Things Fall Apart Gender Analysis

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In the novel, Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, the Igbo’s position on gender is that men are the dominant humans that rule over everyone, while women are nothing more than objects. The women are the property of the men who pay a bride price when they want to marry someone. The more wives a man has, the more wealthy and well respected he is. In Igbo culture, women are treated as nothing more than entities to be used for reproductive and housekeeping purposes, as well as targets for their husbands rage. Men are expected to bring titles, wealth, and glory to their families to cement their legacies; the reality is that women are probably much stronger than the men because they survive the abusive men in their society.
The Igbo men do not
The wives of the Igbo men are not the only women who have to care for him. The mistreatment of women starts at a young age when a man’s daughter’s have to help their mothers with her work in the household. The men treat their daughters the same way as their wives, with the exception of not conceiving children with them. “‘You have not eaten for two days,’ said [Okonkwo’s] daughter Enzima when she brought the food to him…’Go and bring me some cold water,’ he said…‘Bring me my bag,’ he asked…” (65-66). Okonkwo, like other men, expects his daughter to do everything she is told without question, otherwise she may be beaten as well. Okonkwo views his daughter as a strong, independent woman and always regrets that she is not a boy. He treats her with more respect than his wives and other daughters due to these thoughts, but he still will not let her complete actions that he considers manly. Enzima says, “‘Father, will you go to see the wrestling?’ Enzima asked after a suitable interval. ‘Yes,’ he answered. ‘Will you go?’ ‘Yes.’ And after a pause she said: ‘Can I bring your chair for you?’ ‘No, that is a boy’s job’” (44). [Could also reference page 66] Enzima is not a man, so Okonkwo can not allow her to complete “manly” duties. Enzima wants to help out her aging father who is not as strong as he used to be. Okonkwo refuses due to the
This demonstrates that they are insecure and that they need their success and arm candy to drown it out. The women are loving and caring, mothers and wives, who care for their husbands and children. The women have nowhere to go if they try to escape their husbands. They have learned how to protect themselves by complying with their husbands wishes. It is no way to live but they show their strength by continuing to live through the abuse, and keeping their self-control. The men probably are keeping the women out of power because they do not want to admit that the women would make better decisions for the community. The men have had a lousy run being in power, now the women should have a chance.
The Igbo women do not deserve the treatment they receive from the Igbo men. The Igbo men are all full of themselves and all they care about is personal success. Gender should not be a reason to oppress anyone for anything and a community should not have power based on levels of misogyny, but this is who the Igbo truly

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