compared to their male counterparts. This passiveness can be observed from the very beginning of a family: marriage. Often times, men take more than one wife as a mark of status. However, women never take more than one husband. In fact, women have little say in who they marry and it is their father who decides if their suitor is acceptable. Furthermore, a woman’s duty in the home is to provide meals for both her husband and children. In the novel, the audience reads of an instance where Okonkwo beats his second wife for being late to bring his dinner as a result of going to get her hair braided. His negative response towards his wife’s tiny mistake demonstrates how inhumanly Okonkwo and presumably other members of the clan behaved towards women. Overall, it is evident that he valued the idea that women’s role should be restricted to the domestic sector as he “ruled his household with a heavy hand. All his wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (Achebe 13). In addition, yet another aspect of the home is farming, in which both men and women were in charge of crops. However, women were limited to ‘women’s crops’ such as melons, beans, and cocoa yams. Igbo society restricted women from growing yams, as “Yam, the king of crops, was a man’s crop” signifying that men were the sole providers in their families and that nearly everything was gendered, even crops (Achebe 23). Although this viewpoint of women can be disheartening, if you read deeper into the writing Achebe’s words are ultimately revealing that women are the foundation of the clan and its people. Without women, the men and children would not eat. In addition, ironically it was the women who “weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yams, neither early or late” (Achebe 33). Without women, the clan wouldn’t have yams- the
In the book “The Things They Carried” four female characters played an important role in the lives of the men. Whether imaginary or not, they showed the power that women could have over men. Though it's unknown if the stories of these women are true or not, they still make an impact on the lives of the soldiers and the main narrator.
Things Fall Apart is a wonderful novel created by Chinua Achebe, a man who wanted his people to not forget about their lush history. Compared to their male counterpart, women perform just as much labour. Women take care of their own poultry, they cook for their husbands and take care of their children. Yams are extremely important to Igbo culture, they are called “King of the crops”. Achebe shares, “His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like coco-yams, beans and cassava.
Okonkwo eventually joins Ekwefi after searching for her around the tribe. This is illustrated when Achebe writes, “She must have heard a noise behind her and turned round sharply. A man stood there with a machete in his hand” (Achebe 108). Okonkwo going after his wife and daughter, indicates that Ekwefi helps keep the family together and if she did not leave Okonkwo might have just waited for his daughter to return. Although the women bring the family closer together, they also help preserve important traditions in the tribe.
Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart is a narrative story that follows the life of an African man called Okonkwo. The setting of the book is in eastern Nigeria, on the eve of British colonialism in Africa. The novel illustrates Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs, and his eventual downfall, all of which basically coincide with the Igbo?s society?s struggle with the Christian religion and British government. In this essay I will give a biographical account of Okonwo, which will serve to help understand that social, political, and economic institutions of the Igbos.
“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.” (53) This quote demonstrates one of the traits of masculinity that Okonkwo values, which is the ability to control his family. Okonkwo is the man of the household. He provides them food from his crops and a roof over their heads, and by his beliefs of masculinity he therefore holds all the power in his family. He wants to maintain the role of the man or authority figure of the household and whenever any of his wives try to talk back to him or argue, he would beat them. There was an example of this control in the novel with Okonkwo’s wives, Ekwefi and Ojiugo. Ekwefi was Okonkwo’s second wife, and in the novel, he beaten her in a fit of anger because he thought she had killed a banana tree.
In Things Fall Apart, Umuofia was a legendary village in what is known as Nigeria today. In the village, every Ibo man strived to become the best and the king of crops. The ideal man in Umuofia is a provider for his children, wives and to maintain his authority over his family. On the other hand, the women of Umuofia job is to tend to the children's needs, cook, clean and abide by her husband’s rules. The Ibo ideas of masculinity and femininity was harmful to both individual characters and the Ibo society.
In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, women play the roles of oppressed homemakers that are perceived as weak and defenseless second-class citizens, as the educators of children, and as spiritual leaders in traditional Ibo culture. Through the life of Okonwo, the main character of Things Fall Apart, the roles of women in traditional Ibo culture are presented through various events that take place in the village of Umuofia. In traditional Ibo culture, women were to stay at home and tend to their husbands’ needs and satisfy them. The women were viewed as property of their fathers and were then sold to the suitor that was willing to pay her bride price. A woman had no identity of her own, the status and position of her husband defined her.
In Chinua Achebe’s book Things Fall Apart, set in the village of Umuofia women are first seen as an oppressed group with no power, however as the story progresses women are given roles with power and are seen as someone in which males can find refuge. Although many can view the women being portrayed as only a victim of domestic violence as was the case of many wives in the Ibo tribe. Achebe portrays women as powerful, as a stronghold, and as a symbol of admiration through characters such as Chika, the earth goddess, and Okonkwo’s mother.
Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart tells the story of the people of an Igbo village in Nigeria. In Igbo society, the traditions and gender roles are strict, and being a woman or feminine is often viewed as a negative thing. The men who are masculine and show their dominance over their wives and children are highly regarded in Igbo society and have more power than those who do not. Okonkwo, the novel’s protagonist is a representation of traditional Igbo society.
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe women in Igbo culture seem to have a complicated life. In the story Okonkwo has three wives which in their culture is normal to have. Women are marginalized and silenced by being poorly treated, being possessions of men, and being treated as objects.
There are constant struggles between gender, identity, commodification, and class. Among the men and women in many African tribes that still exist today, there are divergences, which will always remain intact because of the culture and the way in which they are taught to treat each other. Chinua Achebe wrote the novel, Things Fall Apart, which is a great piece of African literature that deals with the Igbo culture, history, and the taking over of African lands by British colonization. The ongoing gender conflict is a prominent theme in Things Fall Apart, presenting the clash between men and women of the African Igbo society. Throughout history, from the beginning of time to today, women have frequently been viewed as inferior, men’s possessions whose sole purpose was to satisfy the men’s needs.
Women are presented as being insignificant individuals to the African societies. The way in which Achebe portrays the women, shows their not treated with much respect but have an unrecognizable impact on the village. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe isolates ...
Things Fall Apart, a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe is a story about an Igbo village in Nigeria and a man that once was a powerful influence in the tribe, but begins to lose his influence as Nigeria is colonized and Christian missionaries come to evangelize. A deeper look at the novel, with a feminist critics point of view, tells a lot about the Igbo people as well as the author’s thoughts about women in the novel. Feminist critics look at female authors, and female characters and their treatment as well as women’s issues in society. Since Achebe is a male, the main focus of feminist literary criticism for Things Fall Apart is the women in the novel and their issues as well as the Igbo view of gender identity. Many issues that women
The author Chinua Achebe, in the novel, “Things Fall Apart,” shares the extreme diversity between the female and male characters residing in Umofia. Okonkwo, the male leader of the tribe, carries qualities such as power and manliness, as all men are expected to. As for the females they are commonly referred as being weaker for child bearing and more responsible because they are expected to cook, clean, and take care of their children. Although the traits of the Igbo culture vary in the determination of the sexes, both genders share both positive and negative aspects of their community.
In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, the author poses many perspectives for literary criticism and review. This work emphasizes many different cultural aspects that were considered controversial at the time of publication in both African and American culture. This novel’s focus on feminine roles, religion, and cultural norms give readers a glimpse of life in the village of Umuofia while allowing them to think critically about the thematic topics posed.